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Paloma Mami’s Dreams Are Only Getting Bigger
After growing up in New York, the Chilean American singer moved to Santiago to make hits that blend R&B, reggaeton, and her own unique style
By
Daniel Toledo*
Paloma Rocío Castillo Astorga was just 18 when she wrote her first song. She self-released it as a single — “Not Steady,” a gauzy, Spanglish R&B reproach to an overzealous suitor — with a music video that she filmed in the parking lot of her
tía’s apartment complex. Within a few months, she became the first Chilean American artist to sign to Sony Music Latin. “Literally, ‘Not Steady’ was the first song I ever wrote, ever sang, ever recorded,” she says.