Villana Santiago Pacheco, known as Villano Antillano, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and songwriter born in Bayamón. She burst onto the global music scene in 2022 with her single “Villano Antillano: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 51”, created in collaboration with the Argentine producer Bizarrap. This track achieved significant success, reaching 11th place on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 and 5th place on Spain’s Spanish Music Producers (Promusicae) chart.
Antillano made history as the first transgender and non-binary artist to enter Spotify’s Top 50 Global chart. She’s also a defiant audiovisual artist working on projects that encapsulate “the beauty and horror of growing up as a queer person in the Caribbean”. She has been active in the Puerto Rican music scene, collaborating with renowned artists like Young Miko and Paopao, citing Rubén Blades as one of her early influences.
Her musical career began in earnest in 2019 with the release of her EP Tiranía, which addresses themes of prejudice and stereotypes faced by the trans and LGBT community. After releasing the tracks “Pájara” and “Muñeca Mala” in 2020 to moderate success, she followed up with her single “Vocales” in 2021, where she explored the polarity of sex and “the struggles between masculine and feminine energies”. Her single “KLK” from her first album, Sustancia X (2022), continued her momentum, receiving great praise from critics and fans. The song was written as an anthem to fluidity in relationships and consolidated her position as an emerging promise of the trap scene in Puerto Rico.
Villano Antillano identifies as queer, trans, and non-binary. She prefers to use queer slang that resonates more with her sense of community. When asked about her fearless persona, her dissidence as an openly bi and non-binary MC, and what all of this means to the LGBT community on the island, in an interview with Galore magazine:
I’m not a role model, I’m a role villain
In an interview with Rolling Stone en Español in 2023, Villana talked about various aspects of her career, personal experiences, and the challenges she faced as a queer person and trans woman.
I have always considered myself, by all standards, pansexual. I don’t mind the label, bi as well. I think of myself as versatile; anything goes.
She has talked about her beginnings and how she became an MC, having to leave her home at 17, and dealing with poverty and trauma. Her coming out was met with a lack of support from her family and social circle. Despite these challenges, she found solace and strength within the queer community and has been able to rely on the support of her sisters.
Throughout her career, she has received public recognition from notable fellow musicians like Arcángel, Ñejo, and Cazzu, which has helped her combat queerphobia in the industry. Bad Bunny, in particular, has been a significant ally, introducing her to Bizarrap and inviting her to perform with him in Puerto Rico.
Her contributions continue to pave the way for greater acceptance and visibility of the LGBT community in the music industry. Villano Antillano isn’t just making music, she’s rewriting the rules, dismantling stereotypes one verse at a time.