📍Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
1991 – 2010“Carolina Giraldo Navarro was born in Medellín in 1991 and grew up in a home where music was a way of life. Her father, Guillermo Giraldo, was a musician who encouraged her singing from the start, and her mother, Martha Navarro, kept the household steady. Medellín was emerging from its most violent years as she grew up, and its streets, buses and parties were filled with salsa, vallenato and, increasingly, the reggaeton arriving from Puerto Rico. At fourteen she auditioned for Colombia's version of The X Factor. She did not win, but she had found her ambition. Back in Medellín she studied at the Colegio Calasanz, recorded early singles that went nowhere, and travelled with her father from city to city knocking on studio doors. Reggaeton was a male-dominated world, and producers often told her a woman would not be taken seriously. She kept going, with her father's unwavering support. Her breakthrough came in the mid-2010s, and within a few years she was one of the biggest artists in Latin music, the self-styled Bichota whose confidence became a message to young women. Medellín has remained the heart of her story. She speaks of the paisa culture that shaped her, its warmth, its work ethic and its pride, and her homecoming concerts in the city's stadium have been celebrations shared with the neighbours who saw her start. She still credits her father for believing in her first.”
🗺️ Approximate location today
📍 Street view today