BROADCASTS.com

Published: Feb. 4, 2020, 3 a.m.

Episode Notes\n\n

Guatever: Episode 1\nBy: Maria Caama\xf1o [Dominican] and Natalia Camino [Mexican]

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Listen to the playlist :) https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2EMqCDcHrDOjFquwQOHapN?si=-zAEA_goSkOSRd0dhZkyDQ

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[\u201cI Like It,\u201d by Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin]

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Natalia: Hi! I\u2019m Natalia Camino and I am a freshman here at Northwestern, double majoring in Econ and International Studies.

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Maria: And I am Maria Caamano and I am also a freshman here at Northwestern and I am majoring in journalism. For this podcast, I think we want to clarify that what we mean by Latin music isn\u2019t just Latin artists. Like, we\u2019re not just gonna be out here talking about Selena Gomez.

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Natalia: Or Demi Lovato.

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Maria: Yeah or like anyone who is like remotely Latino or makes music in English. We\u2019re talking about real Latin American artists.

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Natalia: Artists. Yeah. And, like the type of music that primarily comes from Latin America but is not really only listened to in Latin America.

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Maria: Exactly.

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Natalia: As we will discuss in our podcast.

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Maria: However, in this episode of our podcast we are touching on Latin American artists who do make music in English.

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Natalia: Yeah. So that\u2019s kinda why we made this podcast because we love Latin music and we listen to Latin music all the time in our room.

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Maria: Yes.

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Natalia: On the way to class, we have passionate discussions about Latin music. On the bus to Chicago. And we kinda just feel that Latin music is not really represented in the US. Even though it is listened to by a lot of people in the United States.

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Maria: Yeah. In 2018, the fifth most heard genre in the US was Latin music and it surpassed EDM and country music, which I mean, I\u2019m not sorry about it surpassing country.

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Natalia: I mean...it makes sense. So, kinda going off of that, the relationship we have with Latin music growing up has been very different. So it\u2019s kinda weird that we both have this \u2013 the same passion and love for it. Even though we come from very different backgrounds, I guess.

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Maria: Yes, for sure.

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Natalia: So it\u2019s kinda weird that we both have the same passion and love for it, even though we come from different backgrounds. I guess.

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Maria: So do you want to talk about your background?

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Natalia: So I moved to the U.S \u2013 I moved to Michigan- [from Mexico] when I was six years old and I grew up in Farmington Hills, MI. Which is considered one of the most diverse cities, or areas, in the U.S, but, like, even with that there were still only ten Latinos in my class of 300-some people. So, for me, my experience with Latin music has been very individual. I started listening to Latin music sophomore year and I would be like, \u201cHey guys listen to this,\u201d but my friends didn\u2019t speak Spanish so they were like \u201cOh coool...okay.\u201d Because they didn\u2019t know what I was talking about. But, like, for you it was very different.

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Maria: Oh yeah, for sure. From my experience \u2013 I\u2019m from Dominican Republic \u2013 I just moved to the US, about, I think now it\u2019s four months?

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Natalia: She\u2019s an international student! So exotic!

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Maria: So exotic! So tropical! But I like grew up in obviously, a Latin American country. So, obviously Latin American music was what I would hear on the radio. But, by the time I was in my teenage years, it kinda became this thing where I just felt very connected to it. As well as, like, just you would go to parties and that\u2019s the only music they would be playing. So, eventually, if you want to avoid being the awkward person who doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s playing, you\u2019ll eventually learn the songs. And then I had the privilege of, like, being able to go to summer programs in the US while I was in high school. So, I got to meet a lot of American kids by the time that Latin music was on the rise. It was just very different and it was very interesting to come from another country that that was solely the music you listen to.

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Natalia: To being the only one who listens to that.

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Maria: Exactly. And also like the idea of people being more open to it, I guess. I was more surprised by people being like \u201cOh, I want to listen to this. Can you recommend songs for me to listen to?\u201d than by them being like \u201cOh, she listens to Latin music.\u201d But, like, that\u2019s it.

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Natalia: Yeah, like, I mean, we\u2019re kinda talking about this too but there\u2019s definitely been a change in the US recently in which people listen to Latin music more. So, also just another introductory thing for our pOdCaSt. Um, we\u2019re mostly focusing on reggaeton and urbano, which are under the umbrella of Latin music. There\u2019s obviously a lot more; there\u2019s banda, norte\xf1a, classic Mexican, like Jos\xe9 Miguel...NOT Jos\xe9 Miguel. That\u2019s my Uncle! [laughter]

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Maria: That\u2019s my stepdad!

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Natalia: Luis Miguel and Jose Jose.

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Natalia: But yeah, so first we wanted to start with some misconceptions about reggaeton.

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Maria: Oh, yes. I guess we both have had this experience where our parents were like: \u201cOh my God. Reggaeton?!\u201d

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Natalia: Yeah, like I told my parents I am doing a podcast on reggaeton and my mom was like, \u201creggaeton??!!\u201d Like, scandalized, she was scandalized. If you listen to some of the big reggaeton and urbano hits, they\u2019re kinda \u2013 the language they use sometimes can come off as kinda vulgar.

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Maria: Yeah, it\u2019s kinda like dirty.

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Natalia: Yeah.

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Maria: But we\u2019ve talked about this in the past. Like, we both think that it\u2019s very...like, it wouldn\u2019t make sense if they didn\u2019t use that type of language.

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Natalia: The more you listen to reggaeton, the more you can tell that the words they use, they use it to either catch people\u2019s attention, and then they also use it ironically. Like, these artists know what they\u2019re doing.

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Maria: Oh, for sure, for sure.

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Natalia: They put a lot of thought.

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Maria: Yeah.

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Natalia: Like, it\u2019s true art. Yeah. And so, I think also reggaeton has a negative connotation with the older generation.

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Maria: Oh, for sure.

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Natalia: It\u2019s like Elvis Presley. In the 50s, people kinda thought Elvis Presley was scandalous and dirty. That\u2019s what the older generation thought, but now he\u2019s like an icon. And I think reggaeton kinda is that way too, like the older generation is like, \u201cOh, this is so scAndAlous! Ugh! oUr cHilDrens\u2019 mInDs!\u201d

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Maria: \u201cCover their ears!\u201d

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Natalia: \u201cCover their ears!\u201d

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Natalia: But, I think also reggaeton, like, some of the stigma surrounding reggaeton is because it comes from predominantly Caribbean sound.

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Maria: Yes.

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Natalia: And so, the Latino population is kinda \u2013 it\u2019s not racist necessarily because we\u2019re all kinda the same...we\u2019re a mixture of races, but it\u2019s like colorism.

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Maria: Well, like, the thing is, we\u2019ve had this discussion in the past and obviously we\u2019re not gonna get too much into it because its...

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Natalia: That\u2019s not what this podcast is about.

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Maria: Yeah. And it\u2019s also very controversial. But I think colorism is definitely a thing in Latin America.

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Natalia: It\u2019s just stereotypes.

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Maria: Yeah.

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Natalia: So, like the older generation has a stereotype for what reggaeton is, and it\u2019s subconsciously racist. But we\u2019re not gonna really get into that. But yeah! Earlier we were talking about how recently we\u2019ve seen a rise of Latin music in the US. And I think the first one, like...

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Maria: We have to give it credit as much as we hate to.

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Natalia: Yeah. I mean there\u2019s been some hits here and there like \u201cDanza Kuduro\u201d and \u201cGasolina\u201d; like, those still go hard everywhere.

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Maria: Yeah.

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Natalia: But the first one...That really like...

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Maria: That really resonated with people.

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Natalia: With the American public.

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Maria: Was\u2026

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Natalia & Maria: \u201cDespacito.\u201d

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Maria: So...

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Natalia: By Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and LASTLY Justin Bieber. If you have not listened to the original Despacito with just Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee\u2026

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Maria: That goes way harder than the Justin Bieber remix.

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Natalia: It\u2019s like...Justin Bieber did to \u201cDespacito\u201d \u2013 this is an analogy \u2013 Justin Bieber did to \u201cDespacito\u201d what Justin Bieber did to \u201cBad Guy\u201d with Billie Eilish.

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Maria: Oh! Yes.

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Natalia: He ruined them.

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Maria: Yep. But basically most people don\u2019t know that \u201cDespacito\u201d had an original version, before Justin Bieber, that was only Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee and it was released in January of 2017. The Bieber remix, however, was released after they had already gained a lot of fame and success in Latin American countries with \u201cDespacito.\u201d And then they released it in April of 2017 with Justin Bieber.

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Natalia: I was listening to the original one.

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Maria: Same.

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Natalia: Like January through March.

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Maria: Oh, for sure.

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Natalia: I was like \u201cOh, this goes hard. It\u2019s a good reggaeton song.\u201d But then, \u201cDespacito\u201d came out and people literally did not know how to act. They were acting like it was the first Latin song to ever exist. But now, like today, whenever I hear \u201cDespacito\u201d \u2013 the remix \u2013 whenever it comes on shuffle it\u2019s just a reminder that I have to get my shit together because \u201cDespacito\u201d to me now represents all that is bad in the world. Like, I can\u2019t listen to \u201cDespacito\u201d anymore.

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Maria: Of course. \u201cDespacito\u201d was a really good song. Like she said, I was jamming out to it when it came out. And Bieber hadn\u2019t done music for a long ass time during that time. And he just decided \u201cYou know what? Imma jump on this song. I\u2019m gonna like\u2026\u201d

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Natalia: JUSTIN BIEBER DIDN\u2019T EVEN KNOW THE WORDS HE COULDN\u2019T SING THEM BECAUSE HE\u2026But yes, so \u201cDespacito\u201d \u2013 other than \u2013 with Justin Bieber as much as he kinda ruined the song, he allowed for it to really propel forward in the United States.

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Maria: For sure.

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Natalia: Because, as you were saying, he hadn\u2019t written or he hadn\u2019t released a lot of music in a while. And so he kinda propelled it forward and people were losing their minds because they were like, \u201cLatin music is good??? WHAT?!\u201d

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Maria: \u201cWOW!\u201d

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Natalia: \u201cLike, WHAT?!\u201d

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Maria: And then \u201cI Like It\u201d came out, and when \u201cI Like It\u201d came out I don\u2019t think Cardi realized the power this collab was gonna have. I appreciate Cardi, I\u2019ve told this to Nat, I love her cause she\u2019s Dominican. I appreciate that she\u2019s honest, that she\u2019s that bitch, and I like that she tried to make a song...

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Natalia: That went back to her roots.

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Maria: Yeah, exactly!

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Natalia: It\u2019s like what she was trying to do. Yeah, so Cardi didn\u2019t really know the power that Bad Bunny and J Balvin possessed in Latin America. Okay, I listened to \u201cI Like It\u201d because of J Balvin and Bad Bunny.

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Maria: Same.

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Natalia: Because, for those who don\u2019t know, J Balvin...Last year in 2019, he was one of the top Spotify artists...

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Maria: He was the artist of the decade for 2019 with Ariana!

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Natalia: J Balvin has a musical monopoly. Sorry, my econ major is showing. He has a musical monopoly of the Latin American music industry in a sense. So, I listened to \u201cI Like It\u201d because of that,

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Maria: Yeah, same.

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Natalia: But then my American friends were like, \u201cOh, Cardi B! This is such a new song! Oh, it\u2019s so good!\u201d And I\u2019m like, \u201cYeah, did you listen to Bad Bunny\u2019s verse?! It goes so hard!\u201d And they\u2019re like, \u201cWho\u2019s Bad Bunny?\u201d

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Maria: Yeah.

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Natalia: And I\u2019m like melting on the ground like \u201cUghhhhh\u201d.

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Maria: No yeah, I told Nat when we were having a very heated discussion at like 11 at night in our dorm that I think that without \u201cI Like It,\u201d Latin music couldn\u2019t have stayed\u2026

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Natalia: Relevant.

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Maria: Yeah. I think \u201cDespacito\u201d was kinda like what you would say a one-hit-wonder I guess.

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Natalia: Kind of, yeah.

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Maria: It was like,

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Natalia: It was a little sample.

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Maria: It put people\u2019s minds into, like, \u201cOh, Latin music is okay I guess.\u201d

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Natalia: It\u2019s like a little sample. It\u2019s like \u201cOoh, that was kinda good!\u201d

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Maria: They saw that it was successful and then they released this, which was just amazing. It was the song of the summer. Cardi herself said in an interview with W magazine that she never thought that it would take off like it did.

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Natalia: And in 2018, Apple Music released that \u201cI Like It\u201d was the 6th most-streamed song of that year, which is crazy.

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Maria: Yeah.

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Natalia: Because like, no Latin song had ever reached that point before. Yeah, and especially with streaming, it allows music to be so much more globalized.

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Maria: Exactly, yeah.

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Natalia: Yeah, so like music has been able to be listened to around the globe so much more easily because of these streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify and all that. Uh, so this kinda has allowed for Latin music to be on the rise in the U.S., so how do you feel about that? That\u2019s like some of our closing remarks, I guess.

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Maria: I guess. I feel like it\u2019s good. I think music, however, is something that is very global. And I think that I am very pro-listening to other culture\u2019s music.

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Natalia: Yeah, for sure.

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Maria: I feel like other people listening to Latin music makes it also so that Latinos are kinda heard out a little bit more?

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Natalia: Yeah, I feel like it allows us to feel like we\u2019re more a part of the American culture. But I still feel like there is a very long way to go.

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Maria: But I guess you could also make that argument that there\u2019s a long way to go for everyone.

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Natalia: Yeah, I mean I feel like overall the music industry is very whitewashed.

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Maria: Yeah.

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Natalia: For sure. \u201cI Like It,\u201d even, which was the biggest Latin American song, they do swear in both English and Spanish.

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Maria: Uh-huh.

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Natalia: For those who don\u2019t speak Spanish, they say all this stuff and the American government or censor people or whatever\u2026the Federal Censorship Commission or whatever...AP Gov showing through. They censor the English swear words, they censor the n-word, but then they don\u2019t censor like chingar and cabr\xf3n which are, like, for the large majority of Spanish speakers in the US...they know what that means.

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Maria: Oh, for sure.

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Natalia: So like, I think that\u2019s kinda ironic and really shows how the American public doesn\u2019t fully understand.

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Maria: In the end, what we are trying to say and what I think also what we are trying to achieve with this podcast is that we want more people to listen to Latin music, understand it, even if you don\u2019t understand Spanish \u2013 we are here to try and ease you into it.

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Natalia: So, along with our podcast, there\u2019s gonna be a playlist with each episode. I\u2019m curating the playlist so this week it\u2019s some of the songs we mention in today\u2019s podcast and also some of the songs by artists that we are going to be covering in the next episodes because the next episodes we are diving more into different artists.

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Maria: And just their history, how have they been affecting Latin America, how have they been changing the music industry \u2013 just more about specific artists.

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Natalia: And that is it.

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Together: So tune in next time, or gUaTevEr.

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Natalia: This has been Natalia Camino.

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Maria: And Maria Caama\xf1o. On NBN.

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[Outro of \u201cI Like It\u201d by Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin]

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