# Cain Culto
**Cain Culto** is the stage persona of Andrew Estevan Padilla (born 1997), an American singer, rapper, fiddler, and producer who works in a style he calls "Kentucky Latin Art-Pop," blending Appalachian string-band music with Colombian and Afro-Latin rhythms.[1](https://www.last.fm/music/Cain%2BCulto) • [2](https://queerkentucky.com/fried-chicken-and-jockstrops-kfc-santeria-singer-cain-culto-finds-queerness-in-kentucky-latin-art-pop-music/) The name joins Cain, the biblical figure, with the Spanish word *culto*, meaning worship, a pairing that reflects his movement from evangelical church music to art that treats religion, sexuality, and heritage together.[3](https://www.ebar.com/story/170475)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name | Andrew Estevan Padilla, born 1997 in the United States[4](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/459297-cain-culto/) |
| Background | First-generation child of Colombian and Nicaraguan immigrant parents[1](https://www.last.fm/music/Cain%2BCulto) |
| Genre | "Kentucky Latin Art-Pop": Appalachian folk (bluegrass fiddle) with Colombian vallenato and Afro-Colombian bullerengue[2](https://queerkentucky.com/fried-chicken-and-jockstrops-kfc-santeria-singer-cain-culto-finds-queerness-in-kentucky-latin-art-pop-music/) |
| Breakout song | "KFC Santería" (2025), with a remix featuring Sudan Archives[5](https://www.hearingthings.co/cain-culto-interview-occulto-002/) |
| Debut album | *CULTO*, 13 songs, released September 24, 2026[6](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cain-culto/414185324) |
| Label | Hive Music[7](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cain-culto-mn0004458568) |
| Instruments | Violin (fiddle), mandolin, banjo[3](https://www.ebar.com/story/170475) |
## Early life and religious background
Padilla was born in Florida and raised in a Colombian and Nicaraguan household listening to salsa and cumbia. When he was five, his family moved to Kentucky, where he learned bluegrass fiddle and attended a fundamentalist evangelical church.[8](https://qvoicenews.com/2025/08/06/cain-culto-talks-his-music-his-queerness-leaving-the-church/) He grew up between Florida and Kentucky in a household immersed in the evangelical church, and as a young musician he was a member of the indie Christian worship band Ecclesia and served as a worship pastor.[9](https://vocalo.org/entertainment-and-culture/2026/10/13/cain-culto-is-born-again-on-debut-album-culto) • [10](https://www.ladygunn.com/exclusive-2/cain-cultos-past-lives-and-empowering-present/)
According to Queer Kentucky, Padilla was sent to conversion therapy during this period.[11](https://queerkentucky.com/cain-culto-life-after-conversion-therapy-queer-kentucky-musician/) He came out as queer at the beginning of 2020, and a mental health crisis that same year caused him to turn away from the church and reemerge with his artistic identity.[12](https://www.quietdownmag.com/news/interview-cain-culto) • [9](https://vocalo.org/entertainment-and-culture/2026/10/13/cain-culto-is-born-again-on-debut-album-culto) He has described the transition as difficult, saying he faced backlash after coming out before beginning to create "a new space for people like myself" through his art.[12](https://www.quietdownmag.com/news/interview-cain-culto)
## Career
**Restart under a new name.** Padilla ended Ecclesia in 2021 and emerged as Cain Culto a year later.[8](https://qvoicenews.com/2025/08/06/cain-culto-talks-his-music-his-queerness-leaving-the-church/) His first releases as Cain Culto were the EPs *ORDINATION I* and *ORDINATION II*, both issued in 2022; he has said the first EP focuses on his religious trauma and the journey toward accepting his unfiltered creative expression.[4](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/459297-cain-culto/) • [12](https://www.quietdownmag.com/news/interview-cain-culto) This was followed by the EP *O ω O* in 2024.[4](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/459297-cain-culto/)
**"KFC Santería" and the occulto EPs.** In 2025 he released the single "KFC Santería," a rap track over bluegrass fiddle that he played himself, which he has called a way of owning his sexuality in an over-the-top, satirical register.[8](https://qvoicenews.com/2025/08/06/cain-culto-talks-his-music-his-queerness-leaving-the-church/) A remix with the violinist and rapper Sudan Archives followed, and versions with Peaches and [Brooke Candy](https://www.edgepedia.org/brooke-candy) and with MJ Nebreda appeared the same year.[5](https://www.hearingthings.co/cain-culto-interview-occulto-002/) • [6](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cain-culto/414185324) The EP *occulto 001* arrived on October 31, 2025, and *occulto 002* in 2026.[13](https://www.shazam.com/en-us/song/1797970538/kfc-santerc3ada) • [4](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/459297-cain-culto/)
**Collaborations and the debut album.** In 2025 he released "¡BASTA YA!" with the activist rapper Xiuhtezcatl, which LADYGUNN described as a mixed-media, anti-ICE anthem, and in 2026 the singles "chismosa" with Jarina De Marco and "BIMBAMBAU."[10](https://www.ladygunn.com/exclusive-2/cain-cultos-past-lives-and-empowering-present/) • [6](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cain-culto/414185324) His debut album *CULTO*, released September 24, 2026, contains 13 songs and combines Appalachian and Colombian sounds while exploring spirituality, satire, self-acceptance, and identity; Padilla has said he wanted a body of work so authentically his that no one else could have released it.[6](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cain-culto/414185324) • [9](https://vocalo.org/entertainment-and-culture/2026/10/13/cain-culto-is-born-again-on-debut-album-culto) • [14](https://radiomilwaukee.org/discover-music/artist-interviews/2026-03-06/cain-culto-chismosa-kfc-santeria)
## Music and imagery
His songwriting draws on the folk music of [Appalachia](https://www.edgepedia.org/appalachia) and Colombia, specifically vallenato and bullerengue, an Afro-Colombian genre of drum-driven folk music, mixing political lyrics with drums and violin.[2](https://queerkentucky.com/fried-chicken-and-jockstrops-kfc-santeria-singer-cain-culto-finds-queerness-in-kentucky-latin-art-pop-music/) • [15](https://tidal-mag.com/online-cain-culto) He plays violin, mandolin, and banjo, and his Kentucky upbringing gives his rap and singing a bluegrass flavor.[3](https://www.ebar.com/story/170475)
The visual side is built around queer and Indigenous imagery: he wears Mexican botas picudas (pointy boots), evokes the Orishas, the divine spirits of Santería and related [African diaspora religions](https://www.edgepedia.org/african-diaspora-religions), and appears with eye makeup and long fingernail extensions called claw nails, alongside an aesthetic of witchcraft, jockstraps, and grills with tusks.[3](https://www.ebar.com/story/170475) • [11](https://queerkentucky.com/cain-culto-life-after-conversion-therapy-queer-kentucky-musician/) He has described his persona as a "superheroic musical alter ego" whose earlier songs were made while "fragile and afraid" and whose confidence and mischief grew as he presented himself more authentically.[5](https://www.hearingthings.co/cain-culto-interview-occulto-002/)
## References
1. [Cain Culto, Last.fm](https://www.last.fm/music/Cain%2BCulto)
2. [Fried Chicken and Jockstraps: "KFC Santería" singer Cain Culto finds queerness in Kentucky Latin Art-Pop music, Queer Kentucky](https://queerkentucky.com/fried-chicken-and-jockstrops-kfc-santeria-singer-cain-culto-finds-queerness-in-kentucky-latin-art-pop-music/)
3. [Cain Culto: Musician puts his spell on religion and desire, the Bay Area Reporter (eBar)](https://www.ebar.com/story/170475)
4. [Cain Culto Albums, Songs, Discography, Album of The Year](https://www.albumoftheyear.org/artist/459297-cain-culto/)
5. [How Cain Culto Forged a Path in the Fire, Hearing Things](https://www.hearingthings.co/cain-culto-interview-occulto-002/)
6. [Cain Culto, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/cain-culto/414185324)
7. [Cain Culto, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/cain-culto-mn0004458568)
8. [Cain Culto talks his music, his queerness, leaving the church, Q Voice News](https://qvoicenews.com/2025/08/06/cain-culto-talks-his-music-his-queerness-leaving-the-church/)
9. [Cain Culto is "Born Again" on debut album "CULTO", Vocalo Radio 91.1FM](https://vocalo.org/entertainment-and-culture/2026/10/13/cain-culto-is-born-again-on-debut-album-culto)
10. [Cain Culto's Past Lives and Empowering Present, LADYGUNN](https://www.ladygunn.com/exclusive-2/cain-cultos-past-lives-and-empowering-present/)
11. [Cain Culto Was Sent to Conversion Therapy. He Came Out a Pop Star., Queer Kentucky](https://queerkentucky.com/cain-culto-life-after-conversion-therapy-queer-kentucky-musician/)
12. [Interview: Cain Culto, Quiet Down Mag](https://www.quietdownmag.com/news/interview-cain-culto)
13. [KFC Santería, Cain Culto, Shazam](https://www.shazam.com/en-us/song/1797970538/kfc-santerc3ada)
14. [Cain Culto is more than a character in a world of confrontation, Radio Milwaukee](https://radiomilwaukee.org/discover-music/artist-interviews/2026-03-06/cain-culto-chismosa-kfc-santeria)
15. [Cain Culto: The Rey of Latine Art, Tidal Mag](https://tidal-mag.com/online-cain-culto)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Reggae, dancehall, and Caribbean/Latin artists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license