Leila Cobo to Release New Book Offering Inside Look into the Latin Music Industry

Leila Cobo is doing some decoding…

The Colombian journalist/writer, a vice president at Billboard, will release a new book next year with Penguin Random House titled Decoding Latino: The Real Story of Latin Music.

Leila Cobo

The book will offer an insider’s view into the Latin music industry, tracking the stories behind 15 of the biggest hits of the past 50 years featuring some of the biggest names in music, including Emilioand Gloria EstefanEnrique IglesiasJ Balvinand Luis Fonsi, among others. 

“Bringing to life these stories and these songs is an honor and a pleasure,” said Cobo, who is also a classically trained pianist. “We’ve had so much fun reliving the making of these landmark songs.”

Decoding Latino will also explore areas such as the birth of Salsa, which was bred on the streets of Spanish Harlem, as well as Puerto Rican reggaetonand the bilingual chart-toppers making history. 

It will be published in English and Spanish, and will also be available as an audio book. 

Cobo, who has previously written four books in addition to co-writing the 2017 memoir Una Vida with recording artist Ednita Nazario, is Billboard‘s chief Latin music expert, writer and editor who has secured some of the magazine’s most iconic cover stories highlighting names like pop star Jennifer Lopez, urban king Ozuna and the recent cover story featuring Spain’s flamenco-inspired hip-hip artist Rosalía, who this month was celebrated at Billboard’s 14th annual Women in Music event for her contributions to female empowerment.

Previously, Cobo published two novels with Grand Central Publishing/Hatchette Book Group, which were translated to German, Italian and have won multiple awards. The Second Time We Met, Cobo’s 2012 novel, won the Latino Book Award for best popular fiction and was chosen as one of the top summer reads by MSN and Latina

Cobo’s biography on the late Jenni Rivera (Penguin Random House) stayed on the U.S. top 10 list of most-sold books in Spanish for more than 25 consecutive weeks. The book on the Diva of Banda music was named a top-read by several publications, including People en Español.

Reykon to Speak at This Year’s Latino Show Conference and Awards in Colombia

Reykonis ready for a South American showcase…

The 32-year-old Colombian reggaeton singer will take part in the 2019 Latino Show Conference and Awards taking place this week in Bogota, Colombia.

Reykon

Reykon, known for hits like “El Chisme” and “Latina” featuring Maluma, will be present during the Week of Latin Musicin Colombia to talk about his experience and how he managed to position himself in the music industry. 

Dubbed as the most important promotion platform for Latin music in the South American country, according to an official statement, Latino Show Conference and Awards offers artists, promoters, music executives, record labels, and producers a great opportunity for networking. 

Besides Reykon, music acts who will attend the event include Chocquibtown, Rio Roma, Lupillo Rivera, and Shaila Durcal to name a few. 

The 2019 Latino Show Conference and Awards will take place on October 8, 9, and 10 at the Hotel Grand Hyatt Bogota in Colombia.

Thalia’s “Valiente” Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Pop Albums Chart

It’s Lucky No. 7 for Thalia

The 47-year-old Mexican singer’s latest album Valiente debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Pop Albums chart.

Thalia

Thalia’s 14th studio album, Valiente, released via Sony Music Latin on November 9, starts with a little over 2,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending November 15. Of that sum, 2,000 were in traditional album sales, while the remaining can be attributed to streaming equivalent album units and track equivalent album units.

Valiente is Thalia’s seventh chart leader and her first in more than two years. She’s now tied with Shakira for the most No. 1s on the Latin Pop Albums chart among women.

Thalia last reigned atop the tally with Latina (May 28, 2016), which led for two consecutive weeks.

The set has yielded one charting title on the Hot Latin Songs tally, which blends airplay, digital sales, and streaming activity: “No Me Acuerdo” with Natti Natasha ranked in the top 20 for ten weeks (No. 14 peak, September 22).

Concurrently, Valiente debuts at No. 7 on the Top Latin Albums and No. 1 on the Latin Album Sales charts.

 

Thalia Releasing New Single “No Me Acuerdo,” Featuring Natti Natasha

Thalía is returning to the scene with new music…

Two years after releasing her album Latina, the 46-year-old Mexican singer/actress is getting ready to release her latest track called, “No Me Acuerdo,” featuring Natti Natasha.

Thalia

The forthcoming single and music video, slated to premiere on Friday, fuses the best of both worlds: Thalía’s distinctive pop sound with Natti’s catchy reggaeton vibe.

“No Me Acuerdo” tells the story of a woman who goes out partying and, the next morning, can’t remember what she did the night before. Her boyfriend accuses her of fooling around, but she says, “I can’t remember, so it didn’t happen.”

Thalia & Natti Natasha

“The song is very relatable,” says Thalia. “There’s no one, I believe, who hasn’t had a blackout. We’ve all been through it.”

The lyrics, she says, carry an empowering message for women. “This song is a form of embracing yourself, respecting yourself, and not letting anyone make you feel bad for what you did or didn’t do.”

“The moment I heard the song I couldn’t believe it,” she continued. “I went inside my home studio and recorded it. The more I heard it when it was finished, the more I was convinced that I had to record it with a strong woman who says things as they are, and the only person who came to mind was Natti.”

Rousseff: The World’s Most Powerful Latina

For the forth straight year, Dilma Rousseff has managed to retain her title as the most powerful Latina in the world.

Dilma Rousseff

The 66-year-old Brazilian president—the first woman ever to hold that office—ranks No. 4 on Forbes’ recently released The World’s Most Powerful Women 2014 list.

It’s the magazine’s definitive annual guide to the extraordinary female icons and leaders, groundbreakers and ceiling crashers who command the world stage.

Dilma-Rousseff

Rousseff, who dropped two spots from her No. 2 rank in 2013, is heralded as “one of the world’s most powerful heads of state.” She’s more than halfway through her term as president of Brazil, the world’s seventh-largest national economy with a GDP of nearly $2.4 trillion. The country is hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016.

Rousseff criticized the U.S. for spying during her opening speech at the UN General Assembly this fall and cancelled a state visit over reports that the National Security Agency was intercepting her emails.

Mary Barra

Mary Barra, the first woman to head General Motors, moves up 28 spots from last year’s list to come in No. 7 in 2014.

As the highest-ranking woman at GM, the 52-year-old Latina executive has played a vital role in the company’s restoration, successfully overseeing an array of recent vehicle introductions. She has received high-level recognitions for her contributions to her field, including being named the No. 1 most powerful woman in the automotive industry by Fortune and among the “50 Latinas Who Rock Fortune 500 Companies” by Latina magazine.

Barra took the reins of GM in January and in April was summoned to appear in front of the U.S. Congress to answer for faulty ignition switches linked to 13 deaths, saying “I am deeply sorry.” But the 33-year veteran, who began at the company at 18 while working toward an electrical engineering degree, remained poised and confident under fire. Her leadership, she said, will bring about a “new GM” able to regain customer trust.

Maria das Graças Silva Foster

Maria das Graças Silva Foster, the CEO of Brazil’s state-controlled oil company Petrobras-Petróleo Brasil, moves up two spots to come in at No. 16 this year.

The 60-year-old Brazilianbusiness executive escaped a childhood in a favela on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro to become a chemical engineer and later the first female CEO of Petrobras. After 30 years with the company, she has the experience and connections (including Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff) to make running a company with assets exceeding $100 billion work. The company posted $141 billion in sales and it continues to anchor Brazil’s economy as it invests in vast underwater oil field exploration off the nation’s coast.

cristina-fernandez-de-kirchner_729

The next Latina on the list: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who rises from No. 26 in 2013 to No. 19 this year.

The 61-year-old Argentinean president, who reigns over a country with the world’s highest inflation rates, is still trying to make amends with global creditors after the $95 billion default on its foreign debt in 2002. And it’s working: this year marks the first time Argentina has received loans from international creditors since then. The offers, including talk of $1 billion from Goldman Sachs, follows a $500 million settlement with five foreign companies. Kirchner legalized same-sex marriage in 2010, and in April announced she’ll be godmother to a lesbian couple’s child; they made the ask on Facebook.

Here’s a look at the other Latinas on the list…

No. 25 Michelle Bachelet, President, Chile
No. 32 Sofia Vergara, Actress
No. 58 Shakira Mebarak, Singer
No. 89 Gisele Bundchen, Supermodel

Click here to see the complete list of honorees.