Joseph.
Usually I show up really happy and excited, but I am not feeling those feelings today.
I'm a little blue.
Wait, why is it because it's a super moon and lunar eclipse today?
Because I kind of feel that too.
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.
That inspire us. I mean we look up to.
Them, we love them, we hate them, we love to talk about them. I mean it is truly, it's been a journey.
It has and it's a labor of love.
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.
We do.
And today our season two journey is coming to an end.
But we are not doing all this recapping and season finale ng alone.
We have here one of the best because that is what we deserve and.
That is what we will always deliver to you.
Today with Us is a Tania Garcia.
I'm your host, Lillianavosquez.
And I'm Joseph Carrio and this is Becoming an Icon.
A weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on how today's most famous latinv stars have shaped pop culture.
And given the world some extra level.
Sit back and get comfortable.
Because we are going in the only way we know how with Buena's via with Us, when Visas and a.
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 features and has a specialization in Latin entertainment. So naturally, she is the perfect guest for our season finale.
Joseph, It's time. It's time.
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.
So Tanya, welcome to Becoming an Icon.
We are so excited to get into all of season two with you.
Welcome, welcome, welcome wagon.
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.
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?
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, 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.
Of these artists.
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, 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.
We actually prefer the drama.
Drama.
We live for the drama, like the morte the better.
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 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 to any of these specific artists, Like did one of them really shape your love and passion for music as you were growing up?
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 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 John Ceastian, for Penge for and Dahlia especially, I think for me because both of our names start with the thh.
That's that's already just too much perfect?
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.
You know that.
I mean, you guys are basically the same personally.
Yeah, Joseph, what about you?
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?
You know, learning a lot.
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 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.
You know.
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 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.
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, 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.
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.
I thought I knew everything.
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 does make them iconic because oftentimes, like Joseph said, it's not just the music, it's the person at the center of.
It all, right, totally. Now, one of the things.
That I feel like we always touch on is like what are.
These connections that all of these icons have?
And that's what's so fun to do and these kind of like season finale episodes to say, Okay, how are they connected?
Right?
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, 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.
Right, How is it?
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?
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 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 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.
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.
Right.
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.
Foot in the other.
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 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 same way but that duality, by that existence of growing up on the border between wherever that is.
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 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 guys heard of it?
Oh God, Oh, Joseph, please, I'm going to watch it. Joseph and listeners, y'all have to watch this documentary.
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 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.
We kind of like that.
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 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.
Yeah.
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.
Know what, so cool? I know.
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 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 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.
Be them.
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.
I come from.
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 right that I could effectively have birth, like I probably could have given birth.
To bestl Pluma. Let's be honest, Okay, thank you can be my kids.
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, 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.
But still feels so of the moment.
It's a really special time to be Latino and experiencing this explosion in music.
That's what I was going to tell you. So it's so crazy, like so Latin explosion. Whatever happened when it happened.
And that was a whitewashed Latin explosion that was Latino music for white people. Totally no listen, no sense to white people.
We love you.
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.
Yeah, it's it's so true.
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.
Right, So let's talk about the record labels, because if you listen.
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.
Budget the way I just really laughed, I can't even feel.
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?
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 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 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 comes down to streaming.
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.
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 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 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.
Yeah, And I think, you know, to that point.
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 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.
You know, I think about all.
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.
And you used to have to make those deals.
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 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?
Oh that's such a good question, oh proressure.
Yeah, you know, it could be a hybrid.
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.
Yes, thank you, thank you.
That that part is just something that needs to be really like, it's in music.
It's here, it's in our charts. If it's in our charts, it's just music, yes.
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 put out a song with Pcano that if you guys I haven't heard.
It, you should hear it because it's I know it's STV, but I don't know this song.
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.
I'm telling you, bitch, I'm telling you, Texas is a spot.
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.
Eye Wow, Chaid not what I expected.
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.
I'm going to listen to it right now as I get ready to go to Happy Hour.
Wait, hold on, I'm the Elder is like completely out of the loop.
What's the song called.
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
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.
It's a really good time to have a music podcast.
I would say that, now, can I ask you what could be considered a controversial question?
Do it ready, let's go.
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 because we are a global genre, right.
People consume this music from all.
Over the world, like Australia, the Philippine, Japan.
How would you feel.
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, 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.
A rapper from like the South, that's a different type of rap.
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 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, I mean, you could literally be anywhere and like Satza comes on and everybody in the bar is happy.
I don't care where you are.
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?
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.
Ex me Casual.
I was talking to my girl, car Got and I were on the phone, I'm texting, but.
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 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, of course we'll welcome that.
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.
So yeah, I'm here for the Korean cumbias whatever.
Oh my god, can you imagine a K pop K band with down corridos and cumbias?
I mean lots of dancing.
Right, lots of choreo, lots of really good choreo totally, and some major looks and some major looks.
All right.
I want to get to some games because this is kind of one of my favorite parts of wrapping up the season.
We want to know how well you know are icons? Are you guys ready ready?
All right?
I'm going to read you guys a question, you give me the answer. Is it a B or C? All right?
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.
I would say the second one, I think.
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.
She died.
Yeah, well obviously.
Wait, so wow, I thought I was stuck between now and volverat I feel like those.
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?
Really?
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.
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.
Oh gosh, that's a lot of people, though.
I wonder if you do that, Joseph, you don't have any people? What stadium? What stadium holds one fifty?
Bitch? You said the Houston Livestock Show. That's a lot of space. That's a ranch.
It's like, that's a lot of cowboys.
That's whatever. They one hundred and fifty.
Okay, for the sake of competition, I'll do seventy five.
Damn she is two for two. Seventy five.
Hate playing. This is the worst game ever.
Okay, okay, okay, okay. I feel like Joseph this one. I feel like I feel like you can.
Get this one. Okay ready.
Carlos Santana obviously we know him for his insane skills on the guitar, But what was the first.
Instrument that Carlos Sentana ever played?
Was it the guitar, the violin or the baffle sextel?
Oh?
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.
I just want to say, guitar.
I know that's like the obvious anthea, I'm so obvious, but it might be.
But it might beat Danya big guitars.
But it might beat Danya. Fall for him.
Do that one. I'll do the bajo sexto and you do the guitar.
I'll do guitar and you do baj.
See this is why we never listened to Joseph.
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.
Sorry, guys, the answer is be the violin.
No, he really was the violin. Yes, he does these games. They're very sneaky.
I don't know these damn producers, these damn producers.
Is okay?
All right?
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 baby Selena, like.
Okay, not the Queen Selina.
Yes, yeah, Quequeen Queen, Queen la Reina.
Okay, Lorena had a collection of over five hundred Faberge eggs.
What that's very nightties.
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.
Oh my god. But I feel like that's so random that it has to be true.
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.
Like ever, I feel like it's more likely that Abraham had a collection of Faberge eggs and.
Tried to pass it on to Selena.
But wait, is it true?
Okay, well what do we say? We say it's true? We say true. I think it's true. Oh true, Okay, ready, fuck.
It's true.
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.
All five hundred eggs are in there.
Wait, should we take a class trip.
We're going to Corpus. Pack it up, Donya, let's go all right? Ready?
True or false? Celia Cruz is now on the back of a US quarter.
I know the answer to this, me too.
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 the last four years, then it's true.
There is is there a date that you well, no, Well, here's the thing I'll tell you because I know the answer.
It's true.
Yes, it's true. I also I remember I wrote about it for work, so it's true.
Oh there you go.
Then, okay.
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, 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.
Okay, Okay, told time, me go get my pen and paper.
Oh yeah.
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.
Like we learn so much from these. Joseph and I walk away.
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.
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 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.
Right, Sipe, Gusta scoochad legends like Willi Colon and Wangabiel.
Check out that's tough.
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.
There's not There's Mark Anthony. Where is Mark Anthony?
No, we need Mark Anthony Junior.
We need like the bestl Bluma version of Mark Anthony.
That would be so cute. He's so.
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 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.
Oh you know, I love to throw that ass back.
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?
What else are you going to? Like give us something else?
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.
Oh he's Carol GE's boyfriend.
Yes with me?
Are we still girl? Are we really?
I don't know. I just I was trained to stay allegedly after like everything, so here I am.
I mean I was there.
She was like celebrating his birthday on stage when we were like in Pasadena at.
The Rose Bowl.
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.
So Fake Yeah.
Has like the best tagotone bangers. I think he's like at the top of his game for sure. Checkout faed.
Well here's the thing.
One day we'll take a wild field trip to an underground federal party and Danya is leading the charge.
Okay, that's what we're gonna do.
Now.
I have to say thank you so much for being here for our season finale.
We have loved talking with you, Tanya.
Please share with our listeners where can we find you and what are you working on right now?
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.
So lucky to have you with us, and.
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.
Everywhere it's t y E w R I T E perfect.
We are quickly following, follow like and share everybody follow like.
Share, Monetize. I always add monetize.
It's very important, very important. Well, it's been lovely to meet you.
Thank you so much for sharing all of that knowledge, and I will see you at that underground.
But party period. Bye hie, guys, thank you.
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.
It feels so weird. What do you see?
You know?
It's so interesting.
I feel like when we start each season, I feel like the world.
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.
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, 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.
Just with each other, but with you, guys, our listeners.
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 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.
Half the time the time, we're learning just like you are.
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, please share it with a friend and we'll see you guys soon.
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.
It's always going to be happening.
So thank you for bringing me along this amazing journey and we'll see if season three happens.
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.
And I'm at Joseph Garrio that's c A R R I L l O on Instagram.
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.