Despierta: Javiera Mena, Disco Royalty

In this new Remezcla Musica feature, we’ll introduce you to something to wake up for: some locally-known, but internationally-ignored noise makers. We’ll analyze their awesomeness (according to nosotros) and wonder WHY they’re relegated to collective zzz’s across the board. In today’s installment of Despierta, we spotlight Javiera Mena, the Chilean disco pop diva, a worthy if not slept-on giant.

She may be a big name in Chile and other parts of Latin America (the ultra-hipster parts), but to the rest of the world, Chilean pop innovator Javiera Mena is just a blip on the radar. This is baffling considering that the woman crafts perfect pop gems designed for getting lost on the dance floor and sultry, slow-burning electro ballads that can melt even the coldest of hearts. Just listen to Esquemas Juveniles (and watch the video for the title track below), Mena’s 2006 debut and one of the biggest slept-on albums of the past decade, or even her latest masterpiece, Mena, and you’ll wonder why she isn’t Latin American pop royalty yet.