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¡Latino! ¡Latino! by John Lannert Multi-credited Estefan has a keen ear for spotting talent, and his production successes with Latin artists remain unparalleled. His secret? Cool fusion. Maybe no one individual has exerted a greater impact on the Latino m,usic businness than Emilio Estefan Jr. His crossover success with his wife Gloria and Jon Secada firmly established Emilio as a visionary producer in the Anglo world. More important, however, is that, while Emilio was piloting the English-language prosperity of Gloria and Secada, he made sure to maintain a strong presence in the Hispanic music markets as well. Spanish adaptations of Gloria's and Secada's English-language hits were released in the Latin territories, where they became hits all over again. To be sure, Emilio was not the first producer to recognize the potential of making hits in both English and Spanish. But he was the first to make it consistently sucessful. A host of Latino acts have been trying to replicate Emilio's crossover feats, with slain Tejano idol Selena being the lone Hispanic artist to secure hit songs in English and Spanish. But the fact that Gloria is the only Latin-rooted artist who has thrived in the past dozen years in both language sectors stands as unequivocal proof that Emilio's musical and production acumen is special. As for the strictly Latino side of business, Emilio has been at the forefront, if not the creator, of new musical trends. PRE-CRAZE ISLAND GROOVES Long before teh Cuba-centric disc "Buena Vista Social Club" hit the Stateside market in 1997, Emilio and Gloria were mapping out and eventually releasing a CD of Cuban-roots sounds titled "Mi Tierra". Shipped in 1993, "Mi Tierra" was the first Spanish-language album to sell more than 1 million copies. And, even before the Cuban music craze took off last year in the US, Emilio was introducing island grooves in 1994 through mambo master Israel "Cachao" Lopez and dynamic songstress Albita. Moreover, Emilio's emphasis on top-shelf production for Latino artists has inspired labels and artistsalike to upgrade the quality of their recordings. Further, Emilio was the first to feature lyrics and publishing data on the jackets of the Spanish-language product he put out. As if that were not enough, Emilio has a razor-sharp ear for all sorts os songwriting and producing talent. Always-in-demand Colombian songwriter Kike Santander and Puerto Rican remixer Pablo Flores are among the numerous aces on Emilio's house staff. MARRIAGE OF STYLES In recent years, Emilio hasbecome white-hot through his sonic alchemy. "Puedes Llegar", the Latino counterpart to the English-language Olympics theme "Reach", showcased Emilio's singular talent for marrying a variety of vocal styles into a powerful, cohesive tune about doing one's best to reach a goal. That same year, Emilio produced the first of two hit records by sultry Mexican thrush Thalia. His pop/tropical hybrids offered a piquant alternative and provided Thalia with her best-selling albums. For all of his Latino high points, Emilio's crowning achievement to his sonic mixing-and-matching was the 1997 disc "Me estoy Enamorando (I'm falling in love)". That blockbuster CD by ranchero star Alejandro Fernandez boasts a collection of pop nuggets flavored with the embraceable musical strains of Fernandez's native Mexico. "Me estoy Enamorando" is the latest example of Emilio's oft-repeated mantra for his success-fusion of different musical elements. MOreover, Emilio opines that a song can become a hit even if it is recorded in a non-native-language. AGAINST DICTATORSHIP "I don't think it will be long before [Anglo US] radio plays LAtino music", states Emilio. "But what I saw in Europe made me hapy, because now you can go to a boutique or a restaurant, and they're playing Latino music. That proves that radio cannot dictate what people want to hear anymore When Natalie Cole came out with the "Unforgettable" album, it became big by word-of-mouth, and then TV started playing the video. Then, radio had to start playing the song". However, Emilio is quick to note radio's still-commanding importance, saying, "You need radio to sell records, but people are buying music now more than ever because they don't want to be told what to listen to and what to buy". In addition, Emilio notes that LAtino sounds can be promoted through other vehicles. "Video are important, live performance are important", he says. "But it is going to take a long time. Look at R&B music. It was not played for years and years, and now it's a huge market. Those black acts deserves it because they are the best musicians in the world". |