Indie-pop singer Sophie Castillo on British Latinas: 'Yes, we exist'

When I conscionable Sophie Castillo connected a scorching, 93-degree day successful Austin, Texas, she takes a spot by the excavation astatine the Fairmont edifice successful a agelong leather blazer — and tells maine she’s keeping it on.

“We went 7 consecutive days without sunshine past month,” says the London-born singer-songwriter, who performed astatine the city’s yearly South by Southwest Music Festival (SXSW). “I request to soak up the sun!”

The girl of a Colombian parent and a Cuban father, Castillo, 26, is connected a ngo to amplify the Latin American diaspora successful the U.K., chiefly done her music: an elegant mélange of balmy physics textures and Latin American practice sounds similar salsa, bachata and reggaeton. She hopes these genres tin instrumentality disconnected successful the U.K., arsenic did Afrobeats, ska, bhangra and different philharmonic styles that migrant communities helped integrate into British fashionable music.

“British radical [don’t] get capable recognition arsenic to however open-minded they are,” she says. “Whenever I’ve seen radical respond to Latin euphony successful the U.K., they’re excited. They’re not like, ‘Oh, I don’t privation to perceive to that due to the fact that it’s successful Spanish.’ They’re like, ‘This is cool, archer maine more!’”

During the Amigo showcase astatine Rozco‘s connected the nighttime of March 12, Castillo, decked successful a cowboy chapeau and a reddish velvet ensemble, introduced her caller single, “The Betrayal.” A chopped from her upcoming EP, owed successful April, “The Betrayal” is simply a sultry baile funk opus that simmers with righteous indignation.

“I emotion Brazilian music, truthful I wanted to effort retired a funk fusion,” explains Castillo. “It each came unneurotic with this Shakira-esque Arabic scale. The play was there, cinematic constituent was there, which is what I love.”

(Elana Marie / De Los; Photos by Leila Sophie Castillo)

Beyond Latinidad, euphony runs successful Castillo’s blood. Her father, renowned salsa dancer and DJ Nelson Batista, studied creation astatine the Casa de Cultura successful Havana earlier immigrating to London successful the 1980s. He became the archetypal known salsa teacher successful the U.K. Sparks flew betwixt him and Castillo’s mother, a salsa dancer who immigrated from Colombia.

Castillo’s uncles, Eddie and Lee, took young Sophie to spot musicals arsenic a child. And erstwhile she was aged enough, they encouraged her to be an after-school theatre program. She past supplemented her philharmonic acquisition by learning however to nutrient songs utilizing GarageBand astatine home.

“My uncle Eddie dropped disconnected a CD of excavation astatine Universal erstwhile I was 13,” she says. “It was truthful funny. I didn’t cognize anyone successful the euphony industry, nor the Latin music industry. How bash you marque noise?”

Castillo built her assemblage organically connected TikTok, wherever she trial drove clips of her songs among fans of the Marías and Kali Uchis — 2 U.S.-based acts that were indispensable successful her ain improvement arsenic a Latina creator betwixt cultures. “I ever wanted to sing successful Spanish, but I was conscionable a small spot shy,” says Castillo. “But Kali Uchis truly laid retired the way for the indie Latina by making English-language euphony with a spot of Spanish. I truly person truthful overmuch emotion and respect for that.”

In 2022, Castillo released the song, “Call Me By Your Name” — a dream-pop bachata tune sung successful English. “POV: you’re listening to an indie bachata by a British Latina,” work the caption of her video. It was a viral sensation. “Americans were like, ‘What, you guys are implicit there?’” Castillo recalls. “They’d say, ‘I can’t judge [a] U.K. Latino is simply a thing!’”

While determination beryllium demographic categories for Caribbean radical from erstwhile U.K. colonies, an close number of the Latin American colonisation is hard to find. In 2013, the census reported astatine slightest 250,000 Latin Americans surviving successful the U.K. Yet according to a 2024 report, the colonisation of Latin Americans accrued by 406% successful London and by 395% successful England and Wales from 2001 to 2021.

Castillo performed tiny open-mic nights astatine restaurants and clubs successful Brixton, often with the Latin alternate creator Desta French, who is Colombian and Italian. But Castillo landed her biggest gig successful the summertime of 2024, erstwhile she got an email from J Balvin’s squad — inviting her to unfastened for the Colombian superstar during his June 5 performance astatine the O2 Arena successful London. She became the archetypal U.K. Latina to execute astatine the venue.

“It’s amazing, you cognize — TikTok is similar specified a almighty tool,” she says of her experience. “I’ve been capable to similar beryllium a wholly autarkic creator and similar person each the state and power to bash immoderate I wanted.”