Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images.Ģ0 years ago Ricky Martin gave Latinx culture visibility, and presented a different version of what being a Latino pop star could be: Americanized, bilingual, pop-loving, queer (albeit closeted), and yes, even light-skinned. For many Latinos, even if in hindsight it was for all the wrong reasons, seeing him up there in the spotlight, beloved by the masses felt validating. As Frances Negrón Muntaner wrote in her 2004 book Boricua Pop, “In contrast to most of his critics worldwide, when Ricky’s hips quiver I do not think about this limited vocal prowess, but of the difficulties of transfiguring shame from Puerto Rican national identity…and when the music plays, I marvel at why it took so long for boricua suburbia to take center stage.”īut for white America, Martin signified a Latino – specifically a Puerto Rican – who was acculturated and palatable. He exemplified the epitome of Puerto Rican “blanquito” middle class values, completely at odds with the pop culture stereotypes of thugs or West Side Story type gangsters. To be fair, Martin did have an overwhelming advantage. He was an established Latin American star who started from scratch (albeit with major record label support behind him) on the mainland and helped level the playing field. And it’s easy to dismiss Ricky Martin as a manufactured commodity of the pop machine – one of the last formulaic bastions of a pre-internet music industry that was on the verge of collapse. Yes, Martin’s rapid rise (and subsequently, that of Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, and Jennifer Lopez) was part of this same cycle dating back to the 1950s mambo craze. The waves in which Latin music’s wider acceptance come and go are often reduced to “Latin music explosions.” Ricky Martin’s mainstream American narrative was written: this was the “spicy” Latin crossover.Įven now, on the 20th anniversary of his second self-titled album which was released on May 11th, 1999, Latin music still battles the designation of fleeting novelty in popular American culture. They just wanted to see him shake his bon-bon again. Couric – and seemingly the rest of America – did not care what he had to say. “Are you going to sing ‘Maria’ for us?” she asked. “Ummm, well, I think any entertainer would be afraid…” Martin began to reply, but she didn’t let him finish. “Aren’t you afraid you might be a flash in the pan?” she said, unaware of his already fruitful career. “I’m talking about longevity, I want to do this for the rest of my life….” he uttered, abruptly interrupted by Couric. “It’s been 10-15 years of intense work, discipline and sacrifices that got me to where I am today,” said the former Menudo singer in flawless English, adding that even though he’d dabbled in acting, he was now focused on his musical career. Wearing a torso-hugging long-sleeve spandex top with loose palazzo pants (yes, it was still the 90s), the 27 year-old Martin delivered “Livin’ La Vida Loca” in perfect character – with all his hip-swiveling, shoulder-shaking glory.īut during the interview, the Puerto Rican artist’s attempt to explain to Couric, Lauer (and America) that he was more than an overnight success story fell on deaf ears. Hosts Katie Couric and Matt Lauer’s voices couldn’t compete with the sea of screaming fans outside of Rockefeller Center while they introduced their guest as “the Puerto Rican Elvis.” In June of 1999, a month after his English-language album debut, Ricky Martin performed live on the Today Show.
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