Karol G cemented her name in pop music history on Sunday (April 12) when she became the first Latin woman to headline Coachella — and in dazzling, maximalist style.
Thirty minutes after the set’s scheduled 9:55 p.m. start time, upwards of 15 crew members were still scrambling to finish assembling the Colombian singer’s elaborate two-story, cavelike set. Once the structure’s second staircase was put in place and accompanying boulders were properly affixed, the show rumbled to life around 10:25 p.m., when a prologue flashed across the main Coachella Stage’s screens detailing the story of a voiceless young girl who transformed into a strong woman, a narrative nodding to the themes of feminine power, friendship, sexuality, vulnerability, celebration and triumph about to be presented.
The show then kicked off in earnest with 2025’s “Latina Forever,” as roughly 20 dancers, sparsely adorned with gold fabric, sequins and some fur, enveloped the singer and then arced back to reveal the evening’s long-awaited headliner. That song was followed with last summer’s hit single “Un Gatito Me Llamó,” fiercely delivered by Karol from atop the cave, before she descended to be surrounded by a crew of equally agile male dancers for 2023’s “Oki Doki.”
What followed was simultaneously a celebration of Karol G’s own starpower — she is, first and foremost, a captivating performer — and a celebration of Latin music and Latin culture. These elements were incorporated many times throughout the show through traditional mariachi, the flags of many South and Central American countries seen being waved by fans in the crowd, through the special guests and ultimately, through Karol’s presence on the stage and her words about the show and its meaning.
“Myself, I am Carolina Giraldo from Medllín, Colombia. And today, I am the first Latina woman to headline Coachella,” she said, speaking in English for one of the only times in the show. “And I’m very happy and very proud about this. But at the same time, it feels … late. There has been 27 years about, this festival going on, and this is the first time a Latina girl is headlining this festival. So I just want to say that before me, there were so many great Latin artists, legendary Latino artists, that gave me the opportunity to be here tonight. So this is not just about me. This is about my Latina community, this is about my people. And at the same time, this is for my Latinos that have been struggling in this country lately.”
This was the second time in three months that a Latin artist has met this moment in U.S. history by putting on an musically thrilling and culturally rich performance from one of the world’s most-watched stages, with Bad Bunny delivering a February Super Bowl halftime show brought to life by references from his native Puerto Rico. On Sunday, Karol G not only reached the tens of thousands of people gathered in the field to see her, but — with the Coachella livestream broadcasting to dozens of countries around the world — gave the globe another marquee moment for Latin music and culture.
These are five of the best moments from the show.
The Dazzling Costumes
Karol had five outfit changes, and each was glitzy and memorable in its own way. To begin, she wore a formfitting gold fringed top and fringed mini-skirt, with her jumps and gyrations making the beading on the clothing move in time to the beat. She next wore an gorgeous tiered skirt made from tassels rendered in the colors of the Colombian flag — red, yellow and blue — with a glittery, lacey midriff-baring top and a soaring red feathered headdress to match. The outfit was later embellished with a royal blue beaded jacket and a red flower in the singer’s hair.
By the time Karol and her dancers were on their knees dancing in a shallow pool located at the end of the walkway jutting from the stage, they were all dressed in very skimpy silver outfits, with Karol also wearing silver sunglasses during much of this portion of the set. This water section was one of the sexiest portions of the show, given its suggestive dancing and the overall visual effect of everyone being more or less drenched. Many of Coachella’s most iconic pop headlining performances have left us with indelible images — Beyoncé on a crane gliding above the crowd during “Drunk In Love” in 2018, Lady Gaga on a chess board battle dancing with a previous version of herself for “Poker Face” in 2025 — and the visuals of Karol and her dancers pressing themselves against each other in this shallow pool during “Bandida entrenada” and “OJOS FERRARI” seem likely to enter this canon.
After this, Karol (her hair still wet) made a brief appearance in a bikini top and bottom made of green leafs and vines, and for her final ensemble wore a shimmery miniskirt with a floor length white train and a bustier top with red, yellow and blue ruffles, again dressing in homage to the Colombian flag.
The Special Guests
Over the weekend, Coachella was buzzing with fans guessing about who might come out during the show, with Karol ultimately welcoming four other famous artists. The first was Puerto-Rican Cuban pop star Mariah Angeliq, with the two women doing a steamy rendition of “EL MAKINON” that found them dancing suggestively with each other and the crew of dancers. About 20 minutes later, Becky G strutted onstage in a blue and green glittery two-piece outfit to duet on the pair’s 2022 collab “MAMIII,” with Karol later performing an unreleased ballad, “Después de ti,” with Greg Gonzalez of Cigarettes After Sex on guitar. Not long after, Puerto Rican rapper Wisin came out for a solo performance of “Pam pam,” “Saoco,” “Mayor Que Yo” and “Rakata,” by which point the entirety of the guest viewing section was dancing with abandon.
The Mariachi Moment
“Thoughout the show I’m going to be giving you a little bit of touches of our Latin culture,” Karol promised early in the performance, with one of these touches being the all-female mariachi band that came out to play with her. They first performed the traditional mariachi song “Negrita de Mis Pesares,” and one could see a few of the women’s eyes widen when they realized the scope of the crowd before them. They were altogether joyful and elegant as they played the music while donning matching royal blue mariachi suits, with Karol then coming out and joining them for her 2025 song “Ese Hombre Es Malo,” which was followed by the aforementioned Becky G appearance for “MAMIII.”
The Moving Speech
Karol spoke mostly in Spanish during the handful of moments she did speak, but for her big speech near the performance’s end, she addressed the crowd in English — a choice that felt deliberate as she addressed the historical relevancy of the moment and nodded to U.S. current events.
“Myself, I am Carolina Giraldo from Medllín, Colombia. And today, I am the first Latina woman to headline Coachella.” At this point she paused while the crowd cheered and looked on the verge of tears. Certainly there were people in the crowd wiping them away as she continued, saying that “I’m very happy and very proud about this. But at the same time, it feels … late. There has been 27 years about, this festival going on, and this is the first time a Latina girl is headlining this festival. So I just want to say that before me, there were so many great Latin artists, legendary Latino artists, that gave me the opportunity to be here tonight. So this is not just about me. This is about my Latina community, this is about my people.
“And at the same time, this is for my Latinos that have been struggling in this country lately. We stand for them, I stand for my Latina community, and at the same time I am very proud because this brings out the best in us. Unity, resilience, a strong spirit — and we don’t do this because we want to take everyone out. We do this because we want everyone to feel welcome to our culture, to our roots, to our music. So I just want everyone to feel proud of where you come from, please. Don’t feel fear. Feel proud. Raise your flag.”
The Crowd Participation
The show’s close felt particularly joyful as Karol walked down the barricade (with her security guard following closely) to shake hands and share moments with in the crowd. Others waved the flags of Colombia, Puerto Rico, Mexico, El Salvador and more, while the pit had transformed into a genuine party atmosphere as everyone danced and sang along to “Si antes te hubiera conocido.” Karol had to cut this song short given that the performance had started late and she didn’t want to hit the festival’s noise curfew, with the set then closing with an exuberant rendition of “PROVENZA.” Karol then thanked the audience before being swarmed by her dancers and exiting the stage in triumph.
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