From playing Central‑American cantinas to Berklee College of Music’s honor roll, Boston-based Guatemalan singer-songwriter Mercedes Escobar has forged an unlikely path. Blending blues, classic‑country storytelling, and vintage Latin soundscapes, her fearless vocals swing from guttural growls to the haunting sweetness of Latin divas of old, while her guitar weaves American fingerpicking with Latin rhythms. She calls this “Latin Americana.”​ Mercedes bridges cultural divides as she performs bilingually with songs rooted in shared themes of happy suffering and jubilant defiance. Her voice has been likened to a mix between Janis Joplin and Chavela Vargas.

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Mercedes has shared the stage with artists such as Gaby Moreno, Rubén Albarrán (Café Tacvba), Lila Downs, Joy Clark, etc. She is also featured in the soundtrack of acclaimed independent films Temblores (2019) and Cadejo Blanco (2022; the latter also features her as music supervisor). Mercedes is working on an upcoming bilingual album, produced by Grammy-winning producer and artist Gaby Moreno. 

 

Following a great reception to her first headlining shows in the USA (starting with legendary venue Club Passim in Cambridge, MA) Mercedes received a nomination as Latin Artist of the Year at the 2024 Boston Music Awards. Recently, Mercedes became a member of Club Passim's Folk Collective 2024-2026 cohort. Mercedes is currently preparing to release her upcoming album.