When you're a light-skinned, blue-eyed, androgynous female emcee from Monterrey, Mexico, it can be tough to gain street cred or hold your own in male-dominated genres like rap and hip-hop. But Niña Dioz has overcome those challenges, bringing Latina 'female power' to the industry and gaining a huge following both in Mexico and the U.S.

She's a part of "la escuela nueva" (the new school) of emcees in Mexico, and she got her start in the "underground (hip-hop) scene" and international festivals (including LA and NYC), which gave her more of an edge and a closer look at how to cultivate raw talent.

For a decade, Niña Dioz has been breaking into the hip-hop and rap industry in her native Monterrey and Mexico City, as well as the U.S. and abroad. Her music has been featured in actor/director Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal's film "Rudo y Cursi," and she's worked with Mexican hip hop legends Control Machete.

She has been putting out mixtapes and contending with a record label that didn't have enough funds for marketing. But she forged ahead and released her debut "Nueva Escuela," and last year she self-released her first album titled "Indestructable."

Latin Post caught up with the Mexican lyrical trailblazer (whose real name is Carla Reyna) at the Pachanga Latino Music Festival in Austin, Texas, where she gave some insight (in Spanish) into her experience coming up in the male-dominated hip-hop industry.

"Obviously the (hip-hop) scene is predominantly male. But I was lucky, I wasn't the only female. There have been other female rappers that came before me. There's a band from Mexico called Magisterio that has a male and female rapper. They were a big influence on me becoming a female rapper in Spanish," she told Latin Post.

Establishing yourself as a female rapper in English and in the U.S. is different than in Spanish and in Mexico, Niña Dioz pointed out.

"It's totally two very distinct things. Hip-hop reflects your reality, your culture. Well, in the United States it's a more popular genre that really sells," she said. "They become millionaires and wear chains with millions of diamonds. That's not happening in Mexico, hip-hip artists don't walk around Mexico with diamond chains or necklaces because you will get robbed. That can only happen in the United States and not in Mexico, unless you are a Narcocorrido."

She projects a tomboyish, androgynous appearance by wearing masculine clothes; yet her pretty, blonde hair flows outside of her baseball caps, and she sports make-up and sometimes red lipstick.

"Yes, I do like playing with androgyny. One can tell that I'm not a girly girl, but here and there I like wearing masculine clothing, which I think looks cool," she told MTV Iggy in an earlier interview. "Men do it all the time since glam rock. They used lipstick, and they still wear tighter pants than any girl. Why can't a girl wear masculine stuff and give it her own feminine look? You make the garment, the garment doesn't make you."

At times, Niña Dioz also uses a male designer called Mancandy, which Latin Grammy Award-winning artist Julieta Venegas has reportedly worn as well.

While she raps about her political stance to "simple, everyday stories, her fight and pursuing her dreams," she said that she's not the biggest fan of "Mexican Gangsta rap," which she refers to as "Narcocorrido."

"It glorifiies a false hero ... and a lot of innocent people have to die, there's a lot of bloodshed," she said.

Her influences include Puerto Rican duo Calle 13 -- who recently were named the "Kings" of the Puerto Rican Day Parade by New York City officials -- as well as the "hardcore" and political Cuban rappers Las Krudas Cubensi. When asked if she's a fan of east coast or west coast hip-hop and rap in the U.S., she went with west coast.

Do you have any words of advice for other aspiring female hip-hop artists or rappers?

"Believe in yourself, know that anything's possible. ... I never thought I would be representing my city and be in the place that I am in now. ... I think if you have the idea, the desire, and everyday you reach for what you want, you will get what you want," she said.

Check out the official video for "2 Cool 4 School":