Carolina Oliveros: Ya Rompimos el Silencio

Join us for a work-in-progress showing of a new theatrical performance by Colombian-born, Brooklyn-based artist Carolina Oliveros, presented at the culmination of her residency at ArtYard.

During her residency, Oliveros is developing a live presentation for Ya Rompimos el Silencio, her first solo studio album. Rooted in her Afro-Caribbean heritage and shaped by a unique musical path — from formal opera training to performing in heavy metal bands in Colombia — this album embodies a sound that is mystical and rebellious, ancestral and experimental. Her solo work explores lineage, spirituality, and resistance through a bold sonic language that lives as powerfully onstage as it does in the recordings.

Known as the voice of Combo Chimbita and the founder of the bullerengue-fusion project Bulla En El Barrio, Oliveros brings together hypnotic percussion, layered vocals, chant, improvisation, and traditional drums in a sound that is both deeply rooted and radically exploratory. Her solo work draws on lineage, spirituality, and resistance, creating a musical world that feels at once ancient and searching.

This residency marks the next stage of her new work, translating the album into a fully realized live experience. Oliveros and her collaborators are building a permanent band, shaping live arrangements, and developing a theatrical presentation that expands beyond the traditional concert format. The result will weave together music, movement, visual elements, and narrative to create a performance world that reflects the album’s emotional arc.

This informal showing offers a first look at that work in progress, and an opportunity to experience a new live work as it takes shape.

Carolina Oliveros

Carolina Oliveros is an artist from Barranquilla, Colombia, now based in Brooklyn. Many know her as the voice of Combo Chimbita and as the founder of the bullerengue-fusion project Bulla En El Barrio. In her solo work, she moves closer to the core of the sounds that shaped her — Afro-Caribbean rhythms, traditional drums, and chant — approaching them with a raw, personal sensibility. Her music draws from ancestral forms while allowing space for experimentation and risk. Hypnotic percussion, layered vocals, and moments of improvisation create a sound that feels both grounded and searching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmkjRuF1qBU