All Episodes

November 20, 2024 44 mins

Familia, we’re wrapping up season two with a bang! Joining us is the amazing music editor Thania Garcia as we dive into what makes our Season Two icons legendary: major record deals, bustling border towns, and endless Latino pride. Get ready to reminisce about the season’s unforgettable stories, share some laughs, and spill the tea on what’s next for the Latin music scene. You won’t want to miss this fun-filled finale!

Lilliana Vazquez and Joseph Carrillo are the hosts of Becoming An Icon with production support by Nick Milanes, Santiago Sierra, Rodrigo Crespo, Evelyn Uribe and Edgar Esteban of Sonoro Media in partnership with iHeart Radio's My Cultura Podcast network.

If you want to support the podcast, please rate and review our show.

Follow Lilliana Vazquez on Instagram and Twitter @lillianavazquez

Follow Joseph Carrillo on Instagram @josephcarrillo

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Joseph.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Usually I show up really happy and excited, but I
am not feeling those feelings today.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
I'm a little blue.

Speaker 3 (00:12):
Wait, why is it because it's a super moon and
lunar eclipse today?

Speaker 4 (00:16):
Because I kind of feel that too.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
I mean, yes, highly likely, but it's beacause today is
our season finale. No, you guys, for the past thirty
five episodes thirty five years old, I know, I know,
we have been diving deep into the highs and the
lows of some of the biggest LATINX stars on the planet, icons.

Speaker 4 (00:44):
That inspire us. I mean we look up to.

Speaker 3 (00:46):
Them, we love them, we hate them, we love to
talk about them. I mean it is truly, it's been
a journey.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
It has and it's a labor of love.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Each of these episodes, you guys, takes hours and hours
and hours research and production and recording and conversations and
arguments and fights. I mean we don't okay, we don't
actually fight, but we do have heated discussions.

Speaker 4 (01:08):
We do.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
And today our season two journey is coming to an end.

Speaker 3 (01:15):
But we are not doing all this recapping and season
finale ng alone.

Speaker 4 (01:20):
We have here one of the best because that is
what we deserve and.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
That is what we will always deliver to you.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Today with Us is a Tania Garcia.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
I'm your host, Lillianavosquez.

Speaker 4 (01:39):
And I'm Joseph Carrio and this is Becoming an Icon.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
A weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on
how today's most famous latinv stars have shaped pop culture.

Speaker 4 (01:51):
And given the world some extra level.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
Sit back and get comfortable.

Speaker 3 (01:55):
Because we are going in the only way we know
how with Buena's via with Us, when Visas and a.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Lot of opinions as we relive their greatest achievements on
our journey to find out what makes them so iconic.
Tanya Garcia is the associate music editor at Variety based
here in Los Angeles. She writes them edits music news

(02:26):
features and has a specialization in Latin entertainment. So naturally,
she is the perfect guest for our season finale.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
Joseph, It's time. It's time.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
Also, Tanya is just super cool and she is here
to share all of her knowledge, spill the tea, and
just join the party that is Becoming an Icon.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
So Tanya, welcome to Becoming an Icon.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
We are so excited to get into all of season
two with you.

Speaker 4 (02:57):
Welcome, welcome, welcome wagon.

Speaker 5 (03:00):
Oh my gosh, thank you guys for having me. I'm
so excited to be celebrating your season finale today. I
feel so honored. I feel like the biggest specialist guest ever.
So thank you so so much.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Well, that is the energy we like to start with.
And I know that you've listened. Now, you don't have
to say that you listen to all the episodes, but
I know that you have listened to many of our episodes.
Is there an episode or an icon that personally stands
out in your mind from this season?

Speaker 5 (03:25):
Oh, my gosh, like so many of them. I just
recently was listening to the Mana episode because I was
actually like, Mana was in the news this week, so
I was like going back and listening to it because
I didn't know like much of Mana's history and their story,
and so I found out so many other interesting things.
But of course I have a connection to a lot
of the icons that you guys covered. I'm Mexican American,

(03:48):
so I grew up listening to like Kuangabriel Nabo, like
all of these like icons, divas and you know, people
that are ingrained in my memory forever. Also Vicenti. This
is a huge one for me. Obviously, he's like emblematic
of Mexican culture, so it was really interesting to kind
of dive deeper into some of these historical aspects.

Speaker 4 (04:11):
Of these artists.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah, you know, and what's amazing about everyone that you've
named is, you know, we really focus this series on
talking about the icons that are really shaping the LATINX scene,
that shaped it in the past, are shaping it currently,
and also about the future of this incredible space, right,
and you mentioned so many, but also we do not discriminate,

(04:32):
like we talk about everyone like you can be old,
you can be young, you can have some controversy, you
can have lots of drama.

Speaker 1 (04:38):
We actually prefer the drama.

Speaker 4 (04:41):
Drama.

Speaker 1 (04:42):
We live for the drama, like the morte the better.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
But like you know, we've had Wanga Willi Colonne, right,
We've had Carlos Santana obviously, and then all of these
icons really kind of hold their own amongst each other.
And what's also really special I think about this particular
show is that we also spend some time talking about

(05:06):
icons in the making, right, the icons that maybe are
not iconic today, but that you know, in ten years
twelve years, twenty years, there's going to be a becoming
an icon about Camilla Cabello and Carol g and Nata
and for Sarahida. Right, So for you, I know you
mentioned your background. Do you have any deep personal connection

(05:29):
to any of these specific artists, Like did one of
them really shape your love and passion for music as
you were growing up?

Speaker 5 (05:36):
Yes, for sure. It's interesting because growing up my mom
was like very much in the pop world, and then
my dad was like constantly listening to Corridos. So for
me again going back to be SENTI f and then
this he was like the emblem of pride in Mexican culture.
And every time I knew from the start like that
Vicente was an icon because just the way that they

(05:58):
presented him, the way that he stress, the way that
he his voice to me was synonymous with Mexican pride,
just how strong his voice was. And so I mean,
obviously he was always around playing in my house. And
then flipping over to my mom. She was always like
a Romantica's girl and very much into the pop world,
and so I kind of picked up her love for

(06:20):
John Ceastian, for Penge for and Dahlia especially, I think
for me because both of our names start with the thh.

Speaker 4 (06:32):
That's that's already just too much perfect?

Speaker 5 (06:35):
And she and then I would watch her in the
novelas and I was like, that is the ultimate Barbie Doll.
Like I was like, yes, with Barbie's just her outfits,
the way that she was so animated on stage, like
just everything about her enamored me as a little girl.
And I just found like the t connections, so like,
I feel so special.

Speaker 4 (06:54):
You know that.

Speaker 2 (06:55):
I mean, you guys are basically the same personally.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
Yeah, Joseph, what about you?

Speaker 2 (07:01):
Because I know that you know, as similar as you
and I are, we're also so different in the music
that kind of dominated our homes and the music that
we listened to now as like adults, Like, is there
anyone icon that we covered that was either always your
tried and true favorite or somebody that became an unexpected
favorite for you?

Speaker 4 (07:21):
You know, learning a lot.

Speaker 3 (07:24):
I can't even pinpoint one because I will say, obviously,
this whole list, we we all grew up with all
of these people, but learning, I feel like they are.
What I learned the most out of everybody is that
they all started very simple, and they weren't ever really
in a rush until it just all happened, and it
was just their determination. And I feel like that kind

(07:44):
of speaks true to like as Latinos, where just we
just keep kind of going. And I feel like that's
what I feel like I'm getting from everyone here. They
just didn't stop, they didn't give up. It wasn't just
because the door closed, like hoes were going around through
the side, up the wing, and so I feel like
it's just the determination of all of them that I'm
just like, I got to keep going.

Speaker 4 (08:06):
You know.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
Yeah, Well I think that word kind of like, you know,
whether it's tenacity or unstoppable. I mean, I think that
really speaks to Latinos as a culture. And I hate to,
you know, like define us as a monolith, but you know,
whether you're Cuban or Peruvian or Mexican, you know, whatever,
you are Colombiana. Like I do think that we are
kind of born with that spirit that's like, yo, we're

(08:29):
not going to be stopped. And think about how many
times like the themes were stopped, right, like, how many
times they were stopped. Think about Wanga, like at every
turn it was like no, sorry.

Speaker 3 (08:42):
Declined Celia being like she could never go back, like
and she had a cup of her own, you know,
the latira from Cuba for herself. Like it's all of
this stuff, and they always just wanted to remain true
to themselves, even now with like, you know, the Corridos
Tombalos kids. I'm going to call them that because I'm
fucking old as fuck man, and it's just like, you know,

(09:05):
they've changed it, but it's still so true to the sound,
but they look different. It's it's just it's fascinating. Yeah,
that's all I'm gonna say.

Speaker 2 (09:13):
And I think fascinating is the perfect way to summarize
what we do on this show. And I hope that
you know, when you guys listen, you feel that way too,
because you might know the music, but you likely don't
know the icon, right, And that's why this podcast is
so fun because it teaches you so much. Like I'm
somebody that thought I was really familiar with one Gabie,
like he was like my grandmother's favorite artist.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
I thought I knew everything.

Speaker 2 (09:37):
I knew nothing because I really only knew the version
of him that my grandmother shared with me, or the
version that I saw on television. But what we do
is go so deep into their lives to really tell
you like the ups, the downs, the juice, the tea,
And it's incredible to really get to know them as
people before they were icons and then understand what truly

(09:59):
does make them iconic because oftentimes, like Joseph said, it's
not just the music, it's the person at the center of.

Speaker 1 (10:06):
It all, right, totally. Now, one of the things.

Speaker 2 (10:18):
That I feel like we always touch on is like
what are.

Speaker 1 (10:20):
These connections that all of these icons have?

Speaker 2 (10:22):
And that's what's so fun to do and these kind
of like season finale episodes to say, Okay, how are
they connected?

Speaker 4 (10:27):
Right?

Speaker 2 (10:27):
So, like one thing that I keep thinking about with
all of these icons specifically, I would say, like Santana
and Selena, is like it was so important to get
the seal of approval of the audiences from their home country, right,
you know, like there's always this idea of you're never
enough or I said it earlier, I said me that key,

(10:49):
me that yeah, right, and all of us right are
born here, but at the same time, we have so
much pride and love for our country and for our culture.
So it's like for them born here but still really
really wanted to capture the love of those audiences at home.

Speaker 1 (11:09):
Right, How is it?

Speaker 2 (11:11):
So, I guess, how is it essential for these artists
to be able to have success not just in the US,
but to have success in the countries that they represent,
Like why do they need to feel so connected to
their culture in that way as musicians?

Speaker 5 (11:25):
Oh my gosh, that's a really big question. I think
it boils down to, like when we look at musicians,
when we look at celebrities really in general, we want
to feel a sense of relatability and a sense of
humility coming from them. I think the moment that that
stops happening, it you kind of lose your audience in
a sense. And so I think, especially for Latinos, it's

(11:47):
difficult for us to pinpoint all of our backgrounds, where
we come from and all of these things, because again,
we are a melting pot of languages and cultural references,
of music, of all of these things. And so I
think understanding that you know, Latinos come in a white
spectrum and that we are we can be multiple things
that once is essential to the art, street, is essential

(12:07):
to the storytelling, is essential to the instruments, and so yeah,
I mean nowadays, I'm thinking about musicamihikana specifically like Haave
and for sada Hida and all of these people who
are really just the definition of a melting pot of
cultures and of pride. Honestly.

Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah, And I think you get to kind of the
second thing that kind of ties all of these groups
together is this idea of musical crossroads.

Speaker 1 (12:36):
Right.

Speaker 2 (12:36):
It's not linear, it's like all of these different roads
converging together. And that really actually makes the case for
the idea of like border towns, right, and that truly
is symbolic of like having one foot in one country
and one.

Speaker 1 (12:49):
Foot in the other.

Speaker 2 (12:51):
And you know, I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas
kind of like what I call like northern Mexico, but
my family is like right on the border del Rio Nacunya, right,
and so I'm very familiar with what it is to
be on the border. And we think about Selina Santana
therez v Norte, right, Like whatder girls? I mean, that's
what they are, you know, like whether it's the Wana
or MEXICALI you know, do you think that this is

(13:13):
still a thing because a lot of these crosswords and
border towns come out through the lyrics, come out through
the instruments, through the musicality, like especially here, I think,
you know, in South California, Like there is something happening here,
like you touched on it with Havy a little bit there,
like all of these new like modern gorridos, Like do
you think that this new generation is influenced in the

(13:35):
same way but that duality, by that existence of growing
up on the border between wherever that is.

Speaker 5 (13:40):
For you A thousand million a percent, Yes, I think,
you know. One of the stats that I remember writing
at the top of this year, when we were looking
at twenty twenty three, was that Latin music was like
one of the fastest growing subgenres on streaming. So I
think that the reason that that's happening is because of
the popularity of all of these sub jos. Is a
lot of these kids are kind of mixing a bunch

(14:02):
of these sounds together and it's becoming relatable because the
kids are growing up here and are listening to it,
and so they relate to the sort of duality that's
coming across in this music. I will come back to
the Southern California thing, but I did want to mention
because I know you just said that you guys are
in Texas. I was watching a documentary that just came
out on Netflix called Going Varsity and Madiaci. Have you

(14:22):
guys heard of it?

Speaker 2 (14:22):
Oh God, Oh, Joseph, please, I'm going to watch it.
Joseph and listeners, y'all have to watch this documentary.

Speaker 5 (14:31):
Yes, it's a must watch. It's basically just about how
there's all of these like small communities across high schools
in the United States, but more specifically in Texas and
those border towns that have madiachi varsity madiachi teams. They
go and they compete in national competitions, and it's the
most incredible thing to see because these kids like are

(14:52):
so impassionate about madiachi music, which is probably like equivalent
to classical music. It's that old, it's that tradition, and
they're just breathing this new life into it and it's
so exciting to watch. And it's like has a kind
of like it's a documentary, so it has a little
bit of like a reality TV aspect to it, like
it's a little bit of drama.

Speaker 4 (15:11):
We kind of like that.

Speaker 3 (15:12):
I just need to let it be known that I
played the guitar Rohne for three years from third grade
to the sixth grade. I am a mariachi boy. Number one,
number two. I'm going to say, I think that's so
true to what you're saying because also, you know, in
Middle America where there are Latinos who their family migrators
from wherever and now they find themselves stuck, or people

(15:34):
who are the Yono Saba kids, it's yon Sabo kids.
They are also just getting to experience their culture in
a way that like it sounds so traditional, but it's
still so fucking cool.

Speaker 5 (15:45):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (15:46):
Like that's why I think more people are coming to it,
because it's like, oh, you're half mech Sican or your
three quarters mex Skin. You're like, oh, well, do you
know best applo mind You're like no, and then you're
like I love this song and you just boom identify.
You're like, now you're so fucking I think, yeah, you.

Speaker 4 (15:59):
Know what, so cool? I know.

Speaker 2 (16:01):
And I also think that, you know, gen Z is
so different in how they digest and participate in LA
and I think, you know, they get a bad rap.
And by the way, I'm a millennial, so I'm like
the elder talking in the room and they get no.
But I have to say this because you know, I
do think they get a bad rap. But I think

(16:21):
what we do have to give credit about is how
they experience our culture and how passionate and how they
lead with their culture in that way, because you know,
I think of it this way, right, Like my all
my mom wanted was to fit in. Right, Like all
she wanted when she came to the United States was
to be as American as she could be, despite having

(16:43):
like the thickest Mexican accent you can ever hear in
the world, right, she just wanted to sound and be American.
So when you have your own child and they are
born here, you kind of put that on them, right,
You're kind of like, nihah, just be like them, right,
sound like them, like code switch for them.

Speaker 1 (17:01):
Be them.

Speaker 2 (17:02):
And so for me, I found like a lot of
my identity was not rooted in like deep appreciation and
love for my heritage because I was pushed the other direction.
I was taught to be like them. Don't be like me,
mihat be like them so that you fit in and
you have the opportunities that I didn't have because of
how I sound or how I address or where.

Speaker 4 (17:21):
I come from.

Speaker 2 (17:22):
And so it really took me going to school in Washington,
d C. Because it was a super international city with
people from all over the world for me to become
really accepting of my Buddha and my culture and like
really connect with the music, the food, the dance, all
of it. And it makes me sad in a way
because I grew up in Texas so connected physically to
that culture, but yet so far removed froment these kids

(17:44):
right that I could effectively have birth, like I probably
could have given birth.

Speaker 1 (17:47):
To bestl Pluma. Let's be honest, Okay, thank you can
be my kids.

Speaker 2 (17:50):
I could have done birthing these children from this generation,
this gen z. They have parents that are trying to
desperately reconnect for them, and so they're saying, no, no, no,
listen to this music. Be prideful, be loud, like go
show the world how beautiful and rich our culture is.
And I think that's the explosion because these kids are like,

(18:11):
I can be both things, whereas we were told you
can be one or the other. And I think that's
what's making the difference in acceptance. And I think that's
why what you're getting is like really pure storytelling and
authenticity that is so deeply rooted, like you said, in tradition.

Speaker 1 (18:25):
But still feels so of the moment.

Speaker 2 (18:28):
It's a really special time to be Latino and experiencing
this explosion in music.

Speaker 3 (18:34):
That's what I was going to tell you. So it's
so crazy, like so Latin explosion. Whatever happened when it happened.

Speaker 2 (18:39):
And that was a whitewashed Latin explosion that was Latino
music for white people. Totally no listen, no sense to
white people.

Speaker 1 (18:46):
We love you.

Speaker 3 (18:47):
I feel like the Latino gang came through and home
people are not they are home. Dudes are staying. It's
not the explosion. It's like it took over. It's gone.
We blew out.

Speaker 1 (19:01):
Yeah, it's it's so true.

Speaker 2 (19:03):
And on that note, Sally, I want to ask you
a little bit about this massive I mean massive acceptance
from the industry to Musika Mexicana.

Speaker 1 (19:14):
Right, So let's talk about the record labels, because if
you listen.

Speaker 2 (19:17):
To any of our episodes, do you know how many
times these bitches got canceled. They were like, sorry, we're
taking away your records? Are we don't get no money,
there's no budget for this. I mean, if you know
what happened to Selena's first album cover, you know the
perils of not having a.

Speaker 3 (19:29):
Budget the way I just really laughed, I can't even feel.

Speaker 2 (19:34):
So now when you cover the industry and you're talking
to execs and A and R, how much priority are
they placing on this specific category?

Speaker 5 (19:45):
Oh my god. Yeah. Every single week I find myself
writing like there's been a new Musika mahikana division opening
up about like a publishing company or you know, a
distribution company, whatever it may be. And it's interesting because
a lot of like for example, Bisol Pluma is an
indie artist, he has his own label. So I feel
like there's definitely been a shift, mostly powered by just

(20:08):
like the impact of streaming. As I was saying earlier,
Latin music is like the fastest growing sub genre on
streaming platforms. So it's just like the fact that people
are sort of taking autonomy of their art, of their
publishing rights, of their distribution rights, and so there's definitely
been a shift, and I think that that's causing a
lot of the major labels to kind of place their

(20:30):
spotlight on these growing subgenres on music Gamhikhana, on them Bo,
on all of these different subgenres are sort of popping up,
and they're definitely taking the time to research and invest,
and it's popping up quite a bit. A lot of
artists are choosing to stay independent now and major labels,
which is a development. I think again that it all

(20:51):
comes down to streaming.

Speaker 3 (20:53):
Really Okay, so you think that it's still just as success.
You think it's even more successful to not have a
record label in because of streaming.

Speaker 5 (21:01):
I think that's a debate that's ongoing in the music
industry right now. A lot of artists are choosing to
stay independent and sign, you know, with a distribution company.
Sign is a publishing deal signed, you know, they have
their own independent publicist and they do it all on
their own, just to have ownership of their music and
the artistic direction. I'm not saying that, you know, that's
like what's happening in an overhaul, but I'm noticing now

(21:23):
that there's a lot more indie artists that are charting.
For example, Flumento Chris MJ are all indie artists that
have chosen to stay independent. Pus Plum is another one
that's chosen to stay independent. I think because streaming has
just completely changed the way that people are getting paid.
So so that's that's where the shift is happening. Am
I saying that major labels are cook put and it's

(21:45):
not it's over. It's definitely not that. But there's definitely
been a shift, I think with a popularity in the
rise and popularity of all of these subgenres that are
popping out and having huge numbers out of seemingly nowhere.

Speaker 1 (21:57):
Yeah, And I think, you know, to that point.

Speaker 2 (22:00):
So when you think about these artists that are charting
and that are making really big gains in streaming, I
think one word that defines and describes kind of who
they are as artists is authentic, right. Authenticity is kind
of at the core to finding success. And you know,
we've done enough of these episodes to know that a
lot of times, you know, these artists get put through

(22:21):
the ringer and they're trying to make them fit into
some type of Latin artists whatever that sound they think
is going to be, you know, like charting or popular
or digestible for mainstream audiences.

Speaker 1 (22:34):
You know, I think about all.

Speaker 2 (22:35):
Of the struggles that our girl Shakiro went through right
in the beginning, It's like they were just trying to
make her fit. And obviously back then you didn't have
a choice to stay independent. It kind of had to
go to a label, and so you had to take
a few punches because you're like, Okay, I'll make two
shitty albums for them, but then I'm going to do
my album.

Speaker 1 (22:54):
And you used to have to make those deals.

Speaker 2 (22:56):
And so I think what is so beautiful about these
newer generation icons is they've kind of seen the mistakes
that our older icons have made and said, oh fuck that, Like, no,
you know, I don't have to do that. And so
I think that's what's happening in the music space right
now is that authenticity cells It always has problem is

(23:17):
it's hard to be commercial and authentic, and streaming allows you,
I think, to really do that. So speaking of that,
knowing that authenticity is so important to audiences, when you
think about the future of Latin music, what's the next
sound that you think is going to break big?

Speaker 5 (23:34):
Oh that's such a good question, oh proressure.

Speaker 1 (23:39):
Yeah, you know, it could be a hybrid.

Speaker 2 (23:41):
I know, I feel like so much of what we
love is always you know, everything is derivative. These days,
it's rarely that like some new sound comes up. It's
more kind of like, oh, it'd be really interesting to
hear this and that, so is there a baby of
two sounds even that you feel is kind of new
and next in music. I don't even want to call
it Latin music because it's not Latin music. It's just
in music.

Speaker 4 (24:03):
Yes, thank you, thank you.

Speaker 3 (24:04):
That that part is just something that needs to be
really like, it's in music.

Speaker 4 (24:10):
It's here, it's in our charts. If it's in our charts,
it's just music, yes.

Speaker 5 (24:15):
No question. Yeah, for sure. There's like a ton of
little just bubbling moments that I've sort of been keeping
an eye on for the last couple of months. I
think that women are going to step up in the
realm of Goombia pop really uh successful rising Kumbia pop
girls like a Steavy or a Stevie. She She's just

(24:39):
put out a song with Pcano that if you guys
I haven't heard.

Speaker 4 (24:41):
It, you should hear it because it's I know it's STV,
but I don't know this song.

Speaker 5 (24:45):
Yes, she's been like amazing. There's just like a bunch
of Kumbia pop girls that are like popping out of
Texas specifically that I've been kind of keeping my eye on.

Speaker 3 (24:54):
I'm telling you, bitch, I'm telling you, Texas is a spot.

Speaker 5 (24:59):
Definitely is it? Definitely is. It's spreading a lot of
news stars. And then I would also say, like in
the realm of like Lega don there's a lot of
maleggathon and Latin trap and hip hop coming out of
Cheatin Argentina that we should keep an.

Speaker 1 (25:12):
Eye Wow, Chaid not what I expected.

Speaker 5 (25:16):
Yes, Yeah, Floyd Minor and Chris I'm Jay, which they,
in my opinion, had the Latin song of the summer.
They hadn't Got That Only, which is like a huge
song on TikTok.

Speaker 3 (25:25):
I'm going to listen to it right now as I
get ready to go to Happy Hour.

Speaker 2 (25:29):
Wait, hold on, I'm the Elder is like completely out
of the loop.

Speaker 1 (25:33):
What's the song called.

Speaker 5 (25:35):
It's called Gat That Only. Okay, it's a song. And
these artists, the two of them, they're separate, they're not
a duo or anything, but they have been just releasing
like NonStop bangers for the whole summer and they keep
blowing up on TikTok. I believe Got That Only is
like in the top forty of the Hot one hundred
currently which is crazy because the Hot one hundred is

(25:55):
all genre inclusive. So yeah, there's like a lot going on,
pretty much like in every aspect where you look at
Latin music, there's a lot of really good stuff happening
in a lot of cross genre of pollination that's really
really interesting.

Speaker 3 (26:09):
It's a really good time to have a music podcast.

Speaker 2 (26:14):
I would say that, now, can I ask you what
could be considered a controversial question?

Speaker 5 (26:20):
Do it ready, let's go.

Speaker 2 (26:23):
I've actually been thinking about this question all season, and
there were times when I wanted to bring it up
and I was like, you know what, let's wait till
the end, and I think you're the perfect person to
ask this, Okay. So we talked about authenticity and you know,
lived experience and what it's like to sing about our
culture when you grew up in our culture, when you
are the gold buddha as. This music finds popularity globally

(26:47):
because we are a global genre, right.

Speaker 1 (26:50):
People consume this music from all.

Speaker 2 (26:51):
Over the world, like Australia, the Philippine, Japan.

Speaker 1 (26:56):
How would you feel.

Speaker 2 (26:58):
If an artist out of let's just say Korea, right,
wanted to do Cumbia or wanted to do Gorridos because
as music evolves and becomes more mainstream, like think about it,
Like we have Korean rappers, Okay, we have Japanese rappers, right,

(27:19):
so rap was born. I mean I think New York
is the home of rap, right and as like, and
you saw that happen when people were like, oh, he's.

Speaker 1 (27:27):
A rapper from like the South, that's a different type
of rap.

Speaker 2 (27:29):
He's not authentic, right, He's not like from Queens, He's
not from Brooklyn, He's not jay Z. But as music
gets bigger and bigger and you decentralize the sound because
we're on a global stage, how do we as Latinos
feel about other people that are not part of our

(27:49):
gold Buddha doing their version of gumbia gorridos mariachi? Like
where are we in that space? Are we accepting? Are
we side eyeing? And I'm not saying that I have
an answer. I just this is a question that I
always think about because I see the power of our culture.
I see how other people want a piece of it. Like,

(28:13):
I mean, you could literally be anywhere and like Satza
comes on and everybody in the bar is happy.

Speaker 1 (28:17):
I don't care where you are.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
I don't care if you speak the language like, we
have such an innate joy to the sounds of our
culture that people want to be a part of it.
So are we going to let everyone in?

Speaker 5 (28:32):
This might be a hot take, but I feel like
we should. Like I feel like, at the end of
the day, there's nothing wrong with good music. Emphasis I'd good.
It has to be a good quality music. But I
think that it's I mean, it's definitely it's happening. Like
I spoke to Carol g for when she released my.

Speaker 4 (28:51):
Ex me Casual.

Speaker 2 (28:54):
I was talking to my girl, car Got and I
were on the phone, I'm texting, but.

Speaker 5 (29:01):
Yeah, I interviewed her for My MANA Saidawlitos was a
huge album, but she has always included a gorrillo in
her albums even though she's from Columbia. And I asked
her about how she feels about that, and she's like, honestly, like,
I'm I get scared every single time I put out
a good though, every single time I put out it
on the song, because I'm scared that people are going
to be like, you're not part of the culture, Like
you're appropriating the culture, you know, And I just don't

(29:25):
think that that's you know, how I don't think that's
ever even like been brought it up in conversation, because
she does it so well, and I think she does
it with such respect and admiration for the culture. She
invites you know, Mexican musicians to come and perform the
songs with her on tour. So I think, you know,
when it's done with respect, when it's done correctly and
it's a good quality song, or you know, project like,

(29:47):
of course we'll welcome that.

Speaker 3 (29:48):
I love that answer well because also like we also did,
like you know, take some sounds from like Poka music
and totally you know, our own music is totally fucking
a mix of shit.

Speaker 4 (29:59):
So yeah, I'm here for the Korean cumbias whatever.

Speaker 2 (30:02):
Oh my god, can you imagine a K pop K
band with down corridos and cumbias?

Speaker 4 (30:09):
I mean lots of dancing.

Speaker 1 (30:11):
Right, lots of choreo, lots of really good choreo totally,
and some major looks and some major looks.

Speaker 5 (30:25):
All right.

Speaker 2 (30:26):
I want to get to some games because this is
kind of one of my favorite parts of wrapping up
the season.

Speaker 1 (30:32):
We want to know how well you know are icons?
Are you guys ready ready?

Speaker 4 (30:38):
All right?

Speaker 1 (30:39):
I'm going to read you guys a question, you give
me the answer. Is it a B or C? All right?

Speaker 2 (30:43):
What is Vicente Fernandez's most stream song on Spotify as
of this month September twenty twenty four. Oh jeez, is
it volvert Volvert or on me on the Prima Vedes.

Speaker 3 (30:59):
I would say the second one, I think.

Speaker 5 (31:03):
Okay, I'm gonna put my guests in for the last
one was on me on the Prima Vedras. Uh huh,
I'm gonna put my guests in for that one. I
think she's good.

Speaker 3 (31:11):
She died.

Speaker 4 (31:13):
Yeah, well obviously.

Speaker 5 (31:17):
Wait, so wow, I thought I was stuck between now
and volverat I feel like those.

Speaker 2 (31:22):
I thought it was vulnerable. I was shocked, I know.
I mean, I mean again, It's the thing. It's like
you think about these icons. You're like, who's streaming resented
for months? Right?

Speaker 4 (31:31):
Really?

Speaker 3 (31:31):
And it's like twenty two point six millions streams much?
And you're like, what, I haven't even heard that song
since I was like seventeen.

Speaker 2 (31:39):
Okay, next question, what is Los Bigres del Norte concert
attendance record? And fyi, they just broke their own record
earlier this year at the Houston Livestock show and Rodeo.
Is it seventy five thousand fans, twenty thousand fans or
one hundred and fifty thousand fans one hundred and fifty.

Speaker 5 (31:59):
Oh gosh, that's a lot of people, though.

Speaker 1 (32:01):
I wonder if you do that, Joseph, you don't have
any people? What stadium? What stadium holds one fifty?

Speaker 4 (32:07):
Bitch? You said the Houston Livestock Show. That's a lot
of space. That's a ranch.

Speaker 1 (32:14):
It's like, that's a lot of cowboys.

Speaker 4 (32:16):
That's whatever. They one hundred and fifty.

Speaker 5 (32:19):
Okay, for the sake of competition, I'll do seventy five.

Speaker 1 (32:22):
Damn she is two for two. Seventy five.

Speaker 4 (32:25):
Hate playing. This is the worst game ever.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
Okay, okay, okay, okay. I feel like Joseph this one.
I feel like I feel like you can.

Speaker 1 (32:32):
Get this one. Okay ready.

Speaker 2 (32:34):
Carlos Santana obviously we know him for his insane skills
on the guitar, But what was the first.

Speaker 1 (32:40):
Instrument that Carlos Sentana ever played?

Speaker 2 (32:43):
Was it the guitar, the violin or the baffle sextel?

Speaker 5 (32:48):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (32:49):
You know what's so sad is that I know that
I was a part of the podcast when I knew
about this, and I don't know why.

Speaker 4 (32:55):
I just want to say, guitar.

Speaker 3 (32:58):
I know that's like the obvious anthea, I'm so obvious,
but it might be.

Speaker 4 (33:02):
But it might beat Danya big guitars.

Speaker 1 (33:04):
But it might beat Danya. Fall for him.

Speaker 4 (33:06):
Do that one. I'll do the bajo sexto and you
do the guitar.

Speaker 5 (33:11):
I'll do guitar and you do baj.

Speaker 1 (33:12):
See this is why we never listened to Joseph.

Speaker 2 (33:15):
He will always lead you a stray, whether it's to
that fifth bar at the end of the night where
you don't need a tequila shot, or he will ruin
your perfect, undefeated record.

Speaker 1 (33:23):
Sorry, guys, the answer is be the violin.

Speaker 4 (33:26):
No, he really was the violin. Yes, he does these games.
They're very sneaky.

Speaker 2 (33:32):
I don't know these damn producers, these damn producers.

Speaker 1 (33:35):
Is okay?

Speaker 4 (33:37):
All right?

Speaker 2 (33:37):
Should we do a little true or false? So there
are some wild facts about some of our icons, and
it's up to us to figure out if it's true
or made up. Now, by the way, I don't know
the answers here, so we're all playing together, okay, okay.
So the first fact is that Selena our girl. And
by the way, we mean Selena like like, o g

(34:00):
baby Selena, like.

Speaker 5 (34:02):
Okay, not the Queen Selina.

Speaker 1 (34:04):
Yes, yeah, Quequeen Queen, Queen la Reina.

Speaker 2 (34:07):
Okay, Lorena had a collection of over five hundred Faberge eggs.

Speaker 4 (34:12):
What that's very nightties.

Speaker 1 (34:14):
I feel like she'd be collecting eggs. She was like
a kid, y'all. That's like an old lady, Bobby. I
love that, and I'm an old lady and I don't
need to do that shit.

Speaker 5 (34:23):
Oh my god. But I feel like that's so random
that it has to be true.

Speaker 3 (34:26):
Yeah, yeah, I would say it was totally true, because
why the fuck would Selena have Who would make up
a ship like that about Selena Quintania.

Speaker 2 (34:36):
Like ever, I feel like it's more likely that Abraham
had a collection of Faberge eggs and.

Speaker 1 (34:41):
Tried to pass it on to Selena.

Speaker 4 (34:43):
But wait, is it true?

Speaker 1 (34:44):
Okay, well what do we say? We say it's true?
We say true. I think it's true. Oh true, Okay, ready, fuck.

Speaker 4 (34:50):
It's true.

Speaker 2 (34:52):
Really so weird, it's so weird that you're right. When
it's so weird, it has to be right. And by
the way, if anybody would like to visit said collection.
Now you can actually visit it in Selena's Corpus Christian Museum.

Speaker 4 (35:08):
All five hundred eggs are in there.

Speaker 1 (35:10):
Wait, should we take a class trip.

Speaker 4 (35:12):
We're going to Corpus. Pack it up, Donya, let's go
all right? Ready?

Speaker 1 (35:17):
True or false? Celia Cruz is now on the back
of a US quarter.

Speaker 4 (35:24):
I know the answer to this, me too.

Speaker 2 (35:25):
Hold on a second, hold on, hold on, hold on,
hold on, Okay, hold on a second. So I need
I need more information because like, did they put they
just put this quarter through during the Bidens administration, or
like did this are they? I need a year because
there's no way fucking Cheeto allowed this to happen under
his administration. So I feel like if it happened in

(35:45):
the last four years, then it's true.

Speaker 3 (35:47):
There is is there a date that you well, no, Well,
here's the thing I'll tell you because I know the answer.

Speaker 4 (35:53):
It's true.

Speaker 5 (35:54):
Yes, it's true. I also I remember I wrote about
it for work, so it's true.

Speaker 4 (35:58):
Oh there you go.

Speaker 1 (35:59):
Then, okay.

Speaker 2 (36:01):
So kind of a signature series that we do here
on becoming an icon is we really lean on our
guests for musical recommendations As a writer, you have like
your hand on the pulse of like everything that is
happening when it comes to music. So what we like
to do is take something that we're comfortable in, whether
it's like your favorite like Mana song or Santana song,

(36:21):
and kind of push our listeners to try something a
little bit different. So we are going to say, see
thee gusta blank, tegustadiya something else.

Speaker 4 (36:30):
Okay, Okay, told time, me go get my pen and paper.

Speaker 1 (36:33):
Oh yeah.

Speaker 2 (36:34):
I always tell people grab your notes ap or grab
your pen and paper, because this is where you get
to curate the best playlist ever.

Speaker 1 (36:41):
Like we learn so much from these. Joseph and I
walk away.

Speaker 2 (36:44):
Saying, okay, we need to have more of these guys
and girls on our playlist. So yeah, now that I
give in you a moment, get ready to take notes.
Kastania is about to school y'all ready. Okay, see thee
Gusta rock in Espanol, Momna or Santana they study.

Speaker 5 (37:00):
Yeah, Chicano Batman, which if you're from La, those are
like our people. Chicano Batman is like I would say,
more Santana than than Mana, and they're kind of like
a little bit sublimey as well. That's a little bit
like they're so so so good. They're from La and

(37:21):
they're awesome. They just played the Forum like a couple
of months ago. It was the first time playing the Forum,
and it was like a really good show, all.

Speaker 2 (37:28):
Right, Sipe, Gusta scoochad legends like Willi Colon and Wangabiel.

Speaker 4 (37:34):
Check out that's tough.

Speaker 5 (37:37):
That Yeah, that one stopped me for a minute because like,
I feel like there's nobody really doing ballads or like
salt some music justice these days.

Speaker 4 (37:45):
There's not There's Mark Anthony. Where is Mark Anthony?

Speaker 1 (37:49):
No, we need Mark Anthony Junior.

Speaker 2 (37:51):
We need like the bestl Bluma version of Mark Anthony.

Speaker 4 (37:55):
That would be so cute. He's so.

Speaker 5 (37:59):
But I did I do have one. It's a little
bit left field, but I would say, you know, if
you like sauce music, if you like ballads, like definitely
check out Monda Ferte. She's amazing. She her album was
nominated for Album of the Year at the Latin Grammys
this morning the nominations came out, and she sort of
pushes the boundaries of like Sansa and Boston Nova and

(38:19):
Don and it's really really beautiful. The album that she
put out is called and it's a concept album. It's very,
very thorough. It's long, but it's definitely worth checking out.
And there's some great like prell on there.

Speaker 3 (38:34):
Oh you know, I love to throw that ass back.

Speaker 2 (38:37):
Okay, well, speaking of throwing that ass, if you like
to throw your ass old school like Daddy Yankee's way,
what are you going?

Speaker 1 (38:46):
What else are you going to? Like give us something else?

Speaker 5 (38:49):
I feel like this is like a very obvious one,
but I'm going to say it anyways because I am
a huge fan fade f e I d he's actually
Carol Gee's.

Speaker 1 (38:56):
Oh he's Carol GE's boyfriend.

Speaker 5 (38:59):
Yes with me?

Speaker 1 (39:00):
Are we still girl? Are we really?

Speaker 5 (39:04):
I don't know. I just I was trained to stay
allegedly after like everything, so here I am.

Speaker 1 (39:09):
I mean I was there.

Speaker 2 (39:11):
She was like celebrating his birthday on stage when we
were like in Pasadena at.

Speaker 1 (39:15):
The Rose Bowl.

Speaker 2 (39:16):
Like, if they're not together, then my husband and I
aren't married and we've been married seventeen years okay, and
we have a child together, so wow.

Speaker 4 (39:24):
So Fake Yeah.

Speaker 5 (39:26):
Has like the best tagotone bangers. I think he's like
at the top of his game for sure. Checkout faed.

Speaker 1 (39:31):
Well here's the thing.

Speaker 2 (39:33):
One day we'll take a wild field trip to an
underground federal party and Danya is leading the charge.

Speaker 1 (39:39):
Okay, that's what we're gonna do.

Speaker 4 (39:41):
Now.

Speaker 2 (39:42):
I have to say thank you so much for being
here for our season finale.

Speaker 1 (39:46):
We have loved talking with you, Tanya.

Speaker 2 (39:49):
Please share with our listeners where can we find you
and what are you working on right now?

Speaker 5 (39:54):
I am working on a lot of good stuff as
we sort of towards the end of the year, a
lot of life best of lists. So I'm thinking about
best albums of the year, best singles of the year,
best new artists of the year.

Speaker 4 (40:05):
So lucky to have you with us, and.

Speaker 5 (40:08):
I'm so happy to be here. But yeah, so that's
kind of what I'm spending my time on right now,
and you can catch that on my socials. I'm at
ty Wright.

Speaker 1 (40:17):
Everywhere it's t y E w R I T E perfect.

Speaker 3 (40:22):
We are quickly following, follow like and share everybody follow like.

Speaker 2 (40:26):
Share, Monetize. I always add monetize.

Speaker 1 (40:30):
It's very important, very important. Well, it's been lovely to
meet you.

Speaker 2 (40:34):
Thank you so much for sharing all of that knowledge,
and I will see you at that underground.

Speaker 5 (40:39):
But party period. Bye hie, guys, thank you.

Speaker 3 (40:46):
You know, I really really can't believe it is now
the end of season two, Like, not only have we
been best used for so long, but now we are
wrapping up season two of this of learning so much
about kind of our own culture and remembering our separate
lives but together.

Speaker 4 (41:05):
It feels so weird. What do you see?

Speaker 3 (41:07):
You know?

Speaker 1 (41:08):
It's so interesting.

Speaker 2 (41:08):
I feel like when we start each season, I feel
like the world.

Speaker 1 (41:13):
Is our oyster. We can talk about anything. Then we
get to the end of a season and I'm like, wait,
we still have so much more to say.

Speaker 2 (41:23):
We didn't get to do enough episodes about Mana or
I want to do another episode today given all of
the Mana news that we've heard. And so I think
that's the beautiful thing about covering music and culture is
that there's always going to be more to say. The
conversation doesn't end because our season ends, right, And that's
what's so beautiful about being able to experience music as kids,

(41:48):
as adolescents, as teenagers, as grown ups because the conversation
is always changing around it. And I think we're so
lucky to be able to have these conversations not.

Speaker 1 (41:57):
Just with each other, but with you, guys, our listeners.

Speaker 2 (42:00):
And I think one thing I don't often say enough
is thank you for listening. Thank you for your dms,
thank you for downloading our episodes, thank you for supporting
our show. I hope that when you're listening to us,
you feel like you're at Margs with us, and that
we're not just talking to you, because we really do

(42:21):
it for you, guys. We love to invite you in
and as you're learning, we're learning. Like Please don't think
that we're any kind of like music experts, because we're not.

Speaker 1 (42:30):
Half the time the time, we're learning just like you are.

Speaker 2 (42:35):
And I think that's what's so beautiful about music is
that there's always more to learn. And I think that's
what's so great about our icons. There's always more to learn,
more to love, more to pass judgment all because sometimes
we do judge them, and also more to you know,
have conversations about in the future. So thanks you guys
for sticking with us for two seasons. And if you
love the show as much as we love the show,

(42:56):
please share it with a friend and we'll see you
guys soon.

Speaker 3 (43:00):
Lastly, I want to thank you, Liliana for having me.
We've done seventy episodes, like, I want to thank you
so much for having me. This has been so much fun.
This is kind of historical. I mean we're talking and
diving into things that we didn't even know and that,
like you said, this is kind of evergreen.

Speaker 4 (43:16):
It's always going to be happening.

Speaker 3 (43:18):
So thank you for bringing me along this amazing journey
and we'll see if season three happens.

Speaker 2 (43:25):
Thank you guys so much for joining us. And of
course you can follow Joseph and I on social media.
I am at Liliana Vasquez across TikTok and Instagram.

Speaker 3 (43:35):
And I'm at Joseph Garrio that's c A R R
I L l O on Instagram.

Speaker 2 (43:45):
Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael
Duda podcast Network. Listen to Becoming an Icon on the
iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Advertise With Us

Hosts And Creators

Lilliana Vazquez

Lilliana Vazquez

Joseph Carrillo

Joseph Carrillo

Popular Podcasts

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

The Bobby Bones Show

The Bobby Bones Show

Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.