On Oct. 5, the University’s Hispanic-Latino Association hosted a music panel featuring a virtual discussion with Latin artist Becky G on her newest album, “Esquinas.” The event was held in the Intercultural Diversity Center in the Student Center and featured an open dialogue about Latin music, collaborations and Becky G’s vision behind her latest release.
The event was a joint effort between the HLA and Sony Music. Sony Music funded the event and provided food from Antojitos Izcalli, an authentic family-owned Mexican restaurant in Tuscaloosa. Under the Sony Music brand, Sony Music Latin represents many artists, including Becky G, Enrique Iglesias, Shakira and more while providing news, merch and information about artists signed to the label on its website.
The intimate event had a limited attendance of 25 people and was announced on HLA’s Instagram, followed by an Instagram Live where the link to sign up was released. The Q&A portion of the event was held on Zoom and featured seven other schools presenting their questions to Becky G about her inspirations, pre-show rituals and experiences in the music scene.
Hailey Rodriguez, a junior majoring in psychology and Spanish, shared how exciting the event sounded and has had continuous support for Becky G since the beginning of her career.
“I’ve been listening to Becky G since everyone can remember when she came out on Radio Disney,” Rodriguez said. “Just knowing that I have been listening to her for so long, and we had the chance to talk to her is so cool.”
Early in her career, Becky G was featured on Disney’s Next Big Thing singing contest, where many fans got to know her 2013 EP “Play It Again” and her 2014 release, “Shower.” On Sept. 28, she released “Esquinas,” a personal album that features Mexican music and symbolizes her journey with her identity.
During the Q&A portion, Becky G shared details on her creative process and what the album means to her.
“Originally I thought I was going to go very traditional with the album, but I was like, that doesn’t feel very true to my 200% experience” she said. “I am proud to be from Inglewood, but I’m also proud to be Mexican.”
Becky G mentioned that her experiences as Mexican American and the “in-between is where I think the magic really lied for this album.”
Nataly Aguilar-Nieto, a junior majoring in economics, also shared the impact of the event and Becky G’s “200 percenter” representation for the Latin American community as well as those outside of it.
“She is a woman that has done tremendous things with her career, not only with the Spanish music side of the industry but also the English,” Aguilar-Nieto said. “It identifies with a lot of people who are in the U.S. and first-generation, Mexican American, Columbian American, anything.”
The HLA aims to unite the Hispanic-Latino community at the University by providing representation and noticing student issues, giving members an “inclusive, positive, and engaging experience,” according to its website. Through its interactive events, HLA helps members form new relationships and share their Latino culture.
