Tag: LatinX podcasters

Spotify Is Celebrating the Triumphs of Latinx Artistry With the ‘Aquí Siempre’ Campaign

September 15, 2021

Today marks the start of Latinx Heritage Month, an annual appreciation of the diverse and dynamic Latinx communities around the world. In honor of this celebration, Spotify is launching Aquí Siempre, an awareness campaign to support our dynamic, bicultural Latinx community and the myriad of musical genres it continues to influence. Our goal is to amplify the voices shaping Latinx culture today, including those that challenge stereotypes, fight adversity, and uplift Latin American communities through their work.

As part of Aquí Siempre, which will continue through mid-October, Spotify is releasing three Spotify Singles on our revamped, genre-agnostic playlist Mixto, which spotlights artists across the Latinx diaspora, as well as working with renowned creators like photographer Camila Falquez and poet Yesika Salgado to share what the month and its theme mean to them. 

The Voices of Latinx Music 

At the center of Latinx Heritage Month is the Mixto playlist, which features a mixture of sounds, artists, and languages from various countries that aren’t easily labeled as a specific genre but share Latinx origins, in addition to non-Latinx artists that will resonate with listeners. The playlist serves as a destination for artists both in and adjacent to the Latinx space as a place to share music that exists outside of clearly defined labels. It also works to reflect the Latinx community’s multifaceted connection to music, which isn’t limited to any one genre, with a unique range of songs and artists curated to appeal not only to our U.S. Latinx listeners but to listeners of all cultural backgrounds around the world.

This Latinx Heritage Month will be the first time Spotify launches Spotify Singles in collaboration with the Mixto playlist—the latest in a series of collaborations between Spotify Singles and other flagship playlists including Are & Be, RapCaviar, mint, and more. Spotify asked rising Latinx artists Twin Shadow, Ambar Lucid, and Tokischa to add their voices to the catalog of over 600 Spotify Singles by recording a unique version of one of their own songs (Side A) and covers of songs of their choice (Side B). 

Twin Shadow, one of the three artists to record Mixto Spotify Singles, shared his view of the ever-evolving Latinx music scene with For the Record. “The future of Latin music is happening right now,” he said. “It’s seeped into everything. Everyone is taking from it, and it’s mainstream in the best way. I think it will continue to be relevant and affect people profoundly forever.”

Singer-songwriter Ambar Lucid’s Side A single is a fresh take on her song “Lizard” that offers an energetic and magnetic up-tempo rendition of the original. Her Side B single is a catchy Spanish-language interpolation of Billie Eilish’s “Billie Bossa Nova” called “Ambar Bossa Nova.” The Mexican Dominican artist makes the crooning number her own by infusing an underlying beat to accompany the English and Spanish lyrics. “I love Billie’s music, so adding my own lyrical twist to ‘Bossa Nova’ was lots of fun,” explained Ambar, adding, “There are so many bops in [the Mixto] playlist!”

Tokischa’s Side A release creatively reimagines her 2020 punchy reggaeton rap “El Rey De La Popola” into an acoustic single wracked with emotion. She also released her Side B rock cover of the 1967 salsa hit “La Tirana” by La Lupe, swapping the original’s brass accompaniment for a soulful electric guitar sound. The Dominican singer-songwriter and rapper explained her choice in songs, reflecting, “I identify with La Lupe and especially with what the song ‘La Tirana’ represents.” She elaborated on the importance of the genre-agnostic playlist, adding: “I think that Mixto is important for those artists who express their art through their voice and not a specific genre.”

Twin Shadow recorded a special version of his soothing acoustic single “Alemania” that moves listeners with a dance beat and the pep of a retro pop song for his Side A single. He also released a cover of Kali Uchis’s genre-blending “telepatía,” one of this year’s biggest hits by a Latinx female artist, for his Side B single. The Dominican American singer-songwriter explained his approach to recording his upbeat reinterpretation of “Telepatia,” sharing: “I set out to reinterpret the song as if it was on my most recent record. The hard part was following Kali’s vocal flow and the clever way she approaches the lyrics in Spanish, especially the way words melt into words and the speed of her melody against the relatively mellow track of the original…I love the song and am glad to have a new appreciation for something once I’ve dissected it and tried my best to make it my own.”

Seeing the Latinx Community 

To put a face to the mission of Aquí Siempre, renowned Latinx photographer Camila Falquez captured a series of powerful portraits that visualize Latinx performers, activists, and business owners with dignity and honesty. Some of her subjects include the owner of the Caribbean Social Club in New York City, Maria Antonia “Toñita” Cay; Dominican trans activist, organizer, former sex worker, and founder of nonprofit Bridges4Life Tahtianna Fermin; Mexican American artist, DJ, and community organizer Elíseo Equihua; and Mexican American filmmaker, multimedia artist, urban planner, and social worker Jose Richard Aviles.

The portraits are accompanied by self-recorded videos from Latinx creators like Kali Uchis, Chucky73, Cimafunk, Juleyka Lantigua of How to Talk to [Mamí & Papí] about Anything, Erick Galindo of WILD, and Edwin Covarrubias of Scary Story Podcast celebrating their cultural experiences and uplifting their communities. Camila’s work can be found both online on social media and on billboards in Times Square.

LatinX Podcasters Can Sign Up To Tell Their Stories in the Newest Sound Up U.S. Program

September 8, 2021

For this golden age of audio to truly shine, it has to include all of us. That’s why, several years ago, Spotify created Sound Up, a global program that gives underrepresented podcasters the tools to boost their platforms and build their own shows. Since 2018, we’ve expanded the program from the U.S. across continents, to South America and Europe, and have focused on engaging prospective podcasters who might otherwise not have had a chance at the mic.

Earlier this year, we shared that we’d be launching Sound Up LatinX to directly address the disparities present in the podcasting community. Today, we invite aspiring U.S. LatinX podcasters to apply for the program.

Sound Up LatinX is divided into two parts. First up is a virtual training program in 2021, which will take place over the course of eight weeks. The 10 participants who are short-listed by Spotify will attend workshops for a comprehensive introduction to the art of making a podcast. Ultimately, participants will create and submit a podcast trailer and pitch proposal for the opportunity to be selected as a finalist to attend part two: in-person Sound Up sessions in 2022.

Participants will be in good company: Past alumni of the Sound Up program globally have received podcast development deals, connections to industry leaders, and production grants to take their concepts to the next level.

We spoke with Fernando Spuri, Manager, Sound Up, about why it’s so important to bring more LatinX creators to the podcasting space and his prediction that Sound Up U.S. LatinX podcasts will go global.

Why did Spotify create this additional Sound Up U.S. program?

The podcast ecosystem is developing fast in the U.S. and it’s already one of the most consolidated in the world. However, when we check the podcasts charts, there’s a lot to be improved regarding diversity of creators. And with more than 60 million LatinX living in the U.S., it became clear that the LatinX community was the next to address with the program. 

The consumption of podcasts by the U.S. LatinX community is growing fast, and the community over-indexes in podcast consumption compared to the general audience in the U.S.—56% of the U.S. LatinX population has ever listened to a podcast, compared to 55% of the U.S. total population. But there’s still a lack of representation in the industry, even among LatinX creators. We believe that bringing new voices to the table will unlock an even bigger growth opportunity, add some fresh perspectives to the general audience, and even stimulate other potential creators to start producing their own shows.

How will this program be unique from the existing Sound Up U.S. program—or any existing Sound Up program, for that matter?

We have a global framework for Sound Up that we use as a starting point, but after that, each Sound Up is unique, even different editions in the same country. Every Sound Up has a selected cohort, with specific needs and backgrounds, and the solutions are not replicable.

For the U.S. LatinX program, for example, we’ll have specific facilitators, guests, and content addressing issues like defining the language of the shows, how and if the creators want to address immigration issues, and even discussing what it means to be LatinX in the U.S. All these specific discussions are fundamental to this cohort but wouldn’t necessarily be for a broader group. This underlines the uniqueness not just of Sound Up U.S. LatinX, but of all Sound Up editions.

How do you think aspects of bilingualism and immigration—two topics with unique elements within this population—will be incorporated into the podcasts that come out of this program?

Naturally, bilingualism—or plurilingualism, common among U.S. LatinX—and immigration are common issues amongst the community and will probably be part of most shows. But it’s important to point out that Sound Up is not necessarily looking for projects that address these matters directly.

We’re looking for creators with powerful ideas that want to tell whatever stories on whatever subjects resonate with them best. Of course, those subjects are an intrinsic part of almost all LatinX, but how and with what intensity they want to address them is up to them.

Why are you excited to work with this community in particular?

First, because of how diverse the participants will be, considering the term LatinX is so inclusive and flexible. LatinX is this multidimensional community that’s not just struggling to be heard, but also to define itself while it expands. This is an amazing opportunity to bring in new, diverse voices and maybe help course correct the podcast landscape regarding diversity.

Everyone that self-identifies as part of the LatinX community living in the U.S. is invited to apply, regardless of their origin or status. That will also bring potential creators that don’t have the opportunity to develop their vision in other traditional educational programs.

Secondly, we’re really thrilled about the potential of the ideas that we’ll receive. For example, a show in Spanglish about K-pop made in Los Angeles from a second-generation Salvadorean podcaster can find an audience in a Dominican first-generation kid in New York, but also in Santiago, Madrid, and Oaxaca. And we don’t say that to oversimplify the community, but to show an example of powerful intersections that we might find among listeners in the U.S. and abroad—and that’s truly global and exciting!

All LatinX U.S. residents age 20 or older—regardless of immigration status—are invited to apply to Sound Up U.S. LatinX now. Sign-ups close October 1, 2021. Please apply as an individual, rather than as a show or group. We can’t wait to hear what you have to say.

Update as of September 10, 2021: Maria Murriel and Isis Madrid, co-founders of Pizza Shark, will be facilitating Sound Up U.S. LatinX. Maria has been a Sound Up facilitator for the US program already in 2020 and 2021, after participating as a speaker in 2019. Maria and Isis have both delivered our global training in how to deliver the curriculum to new Sound Up facilitators in new markets globally.