Latin Music Acts Facing Artistic, Financial Dilemma

Deborah Panini-Hernandez, an associate anthropology professor teaching Latino studies at Tufts University, tells USA Today Latin crossover idols such as Enrique Iglesias and Jennifer Lopez can be unfairly judged. “There tends to be a blurring of distinctions between Latinos who have been here for a long time, who are bicultural and bilingual, and more recent immigrants,” she says. “Bicultural Latinos may choose to embrace Latin music, but they’ve also grown up listening to hip-hop and R&B. Jennifer Lopez is someone like that, so to accuse her of being a cultural turncoat is unfair.” Leila Cobo, Latin music editor at Billboard remarked, “The mainstream talks about Latin music as if it began and ended with Ricky Martin.”