Billboard Latin Music Week Will Bring Together Acts, Industry Folk, and Fans

Billboard Latin Music Week (BBLMW) has become a time-honored tradition for fans of Latin music across the U.S. Founded in 1989, the week has become a staple event, allowing fans, industry veterans, and musicians to meet and talk about the art and craft of making music. It will return October 14-18 at the Fillmore Miami Beach.

Over time, what started as an industry event has transformed into a weeklong event full of intimate interviews, insider panels, concerts, an awards show, and more. Countless Latin music legends have participated, including Mana, Juanes, Marc Anthony, Daddy Yankee, Paulina Rubio, and, most recently, Shakira.

When New Times sits down to chat with Leila Cobo, Billboard's chief content officer for Latin/español, she's still busy planning next month's events, which she says will be exciting for everyone.

"I think the most special thing is that every year, it gets a little bigger," Cobo shares. "And I'm not just saying that I don't want to sound like an artist saying every album I do is the best one, but the artist's presence is huge, and that's great. I think it's a very unique place to be able to go see artists in a completely different setting from where you usually see them. So they're talking, they're being very open. They talk about things they usually don't talk about."

This year's lineup is as star-studded as ever, boasting J Balvin, Peso Pluma, Alejandro Sanz, Thalia, Young Miko, Eslabon Armado, Gloria Estefan, Yandel, Danny Ocean, JOP of Fuerza Regida, and others.

Of them, J Balvin is hosting a showcase titled "Next Gen Reggaeton: An Evening Curated by J Balvin," where he will present a set of surprise guests and performances. In addition, he will participate in an intimate one-on-one Q&A with Leila. Balvin has previously taken part in BBLMW, appearing in panels alongside many reggaeton greats, but now he's returning three years later after dropping his latest album, Rayo.
"I've never had Balvin for a sit-down interview, and now he's coming to do a Q&A after, after not doing anything for three years and after having, you know, some controversy and stuff, so this is going to be like his first big public moment to sit down and chat," Cobo says. "He released his album, and his album is all about new artists — most of the guest artists in that album are new. So we thought it would be a really fun idea if he made a showcase with those artists."

Also returning this year is Peso Pluma, who participated in "The New Mexican Revolution" panel last year and is now set to host his own panel, "Nuevo Mexicano: Peso Pluma and Friends," which will be about Peso and some of Mexico's emerging talent.

Seemingly just a rising star during his appearance at BBLMW last year, Peso Pluma has quickly become the poster boy of the corridos and música regional mexicana for U.S. audiences. Some credit can be given to Billboard for introducing him to a wider audience and proof that you'll never know who else is waiting in the wings at BBLMW to become the next big superstar.

"It's a really big platform. It's Billboard's biggest event for one, and in terms of Latin music — yes, of course, you have other events: Premios Lo Nuestro, the Latin Grammys — this is really about bringing artists together for a week of conversations and putting them all in one place. There isn't another event like this, so it gets a lot of attention, and we give it a lot of attention in Billboard."

She also believes that the event's brand of authenticity and opportunities have made it one of the most important events in Latin music.

"I'm not paying them — they're not getting a speaker fee. They're coming. I'd like to think that they come because they want to talk about their art and themselves in a place that allows them to do that respectfully and intelligently. And I think the ones that grasp that are the ones that come again."
One panel that always gets some love is the annual women's panel, which has an impressive lineup every year. Last year's edition featured Nicki Nicole, Young Miko, Maria Becerra, Gale, and Kany Garcia.

"Kany Garcia's team called me and said, 'Listen, Kany would love to be in this panel.' And I'm like, 'Okay, but the panel is super stacked already, and Kany has done this panel before.' And they're like, 'No, this would be cool. She's wanted to meet Young Miko for a while.' They met at that panel. They knew of each other, of course, but they had never actually met. It turns out Young Miko was a huge fan of Kany's. They ended up doing a track together as a result of that panel, so that's also great when that happens."

This year's lineup will consist of Belinda, Bad Gyal, Danna, Mon Lafarte, and Zhamira Zambrano, all of whom are having good years.

Latin Music Week also has a history of hosting memorable Q&As with artists like Shakira, RBD, Karol G, Maluma, and Romeo Santos. This year is no different, with superstar Alejandro Sanz returning and the debut of Miami icon Gloria Estefan.

Cobo confesses that Estefan is somebody she's been trying to get to attend BBLMW for several years without success. "For the past four years, I've been reaching out to her, and she's always had a scheduling conflict. This year, they called me, and they said, 'You know, we think Gloria's going to be available on those dates.'"

Meanwhile, Sanz will return to the conference for the first time since his one and only appearance 15 years ago. Cobo notes that he'll likely encounter a much different BBLMW than he's used to. "When I had him, he was the Q&A that year because back then, when I first started, there was one Q&A with one artist, and everything else was business panels. Now it's all flipped, and it's all about artists more than business."

Billboard Latin Music Week. Monday, October 14, through Friday, October 18, at the Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; billboardlatinmusicweek.com. Tickets cost $150 to $650 via universe.com.