Javiera Mena
Chilean musician (born 1983)
title: "Javiera Mena" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1983-births", "living-people", "21st-century-chilean-women-singers", "chilean-women-singer-songwriters", "chilean-singer-songwriters", "chilean-pop-singers", "chilean-women-pop-singers", "lesbian-singers", "chilean-lesbian-musicians", "chilean-lgbtq-singers", "chilean-lgbtq-songwriters", "chilean-lgbtq-rights-activists", "lesbian-songwriters", "musicians-from-santiago,-chile", "latin-music-songwriters", "21st-century-chilean-lgbtq-people", "women-in-latin-music", "lgbtq-people-in-latin-music", "21st-century-chilean-women-musicians", "spanish-language-chilean-singers"] description: "Chilean musician (born 1983)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javiera_Mena" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Chilean musician (born 1983) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Javiera Mena |
| image | 20230301 JavieraMena.jpg |
| caption | Javiera Mena in March 2023 |
| birth_name | Javiera Alejandra Mena Carrasco |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Santiago, Chile |
| instrument | |
| label | |
| genre | |
| years_active | 2001–present |
| website | https://www.javieramena.com |
| :: |
| name = Javiera Mena | image = 20230301 JavieraMena.jpg | image_size = | caption = Javiera Mena in March 2023 | birth_name = Javiera Alejandra Mena Carrasco | birth_date = | birth_place = Santiago, Chile | origin = | instrument = | label = | genre = | years_active = 2001–present | website = https://www.javieramena.com
Javiera Alejandra Mena Carrasco (born June 3, 1983) is a Chilean singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer based in Madrid, Spain. She started her musical career in the Chilean indie music scene in 2001 and achieved wider success after the release of her debut studio album Esquemas Juveniles (2006). Her musical style tends to be synthesized electronic sound, although in her career beginnings she made acoustic-oriented songs, accompanied solely by guitar.
Life and career
1983–2003: Early years and career beginnings
Javiera Mena began performing live at the age of 17. Her first concert was held in a classroom of Juan Gómez Millas Campus at the University of Chile. In 2002, she began to study musical composition and musical arrangement at the music academy ProJazz, while also performing at underground parties and clubs. In 2003 she recorded various demos which leaked to the internet shortly thereafter and spread by her friends. In 2004, she performed outside Chile for the first time, opening for Argentine electropop band Entre Ríos in Buenos Aires.
Between 2003 and 2006, she was also part of the Electropop duet Prissa (formerly Tele Visa), along with her friend Francisca Villela. This group released a digital EP entitled Ni Tú Ni Yo.
2004–2009: ''Esquemas Juveniles''
Javiera's first song officially published was "Sol de Invierno", a duet with her friend and singer Gepe which was included in the 2005 compilation album Panorama Neutral. Another song, "Cámara Lenta", shortly after was included in the soundtrack of Alberto Fuguet’s movie Se arrienda. Her debut album, Esquemas Juveniles, was recorded between 2004 and 2005 and it was produced by Cristian Heyne. The album was first released in 2006 in Argentina by an indie label owned by Entre Ríos, and then was released in Chile and Japan through local indie labels. Her music began to achieve attention worldwide mainly because of the internet, especially through sites such as MySpace. This album was later named the second best album of the 2000s by Latin music website Club Fonograma, while its opening track "Al Siguiente Nivel" was named the best song of the decade.
In 2009, Mena performed in Europe for the first time, as being invited by Norwegian duo Kings of Convenience to be their opening act in their concerts held in Spain and Portugal.
2010–2013: ''Mena''
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Javiera_Mena_@CentroGAM(cropped).jpg" caption="Mena performing in September 2010"] ::
After four years of production and mastering, Mena's second studio album, entitled Mena, was released in October 2010. This album was again produced by Cristian Heyne and took a more dancefloor-oriented style compared to her first work, which was more of a balance between dance with mid-tempo and slow ballads. The album's first single, "Hasta la Verdad", was listed as one of the "Singles of the Week" in the American version of the iTunes Store, and iTunes Mexico named Mena as the breakthrough album of the year. Club Fonograma gave Mena its first, and to date only, perfect 100 rating, and later named it their 2010 album of the year.
In April 2011, Javiera Mena performed live for the first time at Chilean version of Lollapalooza. In May, she toured in Spain and performed live as one of the first Latin American acts of the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona. She was praised for her performance and got the attention of the Spanish local press.
In 2012, Mena was featured in El Guincho's single "Novias".
In March 2013, Mena along with fellow countryman artist Gepe collaborated with Mexican singer-songwriter Julieta Venegas for a song entitled "Vuelve".
2014–2016: ''Otra Era''
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Teletón_2018_-Javiera_Mena-_02.jpg" caption="Santiago, Chile]], December 2018"] ::
In October 2014, Javiera Mena released her third album, Otra Era. This album marks the search of the artist for a heavy 1980s disco sound, with a wider use of synthesizers and more danceable beats than her previous work. Also, this stage reflects a bigger interest in the visual aspects of her career regarding music videos and live shows. The first single released was the song "Espada" ("Sword"), released in 2013, whose video (and lyrics) became widely popular due to its references to LGBT community. The video was directed by Luis Cerveró (part of the remarkable visual collective CANADA) and has more than two million views on YouTube and counting.
On the cover of the album Otra Era, Javiera appears in a black and white picture, wearing Eskimo sunglasses by designer André Courrèges (an item which later became an icon of Javiera) and showing full breasts. The cover was censored by the media and music and streaming services like iTunes and Spotify.
In 2015, she toured in Otra Era tour, taking its shows to Spain, Mexico, Peru and Chile.
In 2016, Javiera was invited to participate as a jury in the most popular music festival in Chile, Viña del Mar International Song Festival. She was also invited to play a show at the festival, which was broadcast on national TV and satellite international signal on A&E. Javiera arranged to make a very attractive and spectacular show for the night, including very colorful visuals, fancy garments and a set of numerous female dancers. The show was a gateway for a lot of people in the country (and in Latin America) who didn't know the work of Javiera, and the end of the show she said "I'm very happy to be here. It's very difficult to be an independent artist in Chile, and besides the numbers and sales, I make music because it comes from my soul, from my heart".
2016 marked 10 years of the career of Javiera Mena (since the release of Esquemas juveniles), which she celebrated with a commemoration show in Santiago on September of the same year.
2017–2020: ''Espejo''
During 2017, Javiera signed a contract with Sony Music, to release a new album. Its first single "Dentro de mi" was showcased at November in Santiago.
Her fourth album called Espejo was released in April 2018.
In 2019, Javiera Mena performed at Coachella Music Festival in Indio, CA.
2021–2023: ''I. Entusiasmo'' and ''Nocturna''
Javiera released her first digital EP called I. Entusiasmo in 2021 with five songs. They all became singles.
As Javiera Mena has been living in Spain for quite a while, she was invited to participate in the inaugural edition of Benidorm Fest 2022, Spain's national selection for the widely-known Eurovision Song Contest. She performed in the second semi-final with her song "Culpa" and earned 50 points, placing 6th and failing to qualify to the final.
Her fifth album, called Nocturna was released during October 2022 and she toured Spain, Chile, Argentina and Mexico in an exhausting promotion work.
2024-present: ''Inmersión''
In August 13, 2024, Mena released the song "Volver a Llorar" as the lead single of her upcoming sixth studio album. She released two more singles "Entropía" and "Mar de Coral". Her sixth studio album, Inmersión was officially released on April 23, 2025 on Géiser Discos, to critical acclaim.
Artistry
Early in her career, Spanish canción melódica singer Jeanette was one of her biggest influences. While her initial music was indie pop, over the years she evolved towards an electropop sound that has come to define her modern career.
Mena is openly lesbian, which has influenced the content of her music. When asked about her "lesbian influences" in music in a 2019 interview, the singer mentioned the Argentine pop duo of Sandra Mihanovich and Celeste Carballo and their songs "Puerto Pollensa", "Soy lo que soy" and "Mujer contra mujer".
Discography
Studio albums
- Esquemas Juveniles (2006)
- Mena (2010)
- Otra era (2014)
- Espejo (2018)
- Nocturna (2022)
- Inmersión (2025)
EPs
- I. Entusiasmo (2021)
Singles
::data[format=table title="List of singles as lead artist"]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | CHL | "Hasta la Verdad" | "Luz de Piedra de Luna" | "Espada" | "La Joya" | "Otra Era" | "Sincronía, Pegaso" | "Que Me Tome la Noche" | "Dentro de Ti" | "Intuición" (feat. Li Saumet) | "Alma" | "Mujer Contra Mujer" | "Flashback" | "Corazón Astral" | "Entre las Dos" (with Miranda!) | "Dos" | "Debilidad" | "Culpa" | "Dunas" (with Myriam Hernández) | "Culpa" (Eurovision edit) | "La Isla de Lesbos" | "Volver a Llorar" | "Entropía" | "Mar de Coral" (with Santiago Motorizado) | "Cuando Respiro en Tu Boca" (with Camila Moreno) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | — | Mena | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | — | Otra Era | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | — | Espejo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | — | Nocturna | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | rowspan="2" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | Nocturna | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | — | rowspan="1" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | Nocturna | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | — | Inmersión | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| — | rowspan="1" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| :: |
Awards and nominations
Major associations
Latin Grammy Awards
|- | style="text-align:center;" | 2015 | "Otra Era" | Best Alternative Song || |-
MTV Europe Music Awards
::data[format=table]
| Year | Nominated | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Javiera Mena | Best Latin America Central Act | |
| 2015 | |||
| :: |
MUSA Awards
::data[format=table title=""]
| Awards | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. | MUSA Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Music Video of the Year | "Flashback" | ||||
| Pop Act of the Year | Javiera Mena | |||||
| 2021 | ||||||
| 2023 | Collaboration of the Year | "Unx de Nosotrxs" (with Alex Anwandter) | ||||
| :: |
Premios Pulsar
::data[format=table title=""]
| Awards | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. | Pulsar Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Artist of the Year | Javiera Mena | ||||
| Best Pop Act | ||||||
| Album of the Year | Otra Era | |||||
| Song of the Year | "Otra Era" | |||||
| 2019 | Best Record Producer | Javiera Mena | ||||
| :: |
Other associations
::data[format=table title=""]
| Awards | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. | MIN Awards | Premios 40 Principales América |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Best Chilean Act | Javiera Mena | |||||
| 2014 | |||||||
| :: |
References
References
- "Biography of Javiera Mena – musicapopular.cl".
- "club fonograma: best of the decade".
- "JAVIERA MENA to open for us in spain and portugal von Kings of Convenience bei Myspace".
- (6 November 2009). "» Javiera Mena y Kings of Convenience. Teatro Circo Price, Madrid. 1/11/09".
- (21 September 2010). "Javiera Mena está de vuelta con nuevo disco después de cuatro años".
- (10 December 2010). "Cantante chilena Javiera Mena es "revelación del año" según iTunes en México".
- "Club Fonograma's Best Albums of 2010".
- "Javiera Mena » Blog Archive » Javiera Mena tocará en Lollapalooza Chile".
- "Gran recepción para Javiera Mena en Primavera Sound 2011 » Super 45".
- "Javiera Mena se hace las Españas".
- Expectador. (2024-08-22). "Javiera Mena abraza lo humano tras emociones en "Volver a llorar"".
- Carey, Gabriel. (2024-10-24). "Javiera Mena siente la 'Entropía' en su nueva era musical".
- Sanzano, Martín. (2025-02-20). "Javiera Mena y Santiago Motorizado le cantan al amor a distancia en la nueva balada “Mar de coral”".
- (2025-04-23). "Javiera Mena nos lleva hacia su interior con "Inmersión", su nuevo álbum {{!}} Música {{!}} LOS40 Chile".
- Contreras, Marcelo. (2025-04-26). "Javiera Mena lanza su mejor disco y Thompson Twins reluce su legado".
- Tahiri, Javier. (April 7, 2015). "Javiera Mena: "Toda acción artística es política"". [[ABC (newspaper).
- Martínez, Luis M.. (August 7, 2021). ""Sentí que en España no había esa cosa como elitista de la música electrónica"". MondoSonoro.
- Insua Escalante, Marianela. (August 2, 2019). "Javiera Mena: "Al que no se adapta, se lo lleva la corriente"". Soy Rock.
- Inostroza, María Ignacia. (2020-11-01). "¡Conoce y vota a los nominados de Premios MUSA!".
- Morales, Samuel. (2021-11-01). "Premios MUSA 2021: Conoce a los nominados, dónde votar y el día de la ceremonia".
- Quiroz, Nelson. (2023-10-31). "Premios MUSA 2023: estos son los nominados a los galardones de la música chilena".
- Cooperativa.cl. "[Audio] Alvaro Scaramelli y los detalles de los Premios Pulsar".
- Chile, C. N. N.. "Paloma Mami, Mon Laferte y Cami se llevaron trofeos: La lista de ganadores de los Premios Pulsar 2019".
- (2011-06-21). "Javiera Mena elegida artista chileno del año en los Premios de la Música Independiente en España". Super 45.
- (2014-11-04). "Revisa la lista de ganadores Premios 40 América 2014 {{!}} Actualidad {{!}} LOS40 Chile".
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