Panelists explore the definition of Latin music and offer real-world advice.

By Lesley Mahoney
Berklee.edu correspondent
March 12, 2007

	Gabriel Abaroa, president of the Latin Recording Academy
	Photo by Phil Farnsworth

Latin music may defy definition, but one thing is certain: The genre encompasses a lot more then congas and pretty faces.

"It's about beautiful music," Gabriel Abaroa, president of the Latin Recording Academy, offered at a panel, The Ebullient State of the Latin Music Market: Challenges and Opportunities, held on February 21 in the David Friend Recital Hall.

Presented by the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (LARAS) and sponsored by the Office of External Affairs, the Association of Latin Faculty, and the Latin American Music and Business Club, the panel provided a glimpse of how the Latin Grammy voting process works and the state of the Latin music industry. The panelists—Abaroa; Luis Dousdebes, chief financial officer of the Latin Recording Academy; award-winning engineer/producer Sebastian Krys; and Marco Werman, senior producer for BBC’s The World—also gave their take on what constitutes Latin music.

"We are still a young organization. We are learning to grow," said Abaroa of the LARAS, which was established in 1997 and has produced the Latin Grammy Awards for seven years. "Basically, the main goal of the Latin Recording Academy is always trying to showcase music that is Latin to people around the world. If we can spread the news that Latin music is very diverse, I think we will have reached a fantastic goal."

The panel evolved thanks to some networking with Latin music industry executives. In November, students Daniel Diaz, Javier Samayoa, and Natalia Bernal, along with Peter Alhadeff, professor of music business/management, attended the Latin Grammy Awards in New York. There, Diaz and Samayoa rubbed elbows with Abaroa and Dousdebes, laying the foundation for them to come to Berklee to speak.

With Alhadeff's help, Diaz and Samayoa took it from there, organizing the panel with their roommate Roberto Jimenez.

"It's a very timely point for Berklee because both the students and faculty are very organized in the Latin studies area," said Alhadeff, who served as the panel’s moderator.

Abaroa offered an overview of the LARAS's role, which is primarily to produce the Latin Grammy Awards. He also spoke about the perils of piracy and outreach efforts to Latin American countries where musical education programs have been cut.

Through a PowerPoint presentation, Dousdebes outlined, step by step, the Latin Grammy Award process, noting that the LARAS follows the exact same process as the Grammy Awards. At the end of the program, students and faculty had the opportunity to join the LARAS.

Werman—the only non-Latino on the panel offered an American perspective on Latin music. "When I think of Americans and what they think Latin music is, I think of Ricky Martin singing at the Grammys, singing 'The Cup of Life,' and Americans just ate that up with a spoon," said Werman, who writes about and showcases music from around the world on his radio program. "Or maybe Tito Puente playing anything. Or Carmen Miranda."

Engineer/producer Sebastian Krys
Photo by Phil Farnsworth

The term "Latin music" can be very confusing, he said. "What does that mean? It's sung in Spanish, but not necessarily. Sometimes it's sung in Brazilian. It's got to be from south of the border, but not necessarily. It's got to have words like 'La Vida Loca,' but not necessarily. And it also helps if Carlos Santana pops in with a little solo, but not necessarily," Werman said, eliciting laughter from the audience.

For Werman, his experience exploring different kinds of Latin music has adjusted his perception of the genre, he said. "What's been remarkable to me in the last 10 years is how the definition of Latin music has changed in a radical way and no one has really complained about it. Why? Because the invention of music demands constant reinvention and musicians intuitively know this."

Krys—a four-time Grammy and five-time Latin Grammy Award winner who has worked with artists such as Shakira, Mark Anthony, Carlos Vives, Juanes, and Gloria Estefan—agreed with Werman about the elusiveness of the term Latin.

"I have no idea what Latin is," said Krys. "I came here as a 9-year-old. My dad made me listen to the Who incessantly. When I hear about Latin rock, to me, most of it is rock in Spanish, but then you have an artist like Juanes who I think brings his culture and fuses it with his music and that’s what I consider to be the true Latin music."

Krys also offered students some real-world advice.

"Like many of you, I had no connections to the music industry, no idea how I was going to forge ahead other than I had one basic concept, which was: I'm going to push until either people say no or they put out a restraining order," he quipped. "Your attitude, your persistence and your commitment are what are going to get you to where you want to be."

Krys charted his beginnings as a studio intern, then as an assistant. "I paid my dues and I did what I had to in order to get the opportunities that I wanted," he said, noting that he assisted on "such wonderful Latin productions as Engelbert Humperdinck's German Christmas album" and worked adding fart sounds to Nickelodeon TV shows.

"The great thing about being where you guys are now is you're going to create the business model of the future. You're going to figure out ways out of pure necessity," he said. "The main thing is, don't be discouraged by everything you see and hear. I think it's an incredibly exciting time to be a musician, since nobody knows what's selling or how to sell it. It's an incredible time to be as creative as you want to be and push the boundaries of music and of technology."

Krys also talked about the direction of music production, including a shift toward online collaborations that allow musicians and engineers to work live while in different places.

On the heels of the success of the panel, Diaz, Jimenez and Samayoa—all music business/management majors who hail from Mexico, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, respectively—are already hard at work on another project: a student trip to the annual Billboard Latin Music Conference and Awards in Miami this April. They plan to organize a conference panel about the Latin music industry as well as a reception for the establishment of the first Berklee alumni chapter in Miami.

Through their efforts, the students hope to create internships and jobs in the Latin music industry for themselves and their classmates.

From left to right, Sebastian Krys, Gabriel Abroa, Peter Alhadeff, Marco Werman, and Louis Dousdebes. Photo by Phil Farnsworth

"Our main goal is to open opportunities," said Diaz, who will graduate this year and with Samayoa serves as copresident of the Latin American Music and Business Club. "We want to give [Berklee students] all the pieces of the puzzle. We all have to start somewhere."

"We want to open new doors,” said Samayoa, who hails from Guatemala and is also majoring in piano performance.

 Along the way, the students say they have been very impressed with Berklee faculty and administration’s assistance. "People are so willing to help," said Diaz.

Lesley Mahoney is a writer/editor in Berklee's Office of Communications.