Speaker 1: Joseph.
Speaker 2: Usually I show up really happy and excited, but I
Speaker 2: am not feeling those feelings today.
Speaker 1: I'm a little blue.
Speaker 3: Wait, why is it because it's a super moon and
Speaker 3: lunar eclipse today?
Speaker 4: Because I kind of feel that too.
Speaker 2: I mean, yes, highly likely, but it's beacause today is
Speaker 2: our season finale. No, you guys, for the past thirty
Speaker 2: five episodes thirty five years old, I know, I know,
Speaker 2: we have been diving deep into the highs and the
Speaker 2: lows of some of the biggest LATINX stars on the planet, icons.
Speaker 4: That inspire us. I mean we look up to.
Speaker 3: Them, we love them, we hate them, we love to
Speaker 3: talk about them. I mean it is truly, it's been
Speaker 3: a journey.
Speaker 1: It has and it's a labor of love.
Speaker 2: Each of these episodes, you guys, takes hours and hours
Speaker 2: and hours research and production and recording and conversations and
Speaker 2: arguments and fights. I mean we don't okay, we don't
Speaker 2: actually fight, but we do have heated discussions.
Speaker 4: We do.
Speaker 1: And today our season two journey is coming to an end.
Speaker 3: But we are not doing all this recapping and season
Speaker 3: finale ng alone.
Speaker 4: We have here one of the best because that is
Speaker 4: what we deserve and.
Speaker 1: That is what we will always deliver to you.
Speaker 2: Today with Us is a Tania Garcia.
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Lillianavosquez.
Speaker 4: And I'm Joseph Carrio and this is Becoming an Icon.
Speaker 2: A weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on
Speaker 2: how today's most famous latinv stars have shaped pop culture.
Speaker 4: And given the world some extra level.
Speaker 1: Sit back and get comfortable.
Speaker 3: Because we are going in the only way we know
Speaker 3: how with Buena's via with Us, when Visas and a.
Speaker 2: Lot of opinions as we relive their greatest achievements on
Speaker 2: our journey to find out what makes them so iconic.
Speaker 2: Tanya Garcia is the associate music editor at Variety based
Speaker 2: here in Los Angeles. She writes them edits music news
Speaker 2: features and has a specialization in Latin entertainment. So naturally,
Speaker 2: she is the perfect guest for our season finale.
Speaker 1: Joseph, It's time. It's time.
Speaker 2: Also, Tanya is just super cool and she is here
Speaker 2: to share all of her knowledge, spill the tea, and
Speaker 2: just join the party that is Becoming an Icon.
Speaker 1: So Tanya, welcome to Becoming an Icon.
Speaker 2: We are so excited to get into all of season
Speaker 2: two with you.
Speaker 4: Welcome, welcome, welcome wagon.
Speaker 5: Oh my gosh, thank you guys for having me. I'm
Speaker 5: so excited to be celebrating your season finale today. I
Speaker 5: feel so honored. I feel like the biggest specialist guest ever.
Speaker 5: So thank you so so much.
Speaker 2: Well, that is the energy we like to start with.
Speaker 2: And I know that you've listened. Now, you don't have
Speaker 2: to say that you listen to all the episodes, but
Speaker 2: I know that you have listened to many of our episodes.
Speaker 2: Is there an episode or an icon that personally stands
Speaker 2: out in your mind from this season?
Speaker 5: Oh, my gosh, like so many of them. I just
Speaker 5: recently was listening to the Mana episode because I was
Speaker 5: actually like, Mana was in the news this week, so
Speaker 5: I was like going back and listening to it because
Speaker 5: I didn't know like much of Mana's history and their story,
Speaker 5: and so I found out so many other interesting things.
Speaker 5: But of course I have a connection to a lot
Speaker 5: of the icons that you guys covered. I'm Mexican American,
Speaker 5: so I grew up listening to like Kuangabriel Nabo, like
Speaker 5: all of these like icons, divas and you know, people
Speaker 5: that are ingrained in my memory forever. Also Vicenti. This
Speaker 5: is a huge one for me. Obviously, he's like emblematic
Speaker 5: of Mexican culture, so it was really interesting to kind
Speaker 5: of dive deeper into some of these historical aspects.
Speaker 4: Of these artists.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, and what's amazing about everyone that you've
Speaker 2: named is, you know, we really focus this series on
Speaker 2: talking about the icons that are really shaping the LATINX scene,
Speaker 2: that shaped it in the past, are shaping it currently,
Speaker 2: and also about the future of this incredible space, right,
Speaker 2: and you mentioned so many, but also we do not discriminate,
Speaker 2: like we talk about everyone like you can be old,
Speaker 2: you can be young, you can have some controversy, you
Speaker 2: can have lots of drama.
Speaker 1: We actually prefer the drama.
Speaker 4: Drama.
Speaker 1: We live for the drama, like the morte the better.
Speaker 2: But like you know, we've had Wanga Willi Colonne, right,
Speaker 2: We've had Carlos Santana obviously, and then all of these
Speaker 2: icons really kind of hold their own amongst each other.
Speaker 2: And what's also really special I think about this particular
Speaker 2: show is that we also spend some time talking about
Speaker 2: icons in the making, right, the icons that maybe are
Speaker 2: not iconic today, but that you know, in ten years
Speaker 2: twelve years, twenty years, there's going to be a becoming
Speaker 2: an icon about Camilla Cabello and Carol g and Nata
Speaker 2: and for Sarahida. Right, So for you, I know you
Speaker 2: mentioned your background. Do you have any deep personal connection
Speaker 2: to any of these specific artists, Like did one of
Speaker 2: them really shape your love and passion for music as
Speaker 2: you were growing up?
Speaker 5: Yes, for sure. It's interesting because growing up my mom
Speaker 5: was like very much in the pop world, and then
Speaker 5: my dad was like constantly listening to Corridos. So for
Speaker 5: me again going back to be SENTI f and then
Speaker 5: this he was like the emblem of pride in Mexican culture.
Speaker 5: And every time I knew from the start like that
Speaker 5: Vicente was an icon because just the way that they
Speaker 5: presented him, the way that he stress, the way that
Speaker 5: he his voice to me was synonymous with Mexican pride,
Speaker 5: just how strong his voice was. And so I mean,
Speaker 5: obviously he was always around playing in my house. And
Speaker 5: then flipping over to my mom. She was always like
Speaker 5: a Romantica's girl and very much into the pop world,
Speaker 5: and so I kind of picked up her love for
Speaker 5: John Ceastian, for Penge for and Dahlia especially, I think
Speaker 5: for me because both of our names start with the thh.
Speaker 4: That's that's already just too much perfect?
Speaker 5: And she and then I would watch her in the
Speaker 5: novelas and I was like, that is the ultimate Barbie Doll.
Speaker 5: Like I was like, yes, with Barbie's just her outfits,
Speaker 5: the way that she was so animated on stage, like
Speaker 5: just everything about her enamored me as a little girl.
Speaker 5: And I just found like the t connections, so like,
Speaker 5: I feel so special.
Speaker 4: You know that.
Speaker 2: I mean, you guys are basically the same personally.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Joseph, what about you?
Speaker 2: Because I know that you know, as similar as you
Speaker 2: and I are, we're also so different in the music
Speaker 2: that kind of dominated our homes and the music that
Speaker 2: we listened to now as like adults, Like, is there
Speaker 2: anyone icon that we covered that was either always your
Speaker 2: tried and true favorite or somebody that became an unexpected
Speaker 2: favorite for you?
Speaker 4: You know, learning a lot.
Speaker 3: I can't even pinpoint one because I will say, obviously,
Speaker 3: this whole list, we we all grew up with all
Speaker 3: of these people, but learning, I feel like they are.
Speaker 3: What I learned the most out of everybody is that
Speaker 3: they all started very simple, and they weren't ever really
Speaker 3: in a rush until it just all happened, and it
Speaker 3: was just their determination. And I feel like that kind
Speaker 3: of speaks true to like as Latinos, where just we
Speaker 3: just keep kind of going. And I feel like that's
Speaker 3: what I feel like I'm getting from everyone here. They
Speaker 3: just didn't stop, they didn't give up. It wasn't just
Speaker 3: because the door closed, like hoes were going around through
Speaker 3: the side, up the wing, and so I feel like
Speaker 3: it's just the determination of all of them that I'm
Speaker 3: just like, I got to keep going.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Well I think that word kind of like, you know,
Speaker 2: whether it's tenacity or unstoppable. I mean, I think that
Speaker 2: really speaks to Latinos as a culture. And I hate to,
Speaker 2: you know, like define us as a monolith, but you know,
Speaker 2: whether you're Cuban or Peruvian or Mexican, you know, whatever,
Speaker 2: you are Colombiana. Like I do think that we are
Speaker 2: kind of born with that spirit that's like, yo, we're
Speaker 2: not going to be stopped. And think about how many
Speaker 2: times like the themes were stopped, right, like, how many
Speaker 2: times they were stopped. Think about Wanga, like at every
Speaker 2: turn it was like no, sorry.
Speaker 3: Declined Celia being like she could never go back, like
Speaker 3: and she had a cup of her own, you know,
Speaker 3: the latira from Cuba for herself. Like it's all of
Speaker 3: this stuff, and they always just wanted to remain true
Speaker 3: to themselves, even now with like, you know, the Corridos
Speaker 3: Tombalos kids. I'm going to call them that because I'm
Speaker 3: fucking old as fuck man, and it's just like, you know,
Speaker 3: they've changed it, but it's still so true to the sound,
Speaker 3: but they look different. It's it's just it's fascinating. Yeah,
Speaker 3: that's all I'm gonna say.
Speaker 2: And I think fascinating is the perfect way to summarize
Speaker 2: what we do on this show. And I hope that
Speaker 2: you know, when you guys listen, you feel that way too,
Speaker 2: because you might know the music, but you likely don't
Speaker 2: know the icon, right, And that's why this podcast is
Speaker 2: so fun because it teaches you so much. Like I'm
Speaker 2: somebody that thought I was really familiar with one Gabie,
Speaker 2: like he was like my grandmother's favorite artist.
Speaker 1: I thought I knew everything.
Speaker 2: I knew nothing because I really only knew the version
Speaker 2: of him that my grandmother shared with me, or the
Speaker 2: version that I saw on television. But what we do
Speaker 2: is go so deep into their lives to really tell
Speaker 2: you like the ups, the downs, the juice, the tea,
Speaker 2: And it's incredible to really get to know them as
Speaker 2: people before they were icons and then understand what truly
Speaker 2: does make them iconic because oftentimes, like Joseph said, it's
Speaker 2: not just the music, it's the person at the center of.
Speaker 1: It all, right, totally. Now, one of the things.
Speaker 2: That I feel like we always touch on is like
Speaker 2: what are.
Speaker 1: These connections that all of these icons have?
Speaker 2: And that's what's so fun to do and these kind
Speaker 2: of like season finale episodes to say, Okay, how are
Speaker 2: they connected?
Speaker 4: Right?
Speaker 2: So, like one thing that I keep thinking about with
Speaker 2: all of these icons specifically, I would say, like Santana
Speaker 2: and Selena, is like it was so important to get
Speaker 2: the seal of approval of the audiences from their home country, right,
Speaker 2: you know, like there's always this idea of you're never
Speaker 2: enough or I said it earlier, I said me that key,
Speaker 2: me that yeah, right, and all of us right are
Speaker 2: born here, but at the same time, we have so
Speaker 2: much pride and love for our country and for our culture.
Speaker 2: So it's like for them born here but still really
Speaker 2: really wanted to capture the love of those audiences at home.
Speaker 1: Right, How is it?
Speaker 2: So, I guess, how is it essential for these artists
Speaker 2: to be able to have success not just in the US,
Speaker 2: but to have success in the countries that they represent,
Speaker 2: Like why do they need to feel so connected to
Speaker 2: their culture in that way as musicians?
Speaker 5: Oh my gosh, that's a really big question. I think
Speaker 5: it boils down to, like when we look at musicians,
Speaker 5: when we look at celebrities really in general, we want
Speaker 5: to feel a sense of relatability and a sense of
Speaker 5: humility coming from them. I think the moment that that
Speaker 5: stops happening, it you kind of lose your audience in
Speaker 5: a sense. And so I think, especially for Latinos, it's
Speaker 5: difficult for us to pinpoint all of our backgrounds, where
Speaker 5: we come from and all of these things, because again,
Speaker 5: we are a melting pot of languages and cultural references,
Speaker 5: of music, of all of these things. And so I
Speaker 5: think understanding that you know, Latinos come in a white
Speaker 5: spectrum and that we are we can be multiple things
Speaker 5: that once is essential to the art, street, is essential
Speaker 5: to the storytelling, is essential to the instruments, and so yeah,
Speaker 5: I mean nowadays, I'm thinking about musicamihikana specifically like Haave
Speaker 5: and for sada Hida and all of these people who
Speaker 5: are really just the definition of a melting pot of
Speaker 5: cultures and of pride. Honestly.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think you get to kind of the
Speaker 2: second thing that kind of ties all of these groups
Speaker 2: together is this idea of musical crossroads.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: It's not linear, it's like all of these different roads
Speaker 2: converging together. And that really actually makes the case for
Speaker 2: the idea of like border towns, right, and that truly
Speaker 2: is symbolic of like having one foot in one country
Speaker 2: and one.
Speaker 1: Foot in the other.
Speaker 2: And you know, I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas
Speaker 2: kind of like what I call like northern Mexico, but
Speaker 2: my family is like right on the border del Rio Nacunya, right,
Speaker 2: and so I'm very familiar with what it is to
Speaker 2: be on the border. And we think about Selina Santana
Speaker 2: therez v Norte, right, Like whatder girls? I mean, that's
Speaker 2: what they are, you know, like whether it's the Wana
Speaker 2: or MEXICALI you know, do you think that this is
Speaker 2: still a thing because a lot of these crosswords and
Speaker 2: border towns come out through the lyrics, come out through
Speaker 2: the instruments, through the musicality, like especially here, I think,
Speaker 2: you know, in South California, Like there is something happening here,
Speaker 2: like you touched on it with Havy a little bit there,
Speaker 2: like all of these new like modern gorridos, Like do
Speaker 2: you think that this new generation is influenced in the
Speaker 2: same way but that duality, by that existence of growing
Speaker 2: up on the border between wherever that is.
Speaker 5: For you A thousand million a percent, Yes, I think,
Speaker 5: you know. One of the stats that I remember writing
Speaker 5: at the top of this year, when we were looking
Speaker 5: at twenty twenty three, was that Latin music was like
Speaker 5: one of the fastest growing subgenres on streaming. So I
Speaker 5: think that the reason that that's happening is because of
Speaker 5: the popularity of all of these sub jos. Is a
Speaker 5: lot of these kids are kind of mixing a bunch
Speaker 5: of these sounds together and it's becoming relatable because the
Speaker 5: kids are growing up here and are listening to it,
Speaker 5: and so they relate to the sort of duality that's
Speaker 5: coming across in this music. I will come back to
Speaker 5: the Southern California thing, but I did want to mention
Speaker 5: because I know you just said that you guys are
Speaker 5: in Texas. I was watching a documentary that just came
Speaker 5: out on Netflix called Going Varsity and Madiaci. Have you
Speaker 5: guys heard of it?
Speaker 2: Oh God, Oh, Joseph, please, I'm going to watch it.
Speaker 2: Joseph and listeners, y'all have to watch this documentary.
Speaker 5: Yes, it's a must watch. It's basically just about how
Speaker 5: there's all of these like small communities across high schools
Speaker 5: in the United States, but more specifically in Texas and
Speaker 5: those border towns that have madiachi varsity madiachi teams. They
Speaker 5: go and they compete in national competitions, and it's the
Speaker 5: most incredible thing to see because these kids like are
Speaker 5: so impassionate about madiachi music, which is probably like equivalent
Speaker 5: to classical music. It's that old, it's that tradition, and
Speaker 5: they're just breathing this new life into it and it's
Speaker 5: so exciting to watch. And it's like has a kind
Speaker 5: of like it's a documentary, so it has a little
Speaker 5: bit of like a reality TV aspect to it, like
Speaker 5: it's a little bit of drama.
Speaker 4: We kind of like that.
Speaker 3: I just need to let it be known that I
Speaker 3: played the guitar Rohne for three years from third grade
Speaker 3: to the sixth grade. I am a mariachi boy. Number one,
Speaker 3: number two. I'm going to say, I think that's so
Speaker 3: true to what you're saying because also, you know, in
Speaker 3: Middle America where there are Latinos who their family migrators
Speaker 3: from wherever and now they find themselves stuck, or people
Speaker 3: who are the Yono Saba kids, it's yon Sabo kids.
Speaker 3: They are also just getting to experience their culture in
Speaker 3: a way that like it sounds so traditional, but it's
Speaker 3: still so fucking cool.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Like that's why I think more people are coming to it,
Speaker 3: because it's like, oh, you're half mech Sican or your
Speaker 3: three quarters mex Skin. You're like, oh, well, do you
Speaker 3: know best applo mind You're like no, and then you're
Speaker 3: like I love this song and you just boom identify.
Speaker 3: You're like, now you're so fucking I think, yeah, you.
Speaker 4: Know what, so cool? I know.
Speaker 2: And I also think that, you know, gen Z is
Speaker 2: so different in how they digest and participate in LA
Speaker 2: and I think, you know, they get a bad rap.
Speaker 2: And by the way, I'm a millennial, so I'm like
Speaker 2: the elder talking in the room and they get no.
Speaker 2: But I have to say this because you know, I
Speaker 2: do think they get a bad rap. But I think
Speaker 2: what we do have to give credit about is how
Speaker 2: they experience our culture and how passionate and how they
Speaker 2: lead with their culture in that way, because you know,
Speaker 2: I think of it this way, right, Like my all
Speaker 2: my mom wanted was to fit in. Right, Like all
Speaker 2: she wanted when she came to the United States was
Speaker 2: to be as American as she could be, despite having
Speaker 2: like the thickest Mexican accent you can ever hear in
Speaker 2: the world, right, she just wanted to sound and be American.
Speaker 2: So when you have your own child and they are
Speaker 2: born here, you kind of put that on them, right,
Speaker 2: You're kind of like, nihah, just be like them, right,
Speaker 2: sound like them, like code switch for them.
Speaker 1: Be them.
Speaker 2: And so for me, I found like a lot of
Speaker 2: my identity was not rooted in like deep appreciation and
Speaker 2: love for my heritage because I was pushed the other direction.
Speaker 2: I was taught to be like them. Don't be like me,
Speaker 2: mihat be like them so that you fit in and
Speaker 2: you have the opportunities that I didn't have because of
Speaker 2: how I sound or how I address or where.
Speaker 4: I come from.
Speaker 2: And so it really took me going to school in Washington,
Speaker 2: d C. Because it was a super international city with
Speaker 2: people from all over the world for me to become
Speaker 2: really accepting of my Buddha and my culture and like
Speaker 2: really connect with the music, the food, the dance, all
Speaker 2: of it. And it makes me sad in a way
Speaker 2: because I grew up in Texas so connected physically to
Speaker 2: that culture, but yet so far removed froment these kids
Speaker 2: right that I could effectively have birth, like I probably
Speaker 2: could have given birth.
Speaker 1: To bestl Pluma. Let's be honest, Okay, thank you can
Speaker 1: be my kids.
Speaker 2: I could have done birthing these children from this generation,
Speaker 2: this gen z. They have parents that are trying to
Speaker 2: desperately reconnect for them, and so they're saying, no, no, no,
Speaker 2: listen to this music. Be prideful, be loud, like go
Speaker 2: show the world how beautiful and rich our culture is.
Speaker 2: And I think that's the explosion because these kids are like,
Speaker 2: I can be both things, whereas we were told you
Speaker 2: can be one or the other. And I think that's
Speaker 2: what's making the difference in acceptance. And I think that's
Speaker 2: why what you're getting is like really pure storytelling and
Speaker 2: authenticity that is so deeply rooted, like you said, in tradition.
Speaker 1: But still feels so of the moment.
Speaker 2: It's a really special time to be Latino and experiencing
Speaker 2: this explosion in music.
Speaker 3: That's what I was going to tell you. So it's
Speaker 3: so crazy, like so Latin explosion. Whatever happened when it happened.
Speaker 2: And that was a whitewashed Latin explosion that was Latino
Speaker 2: music for white people. Totally no listen, no sense to
Speaker 2: white people.
Speaker 1: We love you.
Speaker 3: I feel like the Latino gang came through and home
Speaker 3: people are not they are home. Dudes are staying. It's
Speaker 3: not the explosion. It's like it took over. It's gone.
Speaker 3: We blew out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's so true.
Speaker 2: And on that note, Sally, I want to ask you
Speaker 2: a little bit about this massive I mean massive acceptance
Speaker 2: from the industry to Musika Mexicana.
Speaker 1: Right, So let's talk about the record labels, because if
Speaker 1: you listen.
Speaker 2: To any of our episodes, do you know how many
Speaker 2: times these bitches got canceled. They were like, sorry, we're
Speaker 2: taking away your records? Are we don't get no money,
Speaker 2: there's no budget for this. I mean, if you know
Speaker 2: what happened to Selena's first album cover, you know the
Speaker 2: perils of not having a.
Speaker 3: Budget the way I just really laughed, I can't even feel.
Speaker 2: So now when you cover the industry and you're talking
Speaker 2: to execs and A and R, how much priority are
Speaker 2: they placing on this specific category?
Speaker 5: Oh my god. Yeah. Every single week I find myself
Speaker 5: writing like there's been a new Musika mahikana division opening
Speaker 5: up about like a publishing company or you know, a
Speaker 5: distribution company, whatever it may be. And it's interesting because
Speaker 5: a lot of like for example, Bisol Pluma is an
Speaker 5: indie artist, he has his own label. So I feel
Speaker 5: like there's definitely been a shift, mostly powered by just
Speaker 5: like the impact of streaming. As I was saying earlier,
Speaker 5: Latin music is like the fastest growing sub genre on
Speaker 5: streaming platforms. So it's just like the fact that people
Speaker 5: are sort of taking autonomy of their art, of their
Speaker 5: publishing rights, of their distribution rights, and so there's definitely
Speaker 5: been a shift, and I think that that's causing a
Speaker 5: lot of the major labels to kind of place their
Speaker 5: spotlight on these growing subgenres on music Gamhikhana, on them Bo,
Speaker 5: on all of these different subgenres are sort of popping up,
Speaker 5: and they're definitely taking the time to research and invest,
Speaker 5: and it's popping up quite a bit. A lot of
Speaker 5: artists are choosing to stay independent now and major labels,
Speaker 5: which is a development. I think again that it all
Speaker 5: comes down to streaming.
Speaker 3: Really Okay, so you think that it's still just as success.
Speaker 3: You think it's even more successful to not have a
Speaker 3: record label in because of streaming.
Speaker 5: I think that's a debate that's ongoing in the music
Speaker 5: industry right now. A lot of artists are choosing to
Speaker 5: stay independent and sign, you know, with a distribution company.
Speaker 5: Sign is a publishing deal signed, you know, they have
Speaker 5: their own independent publicist and they do it all on
Speaker 5: their own, just to have ownership of their music and
Speaker 5: the artistic direction. I'm not saying that, you know, that's
Speaker 5: like what's happening in an overhaul, but I'm noticing now
Speaker 5: that there's a lot more indie artists that are charting.
Speaker 5: For example, Flumento Chris MJ are all indie artists that
Speaker 5: have chosen to stay independent. Pus Plum is another one
Speaker 5: that's chosen to stay independent. I think because streaming has
Speaker 5: just completely changed the way that people are getting paid.
Speaker 5: So so that's that's where the shift is happening. Am
Speaker 5: I saying that major labels are cook put and it's
Speaker 5: not it's over. It's definitely not that. But there's definitely
Speaker 5: been a shift, I think with a popularity in the
Speaker 5: rise and popularity of all of these subgenres that are
Speaker 5: popping out and having huge numbers out of seemingly nowhere.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think, you know, to that point.
Speaker 2: So when you think about these artists that are charting
Speaker 2: and that are making really big gains in streaming, I
Speaker 2: think one word that defines and describes kind of who
Speaker 2: they are as artists is authentic, right. Authenticity is kind
Speaker 2: of at the core to finding success. And you know,
Speaker 2: we've done enough of these episodes to know that a
Speaker 2: lot of times, you know, these artists get put through
Speaker 2: the ringer and they're trying to make them fit into
Speaker 2: some type of Latin artists whatever that sound they think
Speaker 2: is going to be, you know, like charting or popular
Speaker 2: or digestible for mainstream audiences.
Speaker 1: You know, I think about all.
Speaker 2: Of the struggles that our girl Shakiro went through right
Speaker 2: in the beginning, It's like they were just trying to
Speaker 2: make her fit. And obviously back then you didn't have
Speaker 2: a choice to stay independent. It kind of had to
Speaker 2: go to a label, and so you had to take
Speaker 2: a few punches because you're like, Okay, I'll make two
Speaker 2: shitty albums for them, but then I'm going to do
Speaker 2: my album.
Speaker 1: And you used to have to make those deals.
Speaker 2: And so I think what is so beautiful about these
Speaker 2: newer generation icons is they've kind of seen the mistakes
Speaker 2: that our older icons have made and said, oh fuck that, Like, no,
Speaker 2: you know, I don't have to do that. And so
Speaker 2: I think that's what's happening in the music space right
Speaker 2: now is that authenticity cells It always has problem is
Speaker 2: it's hard to be commercial and authentic, and streaming allows you,
Speaker 2: I think, to really do that. So speaking of that,
Speaker 2: knowing that authenticity is so important to audiences, when you
Speaker 2: think about the future of Latin music, what's the next
Speaker 2: sound that you think is going to break big?
Speaker 5: Oh that's such a good question, oh proressure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, it could be a hybrid.
Speaker 2: I know, I feel like so much of what we
Speaker 2: love is always you know, everything is derivative. These days,
Speaker 2: it's rarely that like some new sound comes up. It's
Speaker 2: more kind of like, oh, it'd be really interesting to
Speaker 2: hear this and that, so is there a baby of
Speaker 2: two sounds even that you feel is kind of new
Speaker 2: and next in music. I don't even want to call
Speaker 2: it Latin music because it's not Latin music. It's just
Speaker 2: in music.
Speaker 4: Yes, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 3: That that part is just something that needs to be
Speaker 3: really like, it's in music.
Speaker 4: It's here, it's in our charts. If it's in our charts,
Speaker 4: it's just music, yes.
Speaker 5: No question. Yeah, for sure. There's like a ton of
Speaker 5: little just bubbling moments that I've sort of been keeping
Speaker 5: an eye on for the last couple of months. I
Speaker 5: think that women are going to step up in the
Speaker 5: realm of Goombia pop really uh successful rising Kumbia pop
Speaker 5: girls like a Steavy or a Stevie. She She's just
Speaker 5: put out a song with Pcano that if you guys
Speaker 5: I haven't heard.
Speaker 4: It, you should hear it because it's I know it's STV,
Speaker 4: but I don't know this song.
Speaker 5: Yes, she's been like amazing. There's just like a bunch
Speaker 5: of Kumbia pop girls that are like popping out of
Speaker 5: Texas specifically that I've been kind of keeping my eye on.
Speaker 3: I'm telling you, bitch, I'm telling you, Texas is a spot.
Speaker 5: Definitely is it? Definitely is. It's spreading a lot of
Speaker 5: news stars. And then I would also say, like in
Speaker 5: the realm of like Lega don there's a lot of
Speaker 5: maleggathon and Latin trap and hip hop coming out of
Speaker 5: Cheatin Argentina that we should keep an.
Speaker 1: Eye Wow, Chaid not what I expected.
Speaker 5: Yes, Yeah, Floyd Minor and Chris I'm Jay, which they,
Speaker 5: in my opinion, had the Latin song of the summer.
Speaker 5: They hadn't Got That Only, which is like a huge
Speaker 5: song on TikTok.
Speaker 3: I'm going to listen to it right now as I
Speaker 3: get ready to go to Happy Hour.
Speaker 2: Wait, hold on, I'm the Elder is like completely out
Speaker 2: of the loop.
Speaker 1: What's the song called.
Speaker 5: It's called Gat That Only. Okay, it's a song. And
Speaker 5: these artists, the two of them, they're separate, they're not
Speaker 5: a duo or anything, but they have been just releasing
Speaker 5: like NonStop bangers for the whole summer and they keep
Speaker 5: blowing up on TikTok. I believe Got That Only is
Speaker 5: like in the top forty of the Hot one hundred
Speaker 5: currently which is crazy because the Hot one hundred is
Speaker 5: all genre inclusive. So yeah, there's like a lot going on,
Speaker 5: pretty much like in every aspect where you look at
Speaker 5: Latin music, there's a lot of really good stuff happening
Speaker 5: in a lot of cross genre of pollination that's really
Speaker 5: really interesting.
Speaker 3: It's a really good time to have a music podcast.
Speaker 2: I would say that, now, can I ask you what
Speaker 2: could be considered a controversial question?
Speaker 5: Do it ready, let's go.
Speaker 2: I've actually been thinking about this question all season, and
Speaker 2: there were times when I wanted to bring it up
Speaker 2: and I was like, you know what, let's wait till
Speaker 2: the end, and I think you're the perfect person to
Speaker 2: ask this, Okay. So we talked about authenticity and you know,
Speaker 2: lived experience and what it's like to sing about our
Speaker 2: culture when you grew up in our culture, when you
Speaker 2: are the gold buddha as. This music finds popularity globally
Speaker 2: because we are a global genre, right.
Speaker 1: People consume this music from all.
Speaker 2: Over the world, like Australia, the Philippine, Japan.
Speaker 1: How would you feel.
Speaker 2: If an artist out of let's just say Korea, right,
Speaker 2: wanted to do Cumbia or wanted to do Gorridos because
Speaker 2: as music evolves and becomes more mainstream, like think about it,
Speaker 2: Like we have Korean rappers, Okay, we have Japanese rappers, right,
Speaker 2: so rap was born. I mean I think New York
Speaker 2: is the home of rap, right and as like, and
Speaker 2: you saw that happen when people were like, oh, he's.
Speaker 1: A rapper from like the South, that's a different type
Speaker 1: of rap.
Speaker 2: He's not authentic, right, He's not like from Queens, He's
Speaker 2: not from Brooklyn, He's not jay Z. But as music
Speaker 2: gets bigger and bigger and you decentralize the sound because
Speaker 2: we're on a global stage, how do we as Latinos
Speaker 2: feel about other people that are not part of our
Speaker 2: gold Buddha doing their version of gumbia gorridos mariachi? Like
Speaker 2: where are we in that space? Are we accepting? Are
Speaker 2: we side eyeing? And I'm not saying that I have
Speaker 2: an answer. I just this is a question that I
Speaker 2: always think about because I see the power of our culture.
Speaker 2: I see how other people want a piece of it. Like,
Speaker 2: I mean, you could literally be anywhere and like Satza
Speaker 2: comes on and everybody in the bar is happy.
Speaker 1: I don't care where you are.
Speaker 2: I don't care if you speak the language like, we
Speaker 2: have such an innate joy to the sounds of our
Speaker 2: culture that people want to be a part of it.
Speaker 2: So are we going to let everyone in?
Speaker 5: This might be a hot take, but I feel like
Speaker 5: we should. Like I feel like, at the end of
Speaker 5: the day, there's nothing wrong with good music. Emphasis I'd good.
Speaker 5: It has to be a good quality music. But I
Speaker 5: think that it's I mean, it's definitely it's happening. Like
Speaker 5: I spoke to Carol g for when she released my.
Speaker 4: Ex me Casual.
Speaker 2: I was talking to my girl, car Got and I
Speaker 2: were on the phone, I'm texting, but.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I interviewed her for My MANA Saidawlitos was a
Speaker 5: huge album, but she has always included a gorrillo in
Speaker 5: her albums even though she's from Columbia. And I asked
Speaker 5: her about how she feels about that, and she's like, honestly, like,
Speaker 5: I'm I get scared every single time I put out
Speaker 5: a good though, every single time I put out it
Speaker 5: on the song, because I'm scared that people are going
Speaker 5: to be like, you're not part of the culture, Like
Speaker 5: you're appropriating the culture, you know, And I just don't
Speaker 5: think that that's you know, how I don't think that's
Speaker 5: ever even like been brought it up in conversation, because
Speaker 5: she does it so well, and I think she does
Speaker 5: it with such respect and admiration for the culture. She
Speaker 5: invites you know, Mexican musicians to come and perform the
Speaker 5: songs with her on tour. So I think, you know,
Speaker 5: when it's done with respect, when it's done correctly and
Speaker 5: it's a good quality song, or you know, project like,
Speaker 5: of course we'll welcome that.
Speaker 3: I love that answer well because also like we also did,
Speaker 3: like you know, take some sounds from like Poka music
Speaker 3: and totally you know, our own music is totally fucking
Speaker 3: a mix of shit.
Speaker 4: So yeah, I'm here for the Korean cumbias whatever.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, can you imagine a K pop K
Speaker 2: band with down corridos and cumbias?
Speaker 4: I mean lots of dancing.
Speaker 1: Right, lots of choreo, lots of really good choreo totally,
Speaker 1: and some major looks and some major looks.
Speaker 5: All right.
Speaker 2: I want to get to some games because this is
Speaker 2: kind of one of my favorite parts of wrapping up
Speaker 2: the season.
Speaker 1: We want to know how well you know are icons?
Speaker 1: Are you guys ready ready?
Speaker 4: All right?
Speaker 1: I'm going to read you guys a question, you give
Speaker 1: me the answer. Is it a B or C? All right?
Speaker 2: What is Vicente Fernandez's most stream song on Spotify as
Speaker 2: of this month September twenty twenty four. Oh jeez, is
Speaker 2: it volvert Volvert or on me on the Prima Vedes.
Speaker 3: I would say the second one, I think.
Speaker 5: Okay, I'm gonna put my guests in for the last
Speaker 5: one was on me on the Prima Vedras. Uh huh,
Speaker 5: I'm gonna put my guests in for that one. I
Speaker 5: think she's good.
Speaker 3: She died.
Speaker 4: Yeah, well obviously.
Speaker 5: Wait, so wow, I thought I was stuck between now
Speaker 5: and volverat I feel like those.
Speaker 2: I thought it was vulnerable. I was shocked, I know.
Speaker 2: I mean, I mean again, It's the thing. It's like
Speaker 2: you think about these icons. You're like, who's streaming resented
Speaker 2: for months? Right?
Speaker 4: Really?
Speaker 3: And it's like twenty two point six millions streams much?
Speaker 3: And you're like, what, I haven't even heard that song
Speaker 3: since I was like seventeen.
Speaker 2: Okay, next question, what is Los Bigres del Norte concert
Speaker 2: attendance record? And fyi, they just broke their own record
Speaker 2: earlier this year at the Houston Livestock show and Rodeo.
Speaker 2: Is it seventy five thousand fans, twenty thousand fans or
Speaker 2: one hundred and fifty thousand fans one hundred and fifty.
Speaker 5: Oh gosh, that's a lot of people, though.
Speaker 1: I wonder if you do that, Joseph, you don't have
Speaker 1: any people? What stadium? What stadium holds one fifty?
Speaker 4: Bitch? You said the Houston Livestock Show. That's a lot
Speaker 4: of space. That's a ranch.
Speaker 1: It's like, that's a lot of cowboys.
Speaker 4: That's whatever. They one hundred and fifty.
Speaker 5: Okay, for the sake of competition, I'll do seventy five.
Speaker 1: Damn she is two for two. Seventy five.
Speaker 4: Hate playing. This is the worst game ever.
Speaker 2: Okay, okay, okay, okay. I feel like Joseph this one.
Speaker 2: I feel like I feel like you can.
Speaker 1: Get this one. Okay ready.
Speaker 2: Carlos Santana obviously we know him for his insane skills
Speaker 2: on the guitar, But what was the first.
Speaker 1: Instrument that Carlos Sentana ever played?
Speaker 2: Was it the guitar, the violin or the baffle sextel?
Speaker 5: Oh?
Speaker 3: You know what's so sad is that I know that
Speaker 3: I was a part of the podcast when I knew
Speaker 3: about this, and I don't know why.
Speaker 4: I just want to say, guitar.
Speaker 3: I know that's like the obvious anthea, I'm so obvious,
Speaker 3: but it might be.
Speaker 4: But it might beat Danya big guitars.
Speaker 1: But it might beat Danya. Fall for him.
Speaker 4: Do that one. I'll do the bajo sexto and you
Speaker 4: do the guitar.
Speaker 5: I'll do guitar and you do baj.
Speaker 1: See this is why we never listened to Joseph.
Speaker 2: He will always lead you a stray, whether it's to
Speaker 2: that fifth bar at the end of the night where
Speaker 2: you don't need a tequila shot, or he will ruin
Speaker 2: your perfect, undefeated record.
Speaker 1: Sorry, guys, the answer is be the violin.
Speaker 4: No, he really was the violin. Yes, he does these games.
Speaker 4: They're very sneaky.
Speaker 2: I don't know these damn producers, these damn producers.
Speaker 1: Is okay?
Speaker 4: All right?
Speaker 2: Should we do a little true or false? So there
Speaker 2: are some wild facts about some of our icons, and
Speaker 2: it's up to us to figure out if it's true
Speaker 2: or made up. Now, by the way, I don't know
Speaker 2: the answers here, so we're all playing together, okay, okay.
Speaker 2: So the first fact is that Selena our girl. And
Speaker 2: by the way, we mean Selena like like, o g
Speaker 2: baby Selena, like.
Speaker 5: Okay, not the Queen Selina.
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, Quequeen Queen, Queen la Reina.
Speaker 2: Okay, Lorena had a collection of over five hundred Faberge eggs.
Speaker 4: What that's very nightties.
Speaker 1: I feel like she'd be collecting eggs. She was like
Speaker 1: a kid, y'all. That's like an old lady, Bobby. I
Speaker 1: love that, and I'm an old lady and I don't
Speaker 1: need to do that shit.
Speaker 5: Oh my god. But I feel like that's so random
Speaker 5: that it has to be true.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I would say it was totally true, because
Speaker 3: why the fuck would Selena have Who would make up
Speaker 3: a ship like that about Selena Quintania.
Speaker 2: Like ever, I feel like it's more likely that Abraham
Speaker 2: had a collection of Faberge eggs and.
Speaker 1: Tried to pass it on to Selena.
Speaker 4: But wait, is it true?
Speaker 1: Okay, well what do we say? We say it's true?
Speaker 1: We say true. I think it's true. Oh true, Okay, ready, fuck.
Speaker 4: It's true.
Speaker 2: Really so weird, it's so weird that you're right. When
Speaker 2: it's so weird, it has to be right. And by
Speaker 2: the way, if anybody would like to visit said collection.
Speaker 2: Now you can actually visit it in Selena's Corpus Christian Museum.
Speaker 4: All five hundred eggs are in there.
Speaker 1: Wait, should we take a class trip.
Speaker 4: We're going to Corpus. Pack it up, Donya, let's go
Speaker 4: all right? Ready?
Speaker 1: True or false? Celia Cruz is now on the back
Speaker 1: of a US quarter.
Speaker 4: I know the answer to this, me too.
Speaker 2: Hold on a second, hold on, hold on, hold on,
Speaker 2: hold on, Okay, hold on a second. So I need
Speaker 2: I need more information because like, did they put they
Speaker 2: just put this quarter through during the Bidens administration, or
Speaker 2: like did this are they? I need a year because
Speaker 2: there's no way fucking Cheeto allowed this to happen under
Speaker 2: his administration. So I feel like if it happened in
Speaker 2: the last four years, then it's true.
Speaker 3: There is is there a date that you well, no, Well,
Speaker 3: here's the thing I'll tell you because I know the answer.
Speaker 4: It's true.
Speaker 5: Yes, it's true. I also I remember I wrote about
Speaker 5: it for work, so it's true.
Speaker 4: Oh there you go.
Speaker 1: Then, okay.
Speaker 2: So kind of a signature series that we do here
Speaker 2: on becoming an icon is we really lean on our
Speaker 2: guests for musical recommendations As a writer, you have like
Speaker 2: your hand on the pulse of like everything that is
Speaker 2: happening when it comes to music. So what we like
Speaker 2: to do is take something that we're comfortable in, whether
Speaker 2: it's like your favorite like Mana song or Santana song,
Speaker 2: and kind of push our listeners to try something a
Speaker 2: little bit different. So we are going to say, see
Speaker 2: thee gusta blank, tegustadiya something else.
Speaker 4: Okay, Okay, told time, me go get my pen and paper.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah.
Speaker 2: I always tell people grab your notes ap or grab
Speaker 2: your pen and paper, because this is where you get
Speaker 2: to curate the best playlist ever.
Speaker 1: Like we learn so much from these. Joseph and I
Speaker 1: walk away.
Speaker 2: Saying, okay, we need to have more of these guys
Speaker 2: and girls on our playlist. So yeah, now that I
Speaker 2: give in you a moment, get ready to take notes.
Speaker 2: Kastania is about to school y'all ready. Okay, see thee
Speaker 2: Gusta rock in Espanol, Momna or Santana they study.
Speaker 5: Yeah, Chicano Batman, which if you're from La, those are
Speaker 5: like our people. Chicano Batman is like I would say,
Speaker 5: more Santana than than Mana, and they're kind of like
Speaker 5: a little bit sublimey as well. That's a little bit
Speaker 5: like they're so so so good. They're from La and
Speaker 5: they're awesome. They just played the Forum like a couple
Speaker 5: of months ago. It was the first time playing the Forum,
Speaker 5: and it was like a really good show, all.
Speaker 2: Right, Sipe, Gusta scoochad legends like Willi Colon and Wangabiel.
Speaker 4: Check out that's tough.
Speaker 5: That Yeah, that one stopped me for a minute because like,
Speaker 5: I feel like there's nobody really doing ballads or like
Speaker 5: salt some music justice these days.
Speaker 4: There's not There's Mark Anthony. Where is Mark Anthony?
Speaker 1: No, we need Mark Anthony Junior.
Speaker 2: We need like the bestl Bluma version of Mark Anthony.
Speaker 4: That would be so cute. He's so.
Speaker 5: But I did I do have one. It's a little
Speaker 5: bit left field, but I would say, you know, if
Speaker 5: you like sauce music, if you like ballads, like definitely
Speaker 5: check out Monda Ferte. She's amazing. She her album was
Speaker 5: nominated for Album of the Year at the Latin Grammys
Speaker 5: this morning the nominations came out, and she sort of
Speaker 5: pushes the boundaries of like Sansa and Boston Nova and
Speaker 5: Don and it's really really beautiful. The album that she
Speaker 5: put out is called and it's a concept album. It's very,
Speaker 5: very thorough. It's long, but it's definitely worth checking out.
Speaker 5: And there's some great like prell on there.
Speaker 3: Oh you know, I love to throw that ass back.
Speaker 2: Okay, well, speaking of throwing that ass, if you like
Speaker 2: to throw your ass old school like Daddy Yankee's way,
Speaker 2: what are you going?
Speaker 1: What else are you going to? Like give us something else?
Speaker 5: I feel like this is like a very obvious one,
Speaker 5: but I'm going to say it anyways because I am
Speaker 5: a huge fan fade f e I d he's actually
Speaker 5: Carol Gee's.
Speaker 1: Oh he's Carol GE's boyfriend.
Speaker 5: Yes with me?
Speaker 1: Are we still girl? Are we really?
Speaker 5: I don't know. I just I was trained to stay
Speaker 5: allegedly after like everything, so here I am.
Speaker 1: I mean I was there.
Speaker 2: She was like celebrating his birthday on stage when we
Speaker 2: were like in Pasadena at.
Speaker 1: The Rose Bowl.
Speaker 2: Like, if they're not together, then my husband and I
Speaker 2: aren't married and we've been married seventeen years okay, and
Speaker 2: we have a child together, so wow.
Speaker 4: So Fake Yeah.
Speaker 5: Has like the best tagotone bangers. I think he's like
Speaker 5: at the top of his game for sure. Checkout faed.
Speaker 1: Well here's the thing.
Speaker 2: One day we'll take a wild field trip to an
Speaker 2: underground federal party and Danya is leading the charge.
Speaker 1: Okay, that's what we're gonna do.
Speaker 4: Now.
Speaker 2: I have to say thank you so much for being
Speaker 2: here for our season finale.
Speaker 1: We have loved talking with you, Tanya.
Speaker 2: Please share with our listeners where can we find you
Speaker 2: and what are you working on right now?
Speaker 5: I am working on a lot of good stuff as
Speaker 5: we sort of towards the end of the year, a
Speaker 5: lot of life best of lists. So I'm thinking about
Speaker 5: best albums of the year, best singles of the year,
Speaker 5: best new artists of the year.
Speaker 4: So lucky to have you with us, and.
Speaker 5: I'm so happy to be here. But yeah, so that's
Speaker 5: kind of what I'm spending my time on right now,
Speaker 5: and you can catch that on my socials. I'm at
Speaker 5: ty Wright.
Speaker 1: Everywhere it's t y E w R I T E perfect.
Speaker 3: We are quickly following, follow like and share everybody follow like.
Speaker 2: Share, Monetize. I always add monetize.
Speaker 1: It's very important, very important. Well, it's been lovely to
Speaker 1: meet you.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for sharing all of that knowledge,
Speaker 2: and I will see you at that underground.
Speaker 5: But party period. Bye hie, guys, thank you.
Speaker 3: You know, I really really can't believe it is now
Speaker 3: the end of season two, Like, not only have we
Speaker 3: been best used for so long, but now we are
Speaker 3: wrapping up season two of this of learning so much
Speaker 3: about kind of our own culture and remembering our separate
Speaker 3: lives but together.
Speaker 4: It feels so weird. What do you see?
Speaker 3: You know?
Speaker 1: It's so interesting.
Speaker 2: I feel like when we start each season, I feel
Speaker 2: like the world.
Speaker 1: Is our oyster. We can talk about anything. Then we
Speaker 1: get to the end of a season and I'm like, wait,
Speaker 1: we still have so much more to say.
Speaker 2: We didn't get to do enough episodes about Mana or
Speaker 2: I want to do another episode today given all of
Speaker 2: the Mana news that we've heard. And so I think
Speaker 2: that's the beautiful thing about covering music and culture is
Speaker 2: that there's always going to be more to say. The
Speaker 2: conversation doesn't end because our season ends, right, And that's
Speaker 2: what's so beautiful about being able to experience music as kids,
Speaker 2: as adolescents, as teenagers, as grown ups because the conversation
Speaker 2: is always changing around it. And I think we're so
Speaker 2: lucky to be able to have these conversations not.
Speaker 1: Just with each other, but with you, guys, our listeners.
Speaker 2: And I think one thing I don't often say enough
Speaker 2: is thank you for listening. Thank you for your dms,
Speaker 2: thank you for downloading our episodes, thank you for supporting
Speaker 2: our show. I hope that when you're listening to us,
Speaker 2: you feel like you're at Margs with us, and that
Speaker 2: we're not just talking to you, because we really do
Speaker 2: it for you, guys. We love to invite you in
Speaker 2: and as you're learning, we're learning. Like Please don't think
Speaker 2: that we're any kind of like music experts, because we're not.
Speaker 1: Half the time the time, we're learning just like you are.
Speaker 2: And I think that's what's so beautiful about music is
Speaker 2: that there's always more to learn. And I think that's
Speaker 2: what's so great about our icons. There's always more to learn,
Speaker 2: more to love, more to pass judgment all because sometimes
Speaker 2: we do judge them, and also more to you know,
Speaker 2: have conversations about in the future. So thanks you guys
Speaker 2: for sticking with us for two seasons. And if you
Speaker 2: love the show as much as we love the show,
Speaker 2: please share it with a friend and we'll see you
Speaker 2: guys soon.
Speaker 3: Lastly, I want to thank you, Liliana for having me.
Speaker 3: We've done seventy episodes, like, I want to thank you
Speaker 3: so much for having me. This has been so much fun.
Speaker 3: This is kind of historical. I mean we're talking and
Speaker 3: diving into things that we didn't even know and that,
Speaker 3: like you said, this is kind of evergreen.
Speaker 4: It's always going to be happening.
Speaker 3: So thank you for bringing me along this amazing journey
Speaker 3: and we'll see if season three happens.
Speaker 2: Thank you guys so much for joining us. And of
Speaker 2: course you can follow Joseph and I on social media.
Speaker 2: I am at Liliana Vasquez across TikTok and Instagram.
Speaker 3: And I'm at Joseph Garrio that's c A R R
Speaker 3: I L l O on Instagram.
Speaker 2: Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael
Speaker 2: Duda podcast Network. Listen to Becoming an Icon on the
Speaker 2: iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.