Chhoti Maa is a rapper, singer and songwriter from Guanajuato, Mexico.
Chhoti Maa started in 2007 within the migrant rights movement and hip hop scene of Richmond, VA . The production team expanded in 2012 with beto guapoflaco and Keith Avelino Hernandez.
The music of Chhoti Maa is rooted in community organizing, hip hop, neufolk, r&b, cumbia, migrant soul and oral tradition. It reflects decolonial living, ancestral medicine, queerness, migrant empowerment, love and radical sisterhood.
To date, Chhoti Maa has performed, collaborated and taught in Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, China, US, Cuba, Spain, Qatar, U.A.E., Ghana, Sweden, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and multiple Indigenous nations.
Chhoti Maa has released two studio albums Agua Corre (2016) and Caldo de Hueso (2018) featuring musical legends such as jazz saxophonist Howard Wiley, flautist KJ Pied Piper of the Bay, cumbia accordionist Ivan Flores and Native emcee Dioganhdih.
7 Luminarias is set to release in 2024.
As the creative engine of Chhoti Maa, Vreni Michelini Castillo is also a cultural producer, curator, educator and danzante.
Chhoti Maa es una cantautora, rapera y música de Guanajuato, Mexico radicada en Oakland, California. Chhoti Maa es conocida por su peculiar estilo que une el hip hop, neufolk, r&b, migrant soul y la cumbia.
En el disco Agua Corre (2016) establece su colaboración con el músico y productor beto guapoflaco y el músico e ingeniero de sonido, Keith Avelino Hernandez. En su segundo trabajo, Caldo de Hueso (2018) colabora con leyendas de jazz como el saxofonista Howard Wiley en el tema wetbacksoulmusic y KJ Jackson en el tema Atiza.
Se ha presentado internacionalmente junto a Chicano Batman, Valentina Peralta, Y la Bamba, Dioganhdih, Mare Advertencia Lirika, Mucha Cumbia, Alika, Mala Rodriguez, DJ Rosa Pistola, Los Rakas, Batallones Femeninos, DJ Mala Vida y Lil Supa.
Este año lanzará su tercer disco 7 Luminarias.
Aparte de su trabajo musical como Chhoti Maa, Vreni Michelini Castillo es gestora, promotora cultural, maestra y danzante.
Photo: Elizabeth Michelini Franco
Weaving Spirits 2S Performance Festival. Photo: Mateo Hinojosa