Fabiola Méndez is a Puerto Rican cuatrista, singer, educator, and Emmy-nominated composer. Her artistic vision and original music focus on the exploration of her culture, her ancestry, and her identities.
Native to Caguas, PR, Fabiola began playing the cuatro, Puerto Rico’s national instrument, at six. She got her early music training at the Antonio Paoli School of Music in Caguas and her Bachelor’s in Music from Berklee College of Music, where in 2018, she made history as the first graduate to play the Puerto Rican cuatro as the principal instrument.
Fabiola’s mission has always been to share and celebrate the cuatro, folk music, and collective story-telling. In doing so, she’s had the honor of performing at venues such as the NPR Tiny Desk, Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, Celebrity Series of Boston, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, among many others. She has also collaborated with many local and international artists, including the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, Pedro Capó, Andy Montañez, Danny Rivera, the Chicago Philharmonic, and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra.
Her recordings include Herencia Criolla (2009), Al Otro Lado del Charco (2019), Afrorriqueña (2021), and Flora Campesina (2024). In 2022, she produced her first documentary, Negrura, showcasing Afro-Latinx stories on colorism and discrimination within our communities.
