Kacho López Mari

Kacho López Mari started his career in the field of graphic design.^[10] Before directing, López Mari produced underground music events in Puerto Rico and worked on television commercials at Paradiso Films. His first music video was Tego Calderón’s “Abayarde/Gracias” (2003), a six-minute narrative piece combining two songs. The video coincided with Calderón’s breakthrough and became one of the genre’s earliest visual landmarks.^[1] Throughout his career, López Mari has directed music videos for Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin, Juanes, Ile, Aventura, Daddy Yankee, Calle 13, Don Omar, Tego Calderón and Chayanne among many others.

López Mari’s videography ranges from genre-defining reggaetón hits to socially engaged works that integrate documentary and political commentary. His films often emphasize cultural identity, memory, and the relationship between image and community.^[1]

A 2025 feature by the Los Angeles Times highlighted López Mari as one of the key visual storytellers behind Latin music’s rise to global prominence. The newspaper described his portfolio of more than forty music videos as “flip-booking through modern Latin music history” and credited his early collaborations—such as Abayarde, Gasolina and Ojos Color Sol—with helping to define the aesthetics of reggaetón and contemporary Latin pop.^[1] The Los Angeles Times further noted that López Mari’s later works, including El Apagón — Aquí Vive Gente and Multi_Viral, expand the possibilities of the music video format by fusing performance with documentary storytelling and social commentary. His inclusion in the paper’s De Los section was cited as emblematic of a growing recognition of Latinx creatives shaping global culture from behind the camera.^[1]

• Daddy Yankee – "Gasolina" (2005): Co-directed; although assembled quickly by looping initial footage for MTV broadcast, it introduced reggaetón to global audiences and helped establish the genre’s early on-screen aesthetic.^[1]
• Calle 13 – "Adentro" (2014): Latin Grammy nominee for Best Short Form Video; features frontman Residente destroying a Maserati as an anti-consumerism statement.^[1]
• Calle 13 – "Multi_Viral" (2014): Filmed in the West Bank; portrays children building a guitar from a rifle and was described by López Mari as one of his most important projects.^[1]
• Calle 13 – "Ojos Color Sol" (2014): Latin Grammy winner for Best Short Form Video; features Silvio Rodríguez, with Gael García Bernal and María Valverde in the cast.^[1]
• Juanes – "Loco de Amor (La Historia)" (2014): Latin Grammy winner for Best Long Form Music Video, the same year López Mari also won Best Short Form, a first-ever double win in the awards’ history.^[1]
• Juanes – Mis Planes Son Amarte (2017): Recognized as Latin music’s first major visual album, a one-hour narrative linking twelve songs through a sci-fi/romance storyline.^[1]
• Bad Bunny – "Callaíta" (2019): Crafted as a dream-like portrayal of Puerto Rican summer nights, Bad Bunny later praised it for conveying the feeling of a “hug.”^[1]
• Bad Bunny – "El Apagón — Aquí Vive Gente" (2022): Expanded into a 22-minute investigative short with journalist Bianca Graulau, spotlighting blackouts and post-hurricane infrastructure issues in Puerto Rico.^[1]
• Bad Bunny – "Baile Inolvidable" (2025): Filmed at the University of Puerto Rico and other island locations; part of the 2025 album cycle and continuing López Mari’s collaboration with Bad Bunny.^[1]

At the 16th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2014, López Mari won Best Short Form Music Video for Ojos Color Sol and Best Long Form Music Video for Loco de Amor (La Historia), becoming the first director to win both categories in the same year.^[1]