Renata Flores: How is she revolutionizing Peruvian and Quechua music?

Singer-songwriter Renata Flores will represent Peruvian music at the 2025 Viña del Mar Festival, aiming to captivate the audience at Quinta Vergara.

Renata Flores can be seen wearing wide-leg pants and bold earrings or dressed in traditional attire with braided hair. She is one of the few artists who seamlessly blends the ancestral with the contemporary. Through her fusion of urban genres with Quechua, she has brought a fresh, modern edge to Peruvian music while helping to revitalize an ancestral language that continues to fight for its place in the modern world.

Source: Youtube Renata Flores

From Ayacucho to the world: The beginning of a star

Born in 2001 in Ayacucho, a region rich in history and culture, Renata Flores rose to fame in 2015 when she uploaded Quechua versions of “The way you make me feel” by Michael Jackson y “House of the rising sun” by The Animals to YouTube—the latter performed in front of the historic Pampa de la Quinua. These videos went viral, drawing attention from both national and international media. Since then, her artistic mission has centered on promoting Quechua through contemporary music.

Gender fusion and cultural identity

Unlike many artists who focus on traditional Peruvian genres, Renata Flores chose to experiment with modern sounds like trap and hip-hop. Her music stands out for its bold fusion of styles and its powerful messages of empowerment, identity, and resistance.

“Mirando la misma luna” was her first single featuring original lyrics and music. She later released songs like "Tijeras" y "Qam hina", “Francisca Pizarro”, “Miraposas” tackling issues such as the fight against discrimination, the role of women in society, and the importance of Andean heritage. Through these songs, Flores promotes the adaptation of Quechua for new generations, blending it with modern rhythms.

In 2021, Renata Flores released her debut album, “Isqun” (which means "nine" in Quechua). The album was inspired by five iconic women in Peruvian history: Chañan Cori Coca, Francisca Pizarro, Beatriz Clara Coya, María Parado de Bellido, and Rita Puma.

Source: Youtube Renata Flores

The revitalization of Quechua

One of Renata Flores' greatest achievements has been bringing more visibility to the Quechua legacy. She has made the language more appealing to younger generations through social media and viral content.

Renata's global impact

Renata Flores' work has reached beyond Peru’s borders. Her participation in international festivals and collaborations with artists from different countries have helped spread her message worldwide.

Media outlets worldwide have recognized her efforts in preserving Quechua and reshaping the music industry. In 2020, The New York Times featured an article about Renata Flores, dubbing her “The Queen of Quechua Rap”.

In2021, Renata Flores was included in Hola! magazine's list of the 100 most influential Latinas. She was featured in the "Creative Force" category, alongside 10 other notable Latin American figures, such as Lila Downs, comedian Sofía Niño De Rivera, and poet Natalie Díaz, among others.

As if that were not impressive enough, at just 21 years old, Renata Flores was named one of the 50 most powerful and influential women in Peru by Forbes Peru magazine

A promising future

The success of this national singer-songwriter proves that cultural identity and modernity can go hand in hand. Through her music, Renata has become an ambassador of Andean culture in today’s globalized world.

In this way, she continues to find new ways to amplify her message, reinforcing her commitment to defending Quechua and empowering Peruvian women. Her career stands as a groundbreaking force in Peruvian music and exemplifies how art can be a powerful tool for inclusion and social change.