Latin
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The face of the legendary Celia Cruz will be depicted on a U.S. quarter, according to the United States Mint. Widely known as the Queen of Salsa, the late Cuban singer was chosen along with four other exemplary women from history to be featured on the U.S. quarter as part of the American Women Quarters Program in 2024. She will also make history as the first Afro-Latina to appear on the coin.
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Cruz, who is considered one of the most influential Latin singers of all time and a cultural icon, is remembered for her lively expression of “¡Azúcar!,” and for her highly influential body of work consisting of 37 albums.
The other honorees include Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first women of color to serve in Congress; Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, women’s rights advocate and Civil War era surgeon; poet, activist, and lawyer Pauli Murray; and Native American writer, composer, educator Zitkala-Ša. The four-year program “celebrates the accomplishments and contributions made by women of the United States,” states the official website.
Since joining La Sonora Matancera in the early ’50s up until her death in 2003 due to cancer, Cruz was unquestionably one of the most exuberant performers of Latin music. Her larger-than-life onstage presence coupled with her captivating charisma made her a legend in Latin America and beyond.
In the 1970s, she became a leading force in salsa music and joined Fania All Stars alongside Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colón, Tito Puente and other icons of the genre, a cultural phenomenon that took place in New York City and beyond. She later explored other tropical genres such as merengue and reggaetón. Some of her most memorable hits in history include “La Vida Es Un Carnaval,” “La Negra Tiene Tumbao,” and “Químbara” also featuring Johnny Pacheco.
She never lip-synched, and when asked to do it for TV performances, she refused. Cruz was also incredibly influential for many of today’s Latin stars. Her last 2003 album, Regalo del Alma, remained at No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart for three weeks.
“I’ve never thought of retiring. I’m healthy, I’m rolling, I’m rolling. I remember Celia Cruz,” reggaetón pioneer Ivy Queen previously told Billboard, who has long idolized and emulated Cruz. “Her last Premios Lo Nuestro performance, she had cancer. She walked from her chair to the stage, she sang, and … she sang. That’s what I’m doing. F–k it. She did it, I’m gonna do it.”Although Cruz died two decades ago, her legacy continues to appear in various corners of pop culture. Last year, the estate of the salsa legend partnered with Archetype-IO to release her first NFT collection, which debuted in Art Basel 2022. In 2016, an 80-part series about her life became available for streaming on Netflix, titled Celia, by Telemundo.
For each year commencing in 2022 and running through 2025, the U.S. mint will issue five new reverse designs, and the obverse of the coin will still feature George Washington, but with a slightly different design from the previous quarter program. This year celebrates Bessie Colemen, Edith Kanaka’ole, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jovita Idar and Maria Tallchief.
Just before the start of his previously scheduled trial, Jose Teran, who was accused of running a YouTube scam with a partner, has accepted a plea deal in which he has admitted to counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and transactional money laundering for his role in one of the largest royalty scams in history. In his plea, Teran admits to stealing over $23 million in royalties from Latin artists that he admits now he had “no lawful rights to monetize or otherwise control.”
Teran and his business partner, Webster Batista Fernandez, operated their scam under the business name “MediaMuv” and were originally indicted by a federal grand jury in Arizona on Nov. 16, 2021, on 30 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. The scam was the subject of a Billboard investigation. Batista took a plea deal on April 21, 2022, in which he admitted to one count of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud. Batista now awaits sentencing, which is currently scheduled for March.
Teran’s plea agreement echoes much of Batista’s. Both pleas say that the MediaMuv founders “discovered there were songs of musicians and bands on the internet that were not being monetized.” So they began uploading the recordings to YouTube as MP3 files, claiming to own or control the rights. Between 2016 and 2021, Teran and Batista falsely claimed royalties from songwriters and artists ranging from independent creators to songs recorded by global stars like Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Prince Royce, Julio Iglesias and Anuel AA.
Under the name MediaMuv, Teran and Batista signed a contract with YouTube to use its content management system (CMS), which rights holders use to claim copyright ownership and the ensuing royalties. “We falsely claimed that MediaMuv owned over 50,000 songs and further sought access to YouTube’s CMS in order to obtain royalty payments for these songs,” Teran said in his plea. In addition, the duo entered a contract with AdRev, a rights management company owned by Downtown Music Holdings, “to assist in administering the music [they] fraudulently claimed to own.”
Billboard’s investigation uncovered that YouTube royalty-claiming scams like MediaMuv’s are more common than is generally believed, but Teran and Batista’s scheme was particularly brazen in terms of both scale and style.
Sources who work closely with the platform say YouTube scammers typically just claim small fractions of songs they suspect have not been claimed properly and might go unnoticed. This is especially common on the publishing side, where some compositions have so many songwriters that ownership and royalties are far more complicated than they are for recordings. But MediaMuv often claimed 100% of royalties for master recordings or compositions.
Both Batista and Teran admitted in their pleas that they sent three falsified contracts with companies that “purportedly” managed artists to AdRev and YouTube “for the purpose of deceiving [them] into allowing [MediaMuv] to continue [its] fraudulent operation” in July 2017. According to Teran’s plea deal, these three forged management contracts were provided to support MediaMuv’s assertion that it controlled a vast Latin music catalog.
The plea deals also say the duo did not act alone. Both mention that they hired “over five co-conspirators” to help them find new music to fraudulently claim and, in return, those co-conspirators were paid “a portion of [MediaMuv’s] royalties.” Names are not revealed in these documents, but other court documents tied MediaMuv to a network of people who seem to have benefited financially from Teran and Batista’s scheme, including Batista’s then-wife, who purchased a house in Phoenix in cash with money from a MediaMuv-associated bank account, according to a court document filed by prosecutors.
The house she purchased, along with six bank accounts, a Tesla, a BMW and a plot of land, are all listed in Teran and Batistas’ plea deals as items they agree to forfeit.
Though the duo is ordered to “make restitution to any victim” of their crimes, one of the businessmen who represented multiple MediaMuv victims told Billboard in August he doesn’t “expect to get it all back. I’m sure they spent a lot of it on cars and travel and stuff.”
In a statement to Billboard, a spokesman for Downtown Music Holdings says the company is “pleased by the latest developments in the MediaMuv criminal case, as both defendants have now pleaded guilty and admitted their role in this complex fraud scheme. This case sends a strong message to other potential bad actors that this kind of fraudulent activity in our industry will be investigated and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
Representatives for Teran and YouTube did not respond to Billboard’s request for comment.
Teran’s sentencing is set for April 17, 2023.
Mexican band Maná has canceled its Feb. 20 performance at the 2023 Viña del Mar International Song Festival due to a health problem for its lead vocalist, Fher.
In a press release issued on Tuesday (Feb. 7), the organizers of the Chilean festival explained that last year, Fher injured his knee and continued touring despite “immense pain,” until he had to undergo surgery at the beginning of this year in the United States.
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“The doctors’ prognosis was a speedy recovery in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, it has been slower and more complicated, so the doctors have warned him that he will not be able to travel to Chile,” they said, adding that the rocker hopes to be well as soon as possible to continue with his other commitments.
That includes their 19-date U.S. tour, México Lindo y Querido 2023, which was supposed to begin this Friday, Feb. 10 with two consecutive nights at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles. Those shows have been rescheduled to May 26 and 27. On Maná’s official website, the first U.S. tour date on the calendar is now March 17 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.
“To the Manátics in Chile, see you soon and a heartfelt apology,” Maná said in the festival’s release.
In the next few days a replacement for the Mexican band will be announced. Tickets already purchased will be valid for the new show, but those who want to request a refund can do so between Feb. 9-18 here.
In its 62nd edition, the Viña del Mar Song Festival is scheduled from Feb. 19-24 and will feature performances by Fito Páez, Karol G, Christina Aguilera, Alejandro Fernández and Camilo, among other Latin stars.
Premio Lo Nuestro has unveiled its first round of performers set to take the stage at the 35th annual awards ceremony on Feb. 23. Confirmed artists include Prince Royce, Christian Nodal, Tini, El Alfa, Gloria Trevi, La Adictiva and Lupita Infante. Hosts Paulina Rubio and Sebastián Yatra are also set to perform.
This year, Yatra leads the list of nominations with 10 nods. The Colombian artist’s entries include the all-genre artist of the year, song of the year and album of the year categories. He is also nominated for tour of the year and other pop categories. His PLN-nominated album Dharma (2022) peaked at No. 2 on Latin Pop Albums and No. 13 on Top Latin Albums.
He is closely followed by Bad Bunny, Camilo, Becky G and Grupo Firme, who each garnered nine nods; urbano household names Maluma, Daddy Yankee and Ozuna take eight each. Rauw Alejandro and Rosalía tie with seven, as well as Carin León, Karol G, Carlos Vives and J Balvin.
In total, 192 artists across diverse musical backgrounds are nominated within 39 categories. The nominations for Premio Lo Nuestro are based on Uforia radio airplay during the eligibility period of Oct. 1, 2021 through Sept. 30, 2022. Streaming counts and the assessment of a committee of music and entertainment experts also factor in this list.
This year’s theme is “El Mundo Es Lo Nuestro” (or The World is Ours), and the show — cohosted by Yatra, Rubio, TV personality Alejandra Espinoza, and Adrián Uribe of Univision’s late-night show De Noche Pero Sin Sueño — will broadcast live on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. ET. It will simulcast on Galavisión in the U.S. and Canal 5 in Mexico.
Bad Bunny opened the 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday night (Feb. 5) with a party-starting performance of his tracks “El Apagon” and “Después de la Playa.” Far beyond, his energetic set—where he was joined by around 40 dancers and a 10-musician live band—was a homage to the Caribbean culture, especially Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
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In the audience, an amused Taylor Swift was seen shimmying her shoulders and swaying her hips to the fast-paced mambo and merengue fusion.
A full-fledged party track about making plans after the beach, “Después de la Playa” is one of the most experimental tracks on Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti, which nabbed the Grammy award for best música urbana album. The historic set debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and all 23 tracks entered the top 25 on Billboard‘s Hot Latin Songs chart. “Despues de la Playa” debuted at No. 3.
Below, read the full lyrics translated into English.
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You say I’m not a risk-takerIf you only knew that I’m on fireTell me what’s your game and I’ll playLet’s not leave this for laterThat the light’s already offI wanna know if you want the same thing I do
Tell me where do we go after the beachIf we get dry, I’ll bring the towelAnd later we get wet but in my bedI’m going to give it to you hardTell me where do we go after the beachIf we get dry, I’ll bring the towelAnd later we get wet but in my bedI’m going to give it to you hard
Tell me, are we going to the mambo or not?You tell me, babyZumbaWhat?Ey-ey-eyToday’s the dayUh, ey
Tell me where do we go after the beachIf we get dry, I’ll bring the towelAnd later we get wet but in my bedI’m going to give it to you hard
Baby, you live farBut however, I’ll look for youBecause you’re fine and you deserve itI want to give it to you in front of the oceanSo that the fishes can get happyAnd you’re wet, I’m ready to ride youRelax, I know this is once in a whileThe other time you got drunk on the beachAnd asked me to kiss you
How?Ey-ey-ey-ey-ey-ey-ey-eyTurn that on, turn that on, turn that onHow?I’m with the apecha’oNo one call me today, ok?I’m going to drink it all
Ey, everyone is drunk, dancing on the beachFeeling the heat, feeling the heatYou’ve been looking and lookingIt’s better if you get close, if you get closeWe talk about that butt at all the barbershopsAnd in the corner store, the corner store (how?)Ey, your boyfriend thinks he’s Romeo [Santos]But I’m going to pull a Don [Omar]I’m going to pull a Don, what, what, what?I went out with your girlGod already forgave me, only you’re left
What, what, what?I’m drunk, drunkEy-ey-ey-ey-ey-eyWhat do you think about this?I’m not going to stop, ok?Don’t stop, don’t stopAh-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah (¿cómo?)Ey-ey-ey-ey-eyHow excitingEy-ey-ey-ey-eyDon’t turn offEy-ey-ey-eyWhere are we going?Where are we going?Tell me, after hereWait,Who’s this guy?Who’s getting beers from our cooler, youAre you with us?Oh, okey-okey-okey-okey, go for it
Banda Sinaloense MS de Sergio Lizárraga, better known as Banda MS, its among banda’s greatest musical innovators. The group’s monumental 20-year career parallels banda music’s continued rise.
With its heady 17-album discography, which dates back to 2004, the troupe — led by Sergio Lizárraga and now fronted by Alan Ramírez and Oswaldo Silvas Carreón — has not only managed to uphold the century-old regional tradition for two decades, but they’ve demonstrated they aren’t afraid to step out of their comfort zone.
The Sinaloense band has shown this time over time — whether incorporating rap verses courtesy of Snoop Dogg (and soon Ice Cube), fusing it with other regional styles, like mariachi alongside Christian Nodal, or giving it the pop balladry treatment with the help of Camila’s Mario Domm.
On their latest efforts with Mario Domm, “Un Chingo de Tequila,” Domm tells Billboard Español: “About a year ago I wrote a song and I thought it was something very different from all I had done in my life and I asked myself who was the most important banda artist, and immediately I thought of Banda MS. It’s something new for me; I’m singing something different, new, but I feel comfortable doing it. I am happy to collaborate with Alan, with Walo, in short, with the whole team that has been incredible with me.”
With constant novelty but true to their original rugged essence, it’s no surprise why the wildly viral and chart-topping band has achieved such a large fervid fan base. Their ambitious, tambora-driven sound reveals the vibrant nuances of the genre, as these 20 videos show, while always demonstrating their devotion to their beloved Sinaloense music.
Without further ado, here are 20 songs to celebrate Banda MS’s 20-year career, in random order.
Bad Bunny made history with Un Verano Sin Ti, the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for album of the year in the 65-year existence of the Grammy Awards. However, when British star Harry Styles snagged the award for his hit album Harry’s House, social media was flooded with mixed reactions.
“Was holding my breath for @sanbenito at the @RecordingAcad. Un Verano Sin Ti didn’t get AOTY, but it did in the hearts of Latinos. Our day will come, but we already have a winner. Gracias Benito. Felicidades,” wrote one fan.
“Don’t get me wrong Harry’s House is really good but Bad Bunny deserved album of the year,” tweeted another.
Yet another wrote, “As albums go, both Beyoncé and Bad Bunny put together stellar offerings this year. I don’t hate Harry, but there were obviously better choices.”
“Bad Bunny was robbed,” wrote one fan.
“I need to know their reasoning for not voting for Bad Bunny. ‘Cause that doesn’t make sense to me either,” said another one.
Pop juggernauts Beyoncé — who became the top Grammy winner of all time this year — Adele, Lizzo, ABBA, Coldplay, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar and Brandi Carlile were also nominated in the category.
“I’ve been so inspired by every artist in this category with me. A lot of different times in my life I listened to everyone in this category when I’m alone,” said Styles in his acceptance speech. “I think when moments like tonight it’s so important for us to remember that there is no such thing as best in music.”
From his three nominations, Bad Bunny, who opened the 2023 Grammy Awards, took home the trophy for best música urbana album award, a category in which he competed against Rauw Alejandro (Trap Cake, Vol. 2), Daddy Yankee (Legendaddy), Farruko (La 167) and Maluma (The Love & Sex Tape).
“I made this album with love and passion. When you do things with love and passion everything is easier, life is easier,” he said in Spanish and English. “I want to thank everyone who listened to my music. Thanks to all the Latinos in the world, in the United States. Thanks to all the artists who worked on this album, the producers, Beto, Tainy, Mag … I want to dedicate this award to Puerto Rico, the cradle and capital of reggaeton in the world. I want to dedicate it to all the legends and especially to emerging talents refreshing the movement.”
Earlier in the ceremony, in a round table comprised of 10 fans — one for each album of the year nominee — each made a case for why their idols’ albums should win. “I love that he’s playful, I love that he’s goofy. He has a motto that is ‘yo hago lo que me de la gana’ which means ‘I do whatever I want; I don’t care what people think.’ He dresses up in drag, he kisses his backup dancers of any gender, he’s dismantling machismo,” said Bad Bunny fan Natalia. “As a queer Latina woman it’s so important to me because he’s starting conversations and normalizing inclusivity. Bad Bunny plays by his own rules, and he’s just opening up the dialog.”
Last year, Benito became the highest grossing touring performer in a calendar year with his El Último Tour del Mundo and World’s Hottest Tour. The blockbuster Un Verano Sin Ti earned the 2022 year-end No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, becoming the first non-English album to ever achieve that feat. For a fourth consecutive year, Benito was named Billboard’s 2022 Top Latin Artist. The Puerto Rican rapper-singer was also the most streamed artist globally for three years in a row.
See below for some of the fan reactions to Bad Bunny losing album of the year to Harry Styles:
Was holding my breath for @sanbenito at the @RecordingAcad. Un Verano Sin Ti didn’t get AOTY, but it did in the hearts of Latinos. Our day will come, but we already have a winner. Gracias Benito. Felicidades ❤️— Gabriela Rodriguez (@GabyRodriguez_4) February 6, 2023
Don’t get me wrong Harry’s House is really good but Bad Bunny deserved album of the year.— c i n d y 🌻 (@__cicee__) February 6, 2023
“This doesn’t happen to people like me very often” – says a white British guy whose “good” wins out over a Black woman’s spectacular. As ALBUMS go, both Beyoncé and Bad Bunny put together stellar offerings this year. I don’t hate Harry, but there were obviously better choices.— Karen Tongson (@inlandemperor) February 6, 2023
Bad Bunny won best música urbana album for his critically acclaimed set Un Verano Sin Ti. Beating out Farruko (La 167), Daddy Yankee (LEGENDADDY), Rauw Alejandro (TRAP CAKE, VOL. 2) and Maluma (The Love & Sex Tape), the Puerto Rican star delivered a heartfelt speech while accepting his award.
“Gracias! I made this album with love and passion, nothing else,” he said speaking in English and Spanish. “When you do things with love and passion, everything is easier. Life is easier. Thank you to everyone who listens to my music. Gracias a todos los Latinos. Thanks to all the artists who worked on this album, to the producers. I want to dedicate this award to Puerto Rico, the capital of reggaeton. I want to dedicate it to the legends and not only the legends, but also new artists who keep this movement alive and keep refreshing it. To all the talents, let’s keep taking this genre to new levels. I love you all.”
Bad Bunny kicked off the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 5) with a bang. He started his high-energy performance with “El Apagón.”
For his show-stopping performance, he was accompanied by a total of eight plena (a genre from Puerto Rico) dancers, seven pleneros and eight cabezudos — giant characters — in tow. The cabezudos — all manufactured and handled by people from Puerto Rico — were an homage to Puerto Rican legends Tego Calderón, Roberto Clemente, Julia de Burgos, among others. “With a lot of love to all of you,” Bunny said at the beginning.
He then went on to perform his hit mambo song “Después de la Playa,” which Jack Harlow and Taylor Swift danced along to.
Watch his speech above.
Bad Bunny kicked off the 65th annual Grammy Awards with a bang. The Puerto Rican star, who is up for album of the year for Un Verano Sin Ti, was the first to take the stage on Sunday (Feb. 5), and his performance ran the gamut of Puerto Rican and Caribbean music.
Looking like the literal boy next door — as opposed to the global star he is — in light denim jeans, white sneakers, a white T-shirt and a baseball cap, Bunny started his high-energy performance with “El Apagón.”
He wasn’t alone. He was accompanied by a total of eight plena (a genre from Puerto Rico) dancers, seven pleneros and eight cabezudos — giant characters — in tow. The cabezudos — all manufactured and handled by people from Puerto Rico — were an homage to Puerto Rican legends Tego Calderón, Roberto Clemente, Julia de Burgos, among others. “With a lot of love to all of you,” Bunny said at the beginning.
He then went on to perform his hit song “Después de la Playa” with live music powered by the band of Damian “El Apechao,” with 10 musicians all from the Dominican Republic. On stage, there were around 40 merengue dancers. Off the stage, stars such as Jack Harlow and Taylor Swift got up and danced along to merengue.
Bad Bunny’s Billboard 200-topping album Un Verano Sin Ti is up for album of the year. It made history as the first-ever Spanish-language album to score a nod in that category. Un Verano Sin Ti debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 dated May 21 and spent 13 nonconsecutive weeks atop the chart – the most weeks at No. 1 since 2016.
Maluma‘s The Love & Sex Tape is up for best música urbana album at the 65th annual Grammy Awards, set to take place on Sunday (Feb. 5). The Colombian star is up against fellow hitmakers Rauw Alejandro (TRAP CAKE, VOL. 2), Bad Bunny (Un Verano Sin Ti), Daddy Yankee (LEGENDADDY) and Farruko (La 167).
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It marks his first nomination ever in this category. Overall, it’s his second nomination. He was previously nominated in the best Latin pop album category for his 2019 set, 11:11.
If he wins his first Grammy, “I would feel very proud to take that to Colombia, that would be so amazing.” Maluma tells Billboard ahead of the awards ceremony, that will be held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. “That’s the biggest goal, to take the Grammy to my hometown and show it to my mom, to my dad and my friends.”
The Love & Sex Tape dropped in June and it showcased a darker, naughtier side of the “Pretty Boy.” In the eight-track album — produced by The Rude Boyz — Maluma stays true to his urbano essence singing about love, lust and heartbreak, but does so with slightly more raunchier lyrics. It peaked at No. 16 on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums chart (dated June 25).
About his fellow nominees, Maluma shares that it’s “nice” to be part of that group of artists. “We represent our culture and being nominated with these huge stars is great.” Check out the entire one-on-one interview with Maluma above.
And below, stream his Grammy-nominated set The Love & Sex Tape.