Valgur

VALGUR is a musical and performance duo made up of siblings from Juchitán, Oaxaca. Elizabeth and Hugo Valdivieso began playing and writing songs early on, under a name formed by combining their surnames. The children of an evangelical pastor and a doctor and cattle rancher from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, they grew up in a Zapotec family. Their music springs from those roots, where Zapotec worldview, faith, pop, and fantasy come together onstage. Their artistic formation took place in the church, understood not only as a place of faith but also as a school of art. There, they learned music, theater, dramaturgy, and discipline: elements that now shape the theatricality of their project and stage presence recognized by critics. With more than 100 shows a year, their live performances have taken them to KEXP and led them to share the stage with Magdalena Bay, Charli xcx, George Clanton, The xx, The Drums, The Last Dinner Party, and STRFKR. As an independent act, they have produced their two official albums: Zapandú (2019) and ARMAGGEDON (2023), which ranked No. 6 on Rolling Stone’s list of The 50 Best Spanish-Language Albums of 2023. Remezcla described their follow-up as a record that “cemented their status as mad geniuses.” Rolling Stone praised the band’s range, writing: “From the disco-tinged attacks on gender normativity of ‘Máscara de Niña,’ to the post-punk incantations of ‘El Castillo De La Pureza,’ Valgur handily delivered one of the year’s most thrilling mindfucks.”