Vanessa Porto was 11 years old when she first performed in front of a big audience.

Surrounded by over 100 people, Porto felt nervous as she sang “No One” by Alicia Keys at her school in Colombia. 

As Porto sang, the audience began to shout and cheer. This performance formed what Porto considers to be one of her core memories.  

“I can remember that [performance] like it was yesterday,” Porto said. “At that moment I realized I love music and I wanted to do that.” 

Originally from Cartagena, Colombia, Porto came to the U.S. two years ago. She is now a Spanish instructor and graduate student at MU.

Porto’s first song “Que Nos Gustamos” premiered in November and currently has over 5,000 views on YouTube. The song is in Spanish and incorporates the Caribbean rhythms of Colombia.  

“I wanted it to be in Spanish since I love my language,” Porto said. “It was a way, first to show it to my students, something from my culture, and also to show people … about myself, about what being Afro-Caribbean means to me.” 

Porto’s goal was to write a song that represents the type of music she listens to from her city. She wrote “Que Nos Gustamos” over the summer and later released the song with the help of her producer, Carlos Guardela.

“The story of the song essentially is a love song,” Porto said. “It’s about a type of relationship anyone would want to have.”

Porto comes from a musical family by whom she remains inspired. Porto’s mom sang when she was younger, and her sister sings and plays instruments. Porto can play the guitar, keyboard and ukulele. 

“I’ve been singing my whole life since I was a child,” Porto said.

The majority of Porto’s musical journey consisted of performances in choir and singing at church. With her choir, Porto performed in front of audiences as large as 400 people.  

When it came to releasing her first song, Porto was nervous because, while she had been singing for many years, she had never recorded or written a song before. 

“I was nervous because I sang something in Spanish,” Porto said. “But I think people like it because they are sharing [it] on social media and I have received a lot of support from people here … Mizzou has given me a lot of friends and most of the support that I have received is from people in the university.”

Felipe Rodrigues met Porto through MU’s graduate program. Like Porto, Rodrigues is a Spanish instructor and graduate student.  

“[Vanessa is] so energetic [and] a lovely person,” Rodrigues said. “She likes to help people and have a good time. She shines … everybody who is around her can feel that.” 

Rodrigues describes Porto as one of the funniest people he knows. He says spending time with her can make him laugh even if he’s having a bad day. 

“I really love her music,” Rodrigues said. “She’s very connected to music … In her music, I see the influences that she has from different types of music she listens to, especially music from her city.”

Rodrigues describes the mix of cultures in Porto’s music as something that makes it unique.

“In her music, there’s a lot of Caribbean, Colombian influences, but there’s also so much more,” Rodrigues said. “Vanessa is somebody who speaks different languages and loves music from other [places]. When you listen to [her music], there’s a little bit of this multicultural aspect of her life.”

Porto’s use of Caribbean rhythms allows her to stray from the norms of many famous Colombian singers. 

“Most of the singers that are famous from my country sing the same type of music, which is reggaeton,” Porto said. “I could have done something more popular, like reggaeton, that people will listen [to] … but I decided to [highlight] Caribbean culture.” 

Last July, Porto met with her audio-visual team to decide which spots in Cartagena to use for filming the official music video. 

“I tried to use the most representative places in my city,” Porto said. 

Some notable spots in the video include Las Murallas (The Walls) and 29th Street in Getsemani, featuring the flags of the world. According to Porto, Las Murallas represent the spirit of strength and protection of the city. Including the flags of the world was important to Porto because she knows people from many different countries. 

Currently, Porto is working on a second song called “Juntitos,” which means “together.” 

“This one actually is a love song as well, but for my dad,” Porto said.

“He passed away … and this song is for him, but it’s not very explicit … People who listen to this song, they’re going to feel like they can say ‘Okay, this song is for my dad, this is for my love, for my boyfriend, girlfriend.’ It’s a love song that you can share with any loved one.”

Through her music, Porto wants to transmit messages of love and hope. She also looks to help inspire others when life gets hard. 

“I want to make happy music,” Porto said. “I want my music to be mostly about love and about experiences in life and how to overcome [difficult] situations which is something I have learned during this time being far from home.”

To listen to Porto’s song, “Que Nos Gustamos,” click here. 

Edited by Egan Ward | eward@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Grace Knight and Sterling Sewell