Nacional Records is a RED/Sony Music Entertainment-distributed independent record label based in North Hollywood, California. It is home to such leading acts as global star Manu Chao, Grammy-nominated Mexican electronica group Nortec Collective and Colombian music icons Aterciopelados.

Nacional Records was founded by music industry veteran Tomas Cookman in 2005. Cookman is the president and owner of Cookman International, a multi-faceted company that specializes in expanding the reach of Latin music and culture through artist management, special event marketing, the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) and the Latino Loop (a weekly industry newsletter emailed to over 100,000 Latino tastemakers). Cookman International currently manages Aterciopelados, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Manu Chao and Pacha Massive.

The label’s first album release was Aterciopelados’ lead singer Andrea Echeverri’s self-titled solo album on March 8, 2005. Since then, Nacional has released more than 20 albums in stores as well as more than 15 digital-only releases. It recently celebrated its first two Latin Grammys on November 8, 2007 with Aterciopelados’ ‘Oye’ as Best Alternative Album and Manu Chao’s “Me Llaman Calle” as Best Alternative Song.

Anamaría Merino (born 1977), commonly known by her stage name Ana Tijoux or Anita Tijoux, is a French-Chilean musician. She became famous in Latin America as the female MC of hip-hop group Makiza during the late 1990s. In 2006, she crossed over to the mainstream of Latin pop after her collaboration with Mexican songstress Julieta Venegas in the radio hit "Eres para mí". Tijoux has often been praised for "exploring sensitive matters devoid of violence." She is currently promoting her second solo album, 1977.

Tijoux is the daughter of Chilean parents living in political exile in France during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship of Chile.

After the return to democracy in Chile, Tijoux flew back to her father's land. Being a teenager, she found home in the emerging hip-hop scene of Santiago and she started rhyming first in French, then in Spanish. For a while, she formed part of a group that included Zaturno, later of Tiro de Gracia. In 1997, she joined Seo2, Cenzi, and DJ Squat to form Makiza.

Makiza released their first cassette in 1998, Vida Salvaje. It was an independent production but gained huge acceptance in the local scene.

Shadia Mansour (Arabic: شادية منصور‎ Shādiyah Manṣūr), also known as "the first lady of Arabic hip hop is a Palestinian singer and MC. Much of her music focuses on Middle East politics. Her first language is Arabic and she raps in Arabic. Mansour has recorded music with producer Johnny Juice of Public Enemy. Her first single, "Kofeyye Arabeyye (The Kufiya Is Arab)", featured rapper M-1 of dead prez. Shadia is featured on Chuck D's website shemovement.com.

Javiera Alejandra Mena Carrasco (born June 3, 1983 in Santiago), publicly known as Javiera Mena (Spanish pronunciation: [xaˈβieɾa ˈmena]), is a Chilean Indie electronic pop musician. She started her musical career in the Chilean indie music scene in 2001, and transformed into one of the most relevant Chilean indie acts after the release of her first studio album in 2006. Her musical style tends to be synthesized electronic sound, although prior to her official debut she made acoustic-oriented songs accompanied solely by guitar.

Javiera has been performing live since age 17, her first concert occurring in a classroom of Campus Juan Gómez Millas at the University of Chile. In 2002, she began to study musical composition and musical arrangement at the music academy ProJazz, while also performing at underground parties and clubs. In 2003, she entered the studio for the first time, and recorded various demos which leaked to the internet shortly thereafter. In 2004, she performed outside Chile for the first time, opening for Argentinean electropop band Entre Ríos in Buenos Aires.

Natalia Lafourcade (born Natalia Lafourcade Silva on 26 February 1984 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a Mexican pop-rock singer and songwriter. Her band's name is Natalia y La Forquetina.

Since she was very young, Natalia had a great interest in music, partly because her parents were musicians (her father is the French-Chilean musician Gastón Lafourcade). At three years old she began to sing and at four, she realized that she wanted to be an artist.

She attended Instituto Anglo Español, a Catholic middle school. In her childhood and adolescence she studied painting, flute, theater, music, acting, piano, guitar, saxophone and singing. When she was 10, Natalia sang in a Mariachi group.

She lived many years in Coatepec, Veracruz, Mexico, where she studied music with her mother, imitating artists like Gloria Trevi and Garibaldi.

In 1998, Natalia was part of a girl trio called Twist. The group was unsuccessful and they split up the following year.

Soon after, she began preparing to be a solo artist. When she was 17, Loris Ceroni gave Natalia the opportunity to be in a pop/rock group under his guidance, but when she wasn't sure, he encouraged her to go solo.