Sunday 11th September saw the world premiere of LIDO TV, a six-part variety show created and hosted by the Grammy-nominated artist Lido Pimienta.
What may at first glance be mistaken as a colorful children’s program featuring puppets called Sunnyflower, Tomato, Tomáto and Sol, is in fact an entertaining, yet politically charged, variety show that takes a look at social issues including colonialism, privilege and feminism. All of which bear personal significance to Pimienta and will no doubt resonate with audiences globally.
Due to her indigenous Wayuu heritage on her mother’s side, Pimienta refers to herself as Afro-Colombian. She was born in Barranquilla, Colombia and later moved to London, Ontario where she encountered instances of racist behaviour. So much so that when her second album, La Papessa, won the Polaris Prize for Best Canadian Album in 2017, she explained how much the recognition meant to her, telling the audience during her acceptance speech, “I hope that the Aryan specimen who told me to go back to my own country two weeks after I arrived in London, Ontario, Canada is watching this.”
Photography Ada Navarro
Pimienta had to overcome other forms of societal exclusion in her youth owing to the fact that she didn’t conform and has forged her path using her work to champion BIPOC artists and those from other marginalised communities. In a press story published by the American music platform Pitchfork in 2017, Melissa Vincent credited her with having become ‘the face of a new wave of artists pushing social activism to the forefront of Canada’s musical conversation’.
LIDO TV’s content was created to entertain and to shake things up, describing itself as ‘Unhinged. Unapologetic. Unique. A variety show with a mission to help people cope with life in a world that sometimes feels like it’s falling apart’.
Photography Ada Navarro
“This is a love letter to a little girl sitting on the branch of a mango tree in Colombia, singing at the top of her lungs while other kids made fun of her for being weird”
– Lido Pimienta
Visually, just like its creator and host, the set is characterised by an explosion of vibrant color and childhood symbolism. Yet its content juxtaposes funny and surreal sketches featuring puppets and music with candid interviews touching on the sensitive subjects that have impacted Pimienta’s life.
A roster of artists including Nelly Furtado, Bear Witness and Kittie guest star in the series, but it is Pimienta’s personality which drives the action as each episode delves into its subject matter.
As with so many great and unexpected projects that have emerged over the past couple of years, LIDO TV was the result of a cancelled tour in 2020 due the covid-19 pandemic. Suddenly, with time on her hands, Pimienta started integrating her visual artwork, puppeteering and comedy sketches into her performances. What started as an online concert made in collaboration with YouTube Music, formed the basis of her next creative endeavor. She best describes it as ‘a love letter to a little girl sitting on the branch of a mango tree in Colombia, singing at the top of her lungs while other kids made fun of her for being weird’.
Photography Ada Navarro
LIDO TV is supported by a fabulous team of creatives including co-showrunner and executive producer Sean O’Neill; creative producer Gustavo Cerquera Benjumea; associate producer Andres Landau; and directors Maya Annik Bedward and Alicia K. Harris. Lido Pimienta is the show’s head writer working alongside Tim Fontaine and Sarah Hagi.
Following the world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival the entire series will be available to stream for free on CBC Gem from Friday 23rd September.