Meet Melanie Santiler: Cuban Rising Star Navigates Identity & Freedom on Introspective Album ‘Los Cisnes’
Categoria: Musica
The former Billboard On the Radar Latin artist presents her debut studio album today (Sept. 25). Stream it below.
Por Billboard | 25/09/2026
In a world where Cuban reparto music is having viral momentum and making international leaps, there’s Melanie Santiler going against the tide. To best showcase her artistry, the 25-year-old rising act from Havana delivers her debut album Los Cisnes, out today (Sept. 25) under MamiFinaRecords/ONErpm. Related Nicky Jam Drops ‘La Foto’ With Cuban Newcomer El Shadow After Discovering Him on Instagram Reparto Music Is Cuba’s New Urban Movement: 31 Artists to Discover Ozuna, Daddy Yankee, Maluma, Bad Gyal & More Artists Obsessed with Cuba’s Reparto Music On the 10-track set, Santiler, a former 2025 Billboard On the Radar Latin artist, seamlessly navigates from alternative to jazz to electronic, while fearlessly redefining Latin pop music. And while she’s creating music in her own terms, three of the tracks — ”Gataza,” “Delincuente,” and “Los Repas No Lloran” — honor the booming reparto movement (a tropical and urban musical genre that derives from the barrios of her native Caribbean island). “Reparto is a constant inspiration in my music,” Santiler, who’s currently in Spain, tells Billboard over a zoom interview. “I used to produce a slow-tempo reparto, but now it’s faster and has evolved with the sounds I have been listening to. In ‘Los Repas,’ I even dared to make a ‘sad’ reparto mixed with bolero lyrics.” But beyond the melting pot of melodies — inspired by artists such as Rosalía, C. Tangana, Yomil y el Dany, Buena Vista Social Club, and Celia Cruz — Los Cisnes underlines years of soul-searching and self-reflection narrated by Santiler’s dreamy and sensual vocal prowess. Below, Santiler talks more about her debut album. Courtesy Melanie Santiler has a very different sound than what’s actually trending in Cuba today. What made you take this alternative route? This was always Melania, really; I had to mold that persona early in my career — trying to find myself, above all — but this album gives me the chance to show who I truly am, through and through. The project itself allows me to create a universe I felt I needed. When I played my music for others, I felt something was still missing — songs that truly expressed who I was. This album has made that possible, allowing people to get to know the real me. It’s true, this isn’t the kind of music currently being consumed in Cuba, and that scares me a little; at the same time, though, I have great faith that there are people — in Cuba and around the world — who need this kind of music. I decided to take the risk of being myself, of saying what I’ve wanted to say for a long time, of dancing, and of creating a visual album. In the opening track, “Guardaespalda,” there’s a lyric that goes, “Me gustan que me hagan todo, menos escribirme las canciones” (I like when people do everything for me, except write my songs): How involved were you in the writing process? I wrote all the songs — or I’d say 80–90% of them, with contributions from the producers. In fac