18/12/2025
WIN returned to Valdivia, Chile, for Fluvial, one of Latin America’s most beloved music industry conferences, with a delegation including Cecilia Crespo (ASIAr, Argentina), Felippe Llerena (Nikita Music / ABMI, Brazil), Fran Sandoval and Oliver Knust (IMICHILE, Chile), Mark Kitcatt (Everlasting Records / IMPALA, Spain), Mark Meyer (Random Sounds / AMI-PY, Paraguay) and Nerea Serrano (WIN).
Our last visit to Fluvial in 2022 had been marked by our very first in-person WINHUB event. Three years on, it was a pleasure to come back with new projects and an equally memorable networking session.
Activities began with Fluvial’s opening event at Sidrería Señorita, where delegates from across Chile and the international music community gathered ahead of the conference’s official start. Each participant was invited to briefly introduce themselves and their work, creating a welcoming and dynamic environment and setting up the tone for the days ahead.
The evening continued at Open Bar 55, where conversations flowed alongside a live performance by Isleña Antumalen, the very same artist who performed at our first WINHUB international networking event in 2022. It was a powerful reminder of how meaningful connections made at Fluvial can evolve into long-term opportunities for independent artists, as she was later signed by Spanish label Everlasting Records.
Thursday began with a deeply moving Mapuche Llellipun ceremony hosted by Machi Paola, who welcomed a group of first nation and international delegates into her home and sacred space to mark the opening of Fluvial. Through chants, fire, and shared intention, the ceremony offered a powerful moment of reflection and grounding, connecting participants to the land, its ancestral guardians, and the spirit of the gathering.
As the conference unfolded, Fluvial’s carefully curated showcases highlighted the richness and diversity of contemporary Chilean independent music. The three venues that hosted live music (El Regreso Beer Company, Teatro Regional Cervantes, and Bivaldi) provided the perfect backdrop for these performances, while the technical team consistently delivered outstanding sound and seamless transitions throughout the week. Artists included 1960, AMI, Delis Val, Dinastía Moon, El Significado de las Flores, Ignacio Ruiz, Johnkies, La Orquesta del Viento, Olivia García, Planta Carnívora, Punkora, Solar, and Voces de la Tierra. Together, these performances reflected Fluvial’s commitment to artistic diversity and the visibility of first nations within Chile’s music ecosystem.
Friday marked a key moment for WIN’s participation at Fluvial through activities linked to our BRIDGE project. We hosted a dedicated BRIDGE panel exploring the role of digital distribution in promoting and disseminating Latin American musical diversity. Members of the WIN delegation also contributed to additional panels addressing critical issues for the global music sector, including artificial intelligence, and the importance of data and public policy in fostering sustainable ecosystems.
Alongside the conference program, WIN convened an in-person meeting of its LatAm Network, bringing together representatives from trade associations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay, alongside colleagues from Spain. Discussions centered on the impact of low streaming subscription prices in Latin America and the need for coordinated advocacy.
The conference concluded with our networking event WINHUB x Fluvial, hosted aboard the Neptuno Boat as it navigated Valdivia’s iconic rivers. Organized in partnership with Random Sounds and IMICHILE, the event brought together 172 delegates from 16 countries, creating a unique space for connection. The river journey featured live showcases by AMI, Carmen Lienqueo, and Camilo Eque, offering an unforgettable setting to close the conference while blending music, conversation, and the natural beauty that makes Valdivia such a special meeting point for the industry.
This trip concluded with a deeply personal and meaningful experience for WIN delegates Nerea Serrano and Mark Kitcatt, who were invited by Isleña Antumalen and her community to visit Huapi Island, her home in the heart of Lake Ranco, Chile’s third-largest lake.
Huapi Island is the ancestral home of the Mapuche Huilliche people. Its nature feels suspended in time. Among arrayán trees and birds soaring overhead, culture and identity continue to resist the pressures of modernity. The island is a cradle of unique, Indigenous-led enterprises, including Domos Antukuyen: circular cabins with doors that open toward the sun, inspired by ancient Mapuche ways of inhabiting the land.
This final moment captured the essence of our time in Valdivia: music deeply connected to place, community rooted in history, and international exchange grounded in respect, listening, and shared purpose. Returning to Fluvial once again reaffirmed the importance of long-term relationships and the powerful role independent music plays in building cultural bridges across regions.
BRIDGE and WINHUB are projects developed by WIN to address the digital gap across markets and to connect the independent recorded music community around the world, respectively. The BRIDGE LATAM activities in Fluvial were organized in collaboration with IMICHILE and supported by Merlin and AC/E. WINHUB x Fluvial 2025 was powered by Random Sounds.
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