Skip to main content
GRAMMYs Breaking News
Breaking News
  • MusiCares Launches Help for the Holidays Campaign Apply HERE
  • Recording Academy
  • GRAMMYs
  • Membership
  • Advocacy
  • MusiCares
  • GRAMMY Museum
  • Latin GRAMMYs
GRAMMYs
  • Advocacy
  • Membership
  • GRAMMYs
  • Governance
  • Jobs
  • Press Room
  • Events
  • Login
  • MusiCares
  • GRAMMY Museum
  • Latin GRAMMYs
  • More
    • MusiCares
    • GRAMMY Museum
    • Latin GRAMMYs

The GRAMMYs

  • Awards
  • News
  • Videos
  • Recording Academy
  • More
    • Awards
    • News
    • Videos
    • Recording Academy

Latin GRAMMYs

MusiCares

  • About
  • Get Help
  • Give
  • News
  • Videos
  • Events
  • Person of the Year
  • More
    • About
    • Get Help
    • Give
    • News
    • Videos
    • Events
    • Person of the Year

Advocacy

  • About
  • News
  • Issues & Policy
  • Act
  • Recording Academy
  • More
    • About
    • News
    • Issues & Policy
    • Act
    • Recording Academy

Membership

  • Join
  • Events
  • PRODUCERS & ENGINEERS WING
  • GRAMMY U
  • GOVERNANCE
  • More
    • Join
    • Events
    • PRODUCERS & ENGINEERS WING
    • GRAMMY U
    • GOVERNANCE
Log In Join
  • SUBSCRIBE

  • Search
Modal Open
Subscribe Now

Subscribe to Newsletters

Be the first to find out about GRAMMY nominees, winners, important news, and events. Privacy Policy
GRAMMY Museum
Membership

Join us on Social

  • Recording Academy
    • The Recording Academy: Facebook
    • The Recording Academy: Twitter
    • The Recording Academy: Instagram
    • The Recording Academy: YouTube
  • GRAMMYs
    • GRAMMYs: Facebook
    • GRAMMYs: Twitter
    • GRAMMYs: Instagram
    • GRAMMYs: YouTube
  • Latin GRAMMYs
    • Latin GRAMMYs: Facebook
    • Latin GRAMMYs: Twitter
    • Latin GRAMMYs: Instagram
    • Latin GRAMMYs: YouTube
  • GRAMMY Museum
    • GRAMMY Museum: Facebook
    • GRAMMY Museum: Twitter
    • GRAMMY Museum: Instagram
    • GRAMMY Museum: YouTube
  • MusiCares
    • MusiCares: Facebook
    • MusiCares: Twitter
    • MusiCares: Instagram
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy: Facebook
    • Advocacy: Twitter
  • Membership
    • Membership: Facebook
    • Membership: Twitter
    • Membership: Instagram
    • Membership: Youtube
GRAMMYs

Alejandra Guzman

News
Alejandra Guzman On Her Live Rock Tribute Album alejandra-guzman-her-30-year-career-live-album-roxy-and-writing-hits-close-and-personal

Alejandra Guzman On Her 30+ Year Career, Live Album At The Roxy And Writing Hits | Up Close And Personal

Facebook Twitter Email
The Mexican rock icon talks empowering women, working with Sebastian Krys and Desmond Child, career highlights and more...
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Nov 7, 2019 - 5:50 pm

Alejandra Guzman, one of Mexico's greatest living rock voices, continues her more than 30-year musical career with her latest release, Alejandra Guzman: Live At The Roxy, in which she pays homage to Spanish rock classics from Maná to Gustavo Cerati in Los Angeles, one of the unofficial Laitn captials of the country. 

The "Mirala Miralo" singer and showstopping performer, who was exposed to  music thanks to her father, Enrique Guzman, a rock and roll trailblazer in Mexico and an actor, chose the Roxy on the West Hollywood Sunset strip for its rock history. "The Roxy has a lot of stories," she tells the Recording Academy.

Up Close And Personal With Alejandra Guzman

The energetic Latin GRAMMY winner and GRAMMY nominee, known for her distinct voice, her rebellious allure, and unconventional fashion, has penned many of her own stories and has become one of the most iconic songwriters in Latin America, says she likes to write about what feels real to her, including her most challenging experiences. 

"I take the lessons of life and make them songs," she said. "I know it's a hit because I always cry."

Guzman got Up Close And Personal with the Recording Academy about why she chose Los Angeles to record her latest album, songwriting during some of the greatest and most challenging moments in her life, including her breast cancer diagnosis, empowering other women in the music industry, her rock influences and more. 

Your latest album, you recorded live at the Roxy. Why record your album in Los Angeles?
The Roxy has a lot of stories and I think that it's very intimate to play in. It was crazy because I had just had surgery and [producer] Sebastian Krys, called me [to ask,] "Do you want to do this? It's all rock and roll. We can pick whatever you like and we can do an album and a DVD and everything." It sounded so good that I just jumped from the bed and came. We rehearsed like one week, it was crazy. But I knew these songs before, so it was really crazy to leave Alejandra Guzmán on a side and be me, the one that started listening to music and was always in the mosh pit. I was always crazy, but I was 14 when this music was all over. So I love this album because I know some of the artists, I know Maná, I knew Charly García and I love him, Miguel Ríos, I saw [Gustavo] Cerati once, but I never meet him like a person. So I admire them and I think it's a good moment. I need rock and roll in my life.
 

You've been in this industry for more than 30 years. Tell me about when you've felt like a fan. 
I [was lucky] to open a concert for the Rolling Stones and I sang with James Brown once in a Hard Rock, and [also with] Rita Coolidge [and] Huey Lewis. I have had several moments in music with very special people. I used to [listen to] Eurythmics, Police, that kind of music ... Cyndi Lauper in the '80s. I think that those [artists you listen to when you're younger] stay in you as an influence. My father is also a rock and roll pioneer, he did "Hound Dog" in Spanish. So I always liked to play being the rockstar in front of the mirror and it became true. I mean, it was a dream. A dream come true. And I still get nervous before I go on stage. I like to do my makeup, I like to make my outfits sometimes ... it's part of what I have always wanted

You mention your dad, Enrique Guzman, a famous singer in Latin America. Was your first musical memory with him? 
Yeah, it was with him. Because I went to the theater and I learned the whole choreography, the songs, and they did a lot of musicals. Then I started doing theater with my mom, and all my sisters are actresses so I decided not to be another actress because I [would forget the script] and [would get] really nervous.
 
When you look back 30 years, what is one moment or something that you are most proud of?
That I did it. That I showed my mom and my dad that I was myself and that I didn't copy anybody. I'm a performer, not just a singer. And that's what I like. Every concert that I do, I like to sweat a lot because I give myself, all my soul to [the audience,] So I am proud of that. I'm proud of who I've [become], like a character, like I can [do anything.] You know, sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it's not easy because of social media, it's changing everything. Also the industry has been changing. When I started it was ... vinyl, and then the CD, and then now there's no CDs anymore. So it's crazy.
 
You are an iconic songwriter. You have some of the most iconic songs in Mexico. When you're writing, how do you know when you're done with a song?
Well, I've always written with [other] people because I don't know how to play instruments, but I'm good at lyrics. So I like to listen to the melody or make some melody in my mind and talk about it with [who I'm working with.] For example, with Mario Domm, Camila, we did a great song "Volverte a Amar." He started playing the piano and I started crying. And that's how I know it's a hit because I always cry. And there are some moments in my life not, not as happy, you know? So I take the lessons of life and make them songs. That's a love song, but it's [also about] faith. Like maybe I'm going to love you again. You're the worst, but I'll call you again. It's [about] love and hate and really, you know, it's amor apache, [a destructive kind of love.] But it makes me feel something and most of my songs are real. "Hacer El Amor Con Otro," is a real song that happened to me ... And there's another one that I wrote because I am a breast cancer survivor. So in that moment when I knew that I had cancer, I wrote "Hasta El Final," which talks about how life is like a paper and that I was really afraid of it in that moment. But [that] was just the beginning, not the last part of my life. And there's another one that [I wrote when] I was pregnant and [called] "Yo Te Esperaba." So I wrote a letter to my baby, like, "I want to see your eyes and I'm waiting for the ring of your tone. And this is the best part of my life. I'm happy." Because I stopped ... Well, I tried to stop the big famous ... Craziness about fame. And it was the biggest moment in my career, so I decided to have my baby and [wrote] a song [about it.]
 
Then I did two albums with Desmond Child. Desmond Child, for me, is Desmond Child. You know, I love KISS and I love Aerosmith, and so I came and I said, "I want the world, please give it to me." (laughs) And we won the first Latin GRAMMY. I'm really grateful for him and he's my friend and I love him because he always told me, "Don't be a cookie, go for it." But he's a great producer ... He liked my lyrics so he gave me the [Latin] Songwriter Hall of Fame Award that I'm proud of having. And I did the [another called] "Suerte," and it talks about the love of the fans. I love them, but I love [they] love me back. And it's amazing when I sing it because everybody starts with the lights on their phone and it becomes a sky, you know? And I still rock. I have two hip replacements and I still go and dance and jump. My doctor hates me because of that, but I don't care.
 
 
What keeps you going?
Music. My passion for dancing. I'm happy when I dance, I think is better than a therapeutic thing. For me it's therapeutic because it helps me. And [when] I dance and I'm free, I can do anything. I can eat anything. I'm thin. I work with my brain, with two parts of my brain, and it's artistic. So I keep on doing it.
 
I saw a little bit of your Roxy performance and I noticed that you feature a lot of women musicians. Is that on purpose?
Of course. We need woman power. We need to embrace ourselves and I think this is the moment. And Sebastian Krys, that is a producer, also Juan de Dios, that is the guy that helped us to put it together, and I think it's amazing because it's like a band. I didn't feel like Alejandra Guzmán, like always that I'm just in the front. But [on] stage ... Whomever wants to have fun with me, I'm happy because that's for them. You know, I want everybody to have fun with me.
 
But you think it's important for women to give other women opportunities in the business?
Yes. Also from [Mexico's] The Voice, I picked the girl. She didn't win, but I gave her the opportunity to [sing] with me. It's crazy, but I would like somebody to [have done] that for me if possible. So I do it because I can. I like to help young people and the opportunities are less now. There's a lot of computers and things, but I think we need more artists, real artists, [well-rounded artists.] Because I've always seen in musicals that they know how to act and sing and dance. So for me, a good performer, can do all of them together.

GRAMMY Museum Reveals Flor de Toloache, Angela Aguilar & More As Special Guests For Opening Of Latin Music Gallery

GRAMMYs

WATT

News
Up Close & Personal | WATT watt-working-ozzy-miley-dua-lipa-more-ahead-his-solo-debut-lp-close-personal

WATT On Working With Ozzy, Miley, Dua Lipa & More Ahead Of His Solo Debut LP | Up Close & Personal

Facebook Twitter Email
The super-producer, songwriter and musician talks about his high profile collabs, his forthcoming debut solo album and his advice for up-and-coming artists and producers
Nate Hertweck
GRAMMYs
Aug 18, 2020 - 10:05 am

WATT is having a such a watershed year, and not even a pandemic can slow him down. In 2020 alone, the versatile producer has enjoyed the release of his work on Ozzy Osbourne's triumphant return, Ordinary Man, and Dua Lipa's retro spectacular Future Nostalgia, plus he's made an album with Miley Cyrus and has a solo debut album of his own on the way. 

Up Close & Personal | WATT

In the latest edition of GRAMMY.com's Up Close & Personal, WATT talks about all his latest projects, plus his 2018 marquee collaboration with Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello on their smash hit "Señorita." It seems everything WATT touches turns to gold (or platinum). So what's his secret to making so many successful records?

"People are choosing what they want, and they can see through the fakeness," WATT said. "So if you don't make what's real to you, it will come throught. That's very important."

WATT comes from the highest rock and roll pedigree, co-founding the power trio California Breed with rock royalty Glenn Hughes and Jason Bonham in 2013. When the unexpected opportunities to be a touring musician and writing songs for other artists arose, he flourished where many others might have stumbled. 

"You might think you're gonna be in the next Pearl Jam, which is what I thought, but then you get an opportunity to do something else if you're really living your craft and you decide there's nothing else you can do besides [music]," WATT said.

His committment to the craft led to big-time writing and production credits with Bebe Rexha, Selena Gomez and Post Malone. As his resume as a go-to collaborator grew, so did his willingness to explore and experiment. He poured all of the experiences into his forthcoming, collab-heavy solo debut album. Now, with the wind at his back, WATT is primed to transition from a behind-the-scenes magic-maker to a household name in music. 

"Someone once said to me long ago, 'luck is when preparation meets opportunity.' and I really live by that, because if you take your craft seriously, play as much as you can, and are the best version of whatever that musician is you want to be and then some, when an opportunity comes around, you'll be the one that gets it," he said.

And WATT got it. His young career has been defined by a collaborative creativity as boundless as his ability to adapt.

"And then from there, its just being able to pivot... You have to be open," WATT said, when asked about the twists and turns his career has taken from playing in touring bands to writing and producing with some of the world's biggest artists. "I love what I do. I'm in the studio right now, i have guitars on the wall. Every day I get to make music. I didn't see this is as where I would be and what I'd be doing, it's just the way the wind blew."

Watch WATT's full Up Close & Personal video interview above to learn more the makings of his impressive success.

Grammys Newsletter

Subscribe Now

GRAMMYs Newsletter

Be the first to find out about winners, nominees, and more from Music's Biggest Night.

Kiana Ledé Talks Opening Up On ‘KIKI,' Lucky Daye Collab & “Urban” Term | Up Close & Personal 

GRAMMYs

Johnny Ventura, Lido Pimienta & Jean Dawson

News
In The BLM Movement, Latinx Artists Look Inward amid-black-lives-matter-conversations-black-latinx-artists-urge-non-black-latinx-do

Amid Black Lives Matter Conversations, Black Latinx Artists Urge Non-Black Latinx To Do Better

Facebook Twitter Email
Jean Dawson, Lido Pimienta, Johnny Ventura and more talk anti-Blackness in the Latinx community and how music can be one of the greatest catalysts for change
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Jul 13, 2020 - 5:51 pm

"I am not free as long as one person of color remains chained. Nor is anyone of you," writer and poet Audre Lorde cautioned during her keynote speech addressing racism at a Connecticut women’s conference in 1981. Her message was clear: Racism cannot be dismantled until every person fights to eliminate it—that included women who, in world ruled by white males, faced oppression because of their gender, but benefited from whiteness. 

Almost 40 years later, the late writer’s words are even more far-reaching. 

As the U.S. faces trials brought forth by systemic, societal and cultural racism ignited by George Floyd’s killing at the hands of police, the Latinx community, multi-faceted and multi-dimensional, as described by Pew Research Center, are now turning inward to evaluate their own role in a conversation about race, privilege and anti-Blackness. 

The Latinx community is extremely diverse, comprising indigenous, Black and white people (among others). Though it is often unified by the Spanish language, many members are now saying that the community must reckon with its own history of anti-Blackness. Being Black, no matter your cultural background, can more than likely mean experiencing heightened racism such as police brutality—a privilege light-skinned and white-passing Latinx don’t have to worry about. 

As the music industry goes through its own discussion on systemic racism, music leaders are calling for change, in and out of the industry. But how? Latinx have to acknowledge a history of anti-Blackness, rooted by colonialism, to understand why this is a question in the first place, they say.

A history of anti-Blackness

Half Black and half Mexican, Jean Dawson grew up an anomaly to many. He was born in San Diego to a Black father and a Mexican mother, but raised in Tijuana after he and his mother moved there. 

"I was in Mexico and people didn't know what I was," the singer/songwriter says over Zoom. "There was a whole lot of stuff."

Some Mexicans would call him "Kalimba," he recalls. Kalimba, an Afro-Mexican singer, was a part of an influentially successful pop group called OV7 in the ‘90s. He and his sister, M'balia Maricha, were two Afro-Mexicans in a predominately light-skinned Mexican group, and as scarce as hen’s teeth in the overall industry. 

Dawson commuted to San Diego every day for school, something not so uncommon in a border town. He now lives in Los Angeles, though he says that life in the U.S. isn't much better than it was back home. "Police in the United States don't see me as a Mexican man. Even if they do, they see me as a threat," he says. "They see me as all these things rather than being a 24-year-old college-educated musician."

And he isn’t the only music artist with accounts of discrimination. In and out of the U.S., the latest Black Lives Movement protests have Black and Afro-Latinx artists sharing their own personal stories of racism.

In a livestreamed conversation with the newly formed Conciencia Collective, a Latinx group of music professionals addressing race issues, ChocQuibTown’s Goyo shared she’s been taken off a bus in Colombia because she was Black. 

In an Instagram post, Legendary merengue and salsa musician Johnny Ventura recounted a trip to the U.S. that quickly became uncomfortable when an airport immigration officer wouldn’t believe he was staying at an upscale hotel in New York. The officer stopped asking where he was really staying only until after a Puerto Rican co-worker let him know who Ventura was.

Dawson and Goyo’s accounts solidify two facts: No matter who you are, if you’re Black, you’re a target. Also, there are undeniable microaggressions and discrimination towards Black Latinx in the culture. 

Across Latin countries, whether in North, South America or the Caribbean, microaggressions show up in casual expressions. For example, there's the phrase "Hay que mejorar la raza" or "We have to better the race," while family members issue constant reminders to not get too much sun in order to keep skin as light as possible. Such microaggressions perpetuate anti-Black and anti-indigenous ideologies that go unquestioned. 

"There [were] people in my family that when they met my father through my mother immediately were like, 'No, you can't be with him because he's Black,'" Dawson says. 

Light skin, light eyes, light hair—the closer a Latinx person comes to whiteness can often equate to a higher perceived desirability within the culture.

Roughly 130 million people of African descent live in Latin America, according to a 2016 report by Princeton University’s Project on Ethnicity and Race in Latin America. Slavery by the Spanish and Portuguese plays a role in that number. Despite Black Latinx making up an estimated quarter of the population now, their Black identity continues to be belittled and erased through language and racial identifiers.  

Dominican-American journalist Jennifer Mota noted that calling someone "Spanish" who may not be, as is sometimes done in Latin countries, is erasing their indigenous or Black identity, even if they speak Spanish.

"I am Spanish-speaking.... I was not born in Spain, nor were my parents," she wrote on her Instagram. "Spanish is both a language and a nationality, when you label someone Spanish & they are not, you are erasing their specific culture, nationality, and experience."

Colombian-Canadian singer/songwriter Lido Pimienta adds that doing so is erasing the fact that colonization ever happened. 

“People call me Spanish, I'm not Spanish, I'm Colombian. I speak Spanish, because I was colonized by Spain,” she says.“[Being called] Spanish is this negation, that there was ever colonization.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCRfM74FOil/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jennifer Mota 🇩🇴 (@jennifermotaval)

Beyond language, eurocentric beauty standards dominate media in many Latin countries. Travel to Mexico, Colombia or almost any other Spanish-speaking country and you’ll see street ads, television soap operas and other programming featuring light-skinned people.  

"Whatever is closest or with more proximity to whiteness in sound, in look, in aesthetic. That's the person that we want, and that's the person that's going to get the platform." Pimienta says of the media and entertainment mindset in Colombia, where roughly 10 percent of the population is Black, and traces of the country's only Black president, Juan José Nieto Gil, have been erased from history, including in books and portraits.

The cover of her recently released album Miss Colombia dismantles these notions of white supremacy, targeting beauty pageants (which are highly regarded in the country), where only two Black women from the country have won a Miss Universe title. Pimienta protests that reality when she, a Black, indigenous Colombian, stands front and center wearing a crown.

The Black erasure and whitewashing that happens in Latin countries is blatant and is a result of colonization, University of Florida assistant professor Jillian Hernandez says. 

"The Spanish basically [formed] a whole cast of different races, the exploitation of indigenous people and then of the enslaved Africans that were brought to Latin America," she says. "Because so many Latinx have light skin privilege, there has been the sort of ideology of white aspiration."

Even when it comes to music consumption, music with Black roots, like reggaeton, is minimized among some Latinx. 

"Black Latinx music [is] often looked down upon as a lesser form of Latinx music, even though it's clearly super popular and clearly super lucrative," Hernandez continues. "Those are again the same hierarchies that we get from the same racist colonialism."

Hernandez adds those hierarchies can also show up at award shows and "urbano" artists can become pigeonholed. "What cultural forms [of music] are ... taken the most seriously or given the most awards?" she asks. Both the GRAMMYs and Latin GRAMMYs have been critiqued for their urban categories. The GRAMMYs have renamed their urban contemporary category and the Latin GRAMMYs have added a reggaeton category. 

Unlearning Anti-Blackness 

Hernandez says these ideologies start at home: "In many ways, we're trained in our families to be anti-Black and anti-indigenous." Johnny Ventura, a 80-year-old singer/musician from the Dominican Republic, has for decades represented Afro-Latinos through salsa and merengue music, both of which derive from Black music. 

Off and on the stage, he’s made a point to celebrate Blackness. If Latinos, he believes, discriminate amongst themselves, they are enabling white Americans and Europeans that engage in racism.

For him, combating anti-Blackness meant teaching his children to love who they are. "In my home, the moment my kids were born, we called them 'Negrito lindo, negrito bello, negrito bello,'" he says. ("Negrito" is an endearing word deriving from "negro," or "Black" in Spanish.) Ventura took care to pair the word with "beautiful" when using it to refer to his kids.

He brought that same mentality to the stage: In Ventura's music, you’ll proudly hear him call himself negro often. "[I do it] justifiably to combat that," he says, referring to anti-Blackness. 

In the U.S., where one-quarter of all U.S. Latinos self-identify as Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean or of African descent with roots in Latin America (according to a 2016 Pew Research study), Latinx are outlining ways to bring these conversations to light at home. 

But in order to truly dismantle white supremacy in Latin culture, Latinx should not be seen as just one thing, Pimienta says. 

"Every [Latin American] country has their thing that they can do, because it's not a monolith," she explains. "And there's not one way of being Black."

University of California San Diego Ethnic Studies assistant professorJosé Fusté agrees that people need to be careful about seeing all Latinos as the same. "I'm Puerto Rican. We don't deal with ICE. We don't have that situation. We need to be very real about our privilege when it comes to that, even though we're colonial subjects," he says.

While he says someone from Central America may not necessarily relate in every aspect to someone from Cuba, many non-white Latinx share being made the "other" in the U.S. 

"We have common ground whether we like it or not. But we also have differences," he says. "I'll never know what it's like to be an Afro-Latino. It's my job to try to find out and understand it for myself and try to convey it to others. It's my responsibility."

Beyond holding conversations at home, educational programs like Ethnic Studies at colleges and universities can help dismantle racism, some argue. An option for those with educational resources or interest in education as Ethnic studies teaches the histories and stories of Black and people of color.  

Black and Latinx artists are using music as a way to educate for without access to Ethnic Studies. ChocQuibTown’s "Somos los Prietos" and Myke Towers’ recently released "MICHAEL X" highlight their experience and share their support for struggles faced by Black people in and out of the U.S.

Dawson released a song called “Policia” or “Police," which he wrote before Floyd’s death but decided to release after to raise funds for inner-city children, the wrongfully incarcerated and trans people. 

Ventura decided not to celebrate his 64th music anniversary this year after Floyd’s killing, which he took personally. "I usually celebrate, but this time I didn’t," he says. "Things that I thought stayed in the past haven’t and Floyd represents all Black people."

A Debt Is Due

The latest Black Lives Matter protests have sparked a wave of accountability that began with the police system and has swept through several corners of society, causing the music industry to experience its own wave of trials. Historically, the music industry has been complicit in systemic racism and erasure of Blackness. White gatekeepers, as Wesley Morris explains for The New York Times Magazine, have too many times determined a song to be "Too Black for certain white people." Or claimed genres for their own without acknowledging its Black roots. 

The relationship between Black artists and the music industry is fueled by a historic dehumanization of Blackness that happens in the U.S. and Latin America.

There is a kind of obsession with Black culture, Fusté says. "There is a kind of love-hate relationship. There is an infatuation with it. There's an obsession with it at the same time that there's a dehumanization of it."

Blackface Minstrelsy happened in the U.S. but also other places like Puerto Rico, Cuba and Mexico, he notes. 

Online movements #BlackOutTuesday and coalitions like the Black Music Action Coalition have called for the acknowledgment of the industry’s exploitation and called for support for Black artists and music professionals. A similar coalition was created in the U.K.

Companies like Swedish music electronics company Teenage Engineering, which makes products used by dance music producers, plan to begin sharing its revenue with some Black musicians in the U.S. as a way to acknowledge their part in making their products popular. 

Sony Music Group, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group have announced donations aiming to support social justice organizations. Sony and Universal also announced inside initiatives to support their Black employees.

Republic Records, under Universal, has vowed to drop the industry term "urban" in its genres and every other facet of the label. (The "urban" genre has been used as an umbrella term that boxes in Black artists and music industry professionals.)

Leading Latin music publication Remezcla, meanwhile, is taking the same pledge to stop using the Spanish equivalent of urban, or "musica urbana."

"There's so much power in the media, how they frame this," Hernandez says. "If Remezcla says we're not going to see ‘musica urbana,’ that is changing the discourse."

She continues: “It's not going to save anyone's life, but it will change how histories of popular music and culture are written because it is a moment. When inspired by a social movement, a group of people decide, 'You know what? We're going to change the discourse about this particular genre of music.'"

Beyond language, several aspects of the music industry need to rethink who it champions and promotes. In 2018, Amara La Negra explained to a bewildered Breakfast Club how colorism exists in the Latin music industry.

"They’ll always pick the lighter [skin tone]. The ones that look like... [the] J.Los and Shakiras and stuff before they look at us," she said.

There could be less stereotyping and a lot more support for Black artists, especially women and LGBTQ musicians who continue to face sexism and homophobia.

Closing The Gap: How Latina Artists Are Combating Gender Inequality In Urban Music

"The music industry is based a lot on stereotypes that at a marketing level that maybe are not opening doors for artists or for telling Black stories," Goyo said in a talk with Conciencia Collective. "We don’t see ourselves represented on T.V."

Prominent artists in Latin music genres are being asked to set an example, too. An Op-Ed by Katelina Eccleston published in Remezcla called “Why Urbano Artists' Scarce Comments On The #BLM Movement Are a Problem” called out the lack of response from some reggaetón and Latin trap artists who make music with Black and Afro-Caribbean roots. Eccleston referenced Bad Bunny in particular, an artist who is widely known for voicing his opinion on politics but was slow to speak up on #BlackLivesMatter. Bunny, who had been unplugging while Floyd’s death happened, eventually released a statement to TIME that called for educating friends and family on racism. 

"Urbano artists—especially those who aren’t Black—have a duty to speak up on behalf of racial injustice outside of when it’s trendy. It’s not only a crucial means of compensating for the exploitation of Black aesthetics, but an element of solidarity of the advancement towards racial equality in the U.S., Latin America and as far as their influence reaches," Eccleston writes. 

Pimienta says non-Latinx artists creating Black Latinx music should recognize their privilege if they perform Black music. "When you see it in culture, in music, in the music industry, and it's not questioned, we are, as an industry, perpetuating white supremacy."

Pimienta also argues that the industry needs to rethink branding Europeans as Latin. "When you have artists from Europe that break into the music scene, and they're branded as Latin, it is problematic."

RELATED: Ivan Barias On Silence As Complicity, Holding Major Labels Accountable & How To Be A Non-Black Latinx Ally

How popular culture can be a vehicle for change

Already, Latinx in the music industry have started conversations on privilege and solidarity, with Conciencia Collective and journalists—including Mota and La Gata—holding livestream talks. 

Fusté believes music and pop culture can lead the way on the necessary conversations that need to happen.

"We need to be honest about those things, and the music needs to reflect that. I think we're going there, honestly. I'm optimistic about it. Because I think, if anything, music is going to teach us that," he says. "There are people that will consume these videos, these talks. I think the artist can reach people directly in a way that's never happened before."

Goyo uses her platform to bring Ethnic Studies (she refers to it as Ethno-studies) to the world.

"Ethno-education is a powerful tool that goes from the university to other places to explain history," she said in her conversation with Conciencia Collective.

Meanwhile, the Latinx music industry is taking on race issues but also holding space for women and the LGBTQ community to talk about the intersections of race and other identities.

Goya and Pimienta have used their music to talk about their experiences being Black women. Pabllo Vittar, Lauren Jauregui, Tatiana Hazel and Urias joined the collective in a conversation about how gender and sexuality affect Black and Latinx of color.

Vittar says racism and homophobia affects Brazil; it's something the government doesn’t seek to improve and the media hardly shows.

"I always try to use my platform to show what’s happening in my country, what’s happening in cities with the Black Lives Matter movement,” he says in the conversation. “I want the media in Brazil to also show that there is also a lot of suffering from racism, homophobia and some many other things in Brazil."

While there is work that needs to be done in the industry, Pimienta says space for indigenous folk music and other music made by Black and indigenous artists—what she calls outsider music—that challenge identity norms is growing.

"I feel like we are now at this point where people are hungry for that. I feel like we've gone through the shiny and the perfectly packaged and the perfect ideals of womanhood…" she says. "I feel really good. I feel like finally I don't have to explain myself. That's where I'm trying to go."

How Black Trans Artists Are Fighting To Achieve Racial Justice & Amplify Queer Voices

GRAMMYs

Photo: Ramon Costa/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

News
Virtual Game Night: 6 Music Games To Play 6-music-games-play-virtual-game-night-friends-family

6 Music Games To Play For A Virtual Game Night With Friends & Family

Facebook Twitter Email
Try these creative ways to stay connected, have fun and maintain good mental health during quarantine
Kit Stone
MusiCares
May 25, 2020 - 12:35 pm

For some, the first week of the stay at home order felt like a vacation — a much-needed break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. We watched too much television, ate too many snacks, danced in our pajamas in the middle of the afternoon, and rekindled our relationship with our favorite bedspreads. 

But for family-oriented individuals, the stay-at-home orders hit differently. Sunday dinners and game-nights have been put on hold to ensure everyone's safety during the pandemic. That doesn't mean that you can't spend quality time with your loved ones, it just means you need to get a little creative. 

The saying is true, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, and not being able to connect with friends and family in the way that we’re used to can take a toll on your emotional and mental health. So, we’ve got to get creative on ways to incorporate family time even if you can’t physically connect. Establishing a routine game night, even virtually, can provide the emotional lift you need to help you maintain during the quarantine. 

Spending time with family and friends, even virtually, can relieve stress, decrease anxiety and depression, improve sleep, improve relationships, and make you happier all around. As long as you have wifi, you can organize a game night that can still add hours of family fun to your day. 

If you come from a musical family where get-togethers turn into impromptu concerts or viral TikTok videos, this list is for you. These virtual music-themed games can increase your musical knowledge, give your friends and family a peek into your musical taste, get your creative juices flowing and lift your mood. 

1. Verzuz 

Instagram got an instant upgrade when mega producers Timbaland and Swiss Beatz went hit for hit in the first Verzuz challenge. Since then, millions have gathered around their phones, tablets, and computers and watched artists like Teddy Riley and Babyface, Ryan Tedder and Benny Blanco, Erykah Badu and Jill Scott, and most recently, Ludacris and Nelly go hit for hit. You don’t have to wait for the next chart-topping artists to experience your next battle. Pick your favorite artist and challenge a friend. You can even invite others to listen in and choose the winner.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/CARL1DQJ8LW

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Timbo the King - CEO (@timbaland)

2. Don’t Forget the Lyrics 

Are you a master at song lyrics? Well, even if you’re not, this will be a fun game. Each person takes turns playing a piece of a song. Without warning, stop the song and have the challenger finish the lyrical phrase. In order to get the point, they have to finish the lyrics word for word. If you want to be nice, you can let the other player sacrifice a point in order to give them a clue. The first person to get 12 song lyrics right, wins! Options: You can change the number from 12 to 20 or just 5, depending on how long you want to make your game.

3. Name That Tune

Start by playing an intro of a song. Before the verse starts, stop the song and wait for the other person to guess the title and the artist. Only the correct title gets the point. Partial or “almost” titles don’t count. Play one-on-one, or in teams. Make it more challenging by sticking to one genre or a specific decade. The parameters are up to you, so have fun with it!

4. Music Trivia

Normally, for this game, you would need a trivia master. That person would have to create a Google Doc of musical categories and questions similar to Jeopardy. Thankfully, we’ve got you covered with the “Ask GRAMMYs” music trivia game, compatible with Alexa and Google Home. You can test your music knowledge in categories that cover country music stars to rock legends and previous GRAMMY winners. The game refreshes every Monday with a new category so choose your team wisely. Check out this calendar to see what’s coming next. 

https://twitter.com/RecordingAcad/status/1253372567328612353

Looking for the perfect way to stay entertained while social distancing? Test your music knowledge with our weekly #GRAMMYTrivia.

Simply say "Ask GRAMMYs" to your #GoogleHome or #Alexa to get started! https://t.co/XPr5BmzzW3

— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) April 23, 2020

5/25 – The GRAMMYs Goes To The Opera
6/1 – Pride + Music
6/8 – The '60s
6/15 – The '70s
6/22 – The '80s
6/29 – '90s R&B

5. Song Association

This game can be played one-on-one or with teams. One person gives a member of the opposite team a word. That person has 10 seconds to sing a song with that word in it. If the time runs out, the person doesn’t get the point and it’s the other team’s turn. The first team or player to get 10 right, or however many you decide, wins. Easy words to start with are colors, places and objects.

6. Dance Freeze

Dancing carries its own benefits to health and wellness. Something as simple as moving your body can boost your cognitive performance, mood, and improve your cardiovascular health. It’s also an activity that all ages can enjoy from your barely walking tots to your more seasoned relatives. Designate a DJ. The DJ will play music and the other players will dance. Once the DJ stops the music, the players have to freeze in whatever dance position they’re in. The DJ watches to make sure they’re frozen in place. Anyone that moves is automatically out. The last player dancing wins. This a great game to get the whole family up and moving.

Kit Stone is a multimedia storyteller and digital content creator. A native of California, she credits her love of all things creative to the influence of the Bay Area culture she grew up in, and the part her family, Sly & the Family Stone, played in shaping it. Since receiving her degree in visual storytelling and media production from Cal State East Bay, Kit has used her passion for storytelling to inspire, educate, and entertain. When she’s off the clock, you can find her curled up with a good book or watching episodes of "The Golden Girls."

Read More: 11 Meditation Apps To Help You Get Calm & Centered During Quarantine & Beyond

Read more: How To Use Music Techniques To Prepare Healthy Food

Learn more about how you can donate to or apply for assistance via the Recording Academy's and MusiCares' COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Learn more about the financial, medical and personal emergencies services and resources offered by the Recording Academy and MusiCares. 

GRAMMYs

Photo: Harmony Gerber/Getty Images

News
Latin Music Gallery Opens Doors At GRAMMY Museum los-angeles-first-permanent-latin-music-gallery-launches-grammy-museum

Los Angeles' First Permanent Latin Music Gallery Launches At GRAMMY Museum

Facebook Twitter Email
"This is a momentous occasion for the GRAMMY Museum and for Los Angeles," said ribbon-cutting ceremony host Giselle Fernandez
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Nov 19, 2019 - 1:15 pm

A new voice representing Latin culture's impact on music history opened its doors Tues., Nov. 18, at the GRAMMY Museum right in the heart of Los Angeles. 

The city's first permanent Latin music gallery brought together Latin music's biggest stars, industry professionals, political figures and community members for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration of the historic event.

https://twitter.com/RecordingAcad/status/1196563795663081472

In honor of the @GRAMMYMuseum's launch party for their latest exhibit, '@LatinGRAMMYs: 20 Years Of Excellence,' today has officially been named #LatinGRAMMY Day.https://t.co/ytXkwu3YKI

— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) November 18, 2019

In collaboration with the GRAMMY Museum, the Latin Recording Academy unveiled the Latin GRAMMY: 20 Years Of Excellence exhibit, showcasing pieces from Latin GRAMMY show performances and moments, on the museum's third floor. These include an outfit the late iconic Mexican singer/songwriter Juan Gabriel wore during a performance at the 10th Latin GRAMMYs and an outfit worn by "Despacito" singer Luis Fonsi during his performance at the 18th Latin GRAMMYs. 

The Latin Academy is donating more than half a million dollars to expand the museum's Latin-inspired exhibits, including the permanent gallery and the Latin GRAMMY show exhibit. "This is a momentous occasion for the GRAMMY Museum and for Los Angeles," said ribbon-cutting ceremony host, journalist Giselle Fernandez, a former Latin Recording Academy board member. 

GRAMMY Museum President Michael Sticka said the museum was proud to be the home of the first permanent Latin music gallery in the city. "We're very excited to play host to that," he said in his remarks.

In a statement prior to the opening, Sticka touched on how the exhibit would expand the ethos of the GRAMMY Museum. "Latin GRAMMY, 20 Years Of Excellence and our newly renovated third floor will greatly amplify the Museum's mission to educate, inspire, and share the significance of all forms of music," he said.  

It was not forgotten that the gallery opened in one of the country's cities most-inspired by Latin culture and populated by Latinos. According to 2011 Pew Research Center statistics, Hispanics made up 4.9 million of the Los Angeles County population or 9 percent of the country's Hispanic population.

Hilda Solis, First District Los Angeles County Supervisor and former President Barack Obama cabinet member, reminded the crowd of the significance of the gallery's location. "[This is a] long-time coming for us," she said. "We know the musica is our life, it's our culture, it's our livelihood and it brings us so many good things when things are sour and bad."

The expansion is something Latin Recording Academy President Gabriel Abaroa had been dreaming of for years. "This is a day of thank yous," he said. "I want to thank Michael, the board of trustees of the GRAMMY Museum and all the employees and staffers of the GRAMMY Museum because they have opened their hearts and their doors to us since the beginning."

The grand event came just a few days after the Latin Recording Academy celebrated its 20th Latin GRAMMY celebration at the MGM in Las Vegas and was a celebration continuing its 20th anniversary celebrations.



View this post on Instagram


Aire soy y al aire, el viento no.

A post shared by ngela Aguilar (@angela_aguilar_) on Nov 18, 2019 at 6:51pm PST

Recent Latin GRAMMY Best Ranchero/Mariachi Album winner Christian Nodal and GRAMMY-nominated singer Angela Aguilar, were two stars invited to represent the next generation of Latin music and help cut the ribbon. 

The Office of L.A. City Council President Herb Abaroa also presented a certificate declaring Nov. 18 as the official Latin GRAMMY day. The night included performances from GRAMMY- and Latin GRAMMY-nominated Puerto Rican singer/songwriter Raquel Sofia and Latin GRAMMY winners Flor de Toloache and gave the public their first look at the exciting new exhibit and gallery. 

The Latin GRAMMY: 20 Years Of Excellence exhibit will be open Nov. 20 until spring 2020; visit the GRAMMY Museum's website to get tickets.

Bad Bunny, Rosalia, Juanes & More: 5 Unforgettable Moments From The 2019 Latin GRAMMYs

Top
Logo
  • Recording Academy
    • About
    • Governance
    • Press Room
    • Jobs
    • Events
  • GRAMMYs
    • Awards
    • News
    • Videos
    • Events
    • Store
    • FAQ
  • Latin GRAMMYs
    • Awards
    • News
    • Photos
    • Videos
    • Cultural Foundation
    • Members
    • Press
  • GRAMMY Museum
    • COLLECTION:live
    • Explore
    • Exhibits
    • Education
    • Support
    • Programs
    • Donate
  • MusiCares
    • About
    • Get Help
    • Give
    • News
    • Videos
    • Events
  • Advocacy
    • About
    • News
    • Learn
    • Act
  • Membership
    • Chapters
    • Producers & Engineers Wing
    • GRAMMY U
    • Join
Logo

© 2021 - Recording Academy. All rights reserved.

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Copyright Notice
  • Contact Us

Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.