We’re right in the heart of Hispanic Heritage Month, which traditionally runs from September 15th to October 15th. But being engaged to a Latina and living in Miami, every month is Hispanic Heritage month in my house.
On a national scale, Hispanic culture and its many miracles have clearly entered the American mainstream. The Latino community is unquestionably a prime demographic for music and brands.
We see this with the biggest superstar in the world, Bad Bunny, continuing to soar in popularity despite his music being entirely in Spanish. But the Latino music world is so much bigger than Bad Bunny, as massive as he is.
Billboard’s Latin Music Week in Miami was a fantastic display of artists, brands, and industry insiders in this explosive space. Brands like Urban Outfitters, Burger King, Cheetos, AT&T, and Smirnoff partnered with Billboard on various activations throughout the week’s festivities. Billboard launched its newest digitally native title, Billboard Español, which it hopes will become a premiere in-language global destination for Latin music.
The conversations highlighted the top managers in the space, the new Mexican revolution, and how tech platforms like Meta & TikTok can help break artists. Interviews with big-name talent – from Nicky Jam and Maluma, to Ivy Queen and Romeo Santos – were chock full of gems and inspo. Santos, for his part, donated $100,000 on stage to the Billboard Puerto Rico Hurricane relief fund. Bravo!
Tonight is the Billboard Latin Music Awards on Telemundo, live from Miami. I’m excited to be on site and checking out all of the talent and activations as I work toward a more in-depth piece to drop next week.
Also published on Medium.