Female musicians are notably absent from the stages of patron saint festivals, town celebrations, and cultural festivals across Puerto Rico, representing less than 10% of the contracts that municipalities award for these events, according to an analysis by the Gender Investigative Unit. Men dominate the stage, enjoying more opportunities and exposure throughout the year.
The Gender Investigative Unit, a collaboration between the media outlet Todas and the Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI), reviewed the musical programs of the leading festivals in each municipality. Out of a total of 1,235 performances recorded in 2024, only 112 featured female soloists or women-led groups.
When including groups with at least one female member, the percentage barely reaches 12%. No non-binary artists, whose gender identity does not conform to male or female, were identified.
Male dominance on local stages is no coincidence. Sexism, the wage gap, and the lack of opportunities in other roles related to the music and events industry are historical barriers that persist in a macho culture that sidelines women from public spaces and grants privileges to men, several interviewees agreed.
«If they don’t see us, how will they hire us?» said cultural manager Miosoti Alvarado about the lack of exposure at large events, which is also a reason many women are not even considered when assembling musical programs. This cycle primarily affects independent artists, said Alvarado, who is also a musician and leader of Piquete, a group that blends neoplena with bomba groove.
Credit: Photo provided
Hiring decisions for municipal events are dominated by a group of promoters or production houses that repeat the same names year after year.
Madera Events, VC Promotion, Stuart Management, Sanabria Events, and Oro Entertainment led the production of major municipal cultural events in 2024. According to data from the Office of the Comptroller, Madera Events generated more than $1.5 million in contracts with several municipalities that year. VC Promotion exceeded $1 million, while Stuart, Sanabria, and Oro ranged between $800,000 and $950,000 solely in contracts for patron saint festivals, town celebrations, and cultural festivals.
In response to questions from the Unit, VC Promotion President Rafael Vázquez Santiago stated that artist hiring «depends on who manages them, their visibility, radio presence, and social media activity.» In his view, «there are more male performers than female.»
The Unit attempted to contact executives from Madera Events, Stuart Management, Sanabria Events, and Oro Entertainment, but received no response.
In 22 of the events examined for this investigation, municipalities did not hire a single woman for their musical lineup. For instance, Camuy’s SummerFest featured 15 invited artists, all men.
Camuy Mayor Gabriel Hernández Rodríguez claimed he was unaware that the event’s musical lineup was exclusively male. He said he did not see it as «a gender issue,» but rather that «the selection is based on musical genres, budget, and the lists provided by promoters.»
«I have no problem identifying more women. If they provide me with the lists, I will give them to the promoter and the Protocol and Activities Office [responsible for organizing town festivals],» he expressed. He mentioned that female artists have been hired for other events, such as the Closing of the 40 Days of Fasting and Prayer, which featured christian music singers.
Likewise, each of the municipalities of Carolina, Cayey, Ceiba, Comerío, Corozal, Lajas, Maunabo, Peñuelas, Quebradillas, Sabana Grande, Vega Baja, Villalba, and Yauco held events with more than 10 musical contracts. None were led by women, nor were there any female soloists.
Vega Baja Mayor Marcos Cruz Molina defended his all-male musical program by stating that the public is asked which artists they want to see at their town festivals through the municipality’s social media. He also considers the level of exposure each singer and group may have and whether they have participated in recent years’ festivals. «Sometimes, they ask for Yolandita Monge or Ednita Nazario, but the prices can be prohibitive. We’ve had Gisselle and Melina León in the past,» he said.
Cruz Molina did not acknowledge a problem with the low participation of female artists in the festivals. He said that other municipal events have featured female participation, such as «the daughter of Bobby Capó,» referring to singer Jacqueline Capó.
Meanwhile, Vega Alta Mayor María Vega Pagán said she is committed to the inclusion of women and therefore seeks a fair balance in the artistic programming organized by the municipality. «We have featured artists like Victoria Sanabria, Milly Quezada, Gisselle, Melina León, and even tribute groups to Olga Tañón. We have always sought a balance in female representation at our events,» Vega Pagán said.
«In all municipal events, including the Christmas Lighting, we’ve had orchestras entirely composed of women, in addition to including female christian music singers in fasting and prayer events,» she added.
The municipalities with the highest number of musical performances in their events were San Juan and Bayamón. The 2024 San Sebastián Street Festival, in San Juan, hired 66 artists, with nine performances by women. Meanwhile, the Chuíto Festival in Bayamón contracted 75 musical performances, of which only six were led by women. In percentage terms, Bayamón had 8% and San Juan 13%.
Proportionally, the municipality with the highest hiring of female artists or women-led groups was Guaynabo, with 44%. It was followed by Trujillo Alto, San Lorenzo, and Toa Alta, where one in five performances at each event was by female solo artists or women-led groups.
Of the 112 contracts awarded to female artists, 34% went to the same three singers: Gisselle, Ednita Nazario, and Melina León.
This distribution in hiring suggests that, beyond female participation on musical stages, equitable access to performances remains a challenge.
«Many people, mostly men, would tell me ‘It’s just that women don’t get as many gigs,'» said Wendalyn Hernández.
Known artistically as Wendy Luna, she frequently heard such comments when she began her career leading a merengue and tropical music group. She was even the only woman hired for the 2024 Cabo Rojo Patron Saint Festival, her hometown.
The lack of representation on stages not only results in the invisibility of female talent but also in the aesthetic standards imposed on women when they try to get into the music industry.
«We women are required to be pretty, skinny, perfect. A man is not asked to dress sexy to get a gig,» Wendy Luna complained.
Zuania Yamila Figueroa Berríos, a singer-songwriter known as MILA, added that promoters prioritize who «will sell, who will consume me,» instead of betting on artistic diversity.
Who Controls the Musical Offerings at Municipal Events?
According to the interviewed artists, one of the main arguments expressed by event producers and promoters for not hiring women is that «they don’t attract an audience.» In Puerto Rico, the idea persists that only certain names guarantee an audience.
But singer-songwriter Andrea Cruz questioned: «If they don’t expose us, how do they expect people to know us?»
For Miosoti Alvarado, who also manages the cultural agenda platform Dímelo Mio, the musical options led by women are varied and sufficient to expose them to a broader audience through cultural events and festivals.
«If they tell me ‘Make me a varied portfolio or calendar of women-led groups,’ I can do it! I can offer salsa, plena, bomba, rock, reggaeton, merengue, bachata, jíbara music, hard rock, punk rock, where a woman is leading. It’s not that there are few, nor that they all do the same thing. It’s that they (the producers) don’t know what’s out there,» she stated.
In the past five years, the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music has graduated 106 women from its bachelor’s and master’s programs. The Music Department of the University of Puerto Rico’s Río Piedras Campus graduated 37 women from 2015 to 2023. This represents 143 women who have prepared at the university level in recent years to pursue music professionally.
«We have to constantly remind them that we exist,» explained Andrea Cruz. She added that for women’s participation not to be just a «passing trend,» there must be a real commitment to gender equity.
Credit: Photo provided
«This is a win-win business. Everyone has their agreements and leaves out a lot of talent. Many women are making very good music, but they are not given the same opportunity as men,» Wendy Luna denounced.
Miosoti Alvarado agreed that if including more women is not required, changes will never be sustainable. «Overall, Puerto Rico is so politicized, it’s so mafia-like,» she expressed about how the relationship between municipalities and production houses has created a circuit where the same companies receive contracts year after year.
Recently, Joseph Ocasio Rivera, from Los Pleneros de la Cresta, denounced on Chente Ydrach’s podcast that promotional companies organizing municipal events offered to do business with the group if their musicians agreed to a kickback or bribe deal.
«When we said, ‘we’re not doing it,’ the promoters said, ‘Los Pleneros de la Cresta won’t get any gigs,'» he noted. «They do it to the food vendors, they do it to the artisans, they do it to the artists. They charge for producing the patron saint festivals, but they also charge everyone else a little,» added Josué Román, also a member of Los Pleneros de la Cresta.
Exclusion Extends Beyond the Stage
Andrea Cruz assured that exclusion also occurs in the technical and management fields, where most key roles are occupied by men. «How many female managers are there?» she questioned.
«There is an incredible lack of managers. No one wants to manage artists or musicians unless they are already mainstream. There isn’t a professionalized music industry. We lack the professionals needed to move musical and cultural projects,» explained Miosoti Alvarado.
Singer-songwriter Melissa Ocasio added that producers are often more willing to listen to a man than a woman when it comes to technical or artistic decision-making. This preference not only affects performers but also women seeking opportunities in production, curation, and cultural management.
«Beyond the visibility of artists on stage, it’s essential to look at who is behind the management and curation of these events. That’s where there’s still a lack of opportunities for women. It’s not just about the producers or production houses, but about an entire ecosystem within the music industry, from the media to those making hiring decisions. To achieve equitable representation, change must come from all these structures,» Ocasio explained.
Motherhood, lack of opportunities, and an uneven workload are factors that force women in music to make decisions that men do not necessarily face.
«There are a lot of things that affect us. Suddenly, you want to manage a group or an artist, but you also chose to be a mother. Many other factors make you decide, which are never the same for a man or another person. So, no matter what, there comes a time when you have to choose what’s right for your body and life, because if not, we can’t,» Andrea Cruz pointed out.
The global study «Be the Change: Gender Equity in Music,» based on a survey of industry professionals in 133 countries, highlights that 35% of women have discovered that their pay is lower than that of colleagues in similar positions, while for men, this figure drops to 17%.
Additionally, 60% of women have experienced sexual harassment in the industry, and many complaints have not led to significant changes. The perception of the problem also varies: only 16% of men recognize gender discrimination, compared to 49% of women and non-binary people. Key proposals from the report include increasing diversity in leadership positions, greater salary transparency, and stricter sanctions against sexual harassment.
The Need for Legislative Action
The interviewees agreed that change will only be possible with specific measures. They mentioned the need for legislation to ensure equality and pay parity.
In Puerto Rico, the Our Puerto Rican Native Music Act (Act 223-2004) and the Policy to Implement Gender Equity at the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture (ICP, in Spanish) (ICP Administrative Order 2017-01) are efforts that paved the way for achieving equity in musical events.
The first law was created to protect and promote traditional musical genres and establishes that any artistic event funded with public money and involving an investment of $10,000 or more must include fair representation of native music such as bomba, plena, danza, and campesina music. Meanwhile, the policy implemented at the ICP establishes a framework to ensure gender equality in all agency operations and programs, aiming to eliminate gender-based discrimination and focusing on integrating a gender perspective in the creation and promotion of cultural programs.
Regarding the effect of a law like the Our Puerto Rican Native Music Act, troubadour Victoria Sanabria recalls that «there was a time when [the hiring of native music artists] was worse, and it has improved a lot.» She added that «much more always has to be done for our folk music, to take it to as many places as possible, to as many people as possible, and for the public to be more exposed to it so they start to love and respect it.»
«And always, over all these years, the question has been the same and the grievance has been the same: What a shame there aren’t more women in the field of folk, traditional music and improvisation! And I’ve always left the question open: why exactly is that?» Sanabria questioned.
The musical improviser emphasized that although she has not faced problems when being hired for festivals and cultural events, «I always fight, precisely, for women. So that it can be shown that we can move forward, no matter what field it is.» Sanabria was the only woman hired in three of the five events she participated in, and that this investigation examined.
Figueroa Berríos is one of the artists who favors legislation requiring the hiring of women-led groups. For the initiative to be successful, she believes the most important thing is «the willingness of whoever is going to push this, not only for it to be created but also for it to be fulfilled.»
«There should be a fairer balance for everything done by women here in Puerto Rico musically,» added Miosoti Alvarado.
In Argentina, the «Mercedes Sosa Law,” passed in 2019, requires a minimum of 30% female participation in festivals and live events. President Javier Milei proposed eliminating gender parity laws like this, although to repeal them, he needs a majority in Congress, which he does not have. Meanwhile, in Chile, a similar bill was approved in October 2023 by the Chamber of Deputies and awaits Senate approval.
An analysis by the feminist music platform Somos Ruidosa on festivals in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico between 2016 and 2018 found that, on average, the participation of women solo performers and female bands does not exceed 10% of annual artistic numbers. Including mixed bands, the figure reaches between 21% and 24%. Although Chile, Mexico, and Colombia record between 20% and 30% participation of female soloists and bands on stages, Argentina fluctuates between 14% and 20%.
In the United States, there is no federal legislation requiring a minimum of female participation in publicly funded musical events. According to data from Book More Women, events at major festivals in the US with at least one woman or non-binary person increased from 29.3% in 2018 to 40% in 2024. However, when counting each musician who is a member of the groups considered for the study, the percentage of women and non-binary people does not exceed 25%.
Self-Management as an Alternative
«We can’t wait for the industry to give us a space; we have to build it ourselves,» Andrea Cruz emphasized.
Melissa Ocasio explained that although there have been some advances in representation, «most female projects stem from self-management.»
That was the case for Wendy Luna, who even offered to «perform for free so they could see us.» Her proposal in the face of rejection from promoters and producers was to personally visit several municipalities and present her project in hopes that mayors would offer her spaces at their events. The municipalities of Aguadilla, Aguada, and Cabo Rojo have primarily supported her artistic proposal. This shows that although production companies have control over their artistic offerings, mayors also influence the decision of which artists to present at their events.
The No Toquemos Tierra (Let’s Not Touch Ground) initiative is an example of how self-management can become a tool to promote equity in the music industry. Developed by singer-songwriters Melissa Ocasio, Andrea Cruz, MILA, Mildred Eunís, and music producer Rafa Rivera, the collective offers services to both local and international artists in event production, musical project conceptualization, tours, consulting, and education on legal issues related to the music industry.
Cristina del Mar Quiles and Mariela Fullana Acosta collaborated on this report.
The musical offerings of female artists in Puerto Rico are vast. Listen to this playlist with a selection of their work.
