On the second and final day of this year’s Sueños Music Festival in Grant Park, fans showed up wearing cowboy hats, boots and Mexican flags. Sunday is all about Mexico, with performances from Becky G, Junior H and headliner Grupo Firme — who will be backed by an ensemble of at least a dozen brass and percussion instruments.
Crowds were already huge early in the day as they waited under partly cloudy skies for the very first performances by Chicagoan DJ Chava and Puerto Rican rapper Chanell.
Fans continued to enjoy food and drinks from Latino spots from all around Chicago while Benny the Bull, the Chicago Bulls mascot, made his rounds around the festival grounds.
Here are highlights from the second day of Sueños Music Festival:
Young Miko
Part of a new wave of Latin trap music, Young Miko is one of the first openly lesbian artists — and certainly one of the most popular — in the genre. The 24-year-old Puerto Rican rapper from Añasco made many of her female fans swoon, some even shouting “Kiss me!” as she sang into a rainbow mic.
Miko teased her fans by winking and flirting with them as she sang, and even gifted a bouquet of flowers to one lucky fan. The crowd seemed to know every lyric to every song, especially “Bi,” off last year’s “Trap Kitty” album, and “Lisa,” a single from March about the singer’s affinity for all types of women.
For having a set so early in the day at 1:10 p.m., Young Miko attracted a huge crowd. She’s a great performer and brought the energy by bouncing all over the stage. The artist seems to be the same person she is in her music videos and on social media: DJ Freddy Fresco, the festival’s official DJ, announced that she’d be making her way around the festival to connect with more fans.
She was dressed in an oversized Betty Boop t-shirt, ripped jeans, and a pair of all-wheat Air Force 1s that look similar to Timberland boots — defining her usual tomboyish style. Fans, especially girls, continued to vocalize how weak in the knees she made them feel.
She closed out her set with “Classy 101” while hoisting a pride flag, signaling a new era of acceptance and visibility for LGBTQ+ artists in the scene.