Xochitl Hernandez is a Mexican American mezzo-soprano who has graced the stages of Germany, California, Austria and Florida. Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition Puerto Rico District in 2023, Xochitl most recently made her Sarasota Opera debut as Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, her Central City Opera debut as Wowkle in La Fanciulla del West and Kate in The Pirates of Penzance, and her Carnegie Hall debut with the Vincerò Academy.  Xochitl holds vocal performance degrees from California State University, Northridge and the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. Beyond the stage, Xochitl has also used her voice and storytelling skills as a bilingual multimedia journalist for NBC and Telemundo network nationwide in addition to Notes From Her, a podcast founded by Xochitl interviewing women-of-color classical musicians.