Latino Pop in the 90s
La Vida Loca?
The “Latin Explosion”
• The late 1990s saw the rise of Latin American pop stars
in the U.S. mainstream
• This was a short-lived phenomenon, replaced by the
mid-2000s with “the next big thing”
• While each artist had their own sound, the marketing
strategy behind each of them was quite similar:
– Poppy dance sounds, tinged with salsa, or other Latin
music flavors
– Mostly English lyrics
– This has been a strategy for 50+ years, going back to La
Bamba, at least
Gloria Estafan
Don’t Let This Moment End
Gloria Estefan
• Born Gloria Fajardo García in Havana, Cuba, in 1957
• Her family emigrated to Florida in the late 50s
• Joined the Miami Sound Machine in the late 70s –
later married the bandleader
• Has won 3 Grammys & 4 Latin Grammys over the last
25 years
• The most successful crossover Latin/Pop artist ever
• Her music combines salsa, electronic dance music,
ballads, rock, jazz, and pop
Don’t Let This Moment End
Gloria Estefan
• Released 1998 on Epic Records – gloria!
(album)
• From her 8th album
• A dance/ballad/club hit in the late 90s
• Nominated for a Grammy
• Here she is with Canadian singer/diva Celine
Dion performing Estefan’s hit Conga
• Video
Ricky Martin
Livin’ La Vida Loca
Ricky Martin
• Born Enrique Martín Morales in San Juan,
Puerto Rico, in 1971
• Actor, singer, songwriter
• Began is career at age 12 with Menudo
• Began acting in Mexico as a teen, later starred
on the soap opera, General Hospital
• His performance of The Cup of Life on the
Grammys in 1999 was the beginning of the
Latin Explosion
Livin’ La Vida Loca
continued
• Released 1999 on Columbia Records – Ricky
Martin (album)
• This was Martin’s debut English language
album
• The mass success of this (& Cup of LIfe)
prompted record companies to begin
promoting Latino artists in the U.S.
• Video
Marc Anthony
Marc Anthony
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Born Marco Antonio Muñiz in NYC, NY, in 1968
Actor, producer, singer, songwriter, tv producer
Top selling tropical salsa artist of all time
5 Grammys (3 Latin Grammys)
Released his debut salsa album in 1993
His releases often alternate between Spanishlanguage salsa & English Latin Pop
• Key figure in helping Jennifer Lopez crossover to
Spanish-language audiences
I Need To Know
Marc Anthony
• Released 1999 on Columbia Records – Marc
Anthony (album)
• Anthony had already won several Grammy
awards by this point
• We can hear a strong salsa influence in his
music, as well as pop, jazz, & other Latino folk
musics
• Anthony wrote & co-produced this song
• Video
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez
• Born Jennifer Lynn Muñiz in The Bronx, NY, in
1969
• Singer, songwriter, dancer, actor, fashion designer,
producer
• Gained attention as a Fly Girl on the FOX tv show
In Living Color
• Got her break in the 1997 film Selena
• Her music crosses & combines genres:
– Latin pop, hip hop, rock, salsa, electronic dance, etc
Jennifer Lopez
Waiting for Tonight
• Released 1999 on Epic/Work Records – On the
6 (album)
• 2nd single from her debut album & her
signature song
• This song (& album) established Lopez as a
“triple threat” (dancer/actress/singer)
• She went on to make this…
• Video
Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
• Born in Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico in 1947
• First gained national attention for his
performance at Woodstock, 1969
• By the 1990s, however, he was without a
recording contract
• In 1999, he signed to Arista Records to record an
album featuring young, up-and-coming artists
• A global smash, the album Supernatural garnered
critical acclaim & 9 Grammy awards & 3 Latin
Grammys
Smooth
Santana
• Released 1999 on Arista Records – Supernatural
(album)
• Written by Rob Thomas (of Matchbox 20) & Itaal
Shur
• The song broke records for time spent in the Top
100 (30 wks) & spent 12 wks at #1
• We can hear a strong cha-cha rhythm & Santana’s
iconic, idiosyncratic lead guitar playing
throughout
• Video
Shakira
Shakira
• Born Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll in
Barranquilla, Colombia, 1977
• Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist,
producer, dancer, model
• She gained prominence in Latin America in the
late 90s, but her English-language album
Laundry Service (2001) broke her in the U.S.
• Her appearance on MTV Unplugged helped
launch her U.S. career
Whenever, Wherever
Shakira
• Released 2001 on Epic Records – Laundry
Service (album)
• Gloria Estefan helped write this song
• The best selling single of the 21st century &
Shakira’s signature song
• Video
• We can hear strong Latin American influences
– Pan pipes, percussion, charango
Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias
• Born Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler in Madrid, Spain,
1975
• Son of acclaimed Latin singer Julio Iglesias
• Singer, songwriter, actor, producer
• Came to prominence as one of the top-selling Spanishlanguage artists of the 90s before breaking in the U.S.
• An accomplished songwriter that has had his
compositions recorded by:
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Jennifer Lopez
Clay Aiken
Mel C (Spice Girls)
Andrea Bocelli
Bailamos
Enrique Iglesias
• Released 1999 on Fonovisa/Interscope Records –
Cosas del Amor (album) & Enrique (English
album)
• Chosen to appear in Will Smith’s Wild Wild West
• Written by the same team that wrote Cher’s
Believe
• The success of this song/album allowed Iglesias
to sign a multi-million dollar U.S. recording
contract
• Video
Paulina Rubio
Paulina Rubio
• Born Paulina Susana Rubio Dosamantes, in
Mexico City, Mexico, 1971
• Singer, actor, model
• Began her career in the early 90s releasing
Spanish-language albums
• Her crossover album Border Girl (2002) was
one of the top 10 best selling albums in
Mexico’s history
Don’t Say Goodbye
Paulina Rubio
• Released 2002 on Universal Records – Border
Girl (album)
• This album was the first time time Rubio had
been promoted in the U.S.
• The song relies much more on electronic
dance/pop than any discernable Latino Pop
influence
• Video
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
• Originally a social club in Havana, Cuba that was
popular among musicians
• 50 years after it closed, U.S. musician Ry Cooder
& Cuban musician Juan de Marcos González
recorded an album with some of the club’s
original musicians
• Their concert was turned into a concert
film/documentary by director Wim Wenders
• The album/film helped revive traditional Cuban
music across the globe
Chan Chan
Buena Vista Social Club
• Released 1997 on World Circuit/Nonesuch
Records – Buena Vista Social Club (album)
• Produced by Ry Cooder
• Originally written in 1987 by Cuban
bandleader Compay Segundo
• Rolling Stone listed the album as one of the
500 best albums of all time
• Video