With a music video inspired by Little Red Riding Hood, the artist transforms inherited silences and social expectations into a pop anthem of empowerment, personal freedom, and finding one’s own voice.
By Susan Villa
Mar Expósito is going through a decisive moment in her artistic career. After years connected to live music and following the consolidation of her career on stage, the singer presents “Niña Buena,” a new single with which she takes another step toward building her own musical identity—honest and committed.
During my teenage years, I became especially interested in funky and rock sounds. At 20, I traveled to Kenya and Mexico, where I was able to hear and share tribal sounds while playing the djembe.
The song, available on digital platforms since June 19, follows tracks such as “Creo Mi Mundo” and “Orégano,” and addresses the need to break away from inherited patterns, family silences, and social expectations that for generations have particularly conditioned women. With a strongly distinctive pop production created together with Adrián Ghiardo, Mar Expósito turns her voice into a direct message of empowerment, freedom, and authenticity.
The project is completed by a music video directed by Alessio Aliprandi, in which the imagery of Little Red Riding Hood serves as a metaphor for the stories we have learned, the fears passed down to us, and the possibility of choosing our own path. The participation of her daughter, Luna, also adds an emotional and generational dimension to a song that looks to the past in order to transform it into strength, hope, and the future.
1. How did you get your start in music, and when did you realize that you wanted to pursue it professionally?
I have always been connected to music in some way since I was little. At home, we listened to a lot of copla and rumba, above all because my parents are Andalusian. I went to a religious school where we sang. I was very shy and, in that environment, among my classmates, I felt safe. I used to write songs with a friend.
At 19, I left home and traveled to Mexico, where I shed my shyness and shared my own songs. Then life gradually guided me and brought opportunities my way. For the past ten years, I have performed concerts featuring soul, pop, rock, and other styles, in different formats.
My work as a dancer has led me to explore other types of shows, such as Dinner Shows. Since my daughter was born in 2010, I balanced my passion for music with a job at a restaurant. In 2020, with the arrival of the pandemic and my daughter already older, I realized that it was time to fully commit to music, so I became self-employed. For the past six years, I have dedicated myself to music 100% and perform an average of 120 concerts a year in different venues.
2. Throughout your career, how has your sound and your way of understanding music as an artist evolved?
Since I was a child, I enjoyed exploring different styles of music beyond what my family introduced me to.
But the greatest learning experience came when I began choosing songs for my performances as a solo artist, feeling free and discovering my voice through songs by international artists such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Donna Summer, among others.
Performing mainly on my own, as a solo artist, in spaces where the wall between audience and artist disappears, has led me to connect with and understand the psychology of music. Sometimes, with just one look, I can tell which song will lift that person’s spirits, and being able to do that makes me truly happy: I like to
serve.
Before starting a concert, I set myself the goal of raising the energy of the room. I also have to thank the period when I worked as a dancer and entertainer at local festival shows, where I gave all my energy to entertaining the audience, even though internally I might have been going through a difficult moment in my life.
Now I feel that I have both the strength and the experience of more than ten years on stage to put everything I have learned into practice. I feel that I have many things to express and contribute, and that these experiences, transformed into songs, can serve as inspiration for other people.
3. Your new single, “Niña Buena,” talks about breaking away from inherited patterns and social expectations. What personally inspired you to address this subject?
I come from a lineage of very hardworking women, women who worked the fields of Andalusia, who emigrated in search of opportunities, and who supported their families, but who also endured a great deal.
Since I was a child, I have witnessed sexist and abusive behavior by the men in my family, and submissive women who endure and remain silent about the pain of others for fear of causing more harm or breaking the appearance of a “normal” family. I am the black sheep, the one who confronts things and is excluded because of it.
But I am also a mother. My daughter is in the midst of adolescence, and I realize that only my own example can help break that cycle. “You’re prettier when you keep quiet” and “I was taught to endure” are some of the lines in this song. Now “my music is going to speak.”
4. You worked on this project alongside producer Adrián Ghiardo. What was the creative process like in the studio, and what has this collaboration brought to your sound?
Meeting Adrián has been a gift. I feel that everything in life comes when you are willing to make the most of it. From the very beginning, we connected very well. Adrián is a great multi-instrumentalist with a very open mind.
Our first project, “Creo Mi Mundo,” was clear proof that we were going to understand each other. I suggested creating a blend of pop with funky touches and Arabic violins. It was as if he could read my mind.
After the second project, “Orégano,” in which we explored more ’80s sounds, we arrived at “Niña Buena” with the confidence that, by following that instinct, it was going to work, so we relaxed and had a great time.
I also have to thank my partner Shushu González, a great pianist and singer as well as a friend, who helped me with the first chords to develop the demo that I later sent to Adrián. Another little gift from heaven here on Earth, capable of listening to and appreciating my craziness so that it can be transformed into songs.
Once in the studio, I wanted to add the trumpet as an element of strength, a call, and energy. It was personally recorded by Adrián, who also experimented with analog synthesizers, bringing an organic yet contemporary feel to the production. It has truly been a fun creative process.
5. The song has a very clear message of empowerment and authenticity. What would you like the audience to take away the first time they hear it?
I like the audience to feel free to interpret the song and take it into their own territory, to make it their own. It is true that the message is clear and direct: it denounces abuse of any kind, repression, and the complicity of those who remain silent instead of helping. But the title “Niña Buena” also includes people of any gender, because the good-girl syndrome affects everyone within society. Many times, it makes us feel that we have to please others and remain silent, when in reality our soul is screaming inside and wants to express itself.
That said, I believe the most important thing is to leave a positive message, learn from situations, and decide what we do with them. That is why “I decide to face things head-on; I stay with my people.”
That is what I truly wish from the bottom of my heart: that the audience can feel like part of my people, that we can come together to build a freer and more respectful society.
6. The music video uses the imagery of Little Red Riding Hood and even features your daughter. What does that visual and emotional aspect of the project mean to you?
Music videos are a very important part of the project for me, a way of telling the story and taking the music to another level. In this case, I am grateful to have connected with Alessio Aliprandi, the director, who has accompanied me on this adventure since the first single. Alessio comes from the world of cinema; he is a cheerful person with a very special eye, capable of seeing beauty in the most everyday things.
Together with him, we developed the story of “Niña Buena” and left part of the shots open to improvisation, allowing ourselves to be guided by the space and intuition.
I was very clear that the beginning of the music video had to be the slow-motion image of me chopping a log with an axe, as a symbol of breaking the pattern within the family lineage.
My daughter, Luna, symbolizes the new generation of women. She is my driving force in life, my greatest inspiration, as well as a wonderful dancer and actress. From a very young age, she has trained in musical theater and is clear that she wants to dedicate herself to it, so this story was a perfect fit for including her in the project.
It has been truly emotional to have her involved. At the beginning, Luna appears as a mysterious character, covered by Little Red Riding Hood’s cape, which symbolizes the story we have been told: what we are supposedly meant to be in order to be good girls. Little by little, throughout the story, we see her free herself from that cape and take the leading role, culminating in an energetic and joyful choreography.
I love working as a team and giving each person their own space within the project. Together with Eugènia Mur, we worked on the idea for the choreography inspired by “Sand Dance,” a variation of tap dancing performed on a sandy floor.
The cast of dancers symbolizes the society that watches and judges. At the end of the video, they join in the decision to face things head-on. In the music video, I appear performing actions that are generally associated with men, such as chopping wood, using tools, or driving a tractor. I invite you to enjoy this beautiful music video, which is almost like a short film turned into a song.
7. Finally, what new projects are you working on right now, and how would you like your career to evolve over the coming months?
Since the release of my first single, “Creo Mi Mundo,” I set myself the goal of composing an EP of five songs, which will be my first studio album. “Niña Buena” is the third, so I am continuing to create those two tracks that will soon see the light of day. If everything goes well, it will be complete toward the end of this year, 2026.
By then, I plan to work on a live show that brings together the spirit of my performances, with energy, live music, and lots of dance.
At the same time, I am working on a song with producer Adrián Ghiardo to submit to the Benidorm Fest. I am very excited and hopeful about it, although I know there is a part that does not depend on me. Many people have told me that my songs sound like Benidorm, so… there must be a reason for that, right?
I say it could be the turning point in my career. A door toward the new version of Mar Expósito, allowing me to take my music to the world and serve as an inspiration.
With “Niña Buena,” Mar Expósito is not only presenting a new song, but also a declaration of principles. Her music is born from personal experience, but seeks to connect with all those people who have ever felt that they had to remain silent, please others, or hide their truth. Now, the artist is looking toward new projects, including the creation of her first EP and a possible candidacy for the Benidorm Fest, with the hope of opening a new chapter in which her voice, her story, and her energy can reach farther and farther.
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