Ana's thoughts after seeing Harry Styles in Mexico
About this episode
The episode discusses the history of mainstream artists performing for Latin American audiences and their music contributions.
Harry Styles just finished a 5-night run in Mexico City. You know who else had a 5-night run in Mexico City? Michael Jackson in 1993. Mainstream artists have a long history of being enticed by the energy of performing for a Latin American crowd … which means there’s also a long and less-known history of big pop stars making music for that audience. Did you know Michael Jackson has a Latin track? So does Madonna. A few actually. As early as the '50s, Nat King Cole experimented with Spanish and released an entire record, Cole Español , writing songs in partnership with legendary "Bésame Mucho" composer Consuelo Velásquez. This week’s Alt.Latino is a pop takeover. We’re mythbusting the idea that there’s only been one kind of crossover — from Latin to mainstream — and walking through a long history of mainstream wanting to go… Latin. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy
Topics covered
- Latin American music
- mainstream crossover
- pop music history
- live performances
- cultural influence
Keywords
- Harry Styles
- Michael Jackson
- Madonna
- Latin music
- crossover
- pop history
- live performances
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Cole Español
More episodes of Alt.Latino
- Brazil and Colombia on our minds
- Guadalajara loves metal?
- Cypress Hill en español
- Electrónica rising in Mexico
- Ana's summer playlist
- Is Bill Evans techno?
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