After a Debut-Era Latin Grammy Nomination, Where Does Darumas Go Next?

If you haven't yet heard of the pop-funk Latin band Darumas, you're already late. The bilingual Zoomer trio has a Latin Grammy nomination for Best New Artist under its Y2K belts, along with several Premio Lo Nuestro award nominations, and a feature in Rolling Stone en Español's "Future of Music" issue. The band has also performed at some of the world's biggest music festivals, from Lollapalooza to Rock in Rio.

Those accolades stemmed from the band's self-titled debut album, released in May 2024. A year later, almost to the day, the group is back with Darumas+, an eight-track deluxe album written and produced by members Aldana Aguirre, Ceci Leon, and Vedala Vilmond. Among the standouts are the witty and playful "Ex-Cusas" and the radio-ready "Wanna Be," a disco via Dua Lipa-inspired track that would have felt right at home on Greta Gerwig's Barbie soundtrack.

Ahead of the release, Darumas sat down with New Times to discuss its career highlights so far and where the musicians hope to go next.

For Vilmond, the Latin Grammys were a clear career highlight. "There's not even a place to really go after that," she says. "That alone is the dream. But it was even more of a dream when we actually performed on the stage. Seeing all of your idols — Karol G, Rauw Alejandro, Juanes — all those people sitting in the front row just staring up at you, and you have to keep a straight face. The rehearsals and our journey to even being on that stage was one thing, but it all becomes reality when you're on that stage."

Another high point: Taking pride in representing their diverse backgrounds. Aguirre hails from Argentina and found her passion for music watching her musician parents' rehearsals as a child. She followed in their footsteps, picking up the bass at 15. Vilmond, born in Haiti and raised in Chile from the age of 11, also comes from a musical family with a sound engineer (her father) and a singer (her aunt). Cuban-American Leon grew up in Miami and found her love of music playing piano at age four, eventually moving to guitar by the time she entered double digits.

After their individual music journeys landed them record deals with Sony Music Latin, based here in the 305, they found their way to each other the way most of Gen Z does — through social media.

For Leon, blending the musicians' tastes and sensibilities came naturally. "Miami is already kind of a mix of every single Latino and nationality you can think of, so I felt really comfortable in this group walking into it," she says. "Darumas is definitely a reflection of that."

The band's funky, eclectic sound reflects a broader mission to celebrate cultural hybrids and make music that feels both fun and liberating. They hope Darumas+ will expand those aims.

"We've already accomplished so much. It's hard to think of what else we want in our future," says Vilmond. "But we'll keep making music that's fun; we'll keep experimenting. That's really what this project and this band are about at the end of the day, and we're so grateful to be where we are already."