Celia Cruz, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, Karol G and the narrative of what it means to be ‘Latin’

If there is a cry that awakens Latin pride, that is the “sugar!” of the Cuban singer Celia Cruz.

The “Queen of Salsa” not only filled stages with his voice and his dazzling costumes, but became a global symbol of resistance and Afro -Caribbean joy. His success for more than five decades was a claim after a case of racial and sexist discrimination. In the beginning, a record was rejected for not fitting in the image of “Latin star” that dominated the market.

That canon responded to a specific concept of femininity, beauty, sensuality and controlled exotism, represented by figures such as Lupe Vélez, Dolores del Río, Rita Montaner or María Félix.

The exhibition Latinwhich hosts the house of America in Madrid, recovers those women who, since the twenties, have been agents of transformation and cultural statement. And next to them places other voices that did not fit in those molds, such as Violeta Parra, Mercedes Sosa, Chavela Vargas, Chabuca Granda and, of course, Celia Cruz, who ended up being one of the most universal figures of Latin music. In fact, she is the first Afrolatine woman to appear in an American currency.

If there was a Mount Rushmore of Latin artists in the United States, there would be sculpted Celia Cruz’s face. And would appear next to those of Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Karol G.

J.Lo, iconic

Throughout the decades, Latin artists in the United States have suffered many difficulties in acceptance in the mainstream due to cultural, racial and linguistic stigmatization. In fact, until 1975 there was no category of Latin music at the Grammy Awards, although it exceeded jazz sales and classical music. Paradoxically, it is the only category that now has its own awards.

The Nuyorican (New York descending from Portorriqueños) Jennifer Lopez has claimed in the 21st century thanks to another motto, “My Latin people”, which spoke badly in a 2011 awards ceremony.

Jennifer Lopez’s trajectory perfectly reflects how the concept of Latin music in the United States has evolved in recent decades. Since the 90s he has been a reference of the “Latin explosion”, consolidating its status as an iconic Latin entertainment figure. He is currently a singer, actress, dancer, fashion icon, businesswoman and program judge American idol. In 2001 he managed to be the first and so far unique Latin woman with a number 1 on album and film in the same week, with his work J.Lo And his leading role, along with Matthew McConaughey, in Wedding plans. The Bronx diva is an icon and a pop legend, without the need for adjectives such as Latin.

The Latin pop queen

The Colombian Shakira, who is currently immersed in a world tour, challenges the limits of the Anglo -Saxon market from a firm, bilingual and multifaceted cultural identity.

Recognized as one of the most innovative artists of global pop, with more than 95 million records sold and numerous awards, it is the most reproduced Latin of all time in Spotify and one of the five most viewed in the history of YouTube.

Shakira probably is at this time one of the best representatives of what it means to be a global artist, knowing how to transform and adapt to the new model of the music industry based on the streaming And with their own hook: “Women no longer cry, women invoice.”

Read More: Shakira and Greco -Roman poetry of spite

Precisely the joint show of Shakira and Jennifer Lopez in the Super Bowl of 2020 was a declaration of Latin pride and female empowerment before a global audience. A historical moment where artists made their values ​​clear and expressed social criticism and themes that affect the Latin community. They took the stage from inequality to classism, through violence, age, migration or sexism.

However, as often happens around the signs of female power, they received criticism for their “whitening” of Latinity. Both artists enter the specific collective imaginary of Latinos (“güeros” or white blond), in which stereotypes or aspirational models are represented, ignoring linguistic and racial diversities within the community.

The ‘bichota’

Away from that archetype, the current most influential figure of Latin and urban music emerges, the Colombian Karol G. The singer received in 2024 the Billboard Women in Music Award for the woman of the year. In doing so, he marked a historical milestone, since for the first time since the creation of the awards in 2007, a non -American woman and a Latin American country was recognized as the most outstanding female artist of the year.

Their commitment to feminism, their roots and their language “have created a movement for women around the world for their empowered lyrics and inspiring confidence,” in the words of Hannah Karp, Billboard editorial director.

With his nickname “La Bichota” and his slogan “Mamiii”, he is breaking barriers for women in industry and stigmas in a hypermasculinized genre such as reggaeton. She has been the first woman to head the Billboard 200 list with an album in Spanish, collaborates with big names and surpasses her male counterparts on platforms of streaming and global festivals.

Throughout the last 80 years, Celia Cruz, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Karol G have molded and, at the same time, sprayed the ideal of the image of Latin women. They have done so controlling their public narrative and their voice, in their own terms, with their lyrics and also with their business. Precisely this economic empowerment has given them financial and creative independence and independence.

In addition, they have managed to reappropriate their body and the concept of “Latin” as an expression tool and not subordination, until stereotypes and resignify them with their music and aesthetics. They have thus become symbols of authenticity, resilience and hope.

This rise of Latin artists in the global market and in the United States is not isolated, but part of a broader transformation of the role of Spanish in the cultural industry.