Transgressive or regressive? Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin hook up in latest Wisin music video

When two of the biggest Latino music stars in the world play lovers in a music video does the world pay notice? Particularly if one of the stars is known for a series of high-profile heterosexual relationships (Jennifer Lopez) and the other is known as the biggest Latino personality to have ever come out as being gay (Ricky Martin)?

That's the case in a video released today as the lead single from Puerto Rican singer Wisin's first solo album and titled "Adrenalina":

Wisin was able to pull this high-wattage stunt because he was part of one of the most successful reggaeton acts in the music industry over the last decade - Wisin & Yandel - and happened to be among the Latino music acts that supported Ricky Martin when he came out.

Ricky himself featured the duo in a cut from his first album after coming out called "Frio"...

That particular song also speaks of unrequited love from a man to a woman.

Both of these songs were launched as singles after Ricky's very prominent coming out in 2010 so they weren't necessarily covering up for his sexuality so the fact that he is still be considered to play up a heterosexual romantic role in videos like these might be transgressive in itself but it certainly stand out that Ricky has yet to release or participate in a music video that also highlights same-sex love.  I raised this issue previously when it came to one of the most beautiful songs on his last album and one of its most homoerotic as well "Tu y Yo" (Spanish language lyrics here),

And yet, last week in Chile at the Viña del Mar music festival Ricky didn't shy away from homoerotic play. Here is his performance of his hit "Shake Your Bom Bom"...

Full Viña performance here.

Also, woof!...

The Lisa M. Interview (English)

Last year few people noticed what I thought was a mini-trend: After a relative dearth in LGBT representation in the Latino music industry, several performers came out as gay or lesbian between the months of February and April (OK, maybe I was the only person who noticed).

The run-down: 1. First came former Menudo singer Angelo Garcia when he spoke to online site Paragon Men about being gay in February; 2. Then, in mid-March, came up-and-coming performer Rita Indiana who appeared on the red carpet with her partner Noeilla Quintero at the Dominican Republic's most important music awards ceremony;  3. Before the end of that month, Ricky Martin would use his official site to proclaim himself as a "proud homosexual" and, finally, in April, 4. Puerto Rican salsa and reggaeton singer Lisa M. decided to tell her followers on Facebook that she was a lesbian.

Both Angelo Garcia and Rita Indiana say they never really hid their sexual identity from anyone and that it was media who suddenly took an interest on their personal lives.  Ricky Martin and Lisa M., on the other hand, spent years building their successful careers in the Latino pop industry actively shaping a performing persona while assiduously avoiding talking about their personal lives.

Born Lisa Marrero Vázquez, Lisa M. probably had the biggest commercial success of her career as a salsa singer in the late 1990's with huge hits like "Tu Pum Pum" and "Menéalo".  But, artistically, she probably reached the professional high-point of her career with 2007's "Respect", a lavishly produced reggaeton album which also served as her last commercial release and contained the single "Hey Ladies".

On Friday, I had the opportunity to speak to Lisa on the phone from Puerto Rico.  In her first exclusive interview with an English-language venue - or an LGBT-venue for that matter - Lisa addressed her decision to come out on Facebook last year, her relative silence since then and her plans to release a brand new single and album late this year or in early 2012 (for the original Spanish-language version of this interview click here).

Blabbeando: It’s been a little more than a year since you decided to tell your followers on Facebook that you are a lesbian.  What made you decide to do it and did you feel scared at all when you finally came out?

Lisa M.: Well, look, when I actually did it, I was in Spain and, before that, I had already been thinking of coming out in public.  I wanted to come out, not because I had any specific purpose, but because that was the purpose… to come out.

At that moment, all the stuff about Ricky Martin had already surfaced.   Obviously, when Ricky takes something as delicate as his private life and decides to share it with his fans, with his family and with the rest of the world, it was something quite beautiful. And it’s not that I came out because he did it but, basically, it was a ‘wow’ moment for me.

As a fellow artist, I saw it as an incredibly beautiful moment and I felt it was the perfect moment to offer my support not only to him but also myself and other artists who truly want to live their lives freely. So I made the decision and I said ‘Look, I’ll write ‘I’m gay!’” And that’s what I did on my Facebook page.

I’ll be very honest. I posted it without knowing or thinking about any consequences or truly expecting it to get the reaction it got.  In other words, first I wrote “I’m gay!” - saying it like ‘Wow!’ - but I later I reaffirmed it by writing “I’m gay” – no exclamation point. That’s when…

Blabbeando: Yes, because the first time you posted it I imagine your followers didn’t know what to think about it, whether it was a joke or something else. But the second time you posted it - that’s when people reacted…

Lisa M.: Exactly, yes, the second time, when I reaffirmed it, well, everybody did react, writing stuff like “WHAT!? WHAT DID SHE SAY!? HOW!?”.  It was such a tremendous reaction that it made it to People en Español, it went all through the internet, all throughout media… All of Puerto Rico basically just fainted [laughs].

Yes, it was such a huge reaction that… I’ll be honest, the reaction to Ricky was ‘Damn, Ricky, we sorta knew it or imagined it already’, but he did have a reaction… but with me, being a woman and being Latina - and I’ll put this out in the open - well, it probably turned off some people, but the overall reaction was positive.  Thank God almighty it wasn’t something where I lacked people’s support.  On the contrary, the reaction was very positive and I received a lot of positive feedback.

People, a lot of people – and I’m saying this because it happened a lot during those first days, weeks and months – sent me messages. I received a lot of e-mail messages from women congratulating me, married women, who would say “Look, I am gay but I am married” and so, for me, it was a ‘Wow’ moment to realize so many people had taken umbrage in what I had said.

And I learned to take it more seriously each day and to give it more respect. Respect towards me, as a person, and towards the public… and so much respect towards the gay community, which has also given me so much support.

Blabbeando: The reaction was immediate but you were in Europe when it happened and pretty much unreachable for comment…

Lisa M.: Yes.  That’s the way I wanted it.  I wanted to feel a bit more prepared before being able to give a more public response to the media.  When I took the decision and saw the consequences, I told myself ‘This has reached another level, now it’s serious, it’s slipped from my hands and I will have to treat it respectfully and carefully.’

So I held media at bay a little bit but, yes, I can tell you that what took place with all the media was impressive.  From the start, when I gave an exclusive to an important radio show in Puerto Rico via telephone, and, of course, now that I have returned to Puerto Rico from Spain and have begun to address all media.  And, thank God, I have always enjoyed great respect from the press, now and at that moment, for which I am thankful.  They treated me very well and understood my point of view and my way of loving someone and they accepted it.

And let me tell you that today I feel it is so normal to talk about it and to watch Ricky and his boyfriend, his partner, at the award ceremonies, to see him be free and be able to express himself, his feelings, you know? It’s a beautiful thing.  And that is the same way I feel.

Blabbeando: I know you received some homophobic messages back in January but you seem to be saying it’s been the exception to the rule…

Lisa M.:. Yes…

Blabbeando: I also know you have worked with other reggaeton singers such as Tego Calderón.  It was also interesting for me to see that there didn’t seem to be any homophobic reactions from your peers.

Lisa M.: Yes, thank God, I’ve also had my peers come to me… and everyone has remained in their place, everybody has treated me with respect, everybody has accepted it well.

Look, Andrés, we are living during an era in the business where it really doesn’t matter who you are, you know? It’s all about what you can give. It’s as if people want a different life, a different way to share things, they want something more positive, they don’t want to tear an artist down or hurt them.

It’s my understanding that in the industry, right as of now, it is not a taboo, it’s not a barrier, it’s not an illness, it is not something that will hurt your fans.

Blabbeando: At the same time, there are female artists such as La India and Ivy Queen who have faced false rumors about their sexual identity and, in Ivy Queen’s case, even questions about her gender, just for presenting themselves as strong women. What do you think about those stereotypes?

Lisa M.: What has happens is that, obviously, we are stronger women thanks to what we have done as artists, based on our personality and the way we have handled our careers, you know? [We are] women with a stronger character… fighters. And being fighters makes us stronger, it makes us brave, and so we create that character, a warrior’s armor, from having to be up front as women. And then that strength is reflected in our songs, they way we interpret a song, the way we talk, how we dress, how we express ourselves, and that’s what people see.

Blabbeando: Now, throughout your career you have launched seven albums.  The last one, “Respect” (2007) was actually pretty great.  But I know you have been spending time in Europe and Spain and focusing more on a career as a club DJ under the name of DJ Miss M. Now, after spending these years in Spain, you’ve returned to the recording studio. Tell me a little bit about the latest stage in your professional life.

Lisa M.: Well, basically the “Respect” and “Respect (Deluxe)” record was my last album.  After that I embraced life as a DJ.  It’s been six years or so since I began to DJ but the last three years have seen my DJ career get stronger and my reputation as a DJ climb to higher levels. And being in Europe and living in Spain, well, I have positioned myself as one of the top female DJ’s in Barcelona and Ibiza.  There, I got tons of work and I’ll be back later this month to close the 2011 Space Ibiza season on September 24.

And, what can I tell you? Yes, it has been a really beautiful part of my life in which I have experienced the nightlife, being a dedicated DJ, without obviously abandoning who I am: A singer and an artist.  What I have done is that now, in the new stage, I am mixing up both things.  I am recording my new album. I am doing it in Puerto Rico and I am doing it in New York City and other places.  I want to do an album that reflects everything that is happening in my life, which is the nightlife, life at the dance clubs and lounges, the music ‘life-style’ as I call it.  It’s an album that reflects that vibe, now that I’m working as a DJ, that touches on electronic music – tech-house, techno, house, hip-hop – my new album fits somewhere along those lines.

As a DJ and producer – because obviously that determines a lot of the things that have gone into the album – that’s where I’m at.  And I am truly enjoying it a lot. I’m not getting much sleep, Andrés, but I know the end results are going to be very positive.

Blabbeando: So it’ll be a new sound, integrating old sounds but from a dance-club perspective…

Lisa M.: Exactly. That’s it. That’s it. And, as I’m telling you, using little things, old sounds but modern arrangements.  With really, really amazing… how should I say… now that I’m a DJ, which is the music genre in which I’m surrounding myself and considering the industry is changing so much…  perhaps in the way that Madonna has done since “Confessions on a Dance Floor”, or, later, when Black Eyed Peas came up with that electronic sound and mixed it up with hip-hop and R’n’B, and what’s happening right now and blasting off the radio like Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull… well, that’s the same vibe that is ruling the airwaves right now and that’s the same track I’ll be on pretty soon.

Blabbeando: Do you have a date for the launch of the new material?

Lisa M.: I’d say that before the year is over I’ll come out with a new single, at the very least.  I am pushing myself, working really hard to have it come out by year’s end as well as a video.

I’m not certain yet about a record label because I am truly working independently.  For the moment, I am producing the record myself and I do not have a recording label.  But I am so happy and working so well that I didn’t miss it during the recording process.

Nowadays the recording industry has changed so much that you can go and find an investor, do a video, tape a single, pace it, put it out there, kick it up there on YouTube, push it on Twitter, post it on Facebook, and forget about it! You do a couple of interviews and get some cameras to shoot the video and that has some impact.  And so, there you go [laughs]…

Yes. I know record companies are very good for other things.  Moneywise, as an artist, I cannot penetrate the market in the same way record companies do their promotion and handle the ‘business’ side. They go deeper. So we’ll see what happens. For now, production is running really well and, as I told you, we hope to have something out there before the end of the year.  Andrés, the record is coming out really great. I think it’ll be a totally different sound that doesn’t lose the essence of who I am.

Blabbeando: It sounds like you are in a stage of your life in which you are at great ease with yourself and happy…

Lisa M.: Yes, I am happy.  I have my partner, who is a beautiful girl who respects and admires me a lot and that also helps me to focus and commit myself and to have sufficient strength to say let’s go forward, let’s go.  And when you have someone who is so positive next to you it does help a lot, and that’s what’s been going on in my case.

And, yes, I am traveling a lot.  But once I get back to Puerto Rico on the 28^th, look out! I’ll be immersed in what will become the new single.  There are several tracks ready, I imagine I’ll get some people together and let them listen, including the single.  And, yes, it’s a process, but at the same time I am enjoying it greatly.  Maybe sometimes I do feel exhausted but it is a stage in my life in which I feel much calmer and feel much more at ease with myself.

Blabbeando: Lastly, is there something I didn’t ask that you’d like to tell readers of Blabbeando?

Lisa M.: Well, let me thank you for the interview.  What I’m really wishing for is for the public and media to offer their support for my new project and I know that will be the case. I know I have earned the place where I am, thanks to God.  Whoever grants me their support, I know I am a pioneer in what I do and, thank God, the public has chosen to support me throughout my career.

I do hope I’ll have additional support when the new album comes out because the fans I have now are fans from before and after and they are still there.  But those of now, who don’t really know about me… their parents, unless and cousins do, but the new generation, those of now, I am truly hoping for the support of the new generations.  And I know I will because, musically, I am working with groups of professional musicians and producers who are at the level of the new generations. So we are doing good.

Blabbeando: Well, Lisa, that bring the interview to an end, I thank you so much.

Lisa M.: Sure thing, Andrés.  Thank you so much for the opportunity and for thinking about me.  What I’ll do is that when I get the single ready I’ll send it over so you can give me your feedback and we’ll keep in touch.

Blabbeando: Great. Hugs and thanks.

The Lisa M. Interview (Spanish)

Below the fold, you will find the original Spanish-language version of my exclusive interview with the lovely Puerto Rican superstar singer, DJ and music producer Lisa M. in which she reflects on her decision to come out as a lesbian on Facebook a year and a half ago and the repercussions since telling the world she is gay. Click here for the entire Spanish-language interview. For the English-language translation click here.

Puerto Rican singer Lisa M. comes out

UPDATE: I got to interview Lisa in September of 2011. For the English version of the interview click here. For the Spanish version click here.

When Lisa M. Marrero updated her Facebook status on Monday at 3pm with the words "IM GAYYY!" I'm not sure what her followers thought. Maybe that it was a joke. Twelve minutes later, Marrero once again updated her Facebook status with the words "IM GAY." The news, as it were, were first aired by the hosts of a morning radio show and eventually reached print media when Primera Hora ran an article yesterday. By then dozens of supportive messages had been left after each status update

Fans of Marrero know her as Lisa M.

Internationally, her most recognizable hit is probably her 1992 version of El General's "Tu Pum Pum" [An aside: If you click on that link you will see an interview following her performance of the song. At the 2:53 mark, Lisa M. and the interviewer start joking about the singer Cheyenne being Lisa M.'s boyfriend. The interviewer insists she wants Cheyenne all for herself to which Lisa M. replies "I'll give you Ricky Martin, I'll loan him to you". LOL].  

People en Español also picked up on the story today, but nobody seems to have been able to reach her for official comment yet.  What's striking to me is that she chose Facebook to come out.  Not some magazine or newspaper. Facebook. It speaks to the fact that long-closeted gay and lesbian stars like Ricky Martin and Rita Indiana are forgoing the usual paths to coming out and doing it on their own terms. Cut the intermediaries, press handlers or publicists.

On Wednesday, she acknowledged her fans' supportive messages by writing the following (and I have tried to translate the statement literally and save it's flavor):

I want to give thanks to everyone for your support and for accepting me just as I am, my family always have loved me as I am they have given me all the love in the world what happens is that us artists and specially in our Latino market where we are indebted to a certain image before the public they keep us from our freedom to love.

Lisa M., who says in her Facebook page that she lives in Miami, Florida, also told her fans that she is currently in Spain working on new music.

Related:

• Lisa M.'s Facebook page here
• Puerto Rican singer Lisa M. comes out lesbian on Facebook: "IM GAAYYYY!" (Autostraddle)

Previously:

• Rita Indiana comes out (March 23, 2010)
• Ricky Martin comes out (March 29, 2010)
• Guest post: Why Ricky Martin Matters (March 30, 2010)

Anyway, as I promised, something newer and hot from Lisa M., here is the video for "Hey Ladies"...

Ivy Queen is not a lesbian but raps like a man

Puerto Rican reggaeton superstar Ivy Queen is no stranger to rumors that she is a lesbian or a transgender woman.

Online commentary, most of which make usage of the gay and trans tag despectively, probably stems from the fact that the 36 year old singer is one of the few female performers in the ultra-macho reggaeton world or the fact that her looks match the tough lyrics of her music and are not nearly as pop-friendly as Jennifer Lopez (think of a Latina Wendy Williams).

The singer, who was a recipient of a GLAAD award earlier this year, has always embraced her gay fans and never let the homophobic banter detract from her appreciation.

Last week she addressed some of the rumors in an interview with Hoy, a Dominican Republic newspaper ("Ivy Queen: 'I think like a man, rap as one, but I am no lesbian'"). The paper asked her if she was aware of the rumors about her.

“I have heard everything," she said, "but, look, I had a matrimonial relationship of eleven years and carry one of two, which is evidence of my sexual orientation."

According to the paper, the singer says that she "thinks, negotiates and raps like a man" since she doesn't believe that thinking like a woman is not a good idea in her chosen business (oh oh). She also expressed an interest to have children in the future.

As for the awards and honors she has received in the past, she stated “I got tired of awards, I don't think they make me more or less of an artist" and added that she was more interested in her album and concert sales (appropriately, she was visiting the Dominican Republic on tour and promoting her latest CD "Live").

I tried to find a video clip of her great 2005 single "Cuéntale" to no avail. Instead you get a clip of her appearance in "El Show de Cristina" with a bevvy of hoochie-mama wannabees in the audience.

Yes. She is a favorite among drag performers at East Coast gay Latino bars.

Ben Smith: Daddy Yankee tried to endorse Obama before endorsing McCain

And, regarding the endorsement of John McCain by reggaeton star Daddy Yankee, how could things not get even funnier?

If you missed it: On Monday Republican presidential candidate John McCain made a special appearance at Central High School in Phoenix, AZ - where his wife Cindy graduated in 1972 - and brought out Daddy Yankee for a public endorsement in front of 120 cheering students.

That afternoon I translated an excerpt from "Latigazo" - just one of Daddy Yankee's many raunchy songs (in it, he describes being with a woman who enjoys being hit, slapped, whipped and punched in and out of bed and sings about asking her to kiss a good buddy of his) - and wondered about the stupidity of staging an endorsement by such a misogynist recording artist at a high-school!

For Daddy Yankee the endorsement was supposedly all about McCain's track record on immigration issues (never mind that in moving to the right he has dropped most of his pro-immigration stands) and a Latina.com article says this of Daddy Yankee: "When we asked if he had plans to meet with Democratic candidate Barack Obama, Yankee responded with a curt, 'No.'"

Curtness indeed! Today Ben Smith at Politico says this:

A Democratic Party source tells me a representative for Daddy Yankee approached Obama's Latino outreach staffers earlier this year about possibly endorsing Obama. But he didn't pass the vetting, and Obama's aides said they weren't interested in his support. So, apparently, he moved over to McCain.

So here is John McCain, cluelessly walking into what seems to be an attempt by Daddy Yankee to use the presidential race to get publicity for his sputtering career. Damn! Just who is vetting who at the McCain camp?

If this had been an Obama endorsement event Fox News and the right-wing radio chatterers would be going crazy with this. And, as silly as it may be, you do have to wonder just how seriously clueless the McCain campaign is.

UPDATES: Fox News pipes up! If only to say that Daddy Yankee is denying he ever approached the Obama camp (no mention of his songs' lyrics though).

Also, there is a Hispanic Ledareship Fund press release out saying that Daddy Yankee will be headlining a Fiesta Latina concert on the opening night of the Republican National Convention (Sept. 1).

In the meantime, recording artist Fat Joe tells MTV that Daddy Yankee is a sell-out.

FACEBOOK GROUP: By the way, there is now a Latinos who reject Daddy Yankee's endorsement of McCain Facebook Group.

SIDE-NOTE: Ben Smith's original post on Politico was titled "Obama rebuffed by Yankee Daddy" which he quickly changed to Daddy Yankee when someone pointed out his mistake which shows how little about Latino pop culture some of of the most read bloggers know out there. Then there's Wonkette who says: "It was confusing when Hispanic rapper guy Daddy Yankee endorsed John McCain in person the other day, because who is Daddy Yankee?" which is actually a common sentiment out there as well. If you haven't heard about Daddy Yankee, then he must be a nobody, right?

RELATED:

• Barack Obama didn't want Daddy Yankee's endorsement anyway (Guanabee)
• Not all Latinos support Abuelo Yankee (Reggaetronica)
  

Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee endorses John McCain

Castígala! [Punish her!]
Dale un latigazo! [Hit her with the whip!]
Ella se está buscando el fuetazo! [She's looking for a lashing!]
Castígala! [Punish her!]
Dale un latigazo! [Hit her with the whip!]
En la pista te voy a dar... [On the dance floor I will give you...]
Yo pal' de azotazos y palmetazos! [...a couple of beatings and slap her with the palm of my hand]

Just the opening salvo from reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee's hit "Latigazo" (video above). And that's as a prelude to singing about sharing the submissive girl with a friend and describing how she asks to be beaten-up again while having sex with him!

Yeah, I know. Pretty par-for-the-course when it comes to reggaeton. Thing is earlier today Mr. Daddy 'Let's-beat-up-that-girl-on-the-dance-floor" Yankee endorsed Republican presidential candidate John McCain in front of dozens of adoring, giggling and screaming teenage girls at a hush-hush event closed to the general public.

And guess what! A beaming McCain fully accepted the endorsement (see video below).

Not that we expect McCain to be a reaggaton fan or to even know Daddy Yankee (or what he sings about) but this is up there with McCain inardevertedly offering his wife Cindy McCain as a contestant for a topless beauty pageant at a biker's rally. Yikes!

By the way, Marisol has a different take on this endorsement even as we both agree that it might backfire on McCain:

Rather than addressing the social realties that reggaeton speaks to and represents, it remains easier for certain segments of the Latino/a community to dismiss reggaeton and the culture around it as an aberration of Latinidad. It's crazy because in a way this whole Daddy Yankee - McCain thing made me think about the way's in which Latinos/as are climbing over each other for a piece of that Americano Dream. At whose cost are Latinos/as representing themselves as idealized American citizens? (Excerpt from "Los Republicanos, pt. Deux" - Post Pomo Nuyorican Homo, August 25, 2008)

Update:

• Ben Smith: Daddy Yankee tried to endorse Obama before endorsing McCain (Aug. 27, 2008)

Related:

• Daddy Yankee Comes Out... As a Young Republican and for McCain (Rod2.0)
• McCain endorser blends reggaeton with 'gangsta rap' (Raw Story)
  
• Is a John McCain - Daddy Yankee ticket forthcoming? (Los Angeles Times)
  

It had to happen: Como se dice, como se llama (O-Bama, O-Bama)

It had to happen. From Amigos de Obama: "Como se dice? Como se llama?..." to a reggaeton swing...