Six became a magic number for Camilo on Tuesday morning, when the Latin Recording Academy released its annual list of Latin Grammys nominees. For the first time ever, the Colombian singer-songwriter became a Latin Grammy-nominated artist, and in six categories: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Pop …
Read More »Mariachi Star Alejandro Fernández Plots 'Hecho En México' World Tour
In honor of his upcoming album, Hecho En México, the beloved Mexican balladeer Alejandro “El Potrillo” Fernández has announced dates for an expansive headlining tour across the United States, Canada and Europe. Hecho En México is due for release on Friday the 14th — or, appropriately, Valentine’s Day. Produced by …
Read More »Bachata Kings Aventura Announce First U.S. Tour in 10 Years
Aventura broke the Latinternet in April when they dropped “Inmortal” — their first new single since 2009 — on frontman Romeo Santos‘ fourth studio album, Utopia. They did it again in September, when they joined Santos at his solo concert at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. This Monday morning, the Latino …
Read More »Women, Fusion Acts Shine at the Biggest Night in Regional Mexican Music
Premios de la Radio — the world’s longest-running regional Mexican music awards show — celebrated its 20th anniversary Thursday night in Dallas, TX. Unique to these awards are that they actually give nod to the diversity of the Mexican folk genre, by highlighting subgenres such as banda, mariachi, and norteño. …
Read More »Nortec Collective's Bostich and Fussible Look Back on 20 Years of Border Town Sounds
It’s been two decades since Ramón Amezcua and Pepe Mogt, better known as Bostich and Fussible, first collided the polka-soaked folkiness of Mexican banda and norteño with the exploratory possibilities of electronic music. The resulting mélange was dubbed Nortec: a portmanteau of norteño and techno, it became a sound, and …
Read More »'They Legitimized Buying Views': YouTube Ads Divide Latin Music Industry
Major music companies are allegedly spending tens of thousands of dollars to boost view counts on the world’s largest streaming service. How the companies are doing it, though, is entirely legal on YouTube, thanks to a type of Google advertising that one digital marketer describes as “the legit way of …
Read More »CNCO Are Latin Pop's Answer to a New Generation of Boy Bands
In the years since the collapse of One Direction, there’s been a surge of boy bands all over the world — among them groups like BTS, PrettyMuch and Why Don’t We. Now with all-Latino group CNCO entering the fray, the Spanish-language music industry has an opportunity to show its mettle …
Read More »How ÌFÉ's Electro-Jazz Fusions Tap Into the Afro-Caribbean Divine
The crux of the Puerto Rico-based group ÌFÉ, says bandleader Otura Mun, is “about bringing people together, and seeing ourselves as people connected.” In their critically-acclaimed 2017 debut, IIII+IIII — pronounced ‘Edgy-Og-Beh’ — Mun combined the traditional praise songs and messages of his spiritual practice with jovial, Afro-Caribbean rhythms and …
Read More »Inside Arturo Castro's Cliché-Busting, Next-Generation Latino Comedy
Note to servers, baristas, production assistants, flight attendants, party hosts, and really anyone, anywhere: Do not — we repeat, do not — under any circumstances give Arturo Castro coffee. Within minutes of sitting down to talk in the sun-drenched atrium of New York’s Bowery Hotel lobby, the actor is engaged …
Read More »Cuco, Jean Carter Talk Bad Romance in New Song 'Bossa No Sé'
SoCal singer-songwriter Cuco has dropped a new track titled “Bossa No Sé.” Featuring hip-hop newcomer Jean Carter, it is the second single off Cuco’s major label debut, due for release via Interscope in June. Blending flutters of bossa nova guitar with cutting trap beats, “Bossa No Sé” — a wordplay …
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