Lido Pimienta: Tiny Desk Concert

This Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, NPR Music celebrates artists from all corners of Latinidad with an 'El Tiny' takeover.

Felix Contreras | September 19, 2025
Every aspect of a Lido Pimienta performance is intensely intentional. Her turn behind the Tiny Desk is, as expected, rich with symbolism and musical beauty.

This year’s La Belleza is a deliberate break from the electro-cultural pastiche of 2020’s Miss Colombia, leaning on European-influenced chamber music. Think minimal string arrangements under the resonant vocals we’ve come to love. The way she opens her Tiny Desk with “Quiero Que Me Beses” is very Pimienta: after three minutes of violin, bassoon and clarinet, we are then introduced to the Afro-Colombian percussion and marimba familiar to Colombian folk music.

Pimenta is often clothed in costumes that act as visual representation of her singular musical vision. To my eyes, the elaborately designed, multi-layered, all-black dress she wears can be seen as a blank canvas on which we can all project our own appreciation of her music and its messages. With Lido Pimienta, what you see is as important as what you hear.

SET LIST
“Quiero Que Me Beses”
“Mango”
“¿Quién Tiene La Luz? (El Perdón)”
“Eso Que Tu Haces”

MUSICIANS
Lido Pimienta: vocals
Brandon Miguel Valdivia: percussion
Owen Pallett: violin
Jeff Stern: marimba
Todd Marcus: clarinet, bass clarinet
Lauren Yu: bassoon

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Felix Contreras
Director/Editor: Kara Frame
Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant
Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna
Production Assistant: Dhanika Pineda
Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez
Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

#tinydesk #nprmusic #lidopimienta

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