Anamaria Sayre | May 20, 2026 What will Caribbean waters and Puerto Rican percussion sound like in the years to come? Hija de la isla RaiNao’s Tiny Desk is here to show us. “Soy hija — especialmente, hija del Mar Caribe y de la hermosa tierra que me había nacer, Puerto Rico,” the artist explained, introducing herself: “I am a daughter — above all, a daughter of the Caribbean Sea and of the beautiful land where I was born, Puerto Rico.”
In her recordings, RaiNao leans into reggaeton and electronic beats, sounds viewed widely as the backbone of the current generation of music in Latin America — sometimes begrudgingly, though increasingly with reverence in the age of Bad Bunny. RaiNao’s Tiny Desk performance presents a different, equally significant version of Puerto Rico’s song spine. Built on guiros, timbales and maracas, it’s a rich homage to an island that beats to bomba, plena and salsa alongside reggaeton.
What RaiNao does in plain sight at the Desk is seamlessly fuse different worlds atop traditional percussion. A traditional drum kit is absent from the set, yet nods to jazz and R&B are strong. She shines through as the tantalizing, easy-listening thread — particularly in the saxophone accents peppered throughout — and her uniqueness puts a name, face and sound to new waves of Puerto Rican creation. Her music offers an important truth: Being a daughter of the island, in its most authentic sense, requires being fiercely, unapologetically you.
SET LIST “Celular” “Limbo” “track4” “dandovueltasdandovueltasdandovueltasdandovueltasdandovueltasdandovueltasdandovueltas”
MUSICIANS RaiNao: vocals, tenor sax, maracas Frido Vargas: guitar, music director, timbal, background vocals Emilio Mendez Ramirez: keys Giovanni Ortiz: bass LuisFra Colon: tenor sax, güiro, flute Jahaziel Garcia: trumpet Joey Oyola: trombone Nubia Marina Garcia: percussion Naisa Suané: percussion Deborah Amanda: background vocals Veronica Rolon: güiro, background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM Producer: Anamaria Sayre Director/Editor: Kara Frame Audio Engineer/Mix: Josephine Nyounai Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter Videographers: Kara Frame, Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Alanté Serene Audio Engineer: Tiffany Vera Castro Production Assistants: Dhanika Pineda, Alina Edwards Photographer: Bronson Arcuri Tiny Desk Team: Ashley Pointer, Felix Contreras Series Editor: Lars Gotrich Copy Editor: Daoud Tyler-Ameen Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Executive Director: Sonali Mehta Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
#tinydesk #nprmusic #rainao
Support for NPR Music comes from Capital One. Proud supporters of NPR Music and the Tiny Desk Contest. What's in your wallet? Learn more at Capital One dot com.
