Oakland-based rapper, producer, and songwriter Chhoti Maa is the brainchild of educator and organizer Vreni Michelini Castillo, with music based in cumbia, migrant soul, neufolk, R&B, hip-hop, and the oral tradition.

Hailing from Guanajuato, Mexico, Castillo is a multidisciplinary cultural producer and curator who co-edited the 2019 book Color Theory, created the Fluid Mutualism Symposium, and is co-founder of Aguas Migrantes, an artist collective that runs programming in Mexico.

Chhoti Maa began in 2007 within the migrant rights movement and hip-hop scene of Richmond, VA. They’ve released a pair of full length albums, Agua Corre in 2016 and 2018’s Caldo de Hueso featuring saxophonist and SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Howard Wiley, flautist Kymberly Jackson, cumbia accordionist Ivan Flores, and Native emcee Dioganhdih. Their newest album, 7 Luminarias, is set to release this year.