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'People en Espanol' Writer Discusses Latin Grammys

Aired July 25, 2002 - 10:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We'll move on in the meantime to the business of music and one genre that has some growing appeal in America, Latin music.

Colombian folk singer Carlos Vives is one of the hottest stars right now in the Latin music scene. And he crooned his way to the top of the Latin Grammy nominations, which were announced yesterday in Beverly Hills. Vives won a mainstream Grammy earlier this year, garnered six nominations, while the reigning queen of salsa, Celia Cruz, was close behind. She came in with four nominations. Well, they'll be joining other popular artists, such as Shakera, Ricky Martin, and Gloria Estefan, who have all crossed over into the American music mainstream.

Joining us to talk about that and the Latin Grammys as well, which air September 18th, by the way, is Angelo Figueroa with "People en Espanol." Good morning. How are you?

ANGELO FIGUEROA, "PEOPLE EN ESPANOL": Great, thank you.

HARRIS: Any big surprises in the nominations yesterday?

FIGUEROA: Well, I think it was great that Celia Cruz finally got a nomination from the Latin Grammys. She's, of course, the reigning queen of salsa and colorful wigs, and she really deserves it. She's a legend in our community. And I used to listen to Celia Cruz when I was a kid. So it was great to see her get nominated.

HARRIS: Now, I'm not going to say this -- I'm going to say this with all due respect. She is no spring chicken. This lady has been around for a long time, hasn't she?

FIGUEROA: She has. And as I said, I remember listening to her when I was a little-bitty boy. But she's just absolutely wonderful. And she still has that rhythm. And she can put on a show, as you can see.

HARRIS: Yes, even on top of her head. She's got more hairdos than Patty LaBelle, who, by the way, she actually resembles.

FIGUEROA: Right. That's right. That's right.

HARRIS: For those who may not be following the Latin Grammys, those of us who listen to more mainstream music, there's been a rather chaotic history with this award ceremony. Hasn't there?

FIGUEROA: There has been. The first year, it was -- there was a lot of protest by many of the Mexican artists who thought that the show really catered to Caribbean artists and to artists associated with Emilio Estefan and Miami. The second year, which was last year, the event was postponed -- moved from Miami to Los Angeles two weeks prior to the event because of Cuban protesters in Miami who were upset that the Grammys were allowing performers from Cuba to perform at the event. And so, yes, it has had a rocky history. And I'm hoping that things turn around this year.

HARRIS: For those of us, you know, gringos, that's rather educational because when we hear terms like Hispanic or Latino thrown around quite a bit, and most of us don't really truly understand. We're talking here about a huge group of people that has very -- has a lot of different strata. It's basically, you're talking about a collection of people who have different interests all over the board.

Let me ask you about the effect that have had -- these people that we're looking at right now on the screen here -- when they cross over, you know, and they start singing. They take their Latin performances and they transform their act a little bit. They start singing in English. Has that hurt or helped their careers?

FIGUEROA: I think it's expanded their careers because one of the things that happens is that when these Latin performers begin to sing in English, they bring their Spanish audience with them. And that ensures that when they come out of the gate in English that they have decent record sales.

Now, the interesting thing is, like we're looking at Christina Aguilera, the cross-over is also taking place the other way around because Christina Aguilera basically sings in English, started her career in English, doesn't really speak Spanish, but is from Ecuadorian descent. And she decided to record in Spanish. So a lot of stars are also, you know, moving the other way around. And basically, it's just about selling more albums to more people in different languages.

HARRIS: Yes. And you know? In the black community, calling one a sell-out, you know, if you cross over, calling someone a sell- out, that's a bad thing, not necessarily a good thing.

FIGUEROA: That's right.

HARRIS: Let me ask you, finally, about who it is that we should be keeping an eye or an ear out for.

FIGUEROA: Well, this year, "People en Espanol" featured Paulina Rubio on the cover of our "25 Most Beautiful," and she just came out with her album in English. It's called "Border Girl." She is sensational, attractive, a wonderful singer. So I think we should be looking at Paulina Rubio. And, you know, some of the other nominees, Carlos Vives, Alajendro Sanz, who performed with Destiny Child at this year's Grammy awards in English.

HARRIS: That's right.

FIGUEROA: And so -- and there are more to come. Thalia, who's Tommy Mottola's wife, the chairman of Sony Records, will be launching an album in English. So there are a lot of exciting people we've been writing about for years. And we know how good they are. And to me, it's kind of fun to see them cross over into English and get the same type of love and affection that they've received from their audiences in Spanish.

HARRIS: You've got to bet on Thalia.

FIGUEROA: Oh, yes.

HARRIS: It kind of helps when your husband is one of the biggest producers in the world.

FIGUEROA: You know, it definitely doesn't hurt.

HARRIS: It doesn't hurt. Angelo Figueroa, thanks. Appreciate the update and the little primer this morning.

FIGUEROA: Thank you, sir.

HARRIS: Good luck to you. Take care.

FIGUEROA: Thank you.

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