And the winner of the 2025 Tiny Desk Contest is (drumroll, please) … Ruby Ibarra! Hailing from the Bay Area by way of the Philippines, Ibarra is a rapper, singer and spoken word artist whose entry, "Bakunawa," stunned the Contest judges with its passionate delivery, genre-defying sound and multi-generational band.
"Bakunawa" is performed in three languages (English, Tagalog and Bisaya), and tells the Filipino folklore story of the Bakunawa dragon who swallows the moon. It's also inspired by the birth of Ibarra's first child.
"This song interprets the story as a metaphor for resistance and a battle cry against erasure," Ibarra says. "Much of Philippine history consists of colonization, imperialism and martial law — but on the other side of that is a rich history of Filipino people who have long resisted, organized and led revolutionary uprisings. This song, for me, is a statement that my daughter is my revolution and my hope that she will be liberated from the effects of our cultural history."
In fact, Ibarra was pregnant with her daughter when she recorded her entry. "I wanted to step into motherhood breaking the generational trauma, celebrating and accepting all parts of myself and reclaiming my power," she shares.
Ibarra says that every detail in her entry is intentional — including the band she put together to create it. She's accompanied by Ouida, Han Han and June Millington (yes, that's the June from '70s rock band Fanny) on vocals, as well as Anna Candari on guitar, Jojo Ramirez on drums and Camille Ramirez on bass. Ibarra told us she wanted these intergenerational artists to represent how oral mythologies are passed down over time.
Each of our judges were floored by Ibarra's entry and agreed that she is a star. You may remember "Bakunawa" from when NPR Music's Bobby Carter and Robin Hilton featured it on the first episode of our Top Shelf series. Alt. Latino and Tiny Desk host Felix Contreras says: "Ruby is blazing a trail with a sound that many more people need to hear." Publicist Judy Miller Silverman agreed, noting that Ruby and her band have "a clear passion to embrace history and culture in a modern way."
And this isn't the first time Ibarra's impressed NPR with her rich storytelling and musical talent. Her 2019 entry, "Someday," an ode to her mother, was featured on Weekend Edition. "I am what I talk about in my music," she said then. "I'm Pinay. I'm powerful. I'm fearless. I'm unfiltered."
You can hear more from Ibarra in her own words by tuning in to All Things Considered this afternoon.
Soon, Ibarra and her band will travel to Washington, D.C., to perform a Tiny Desk concert at NPR's headquarters. Then, they'll be performing in 10 cities around the country this summer, alongside Tiny Desk alums and new local artists. You can learn more about the Tiny Desk Contest On The Road tour and get tickets at npr.org/tinydeskcontest.
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