How Paula Pera Turned Heartbreak Into Colombia’s Hottest Indie Sound
Colombian singer-songwriter Paula Pera is turning the dramatic ballads of Latin America into modern indie rock. The Bogotá artist blends retro pop with the melancholy of música de plancha, and that sound has earned her a spot in the Gibson Artist Spotlight program.
The program showcases and supports emerging talent around the world. Paula Pera y El Fin de los Tiempos is the project of singer-songwriter Paula Pedraza, who merges indie rock and retro pop into a sound that feels both nostalgic and boldly contemporary.
Nostalgia Pop Meets Música de Plancha
Música de plancha is a genre often tied to dramatic ballads from the 1970s through the 1990s. Pera pairs that weight with Anglo indie and icons like Jeanette, Yuri and ’90s Shakira. Her songs rely on raw honesty and a voice that shifts between fragility and power.
In a Gibson Gazette interview, Pera explained why nostalgia drives her writing. “There’s something joyful and sad about it at the same time: it’s feeling happiness about something that happened, but also the melancholy of knowing that it has already passed.”
She says the feeling shapes more than her lyrics. “That’s why nostalgia is a fundamental element of my music, not only in the lyrics, but also in the way I build the sounds and atmospheres of my songs.”
Her favorite guitar is a Gibson L-00. She says it carries the character of guitars heard in ’90s music from artists like The Cure and Fiona Apple. She adds that it can sound bluesy, yet also folk, intimate and warm.
Paula Pera’s Rise in Colombia’s Indie Scene
Pera emerged in 2021 and has since played Festival Estéreo Picnic in 2022 and 2024. She has also opened a show at Movistar Arena and performed at Teatro Libre de Chapinero, Teatro Colón, Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo and Teatro Pablo Tobón Uribe.
Amazon Music selected her for Rompe Colombia in 2023, which propelled her first tour across Mexico. Her debut album, Fin de los Tiempos (2024), earned a Premios Nuestra Tierra nomination. She has also performed at Festival Cordillera and BIME Live in 2026.
Pera said she sold out her first solo theater show in Bogotá, in front of around 500 people. She described seeing a theater full of people sing her songs as her biggest career highlight.
Even so, she is looking ahead. “But I also feel that my truly big moment is still ahead of me.”
Her second album, noquieroquemequieras, was released in 2026. She has also been working on collaborations with artists and friends she admires, especially from Bogotá, plus a collaborative album. In early 2026, she wrote with artists in Mexico.
Pera names Julieta Venegas as her dream collaborator, citing her approach to pop. She says Gibson’s support signals that her contribution to Spanish-language music has a place in the music ecosystem.
