By José Gandue @Gandour
I've said it several times, both publicly and privately: I believe that Bomba Estéreo is one of the best bands in the world. I know where they come from, and I believe they are honest in their intentions. They've made many songs that have gotten a good part of the planet dancing, and they've made to speak to many skeptics about Colombia in a way that is appreciated, Above all the obvious and repeated comments about all the social and criminal incidents that have occurred on this side of the world, their shows are fun, which is why they've been able to perform on all five continents, playing in such challenging venues as Sónar, Lollapalooza, and Roskilde, to name a few demanding festivals that are hard for anyone to handle. Their music has been featured in television and film soundtracks, commercials, and video games everywhere. All this happens, and then, suddenly, out of nowhere, a bad decision (participating as guests in a horrible, impromptu performance of the year's most popular song), contradicting his entire position and falling into the trap of improvisation) discredits them with incredible speed, as if for many viewers everything done disappeared, poof, into nothingness.
Let's start with an uncomfortable point: The Latin Grammy Awards ceremony is a surprising collection of absurdities and bad taste. It stems from the complex some people have about "being Latino." It's a representation of the supposed strength of the Hispanic market in the United States., but without managing to overcome the most ridiculous clichés. From those kinds of institutions, the tendency is still to portray Latinos as a community of beach playboys and bombshells with dangerous curves., with little to offer other than a desperate routine of dance and soap opera drama. These are clichés based on characters like Carmen Miranda, who ignore the rebellious struggle of a migration that has grown with intelligence, effort, and resilience. A community whose younger generations consume much more than the platitudes peddled on Telemundo and other platforms where the belief persists that The Cockroach It is the anthem of all those who come crossing the border over the Rio Grande.
If you, Mr. Artist, win a Latin Grammy, congratulations. Enjoy it and promote it as much as you can so that it gets some commercial media coverage., Where show business and its activities are more important than music, they pay attention to him in a way they wouldn't at any other time. Know this: He won, not for his artistic work, but rather by the persuasion strategies that you or your manager managed to put forward to be accepted among the industry leaders. Celebrate, but don't let it go to your head. That's not what it means to succeed in life. What should matter to you is that your audience loves you for your compositions, for your excellent performances, for your interesting and unique aesthetic. Believing that these kinds of awards are the only way to reach the top is a serious mistake., as much as thinking that it is necessary to participate in the televised performance of the song of the year, in a space that doesn't suit him, in front of millions of viewers, improvising terribly because that's not his thing and there was no time to rehearse, singing out of tune like never before. The person at their record label who suggested this action to Bomba Estéreo should be hanged by his testicles in a public square for jeopardizing an artistic career that had yielded the best returns. after many years of good work.
Remember, fellow musicians: The statuettes end up stored away in some private room, visible to only a few. What remains forever in our memories are the great songs. Worry more about creating unforgettable melodies and less about walking on pompous red carpets.