WEBVTT - The Meaning of Ricky Martin’s Evolution 0:00:01.480 --> 0:00:03.120 Dear Latino USA listener. 0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.080 Before we start, you should know that if you want 0:00:06.080 --> 0:00:10.240 to listen to this episode ad free, just join Plus 0:00:10.760 --> 0:00:13.119 and you can join for as little as seven dollars 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:17.200 a month. Joining also gets you behind the scenes access 0:00:17.280 --> 0:00:21.279 and yes, some cheese may so click the link in 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:25.560 the episode description and after you do that, then click play. 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:26.520 Let's go to the. 0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:39.520 Show, or Latino USA listener, I want to tell you 0:00:39.560 --> 0:00:42.080 about a new show from Futuro Studios that we just 0:00:42.159 --> 0:00:47.160 launched with iHeartRadio. It's called We Excited with Maria Garcia. 0:00:47.560 --> 0:00:51.080 It's a really fun video podcast where Maria dives into 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:54.560 pop culture moments from the present in the past, and 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:58.320 then she tells us what these moments reveal about ourselves. 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:02.120 And you know, Maria loves pop culture. You probably remember 0:01:02.120 --> 0:01:06.400 her previous podcast series Anything for Selena about the Tejano 0:01:06.520 --> 0:01:11.000 singer Selena Kintanilla, and also the podcast My Devo about 0:01:11.080 --> 0:01:15.920 Mexican musical icon Juan Gavilla. Well, this time Maria Garcia 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:19.640 is back to reflect on topics like why did the 0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:23.840 power couple of Mariah Carey and Lis Migul not work out? 0:01:24.120 --> 0:01:28.760 Or why do many people, especially Latinas yearn for Shakida's 0:01:28.920 --> 0:01:32.800 Black Hair to make a comeback. Well, today we want 0:01:32.800 --> 0:01:35.840 to share with you the very first episode of Muyi Excited. 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:39.440 It's about the one and only Ricky Martin. Here's Maria 0:01:39.480 --> 0:01:43.800 with the first episode of Mui Excited, Enjoy. 0:01:44.520 --> 0:01:47.280 I want to tell you about a moment earlier this year. 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:50.960 I was at my friend Ruby's house. We were gathered 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:53.960 to watch the Benito Bowl. Apparently there's some sort of 0:01:53.960 --> 0:01:58.160 sporting event happening at the same time, but we were sat 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:02.240 for Benito Antonio Martinez, oh Gassio. Okay, Well, we weren't 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:05.040 exactly sad because all of us adults were standing in 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:08.919 a semi circle, entranced by the magic of Bad Bunny's 0:02:09.000 --> 0:02:13.880 performance that starred in the sugarcane fields, all the Latino venders, 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:18.520 the actual wedding. It was the joy, the nourishment we 0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:24.200 needed at the time. And then we see him dressed 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:29.040 in all white, his voice firm and smooth. It is 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:35.679 the one and only Ricky Martin singing arguably one of 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:40.400 the most political anti colonial anthems of Bad Bunny's catalog, 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:46.040 Loke Hawaii a quie against statehood for Puerto Rico and 0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:50.880 I am in awe of this moment. I know immediately 0:02:50.960 --> 0:02:54.919 the potency of the symbolism. Here, here is the artist 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:58.000 who most represents what some people called the Latin boom 0:02:58.120 --> 0:03:01.320 in the late nineties, the moment in history when US 0:03:01.400 --> 0:03:04.359 audiences were suddenly like, oh gosh, darn, look at these 0:03:04.440 --> 0:03:08.760 fiery Latins. They exist. And now, about two and a 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:13.040 half decades later, Ricky Martin stands before us, not performing 0:03:13.160 --> 0:03:18.320 in English to a white audience for recognition or acceptance. No, 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:24.280 he stands before us, singing a song of resistance in Spanish. 0:03:24.639 --> 0:03:28.200 And I stand there acutely aware that I would remember 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:32.600 this moment for decades to come, that this was a 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:36.000 Touchstowe moment, not only for the long storied arc of 0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:41.160 Ricky's career, but for the complicated narrative of Latino belonging 0:03:41.520 --> 0:03:46.760 in the United States. And then my trance is interrupted 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:51.800 by the choir of boys behind me. Who is that? 0:03:53.040 --> 0:03:56.040 Yells my eleven year old son and his two best friends, 0:03:56.680 --> 0:03:59.560 And then all three of us moms turn around and yell, 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:03.960 what do you mean that's Ricky Martin? And the three 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:12.000 preteens say, who's Ricky Martin? And then I realize I 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:16.680 have failed my child. He has grown up knowing about 0:04:16.720 --> 0:04:21.760 Juangareel de Carleon, Selena, Prince, Kate Bush, and so many 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:26.040 musical icons who paved away. But I have done him 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:30.200 a disservice by not teaching him about the man who 0:04:30.320 --> 0:04:33.760 had to live a vida loca so bad Bunny could do. 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:39.480 And I'm going to be honest, I feel that I 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:44.520 have also failed myself because I've written a lot about 0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:48.080 the late nineties Latin boom, which that term is sillly, 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:50.240 and we're going to talk about how even Ricky knew 0:04:50.279 --> 0:04:53.400 it was a weird concept way back when. But anyway, 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:56.880 I have written a lot about this historic moment, but 0:04:56.960 --> 0:05:00.800 I have very on Brad centered the diva of the moment, 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:06.000 jay Lo, Shaquidra, the og predecessor, Selina, and I have 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:10.039 mentioned Ricky, but I have never gone deep on what 0:05:10.279 --> 0:05:15.360 he meant. Betro Yeah, no more. I'm gonna do right 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:18.039 by my son, by all of y'all out there who 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:21.000 may not know, or who may have forgotten, just how 0:05:21.120 --> 0:05:25.600 much this man did for the culture. Because let me 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:28.839 tell you, whether you are Latino or queer, or just 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:33.600 someone who is trying to live more authentically you have 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:39.279 something to glean from Ricky Martin's life and legacy. This 0:05:39.360 --> 0:05:42.039 man was out here figuring things out on his own, 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:44.200 surviving child's stardom. 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:46.359 I want to talk to you because you are the 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:47.240 cutest thing I have. 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.960 Seen being fetishized by American media. 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:53.920 You can call the Puerto Rican el and you. 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:58.239 Can understand why scrutinize obsessively about his sexuality. 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.680 And with you, there have been and the rumors that 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:04.839 question I'll talk about your sexual orientation. You must be 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:06.680 aware of Bason, of course. 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:10.880 And ultimately he stayed true to himself, to his roots, 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:15.960 to his integrity. So let's fucking go. This one's for 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:24.000 Ricky Martin. This is morely Excited, the show where we 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:29.680 explore cultural moments of the past and present today, the 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:32.680 meaning of Ricky Martin's evolution. 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:51.919 In the tradition of radio classics. Here in Tails of 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:57.760 the Night are the stories, horrors, and legends that inhabit 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:01.919 the streets of Mexico and liber America. The darkness of 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:06.200 the most successful and acclaimed horror podcast across all categories 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:11.480 in Latin America looms over you now. In English, Tales 0:07:11.520 --> 0:07:14.440 of the Night, You're in now, but be warned, because 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:17.040 in the Silence of the Dog, you might just become 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:19.680 the next protagonist of Tales of the Night. Listen to 0:07:19.680 --> 0:07:27.440 Tales of the Night wherever you get podcasts. 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:31.240 Enrique Ricky Martin Morales was born on December twenty fourth, 0:07:31.400 --> 0:07:35.520 nineteen seventy one, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His mother 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:39.040 was an accountant, his father a psychologist, and by the 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:49.080 early eighties he stars in commercials for Orange Crush soda 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:55.640 and for Burger King. I encourage you to watch this 0:07:55.680 --> 0:07:58.160 episode on YouTube so you can see how sweet he 0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:01.960 looks in nineteen eighty for when Ricky is twelve years 0:08:01.960 --> 0:08:08.120 old he joins boy band Menudo. He is teeny tiny 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:10.400 when he joins the boy band, which is like a 0:08:10.480 --> 0:08:15.840 Latin American Jackson five. We cannot gloss over Menudo. They 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:21.040 were huge. Their fandom was very Beatlemania esque, with mostly 0:08:21.160 --> 0:08:24.640 young girls screaming franetically anytime they were close to the 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:29.360 boy band. Manuda was such a cultural phenomenon that the 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:34.160 band is seared into people's most formative memories. Here's my 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:37.720 friend and La Brega editor Lauda Bettis and Puerto Rico, 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:41.280 who remembers when Ricky was introduced in the band. 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:46.800 I was three years old, and I remember vividly not 0:08:46.840 --> 0:08:49.880 only watching him, but what I felt, how it felt, 0:08:49.880 --> 0:08:54.120 it was so exciting, and how I thought he was 0:08:54.120 --> 0:08:55.199 the most beautiful boy. 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:58.560 You can see the frenzy when the band, including newly 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:01.679 integrated Little Ricky, was a guest on one of Oprah's 0:09:01.720 --> 0:09:04.320 early TV shows. I want to talk to. 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.319 You because you are the cutest thing I have sued. 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:10.160 When you first knew that. 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:12.000 You were going to be picked to be in this group, 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:15.240 what did you do to go home and celebrate? Well, 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:18.520 all my parents, two of my family. 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:23.720 Yes, listen, don't purr back there. We gotta hear her, 0:09:24.440 --> 0:09:25.280 all your family. 0:09:25.920 --> 0:09:29.960 Ricky's hair is perfectly corved with layered strands raining his 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:34.320 little face, and he looks dowie, earnest, maybe a little nervous. 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:39.600 His English still a bit halting and disco fight. 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:40.960 You went to a disco. 0:09:40.600 --> 0:09:41.520 Hardy after that? 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:47.560 Oh, a disco party. Now, twelve year old Ricky doesn't 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:50.800 just join a boy band when he joins Menudo, he 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:56.920 joins a strict, very regimented machine with a strategy on youth. 0:09:57.640 --> 0:10:00.320 Every member of Menuda was cycled out once they were 0:10:00.360 --> 0:10:03.360 sixteen or seventeen, when their voice is changed or they 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:07.680 got facial hair. Menudo was a chronic youth group, but 0:10:07.720 --> 0:10:12.040 with the responsibilities and pressures of adults. Many years after 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:15.520 Ricky's tenure in Manudo, other band members will say the 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:20.080 band was riddled with abuse and untenable pressure, but Ricky 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:24.280 has never said anything negative about Manudo on record. In fact, 0:10:24.360 --> 0:10:27.880 in the late nineties, he tells Rosie O'Donnell Manudo provided 0:10:27.920 --> 0:10:29.199 him with preparation. 0:10:29.760 --> 0:10:30.560 Manuda was great. 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:33.240 I mean five years of intense discipline of working a lot. 0:10:34.440 --> 0:10:36.080 You know, if I had to start all over again, 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:38.559 I would do it because I guess I'm where I'm 0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:40.360 at today because of the discipline that I got being 0:10:40.520 --> 0:10:40.800 in a. 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:41.480 Band like this. 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:46.040 So this is his entire adolescence. He sings in Spanish 0:10:46.120 --> 0:10:50.040 and English and French and Portuguese. He turns on the 0:10:50.160 --> 0:10:54.080 charm and he is great at it. Other band members 0:10:54.080 --> 0:10:57.000 have said Ricky was like the golden boy of Menudo, 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:01.440 and this is his life until seventeen years old, when 0:11:01.480 --> 0:11:05.440 he inevitably ages out of the boy band. A couple 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:09.640 years later, he puts out his first solo record in Spanish, 0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:14.920 self titled Ricky Martin. We're gonna include this video in 0:11:15.000 --> 0:11:16.840 our show notes so you can take a look at 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:23.000 Ricky with his perfectly wavy beach locks, with an Adonis fysique, 0:11:23.440 --> 0:11:27.400 shirtless with only a sleeveless open black vest hanging over 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:31.400 his shoulders and a big silver Gothic cross on his 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:35.679 glistening chest. He's wearing wide like black jeans with a 0:11:35.720 --> 0:11:40.959 big belt buckle, and he is swaying those hips smiling 0:11:41.000 --> 0:11:46.520 at the crowd. Honey, he is giving hot vampire muse Okay, 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:50.640 like the vampire less Scott would want to spend eternity 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:54.120 with this man. Look, there's a lot to say about 0:11:54.200 --> 0:11:58.319 Ricky Martin's character and his kind heart and his long career, 0:11:58.720 --> 0:12:01.200 and we're gonna get to all of that, but Babe, 0:12:01.600 --> 0:12:05.720 we gotta take a moment to just state the obvious. 0:12:05.760 --> 0:12:11.120 This man is absolutely gorgeous. Not to be weird. There 0:12:11.160 --> 0:12:15.080 are beautiful people out there, and then there are beautiful people, 0:12:15.760 --> 0:12:20.959 and he is beautiful in capital letters. Gon mucho respeto 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:24.840 with love and admiration from my queer heart. You know, 0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:29.280 for me, Ricky was always in the background, and I 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:33.760 grew up knowing he was massively successful and beautiful. But 0:12:33.840 --> 0:12:35.920 I feel like I took him for granted. You know, 0:12:36.040 --> 0:12:38.960 I was too obsessed with the divas, just you know, 0:12:39.200 --> 0:12:42.240 not realizing how gay I was. But when I spent 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:46.160 hours going through archival videos of him for this episode, 0:12:46.280 --> 0:12:50.600 I was like, Oh, my goodness, this is a once 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.480 in a generation of beauty. This is the kind of 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:56.600 man who'd made to find bus and sculptures of had 0:12:56.640 --> 0:12:59.920 he lived in Grecian times. So I could not do 0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:03.800 one episode on Ricky Martin without a proper acknowledgment of 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:10.080 his beauty. Anyway, Ricky's first album is a major success 0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:13.000 in nineteen ninety one. It's one of the highest debuts 0:13:13.080 --> 0:13:16.319 for a Latin artist under Sony, and at this point 0:13:16.640 --> 0:13:20.720 he's on a roll. His second album, Skyrock, is to 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:23.680 the top of the Latin charts, and he soon named 0:13:23.840 --> 0:13:27.360 Top New Latin Artist at the nineteen ninety three Billboard 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:31.199 Music Awards. He then ventures into acting, does a sitcom 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:33.160 role in English here. 0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:35.959 Huh, I brought you this of You? 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:40.040 And then no big deal. He lands a regular character 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:42.800 on General Hospital, one of the biggest soaps in the 0:13:42.880 --> 0:13:46.280 United States. He plays a singer named Miel Morris. 0:13:46.880 --> 0:13:49.600 I just found out a friend of mine as ages 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:51.640 and uses satiny deeply. 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:55.240 By the way, Ricky Leader says he hated going to 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:59.199 the general hospital set he doesn't feel comfortable. Remember this 0:13:59.280 --> 0:14:03.480 is nineteen ninety four nineteen ninety six. Our man is 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:07.880 often the only Latino in the room. I imagine it slonely. 0:14:08.520 --> 0:14:11.200 So he returns to his love of music and he 0:14:11.280 --> 0:14:18.080 releases his third album with a chart topper Maria. For 0:14:18.160 --> 0:14:20.480 all of you young ones watching, who they think, Oh 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:23.880 this is Senyora music, Babe, let me school you a little, okay. 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:28.600 First of all, Senoras are cool, okay. Second, this song 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:34.360 fuse together Flamenco, salsa, dance and Afro Caribbean rhythms. Was 0:14:34.360 --> 0:14:37.000 there at the time an industry push to use some 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:40.920 of these sounds in Latin music. Yes, but I also 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:44.520 think ar Brimo Ricky Martin was out here evolving the 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:50.640 pop song formula. This song is everywhere, and I think 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:56.280 seeing Ricky become an international hit while being so legible 0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:59.560 as a Latino meant a lot to people. Here's futuro 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:03.840 producer and hardcore Ricky Martin fan Gini Montalvo, who was 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:05.880 growing up in Georgia when this song came. 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:08.560 Out Go Ahead. I just remember that song like blew 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.880 my mind because I was discovering my Latinidad, also as 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:15.680 a teenager having grow up in the most non Latino place. 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:21.000 On the planet, and God, that song just meant everything 0:15:21.080 --> 0:15:21.320 to me. 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:25.760 Maria also solidified Ricky Martin not just as a beloved 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:30.440 Latin American star, but a global pop king in the making. 0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:33.160 And then, because he can and he's a man of 0:15:33.240 --> 0:15:36.240 many talents, he's like, Okay, I'm gonna try Broadway now, 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:40.040 and he plays a lead role Marius Pontmerci in Le Miserrab. 0:15:40.760 --> 0:15:44.440 After Le miss Is when things get really cooking, Ricky 0:15:44.480 --> 0:15:48.120 returns to the studio for his fourth album, Vuelve, which 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:50.960 lands him a Grammy nomination. And I'm not talking about 0:15:51.040 --> 0:15:55.400 a Latin Grammy. This was before the Latin Grammys ever existed. 0:15:55.960 --> 0:16:00.520 I'm talking mainstream English Grammys. Ricky Martin is set to 0:16:00.560 --> 0:16:04.560 perform at the award in nineteen ninety nine. Actually, he's 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:08.520 going to sing the Cup of Life, his FIFA World 0:16:08.560 --> 0:16:11.520 Cup song, which by the way, has been hailed as 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:16.280 the best World Cup anthem of all time, and he 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:22.720 absolutely devours Oh I can't play the song here but 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:25.680 I have a video about it on my Instagram. Maria 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:29.840 is mo way excited with underscores between every word. This 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:35.200 is a historic performance. The music industry, including the Grammys themselves, 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:40.680 officially recognize this moment as the defining event that ushers 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:45.560 in what people call the so called Latin Boom. I 0:16:45.640 --> 0:16:49.240 really can't overstate what a momentous performance this is. I 0:16:49.280 --> 0:16:52.880 ask Puturo Senior producer and Ricky Martin Loyo Fancini Montalvo 0:16:53.000 --> 0:16:56.640 again to describe what it was like watching this on TV. 0:16:57.200 --> 0:17:01.280 Like, I literally I remember standing in my living watching 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:04.080 as these like it looked on Bonus like came down 0:17:04.119 --> 0:17:06.800 the aisles at the Gringo Grammys. 0:17:06.800 --> 0:17:09.000 This was before the Latin Grammys, the last year before 0:17:09.000 --> 0:17:13.400 the Latin Grammys were inaugurated, and like people were so excited. 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:16.919 So naturally we get to the era of Ricky Martin. 0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:21.240 You probably remember when he was living La Vida Loca 0:17:21.320 --> 0:17:25.000 and becomes the first Latino to debut a song at 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:29.919 number one on the US Billboard two hundred charts. He 0:17:30.040 --> 0:17:33.359 draws the largest crowd in the history of the Today Show. 0:17:33.600 --> 0:17:37.280 Up to that point, you've recalled the Puerto Rican Elvis 0:17:37.359 --> 0:17:41.159 and you can understand why he's proud. All graming is 0:17:41.240 --> 0:17:44.280 when the boat we gathered, when Elvis Presley would. 0:17:44.119 --> 0:17:48.080 Goada die on the green and probably with the Beatles. 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:51.320 Ricky appears on the cover of Time Magazine and Rolling 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:55.760 Stone and also New York Magazine, Interview Magazine, People, Team, People, 0:17:56.240 --> 0:18:02.040 and Entertainment Magazine and Ricky Mania is real. Here he 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:05.080 is on the Rose O'Donnell show the day his English 0:18:05.119 --> 0:18:06.040 album releases. 0:18:06.520 --> 0:18:09.320 I've recorded in many languages, but come on English, it's 0:18:09.359 --> 0:18:11.000 so important. And then let me tell you something. 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:12.240 America is in love. 0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:17.000 With you, right, that's important. I want you to remember 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:21.000 that Ricky saying how essential it is to sing in English. 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:24.679 But let's get something clear. Even at the height of 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:29.800 English Ricky mania, he is adamant. He'll never abandon Spanish. 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:31.720 Here's Ricky with Jay Leno. 0:18:32.920 --> 0:18:34.680 I will not stop singing in Spanish. 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:39.919 Better now that he is considered a pop star in 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:45.320 the United States. While American journalists start prying into some 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:47.080 rumors about Ricky. 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:52.280 You know you could stop. You could say, as many 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:55.240 artists have, Yes, I am gay. 0:18:57.119 --> 0:19:00.119 We'll be right back with guess what another Quinn when 0:19:00.160 --> 0:19:03.840 she interview from the two thousands and also the not 0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:18.240 cringey way. Ricky Martin responds and rises, it is the 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:22.119 year two thousand, a year we love on the show, 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:27.040 and Ricky Martin releases his second English album, Sound Loaded, 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:32.800 with a hit lead single, she Bangs. We need a 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:36.480 moment to talk about this video. The premise is hot 0:19:36.600 --> 0:19:41.399 Horny Underwater Club, and it starts with some really fine 0:19:41.520 --> 0:19:46.840 octopus men, no, literally half naked men with cgi octopus tentacles. 0:19:47.320 --> 0:19:50.400 Most everyone in the video is half naked, actually kind 0:19:50.400 --> 0:19:54.520 of twerking. There's some girl on girl grinding. Almost everyone 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:57.560 has a certain look on their face, lip half raised, 0:19:57.600 --> 0:20:00.720 looking a little feral. At one point point, Ricky is 0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:04.680 laying down with his shirt open, with various hands rubbing 0:20:04.720 --> 0:20:09.760 his body, his blue jeans unbuttoned, and he's making all 0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:13.600 kinds of faces. I can't play you the music in 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:16.760 this episode because of copyright laws, but if you follow 0:20:16.840 --> 0:20:19.920 me on Instagram, I have a real showing you this 0:20:20.040 --> 0:20:23.840 risky video and explaining why I think it's the predecessor 0:20:24.040 --> 0:20:27.639 of a certain bad bunny song I met Maria is 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:33.240 we excited on Instagram with underscores between each word. Anyway, 0:20:33.560 --> 0:20:36.479 the conventional thinking of this time is that artists have 0:20:36.520 --> 0:20:39.919 to cross over to the English market. No one in 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:42.520 this era, or at least that I can remember, really 0:20:42.640 --> 0:20:45.399 challenge this notion in a big way. And you know, 0:20:45.520 --> 0:20:48.960 it's very clear that Ricky is treated by US media 0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:53.199 as a sort of hot Latin lover trope. But you know, 0:20:53.440 --> 0:20:56.520 when I see she bangs, I don't see a Latino 0:20:56.640 --> 0:21:00.800 artist necessarily pandering to a trope. I think that would 0:21:00.840 --> 0:21:04.960 be a lazy take. Is there maybe some artistic engineering 0:21:05.080 --> 0:21:07.959 around his image? Like does his team maybe play up 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:10.879 his strengths, I e. He's beautiful and sexy and an 0:21:10.920 --> 0:21:15.520 amazing dancer and creating this really exciting fusion music. Yes, 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:19.160 does US media then take all this and play into 0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:25.280 a trope? Also? Yes, Billboard magazine called him a hot Tamali, 0:21:25.960 --> 0:21:30.600 which Tamalis are Mexican and also the singular of tamales 0:21:30.800 --> 0:21:34.199 is tamal. A grammatical hill. I will die on a 0:21:34.200 --> 0:21:39.560 personal pet peeve of mine, But anyway, grammatically incorrect cliches aside, 0:21:40.040 --> 0:21:44.639 The coverage around Ricky feels charged at this time, in 0:21:44.720 --> 0:21:50.200 most notably a now infamous interview also from two thousand and. 0:21:50.160 --> 0:21:53.680 With you, there have been the rumors that question, I'll 0:21:53.720 --> 0:21:56.840 talk about your sexual orientation. You must be aware of biggers. 0:21:57.040 --> 0:22:00.800 M of course, when Barbara Walters tries to make him 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:01.879 come out. 0:22:02.160 --> 0:22:07.160 You know you could stop. You could say, as many 0:22:07.240 --> 0:22:11.960 artists have, yes I am gay, or you could say no, 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:16.560 I'm not, or you could leave it as you are ambiguous. 0:22:18.640 --> 0:22:21.880 I don't want to put you on the spot. It's 0:22:21.920 --> 0:22:25.160 in your power, and I'm bringing it up, Vicky, because 0:22:25.200 --> 0:22:30.119 you know you want to be named for giving me 0:22:30.160 --> 0:22:32.560 the opportunity to express. 0:22:33.880 --> 0:22:34.920 The rumors. 0:22:36.600 --> 0:22:36.959 Reever. 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:41.199 For some reason, I just don't feel like it. I 0:22:41.280 --> 0:22:46.040 love that answer, I just don't feel like it. That 0:22:46.160 --> 0:22:48.680 should be enough, and it feels like it was an 0:22:48.720 --> 0:22:51.639 answer that was ahead of its time. Why would he 0:22:51.720 --> 0:22:54.280 come out on her terms in an ambush moment? 0:22:54.920 --> 0:22:55.800 And I love that. 0:22:55.800 --> 0:23:01.280 He centers his feelings. I don't feel like it new mantra, Babe. 0:23:01.280 --> 0:23:06.240 I don't feel like it period. You know now coming 0:23:06.280 --> 0:23:10.680 out is kind of antiquated in some circles, Thank goodness. 0:23:10.760 --> 0:23:13.280 A lot of queer people nowadays don't need to come 0:23:13.320 --> 0:23:18.200 out because well, they were never in, never living in 0:23:18.320 --> 0:23:23.600 a heteronormative straight reality. Pababe. In two thousand, the entire 0:23:24.080 --> 0:23:29.560 public world was a heteronormative, straight reality, and coming out 0:23:29.680 --> 0:23:33.760 was a big deal. It was risky and could hurt 0:23:33.800 --> 0:23:38.240 your livelihood, not to mention the emotional scarring of someone 0:23:38.280 --> 0:23:42.359 trying to force you on national television to come out. 0:23:43.320 --> 0:23:46.560 Ricky wrote this in his memoir quote, it was a 0:23:46.560 --> 0:23:49.879 topic I constantly struggled with, one that caused me a 0:23:49.880 --> 0:23:53.560 lot of pain and anxiety. And every time someone wrote 0:23:53.600 --> 0:23:56.720 in an article that I was a homosexual, or each 0:23:56.760 --> 0:23:59.159 time this was asked of me in an interview, and 0:23:59.280 --> 0:24:03.280 not very so, it pushed me further away from my truth. 0:24:03.880 --> 0:24:07.800 The rumors and questions only increased my insecurity and my 0:24:07.920 --> 0:24:12.159 self rejection. They reminded me of all the reasons why 0:24:12.240 --> 0:24:16.040 I was uncomfortable in my own skin. At times, I 0:24:16.080 --> 0:24:20.560 felt I hated myself because it was always presented under 0:24:20.640 --> 0:24:25.400 such a negative lens as something scandalous and bad. It 0:24:25.520 --> 0:24:31.439 reinforced my desire to deny. Oh, Ricky, we Love You. 0:24:36.320 --> 0:24:39.439 Coming off of Ricky Mania and his massive success in 0:24:39.480 --> 0:24:43.520 the US, Ricky releases a couple more albums, one in Spanish, 0:24:43.600 --> 0:24:46.639 another in English. In two thousand and eight, he becomes 0:24:46.640 --> 0:24:51.400 a dad, welcoming two baby boys, He talks about loving 0:24:51.640 --> 0:24:54.760 being a dad, and it really suits him because there's 0:24:54.800 --> 0:24:59.280 always been something really tender and caring about Ricky. We 0:24:59.320 --> 0:25:02.840 really see this. In twenty ten, inspired by his children 0:25:02.920 --> 0:25:05.480 and the legacy he wants to leave for them, he 0:25:05.600 --> 0:25:09.119 comes out through a statement on his website. It's a 0:25:09.160 --> 0:25:11.000 long statement, so I can't read it all, but I 0:25:11.040 --> 0:25:14.920 really encourage you to. It's quite touching and earnest. Let 0:25:14.920 --> 0:25:19.000 me read you some excerpts. Quote. To keep living as 0:25:19.040 --> 0:25:22.760 I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish 0:25:22.800 --> 0:25:27.240 the glow that my kids were born with. Enough is enough. 0:25:27.440 --> 0:25:30.480 This has to change. This was not supposed to happen 0:25:30.520 --> 0:25:33.480 five or ten years ago. It's supposed to happen now. 0:25:34.280 --> 0:25:37.000 I am proud to say that I am a fortunate 0:25:37.320 --> 0:25:44.639 homosexual man. I'm very blessed to be who I am. 0:25:44.840 --> 0:25:50.159 I am blessed to be who I am. Wow you are, Ricky, 0:25:50.760 --> 0:25:55.240 we all are. What a pioneer. The next year, in 0:25:55.280 --> 0:26:00.439 twenty eleven, Ricky releases Musika Alma Sexo, which is a 0:26:00.560 --> 0:26:04.399 critical hit. A few years later, he stars as a 0:26:04.400 --> 0:26:08.080 coach on the Voice Australia. He releases another album in 0:26:08.160 --> 0:26:12.560 twenty fifteen, which wins a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album. 0:26:12.840 --> 0:26:16.919 He gets married, then divorce, does some acting, and in 0:26:16.960 --> 0:26:21.480 twenty nineteen, when Puerto Rico's governor was exposed for homophobic 0:26:21.600 --> 0:26:27.040 text messages, including about Ricky himself, Ricky Martin flew home 0:26:27.400 --> 0:26:31.000 and was one of a few cultural figures who joined 0:26:31.119 --> 0:26:35.800 hundreds of thousands of protesters forcing the governor to resign. 0:26:36.480 --> 0:26:46.720 Here he is protesting in a clip from Bloomberg News. 0:26:49.320 --> 0:26:52.160 I want to contrast this moment in twenty nineteen when 0:26:52.200 --> 0:26:56.000 he's protesting with a point he makes in his memoir. 0:26:56.320 --> 0:26:59.280 He writes, quote, I think that one of the reasons 0:26:59.320 --> 0:27:02.879 why I found it's so hard to accept myself was 0:27:02.920 --> 0:27:06.280