As a Chilean native growing up in Manhattan, English and Spanish are the two central languages in your life. Those two languages are often mixed and intertwined, creating the widely known dialect that is ‘Spanglish’— a hybrid language that combines expressions and words from both English and Spanish. Much like Spanglish, Paloma Mami blends both her Chilean and American cultures to inspire and create her music, with Spanglish at the center of all her songs. “Spanglish definitely influenced my personality,” says Paloma, “In the family, that’s how it is.” Paloma says she hadn’t thought about the fact that her songs were in both languages, “It’s literally just how it flowed.”

A true born and bred New Yorker, Paloma has always been connected to her Chilean roots. But at 16, the family moved back to Chile, where she then decided to pursue music. Her stage name “Paloma Mami,” is inspired by the nickname her NYC friends had for her. “People would just always call me ‘mami mami mami’ and I thought it was so annoying,” says Paloma. “But Paloma Mami is just what I am.” At just 18, Paloma Mami’s moody single “Not Steady” boosted her to fame, and at 22, she made Billboard’s list of 25 Best Latin Albums of 2021 with her debut album Sueños de Dalí, alongside more established artists like Karol G and Wisin. “It kind of changed my world overnight,” says Paloma about her success.

Paloma has always known she was going to be a musician of some sort. “My favorite thing to do in the world is be in the studio,” says Paloma. “It’s my cure for everything.” Initially, her music was most popular in Chile; now she’s reaching a much broader audience “Everything I do, when it comes to my music, is open to all types of people,” says Paloma, “I want people to vibe whether or not you understand what I’m saying.”

Her latest single “COPY+PASTE,” a song that employs one of her many disguised voices— where she changes her voice to sound completely different—takes a more playful. Paloma loves to use her voice to take on different personalities, from baby-voiced anime character to sultry reggaetonera, it’s all part of a playful approach to her music. Paloma is a huge anime fan and saw an opportunity to incorporate that world into her art. “I’ve been into anime since I was a little girl,” she says, “I wanted to look like a real-life anime character in the video.” Her shoot for V, however, was a very different take to her usual pink, e-girl look. “I imagine myself sometimes as a doll, and a doll has different versions of herself, like Barbie,” says Paloma. “So this photoshoot is me being a more serious and elegant doll.”

As her career expands, Paloma is welcoming a new expansive sensibility. “I’m always entering a new era,” says Paloma, who credits her fluid nature to the fact that she’s a Scorpio. And with a new album on the way, the singer is ready to show it off. “I am so excited,” says Paloma, “I love everybody so much.”

This story appears in the pages of V146: now available for purchase!

Photography Dennis Leupold

Fashion Marta Del Rio

Makeup Esther Foster

Hair Patricia Morales at The Visionaries Agency for Rizos Curls

Set design Michael Sturgeon

Production Jordan Metz (Art+Department)

Digital technician Kevin Leupold

Photo assistants Tommy Blanco, Winston Kingstro, Allison Lopez, Sabrina Patino

Stylist assistant Kiera Maroney

Hair assistant Travis Takara

Set design assistant Ryan Schaefer

Location Dust Studios