Yoli Mayor: The Cuban Soul Siren of Miami
Born and raised in Miami’s Little Havana, Yoli Mayor is a Cuban-American artist whose voice feels like a warm embrace and a thunderclap all at once. At just 30, she has already lived many musical lives—underground open-mic queen, reality TV favorite, festival headliner, queer icon, and community advocate. Through it all, her artistry has never been about fitting a mold, but about breaking them with grace, grit, and groove.
Her musical legacy begins with her grandmother, Yolanda, the matriarch for whom she was named. “My grandmother came from Cuba and brought her entire family over. She was short in height but strong in stature. She commanded the utmost respect,” Yoli boasts with pride. That strength and spirit now flow through Yoli’s own presence onstage—tiny in frame, mighty in voice.
Her mother often said she sang before she could even speak. Saturday mornings in her home became rituals of sound—merengue, bachata, salsa, and Gilberto Santa Rosa spilling through the speakers while the family cleaned, danced, and sang together. “La Soledad is one of the most heart-wrenching songs that always sticks with me; it’s so beautiful,” she recalls. That emotional connection to music—its power to evoke tears, laughter, or healing—is still at the core of everything she does.
By 13, Yoli was already studying the roots of Hip-Hop through PATH (Preserving, Archiving, and Teaching Hip-Hop), a program that taught her the history, philosophy, and artistry of the culture. Rap would soon become her storytelling compass. “Rap helped me tell a story,” she says, a skill she carried into the improvisational, jazz-like open mic nights of Miami’s underground scene, where house bands often played unrehearsed, pushing her to trust her instincts and lean into raw expression.
At 19, she trained with Miami’s world-renowned bar, Broken Shaker, where a twist of fate steered her toward performance. “I started working at El Tucan in Miami. I couldn’t even taste what I was making because I was underage, so management asked me to perform for them. I sang—and they offered me an entertainer position where I sang for the crowd. That’s how I became known as La Princesa del Teatro.”
Yoli’s breakthrough came in 2017, when she appeared on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, earning national attention as a Semi-Finalist. Dubbed “The Cuban Adele” by The Huffington Post, The Miami Herald, and Downtown Magazine, her powerhouse voice and infectious spirit captured hearts far beyond South Florida. She returned to TV screens in 2022 for American Idol’s Platinum Season, once again representing Miami on the national stage.
Her artistry extends beyond stages. Her song “Pretending” was licensed by Adobe and currently plays on their official website, amplifying her music to a global creative community. Other songs showcase her range: “Fandango” is fiery and infectious, a dance-floor-ready anthem pulsing with Latin rhythms that feel like a Miami street festival at full swing; “Breathe” is tender and cinematic, a slow-burn ballad where her vocals soar, offering release and healing in every note; and “Havana” is sultry and magnetic, weaving Cuban roots with sleek modern pop edge, its melody swaying like palm trees under neon lights. Together, they reveal the spectrum of her artistry—vibrant, vulnerable, and always authentic. She is now preparing to release her highly anticipated new single, “Ambrosia,” a track that promises to blend her Cuban roots with her bold, genre-bending style.
Yoli has shared the stage with icons such as Steven Tyler, Tito Puente Jr., and Marlow Rosado, and has opened for T-Pain on a main stage, cementing her ability to command audiences of every size. For the past four years, she has also worked alongside Diana Ross and CeeLo Green in collaboration with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a testament to her belief that music should always give back.
Community is at the heart of everything she does. She has lent her time and talent to organizations such as Equality Florida Institute, the LGBTQ Task Force, Children’s Bereavement Center, and Summer of Sass, where she helps queer youth from hostile home environments find support, safety, and belonging. “I make music in Spanglish to reflect my culture and where I grew up,” she says, underscoring her belief that music can bridge divides and remind people that they do, in fact, belong.
Her sound is a living, breathing fusion: R&B, Hip-Hop, Pop, Salsa, and Soul, all carried by a voice that can both shatter and soothe. She grew up on Miguel, J. Cole, John Legend, and Pharrell as much as Celia Cruz, Sarah Vaughan, and Sade. She cites legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Amy Winehouse, Nina Simone, and Adele as inspirations, but her artistry is unmistakably her own—passion-fueled, improvisational, and deeply rooted in her Cuban heritage.
Her proudest moments are not only the accolades, but the intimacy of connection. “My favorite reaction from someone in the crowd is seeing them in tears. I really like moving people with my music,” she says. For Yoli, that emotional impact is everything.
Looking ahead, she continues to evolve—writing songs (sometimes in less than thirty minutes), performing with her Cuban band La Ponina, and stepping further into her role as an artist who uplifts others. “I want to teach little girls that they can be both the warrior and the princess.”
Her journey has not always been easy. “This industry is quite rough with some not-so-nice individuals. I come from a place of kindness. That’s how I always lead. It’s important to be a gentle soul in such a rough world—because love is a revolutionary act.”
And if there’s one thing Yoli Mayor proves every time she steps onstage, it’s this: love sounds like music—and her music is nothing short of revolutionary.
Her musical legacy begins with her grandmother, Yolanda, the matriarch for whom she was named. “My grandmother came from Cuba and brought her entire family over. She was short in height but strong in stature. She commanded the utmost respect,” Yoli boasts with pride. That strength and spirit now flow through Yoli’s own presence onstage—tiny in frame, mighty in voice.
Her mother often said she sang before she could even speak. Saturday mornings in her home became rituals of sound—merengue, bachata, salsa, and Gilberto Santa Rosa spilling through the speakers while the family cleaned, danced, and sang together. “La Soledad is one of the most heart-wrenching songs that always sticks with me; it’s so beautiful,” she recalls. That emotional connection to music—its power to evoke tears, laughter, or healing—is still at the core of everything she does.
By 13, Yoli was already studying the roots of Hip-Hop through PATH (Preserving, Archiving, and Teaching Hip-Hop), a program that taught her the history, philosophy, and artistry of the culture. Rap would soon become her storytelling compass. “Rap helped me tell a story,” she says, a skill she carried into the improvisational, jazz-like open mic nights of Miami’s underground scene, where house bands often played unrehearsed, pushing her to trust her instincts and lean into raw expression.
At 19, she trained with Miami’s world-renowned bar, Broken Shaker, where a twist of fate steered her toward performance. “I started working at El Tucan in Miami. I couldn’t even taste what I was making because I was underage, so management asked me to perform for them. I sang—and they offered me an entertainer position where I sang for the crowd. That’s how I became known as La Princesa del Teatro.”
Yoli’s breakthrough came in 2017, when she appeared on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, earning national attention as a Semi-Finalist. Dubbed “The Cuban Adele” by The Huffington Post, The Miami Herald, and Downtown Magazine, her powerhouse voice and infectious spirit captured hearts far beyond South Florida. She returned to TV screens in 2022 for American Idol’s Platinum Season, once again representing Miami on the national stage.
Her artistry extends beyond stages. Her song “Pretending” was licensed by Adobe and currently plays on their official website, amplifying her music to a global creative community. Other songs showcase her range: “Fandango” is fiery and infectious, a dance-floor-ready anthem pulsing with Latin rhythms that feel like a Miami street festival at full swing; “Breathe” is tender and cinematic, a slow-burn ballad where her vocals soar, offering release and healing in every note; and “Havana” is sultry and magnetic, weaving Cuban roots with sleek modern pop edge, its melody swaying like palm trees under neon lights. Together, they reveal the spectrum of her artistry—vibrant, vulnerable, and always authentic. She is now preparing to release her highly anticipated new single, “Ambrosia,” a track that promises to blend her Cuban roots with her bold, genre-bending style.
Yoli has shared the stage with icons such as Steven Tyler, Tito Puente Jr., and Marlow Rosado, and has opened for T-Pain on a main stage, cementing her ability to command audiences of every size. For the past four years, she has also worked alongside Diana Ross and CeeLo Green in collaboration with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a testament to her belief that music should always give back.
Community is at the heart of everything she does. She has lent her time and talent to organizations such as Equality Florida Institute, the LGBTQ Task Force, Children’s Bereavement Center, and Summer of Sass, where she helps queer youth from hostile home environments find support, safety, and belonging. “I make music in Spanglish to reflect my culture and where I grew up,” she says, underscoring her belief that music can bridge divides and remind people that they do, in fact, belong.
Her sound is a living, breathing fusion: R&B, Hip-Hop, Pop, Salsa, and Soul, all carried by a voice that can both shatter and soothe. She grew up on Miguel, J. Cole, John Legend, and Pharrell as much as Celia Cruz, Sarah Vaughan, and Sade. She cites legends like Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Amy Winehouse, Nina Simone, and Adele as inspirations, but her artistry is unmistakably her own—passion-fueled, improvisational, and deeply rooted in her Cuban heritage.
Her proudest moments are not only the accolades, but the intimacy of connection. “My favorite reaction from someone in the crowd is seeing them in tears. I really like moving people with my music,” she says. For Yoli, that emotional impact is everything.
Looking ahead, she continues to evolve—writing songs (sometimes in less than thirty minutes), performing with her Cuban band La Ponina, and stepping further into her role as an artist who uplifts others. “I want to teach little girls that they can be both the warrior and the princess.”
Her journey has not always been easy. “This industry is quite rough with some not-so-nice individuals. I come from a place of kindness. That’s how I always lead. It’s important to be a gentle soul in such a rough world—because love is a revolutionary act.”
And if there’s one thing Yoli Mayor proves every time she steps onstage, it’s this: love sounds like music—and her music is nothing short of revolutionary.