The legendary Ivy Queen, renowned as both the Queen of Reggaetón and La Caballota, once profoundly stated in an interview, "In the tapestry of every woman's life, there exists a moment of blossoming, a time of flourishing." And for Ivy Queen, after decades of paving her way as a trailblazer in this genre, that golden era has arrived.
Born Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez, Ivy Queen's recognition in the reggaetón scene first bloomed in the '90s, when the genre was still cloaked in the shadows of the underground. She boldly emerged as the first female member of an all-male rap collective forged in the studios of The Noise in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Her maiden live performance, where she rapped "Somos Raperos Pero no Delincuentes" ("We Are Rappers, Not Criminals"), clad in her signature style of oversized jeans, a T-shirt, braids, and long acrylic nails, marked the beginning of a legendary journey.
Since then, she has crafted music that has empowered generations of women, igniting the feminist wave in today's reggaetón scene and inspiring artists like Karol G, Becky G, Natti Natasha, RaiNao, Young Miko, Villano Antillano, and countless others.
Today, La Caballota stands in the prime of her glory, finally receiving the flowers she has long deserved. Just gaze upon her illustrious achievements in the past few years: from hosting Spotify and Futuro Studios' "Loud," a podcast that unveils the authentic history of reggaetón, to being honored at the 35th edition of Premio Lo Nuestro with the Premio Lo Nuestro Legado Musical Al Genero Urbano Award last year, to receiving the Icon Award at the Billboard Latin Music Awards for her remarkable contributions to the male-dominated genre.
We recently caught up with Ivy Queen behind the scenes at San Juan's Distrito T-Mobile, moments before her rehearsals for Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest in Puerto Rico. The reggaetonera appeared more serene than ever, with a white candle burning brightly in front of her. Ivy considers herself a deeply spiritual individual, and she never ventures out without her vela blanca. (For instance, in October, she appeared on NPR's Tiny Desk and lit a candle adorned with an image of Bad Bunny during her performance.)
"The vela represents light and those who have passed," Ivy Queen shares with POPSUGAR. "For instance, my father passed away, and I feel his spirit is always with me. My father was a musician. He played the guitar... when he passed, I was at a concert and I had a premonition earlier that day while taking a bath, that I needed to visit him at the hospital. In my mind, I repeatedly said, 'Wait for me, wait for me, please papi, wait for me.'"
Ivy explains that the candle also serves as a spiritual tool she uses to cleanse any space she enters, protecting her energy. This is something she learned early on in her career, as she navigated a genre and a world predominantly dominated by men.
Part of that navigation was guided by the stars — literally. In the early days of her career, Ivy delved into astrology to understand her strengths and weaknesses as she ascended in the music industry. "I studied the elements. I deciphered my birth chart. I asked my mother what time I was born," she says. "It was around the '90s, and I used to adore Walter Mercado. Whenever his show aired, they would show the astrological wheel, and I was fascinated. So, I began to learn about my sign and have always been guided by it. I know it's a water sign. I'm aware of which signs don't align well in business matters."
Ivy Queen's astrological chart is a unique tapestry, with Pisces as her sun sign, Sagittarius ruling her moon, and Scorpio as her rising sign. She remarks, pointing to a white candle, "With Scorpio, I must safeguard my energy." While Mercado was among the few mainstream figures at that time who dedicated an entire program to exploring Latine spirituality and astrology, he wasn't the sole inspiration behind Ivy's spiritual journey.
"My favorite artist was Celia Cruz," she recalls. "She hailed from Cuba, a land considered one of the houses of spirits, a descendant of Mother Africa—la madre tierra. Literally, I learned by observing these individuals." She adds, "Walter was also a Pisces. I wondered if he only emphasized the positive aspects of that sign because he's a Pisces, but he didn't. These are things I wish we had been taught to cherish at a younger age. You know, I grew up surrounded by curanderas—healing women."
At 51, Ivy Queen radiates beauty and vitality. Her skin remains youthful and glows from within, her long blonde extensions trailing gracefully past her hips. She still sports the long, artistic acrylic nails that have become her signature, but her most noteworthy trait is how she carries herself with elegance, confidence, and poise. She attributes her spirituality to playing a pivotal role in learning to embrace her divine feminine energy.
"You must attract the energy," she explains. "If you feel like you're all screwed up, old and messed up, your body will react to that. The mind is both dangerously powerful and incredibly potent. It's about how you choose to wield your powers."
It's unsurprising that Ivy is a firm believer in the law of attraction and manifestation. For her, this manifests in the form of writing and prayer—to God, to the Angel de la Guarda, and to her ancestors. La Caballota has also learned to be still and attentive to the signs. This year, she aims to tick off some major goals from her bucket list.
"I'll be touring this year," she announces. "I want to start in Puerto Rico, my hometown, and then announce the tour dates in the US. After that, I'll decide if the story of my life will be a series or a movie. I'll be producing it."
Just before Ivy Queen ushered in the new year, she had already noticed signs pointing to 2024 as the year she would spread her wings and watch all her goals materialize into reality. On December 30, her daughter arrived in Puerto Rico, a day before Ivy's performance at Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve. As a good luck charm, her daughter gifted her a cute monkey plushie adorned with a little hat and the Puerto Rican flag. The reggaetonera decided to carry the plushie everywhere with her, and at the beach, she spied a black and white feather that seemed to materialize out of thin air. She also noticed a crow perched on a branch right behind the plushie. For her, these were all omens.
"I was praying for 2024 to be the year I take my life to the next level," she shares. "I was beseeching the spirits, like Venus, the Goddess of love, for signs...to send me a sign," she says. "I see it as maybe the feather is a sign that I'm soaring to a new heights. I want to be constantly on the move, and birds, they traverse everywhere. So, I'm attentive to signs and ascribe my own meanings to them. I took it as a message that in 2024, I'll be busy and thriving."
Given la reina's impressive track record of manifesting all the career milestones she's set for herself, we have no doubt that 2024 will indeed be Ivy Queen's year to shine.
