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Banda MS 

Photo: Rodrigo Varela/Getty Images For Univison Communications

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Regional Mexican Group Banda MS Join Campaign To Lessen HIV Stigma Among Latinos

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Latinos made up 26 percent of the 38,739 new HIV diagnoses in the country in 2017, according to the CDC
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Oct 23, 2019 - 12:12 pm

Regional Mexican band Banda MS have joined the fight against HIV in the Latino community through a campaign that aims to lessen its stigma and will focus on identifying negative language and suggestions on how to support those infected with the virus. 

The band has teamed up with the Pinyon Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on their new Spanish-language campaign called Deten El Estigma del VIH (or, Stop The HIV Stigma).

According to the CDC, HIV is a serious health threat to the Latino community. Latinos made up 26 percent of the 38,739 new HIV diagnoses in the country in 2017.

"There is a negative stigma and incorrect negative beliefs about people living with HIV,” says Banda MS's Oswaldo Silvas in a press statement, Billboard reports. "As a community it is our responsibility to help so that we can all live healthier lives." 

GRAMMY Museum To Celebrate 20 Years Of Latin GRAMMY Excellence With New Exhibit

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Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

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The Music Industry Calls For "Black Out Tuesday" In Response To The Death Of George Floyd

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In response to George Floyd's death, as well as the recent deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and "other black citizens at the hands of police," music companies and artists are calling for the industry to observe "Black Out Tuesday" on June 2
Rachel Brodsky
GRAMMYs
Jun 1, 2020 - 9:54 am

This past weekend, hundreds of protests broke out across the United States in response to the death of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man who died at the hands of four police officers last week.

In response to Floyd's death, as well as the recent deaths of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and "other black citizens at the hands of police," numerous music companies and artists took to social media, calling for the industry to observe "Black Out Tuesday" on Tuesday, June 2.

"As gatekeepers of the culture, it's our responsibility to not only come together to celebrate the wins, but also hold each other up during loss," the statement says with the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused.

According to Billboard, the #Paused effort is coming from Atlantic senior directors of marketing Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas, who describe this action as a response to "the long-standing racism and inequality that exists from the boardroom to the boulevard."

In their Instagram post, which you can read below, Agyemang and Thomas explain that TheShowMustBePaused is meant to "intentionally disrupt the work week... The music industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. An industry that has profited predominantly from Black art. Our mission is to hold the industry at large, including major corporations + their partners who benefit from the efforts, struggles and successes of Black people accountable."   

Numerous musicians joined in the protests over the weekend, including J. Cole marching in North Carolina, Tinashe and Ariana Grande in Los Angeles and Halsey in Santa Monica. 

"I dont know how to articulate the horrors of today," Halsey wrote on Twitter. "NG + officers firing rounds into kneeling crowds. We dont have enough medics on the ground on our side. I was treating injuries I am not qualified to. So much blood spilled. If you have med training pls go + standby outskirts."

"And if you’re a white ally who is gonna stand and shout and antagonize the officers and NG and then hide behind black bodies when the shots start firing, f--- you. You couldnt understand a shred of the bravery of the black folks at the front line. Thank you to everyone who stayed."

GRAMMYs

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

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Latin Songwriters Hall Of Fame Announces Worldwide Partnership With Hard Rock International

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In the past, the Hall of Fame has honored Pitbull, Ivy Queen, Kany Garcia, Jose Jose and more
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
May 26, 2020 - 4:09 pm

The Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame is collaborating with Hard Rock International on a global partnership to continue honoring and celebrating Latin music's greatest songwriters around the globe. 

The Hall of Fame, founded by Desmond Child and Rudy Perez, announced the partnership on Tuesday, May 26, and revealed that their 8th annual induction ceremony called La Musa Awards will take place at the Hard Rock Live Theater at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on Jan. 14, 2021. The hotel in Hollywood, Fla., famously know for its massive guitar shape, is currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Perez told Billboard they "look forward to a successful and rewarding partnership with the Hard Rock family for many years to come."

Child added that La Musa Awards are an opportunity to do more than celebrate Latin songwriters. "In a fast-moving world of colleagues and competitors, La Musa Awards is a uniting force where we can all acknowledge, pay tribute to and inspire one another."

For LSHOF president Delia Orjuela, the partnership is a refreshing next step. "This new chapter in the history of our organization invigorates us with hope and strength to continue celebrating the greatness of Latin music," she told Billboard. "Together with Hard Rock International, a company that resonates powerfully within the entertainment industry, we will be able to make La Musa Awards an even more extraordinary event worthy of the great artists who year after a year graces the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame."

Voting for the Hall of Fame will happen this month. In the past, the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame has honored Pitbull, Ivy Queen, Kany Garcia, Jose Jose and more. 

Learning In Quarantine: 5 Virtual Music Industry Conferences To Enhance Your Career

GRAMMYs

Renée Fleming 

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Renée Fleming Webinar Series To Explore Impact Of Music And Arts On Human Health And The Brain

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Music and Mind Live with Renée Fleming will feature scientists and practitioners in the "intersection music, neuroscience, and healthcare"
Jennifer Velez
MusiCares
May 19, 2020 - 2:12 pm

GRAMMY-winning soprano Renée Fleming will launch a webinar series exploring the impact of music and arts on human health and the brain.

Music and Mind Live with Renée Fleming will feature scientists and practitioners in the "intersection music, neuroscience, and healthcare" including child development, pain and anxiety and management in conversation with the singer, according to a statement. The first webinar will happen Tuesday, May 19 at 5 p.m. EST/ 2 p.m. PST with Dr. Vivek Murthy. 

Murthy will discuss music, loneliness and isolation as well as his book, Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. The series will also include a Q&A portion.

Fleming, an arts and health advocate, said now is the time to talk about how art impacts health. 

"Research is revealing amazing things about the way arts influence human health and the brain,” Fleming said in a statement. “With our working lives halted, the covid-19 pandemic has also fostered an explosion of creativity and good will. What better time to examine our need as human beings to create and experience the arts, and the basis of this in science?"

Fleming's role as the Artistic Advisor to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in partnership with the National Institutes of Health and the National Endowment for the Arts inspired her to create the series..

The webinars can be watched live on Facebook. Those who cannot tune into the livestream can catch a replay on the Kennedy Center's website. The live episodes can also be watched on the Kennedy Center's Facebook and YouTube. 

See the full schedule of the series below:

May 19 – “Music, Loneliness, and Isolation”
Vivek H. Murthy, MD (former US Surgeon General, author)
 
May 26 – "Community of Voices, Sound and Music Perception, and a Resource for the Future"- 
Julene Johnson, PhD and Charles Limb, MD (University of California San Francisco); Sunil Iyengar (National Endowment for the Arts)
 
June 2 – “At Home with Children: Musical Tool Kit”
Miriam Lense, PhD, (Vanderbilt University Music Cognition Lab); Sara Beck, PhD (Randolph College)
 
June 9 – "Integrative Approach to COVID-19 and the Mind" 
Deepak Chopra, MD (The Chopra Foundation)
 
June 16 – "Using Music for Health and Wellbeing during COVID-19"
Wendy Magee, PhD (Temple University); Tom Sweitzer, MMT, MT-BC (A Place to Be)

3 Songs That Are Helping Me Manage My Mental Health During Quarantine

GRAMMYs

Selena 

Photo: Arlene Richie/Media Sources/Media Sources/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images

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Selena XXV - Veinticinco Años Tribute Concert Canceled Due To COVID-19

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Suzette Quintanilla CEO/President of Q Productions said the decision to cancel the celebration of life was a tough one
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
May 18, 2020 - 2:11 pm

The Selena XXV - Veinticinco Años concert, celebrating the life of the Queen of Tejano music 25 years after her death, has been canceled due to COVID-19, the late singer's family has announced. 

Pitbull, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, Becky G, A.B. Quintanilla III & Los Kumbia Allstarz were among the artists scheduled to perform at the tribute concert originally set for May 9 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Suzette Quintanilla CEO/President of Q Productions—drummer and sister to the icon—said the decision was a tough one as the future of live concert events remains uncertain. 

"After carefully reviewing all the options during these challenging times, the decision has been made to cancel the Selena XXV Tribute Concert. The decision did not come easy," she said in a statement. "The future is unpredictable and we feel we cannot responsibly create an event of this magnitude for the fans. Thank you all for understanding." 

Remembering Selena 25 Years Later

Quintanilla also offered her gratitude towards essential workers. "We would like to thank all the first responders and essential workers who have worked so hard for all of us. Let's make sure we're all doing our part to help keep our fellow neighbors safe during this time," she said. 

The concert celebration was rescheduled in early March and first announced in February. Fans were asked to hold on to tickets as the production company hoped to find a better date to hold the music event amid public health concerns. "Rescheduling will give people time to feel more comfortable and bring calm and ease during this unprecedented time," Suzette Quintanilla said in a statement at the time. 

Fans can obtain refunds at Ticketmaster or from their point of purchase. 

Selena's untimely death happened on March 31, 1995. The GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter would have turned 49 years old this year. A group of artists and other industry professionals remembered the "Amor Prohibido" singers' authenticity, entrepreneurial mindset and mark on music in a Recording Academy roundtable. 

"Selena had an innate talent for taking something classic and traditional and shaping it with her modern voice," Kacey Musgraves said. "Selena was an entrepreneur and woman of business, a songwriter, an iconic vocalist, a trendsetter, and her fashion sense was way ahead of its time. But the attribute I admire most about her was her ability to be real—unabashedly genuine across the board. Being in the spotlight, especially from a young age, can bamboozle people into feeling like they have to shift into something different when the cameras are on. Without ever knowing her, I feel like I can say she never did."

Selena Forever: Remembering The Latin Pop Icon 25 Years Later

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