Carolina Mercado Muñoz
Tenor saxophonist from Guadalajara, Carolina Mercado is emerging as a rising figure in Latin American jazz, supported by a prestigious academic background and numerous international awards. Winner of several major competitions, she has performed at renowned festivals and clubs around the world, from New York to Paris. A member of prominent ensembles and collaborator with acclaimed artists, she is now developing her own project centered on her original compositions. Active on the Mexico City scene, her career continues to grow rapidly.
Carolina Mercado is a tenor saxophonist and composer originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco. She began her formal jazz studies at the Jazzuv Studies Center and continued at LaFaro Jazz Institute under the tutelage of Agustín Bernal. She has participated in various festivals in different states of Mexico, such as the Jazzatlán International Festival, the Jalisco Jazz Festival, and the Jazzuv International Festival, among many others. She has been a member of groups such as Guacamole (a jazz-hip-hop band), the National Jazz Orchestra of Mexico, and Four Paths (an all-female jazz group), among others.
Winner of the 9th Pan-American Jazz Saxophone Competition of the UNAM - Latin American level 2016 (the first woman to win the jazz category), she has also been awarded several full scholarships to attend seminars and workshops such as the Tónica International Seminar and the Xalapa International Jazz Encounter, etc. Several of the names that contributed to her musical development include masters such as Agustín Bernal, Rafael Alcalá, Anat Cohen, Miguel Zenón, Aaron Goldberg, Matt Penman, Dave Glasser, Matt Wilson, Dave Schnitter, Sam Yahel, Chris Cheek, John Ellis, Reggie Workman, Steve Cardenas, and others.
In 2017, Carolina was awarded one of the most prestigious scholarships in Latin America by the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation, which allowed her to begin her studies at The New School of Jazz in New York City. In 2019, she received a scholarship to attend the renowned "Keep an Eye" workshop in Amsterdam, offered by the Amsterdam Conservatory. In 2021, she participated in the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland with an ensemble representing The New School. She has performed in Paris under her own name and also in Tel Aviv, Israel, at one of the most important jazz clubs on the scene, Beit Hamudim.
She performed at the Eurojazz (CDMX) with the National Jazz Orchestra of Mexico in 2022 and that same year they participated in the jazz festival of the New Orleans Jazz Museum with the ONJMX. In 2022, she was awarded first place in the second edition of the Young Jazz Prize organized by ONJMX.
In 2023, she was one of the winners of She's Got the Glove, a competition directed by Yamaha. That same year, she was a D'Addario and Casa Veerkamp artist. From 2022 to 2025, she was a member of Caloncho's band, with whom she toured Mexico, the USA, Central America, and Spain. She is currently a member of Cristian Castro's horn section.
Carolina leads her own project, where she presents her original music, and has been invited to perform at various national festivals, such as the Jalisco Jazz Festival and the Ensenada Jazz Festival. She is also an active musician in Mexico City, where she performs at important jazz clubs such as Jazzatlán, the Zinco Jazz Club, and Parker & Lenox, among others.
