ANI CORDERO is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and activist, well-regarded in the World Music scene and based in NYC since 1999. Ani grew up between two cultures in Atlanta, Georgia, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Throughout the pandemic, Ani worked intensively on new music, as well as organizing grass-roots assistance for Puerto Rican musicians affected by the ongoing post-hurricane reality on the island via her non-profit organization, PRIMA, (co-founded with Buscabulla’s Raquel Berríos).
In 2019, just a few months before the pandemic, Ani released the album “El Machete,” a record with songs calling to tackle oppression and injustice with hope, love, and determination. The first single from the album, Pan Pan, highlighted corruption in Puerto Rico and wryly called for handing out bread or revolution – foretelling the “Ricky Renuncia” political movement only months later, in which Puerto Ricans successfully ousted their governor. Notably, the news program Democracy Now played Pan Pan in their coverage of the massive protests.
Ani Cordero has often looked at activism’s past for inspiration for the present. In 2014, she released “Recordar“which re-imagined songs by influential Latin American songwriters of the turbulent Nueva Cancion era, including Victor Jara, Violeta Parra, Chavela Vargas, and Atahualpa Yupanqui. This critically-acclaimed album received accolades from NPR’s All Things Considered, Alt-Latino, Soundcheck, Billboard, USA Today, PRI The World, Brooklyn Vegan, BUST, Remezcla, and more.
