Cranea Música explores identity, circulation and the challenge of building Paraguay’s music industry

Paraguay’s music industry is still being built, and one of its leading advocates says the country lacks the basic circuit needed to sustain it. “The Paraguayan music industry is at a development stage, we are building tools, but there is still a lot to do,” says Lucas Toriño, president of the Association of Independent Music of Paraguay and one of the people behind Cranea Música.

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The Paraguayan music industry is at a development stage, we are building tools, but there is still a lot to do.

The 2026 edition of the event will run in Asunción from September 9 to 12. It will feature conferences, workshops, professional meetings and showcases bringing together artists, cultural managers and music professionals from Paraguay and other countries.

For Toriño, the central weakness is the absence of a stable national network of venues. Paraguay has folk and patronal festivals, he says, but not a permanent circuit that regularly presents artists. “Not even in Asunción, which is the capital, is there a circuit of venues with monthly programming,” he argues. He also points to the need to formalize the sector, build audiences and communities, and invest in infrastructure. Even national theaters, he says, lack regular programming.

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Not even in Asunción, which is the capital, is there a circuit of venues with monthly programming.

Toriño was born in Uruguay but has lived in Paraguay since he was five and has spent more than two decades connected to the local scene. His interest in music markets grew after international experiences showed him how conferences, professional meetings and informal encounters could connect artists and industry figures. He recalls attending Micsur 2014, an experience that led to Planea Música in 2017. That initiative began with music distribution and later developed a strong educational and academic component.

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It was Micsur 2014, where I understood the opportunities for networking through the different activities, meetings, panels and simply running into people in the corridors. It seemed like an opportunity.

He sees international potential in Paraguay’s traditions, especially its food, crafts, Guaraní language and native rhythms. Guarania and polka blended with global styles, he says, could be particularly powerful for export. Cranea Música is also building links with circuits in Uruguay, Mexico and Brazil, as well as contacts in Chile.

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A number of traditions linked to food and crafts, but above all I believe that the Guaraní language and native rhythms, guarania and polka fused with other global rhythms, have enormous export potential.