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Pitbull declared it.
“I’m just being revolutionary to wake everybody else,” the international recording artist said during Billboard’s Latin Music Week in Las Vegas.
The iconic rapper’s revelation came during his talk on the stage at the Billboard Latin Music Conference during an intimate conversation with Leila Cobo, the magazine’s Executive Director of Latin Content and Programming, part of Latin Music Week, which culminated with the Billboard Latin Music Awards on April 26.
The conference launched on April 23 with an opening night party and continued for two days, featuring some of the biggest names in Latin music through panels, star Q&As and receptions.
Cobo and Ross Scarano, Billboard’s Vice President of Content, officially welcomed the conference audience on the first day of events that included talks on the state of Latin music by Nielsen Music and insights from the managers of award-winning recording artists such as Bad Bunny, Ozuna and Adriel Favela.
One of the most resonating discussions took place during the American Airlines’ sponsored Women in the Lead panel featuring recording artists Becky G, Karol G, Yuridia, Spotify’s Head of Global Music Cultures’ Rocio Guerrero, Lionfish Entertainment founder Rebeca León and Stacy L. Smith, Ph.D., founder/director of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.
“When I found myself in Spanish music I found my sexy,” Becky G said, “but that somehow came with a lot of consequences. Why can’t I wear this dress?”
Leon echoes those sentiments.
“I think this is the most amazing time to be a woman,” Leon says. “I’m so hopeful. Being a Latina, a woman, I never felt handicapped. It’s just about believing in ourselves. When we negotiate against ourselves … those are the problems. You want to be the biggest pop star in the world, then dream it up.”
Latin Music Week also included conversations with award-winning acts such as Descemer Bueno and some of regional Mexican’s newest voices such as Christian Nodal during the Rise of the Mexillenials panel moderated by Pepe Garza, programming director at KBUE-FM in Los Angeles.
One of the most riveting interviews included Cobo’s conversation with urban star Ozuna, who spoke at length about Making the Hits. Actor Diego Boneta revealed what it took to take on one of his biggest acting roles to date for his Luis Miguel Telemundo series, while trap king Bad Bunny also spoke about his style of music. BMI’s Delia Orjuela, VP Creative Latin, interviewed songwriters/producers such as Justin Quiles about how they wrote their hit songs.
Pandora CEO Roger Lynch spoke about streaming for the Latin fan, Steve Aoki, RedOne and producing duo Andres Torres & Mauricio Rengifo gave their take on producing for the global market.
Italian singer Emma performed during Latin Music Week and Mexico’s legendary rock band Maná took to the stage to chat about their career achievements honor at this year’s Billboard Latin Music Awards telecast in addition to discussing their philanthropic commitments through their Selva Negra Foundation.
No matter what theme came up during Latin Music Week, Pitbull said it best … in four words:
“Music,” the entertainer said, “brings everybody together.”
This content was created in paid partnership with American Airlines.