09.17.2023 | By Jack Rico |
I once met Gustavo Santaolalla around 2012 at a PR office in Manhattan where I had the chance to speak with him briefly about music and a potential Broadway musical run for Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. Flash forward 11 years later, and I am having a one-on-one with a musical legend who, as you will hear in my podcast interview, had a tremendous influence on my youth.
03.4.2023 | By Jack Rico |
Fifteen years – that’s how long it has been since Julio Iglesias Jr. released a new album. In an industry where artists are expected to constantly produce new music, this long hiatus could suggest a falling out of love with the art form. However, in today’s episode of ‘Highly Relevant,’ Julio shares a different story with me. He discusses his disappointment with his last record in 2008, his love for his father’s music, and his refusal to follow sonic trends evidenced by his new album ‘Under The Covers’ – a big band album with covers of hit songs. He also opens up about race and identity and how he defines himself: as a Spaniard, Filipino, or Latino. Listen below for the full interview.
01.19.2023 | By Jack Rico |
In recent weeks, mainstream media outlets have been captivated by the story of Shakira and Gerard Piqué’s break-up and the Spanish-language diss track “BZRP Music Session 53” that resulted from it. Headlines such as “How Shakira Turned A Messy Breakup Into Her Biggest Hit In Years” and CBS This Morning’s “Shakira’s “Out of Your League” mocks ex, rocks YouTube” have flooded news feeds and social media platforms. But why has this specific Hispanic story, rooted in the personal lives of two Hispanic celebrities, caught the attention of mainstream media? Read More
04.8.2019 | By SBC Staff |
For you Beyoncé fans here is the first trailer from “Homecoming,” an intimate documentary offering an unprecedented look at Beyoncé’s historic 2018 Coachella performance that paid homage to America’s historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Read More
01.12.2019 | By Jack Rico |
The Highly Relevant podcast has reached a milestone 100th episode and to celebrate it, I brought in the biggest director in Hollywood at the moment – Alfonso Cuarón (3:19). He discusses ROMA, why critics love it so much and I reveal to him my favorite scene. Also, Nicole Acevedo joins the show to discuss her article from NBCNews.com about how Latin music sales have surpassed Country albums (10:30). Then we finalize with Mexican director Manolo Caro who talks to us about his latest comedy “Perfectos Desconocidos“. (28:53) It’s a great episode, hope you enjoy it! Read More
07.30.2018 | By Jack Rico |
Colombia is a country known for its salsa and vallenato. Vallenato is the folkloric, poetic music of its coast which its singer/songwriter Jose Dario Martinez Acosta, aka Chabuco, has been listening to since he was a child due to his father’s influence, the legendary guitarist Hugues Martinez. With his fourth solo album titled Encuentro, he mixes the sounds of vallenato from the Caribbean coast of Colombia, with jazz and bossa nova, resulting in a beautiful and unique sound of Latin Jazz.
11.28.2017 | By Jack Rico |
As is the tradition every year, the Recording Academy selected their nominations of the best of the best in music across 84 categories. For this site’s purposes, we will focus only on the Hispanic nominees which have been nominated in 20 categories this year, many more than we have seen in previous years. With Bruno Mars (Puerto Rican heritage) nominated for six awards and Despacito‘s bilingual version nominated for three, including Justin Bieber, we are seeing one of the great years for Latinos in music. Read More
10.25.2017 | By Jack Rico |
Arguably the most successful Latin singer of his generation, Luis Miguel will release a new single titled “La Fiesta del Mariachi” on October 27th. It is a return to the Mexican Regional (aka bolero) genre where he collaborated with Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán for the song. You can currently listen to a snippet of the single by clicking the button below. Read More
06.2.2017 | By Andrea Huswan |
Shakira’s 11th album El Dorado is a love letter to Colombia. The title itself refers to Colombia’s “lost city,” full of alluring mystery and enchantment. With thirteen tracks, the album is predominantly sung in Spanish, with four tracks in English, and one track in French. While some artists crash and burn while trying to transition into different genres, Shakira proves that she still has it in her and most importantly, her hits don’t lie. Read More
05.20.2017 | By Jack Rico |
Welcome to the Highly Relevant podcast. Juanes has a new visual album. We talk to the Colombian superstar about why he has never collaborated with his Shakira, why he won’t sing Reggaeton, and why it’s not in him to do an English-language crossover. Read More
