Villano Antillano: The First Trans Artist to Be Nominated to ‘Premio Lo Nuestro’

The iconic award show Premio Lo Nuestro takes place tonight, and we will get to catch a glimpse of the best Latino music of the year getting recognized. Among the nominated, we find Villano Antillano, who has already made history by becoming the first trans artist to be nominated in the category of women for Breakthrough Female Artist of the Year.

The rapper will be competing against Bad Gyal, Corina Smith, Elsa y Elmar, Kim Loaiza, La Gabi, Las Villa, Lola Indigo, Tokischa, and Young Miko. 

Who is Villano Antillano?

Villano Antillano was born Reinaldo Santiago Pacheco in Bayamón, Puerto Rico 27 years ago. She identifies as a transfeminine non-binary person and has mentioned in various interviews that her pronouns are she/her. She now identifies as Villana Santiago Pacheco and is openly bisexual. In most of her songs, she has shown that her music is a space for liberation and vindication, to fight and protest for equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community.

Villano has stated that she never considered herself gay because, from her perspective, it is something very “white and American,” different from her native Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries. On the other hand, she expressed that she uses the term “maricón” because, for her, it has a sense of vindication, community, taking a stand, and friends.

Sexual liberation, the reappropriation of transphobic speeches, and empowerment are some of the most recurring themes in the rapper’s lyrics. Although she is new in the industry, she has already made a name for herself in the urban and Latino communities, demonstrating that this musical genre can have anthems of liberation instead of just hurtful songs full of macho, homophobic lyrics.

She has recognized that “many people are aware of” her gender identity, and this means that “there are too many expectations of beauty about her.“

“There are some beauty standards about trans women that mean that we have to be projecting a hyper-femininity all the time to be able to prove that it is a femininity.”

But she is quite humble and does not like to describe herself as a ‘reference,’ since she believes she only seeks to live as everyone else does and not to be an icon. However, she understands that her presence in the male-dominated rap industry will have a social influence.

Her music style mostly stays around rap, with touches of trap, reggaetón, and electronic. Villano Antillano has said that she did not choose rap, but that rap chose her. Specifically, she has expressed her admiration for female performers. “I did not feel represented by what men said, but when I listened to Ivy Queen or La Sista, it kind of came to me,” she shared in an interview with Rapetón.

Villano Antillano has collaborated with other young, up-and-coming Latin American artists such as Paopao, Aria Vega, Ana Macho, and La Gabi. Her music style comes from the urban culture of Puerto Rico, and the street is present in her melodies.

Her most recent release is her album “La Sustancia X,” but some of her biggest hits include “Kaleidoscópica,” “Mujerón,” and “No Confío.” However, her global success came thanks to Argentinian producer Bizarrap in the “Bzrp Music Session Vol. 51.” The artist met the producer through the singer Bad Bunny, who introduced them during an event in Las Vegas. A few months later, Bizarrap asked her to collaborate with him, and she immediately accepted. The song now has over 200 million streams on Spotify, and the music video has over 185 million views on YouTube.

She has stated that she has always dreamed of becoming a singer and dedicating her life to music because in her home “you drink a lot of culture and art.” At the age of 17, she began to compose songs, but it was not until about three years ago that she decided to release them with her “Tiranía EP.”

“I started making music a bit as therapy, to be able to vent, to a certain extent, all my feelings and tell my story, the story of my transition. I chose rap because it was the perfect medium in which I could express my feelings and metaphors,” she explained.

Stay tuned for more Villano Antillano —will she take a Premio Lo Nuestro home? We’ll find out tonight.

Premio Lo Nuestro airs Thursday, February 23rd at 7 p.m. EST on Univision.