From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week:
Yandel’s sweet surprise to his wife
This week, Yandel surprised his wife, Ester Cielo, for her birthday, showering the house with balloons and a mariachi group serenading her in the backyard. “My love, today on this very special day I ask God with all my soul to give you great health and we have many more years to live the happiness that our love gives us. Happy Birthday,” he captioned the Instagram video.
On her account, Ester thanked Yandel for his sweet gesture, saying she’s blessed to be celebrating 22 birthdays by his side. “What we are is much more than what the world can see, it is a love formed with the very hands of God,” she wrote.
Chiquis & Lorenzo celebrate their wedding anniversary
June 29 marked Chiquis Rivera and Lorenzo Mendez’s one year wedding anniversary. Although the couple is currently taking a break, as previously announced by Lorenzo, the two artists did not hesitate to celebrate their special day and love they have for each other despite the obstacles.
“6-29-2019 marks the day God gave me the blessing of being a bride,” Chiquis expressed. “Today, a year later, I’m much wiser, stronger, and full of love. Thank you! May your will continue to be done in my life. In YOU I trust.” Mendez, who returned to social media after taking a couple of weeks to reconnect with himself, wrote: “Though we are at a pause, my heart will forever keep beating for you and will always keep choosing you as it did a year ago.” See both posts below.
Mexico’s plan to restore the entertainment scene
Amid the global pandemic, various arenas and venues in Mexico are ready to open their doors again but with a new game plan. With the mission of restoring the entertainment industry and the economy in the country, Pepsi Center WTC, Conjunto Santander de Artes Escénicas, Foro Didi and BlackBox unveiled a project called “Reactivación del Entretenimiento y Música en México (REMM),” offering a series of virtual concerts.
REMM will give artists in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tijuana the opportunity to use these venues to give fans a high-quality Livestream concert while following the proper sanitation measures. Kicking off July 15 by Roger González, the digital concert series has a star-studded lineup that includes concerts by Samo, Christopher Uckermann, Gondwana and Pablo Montero, to name a few.
Ticket codes for the live streams will range from about $3 to $7 and sold via Eticket. A percentage of the sales will be deposited in the Asociación Civil Fondo Música México, which will be in charge of managing and distributing donations to musicians and professionals nationwide.
Danny Ocean drops new “Dime Tu” video
Danny Ocean kicks off July with the vertical video of his track “Dime Tu,” released in the fall of 2019. In the new clip, Ocean is seen leading a group of friends, all in costumes, as they ride around the countryside on electric scooters. “I want you to know that Nuno Gomes never liked this video,” he joked of the Venezuelan director who’s behind the original music video. “Thanks to everyone for letting me do my crazy ideas. It was an incredible day.”
Combining bolero, bachata, and light EDM melodies, the heartfelt bop flaunts Ocean’s romantic side. “And tell me, tell me who you will kiss/ When the sun falls from the sky/ And slides through your hair, baby, tell me/ And tell me, tell me who you will kiss/ I choose you.”
“Dime Tu” was inspired by the moment you overcome adversity and feel extreme happiness. According to an official statement, the track was “born mostly from the illusion of the day when his native country, Venezuela, overcomes the humanitarian crisis that it currently faces.”
J Balvin celebrates 1 year of Oasis
Meanwhile, J Balvin did not hold back from celebrating one year since the release of Oasis, his first-ever collaborative album with Bad Bunny. Though Bunny is absent from social media, Balvin asked fans on Instagram to share their favorite song.
Oasis, released on June 28, 2019, via Universal Music Latin, is an eight-track set where the two artists blend their individual flow, essence, and roots, bringing to life an album filled with old-school perreo, sensual traps, and global reggaeton fusions. On the Billboard charts, the album bowed at No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart and earned both artists their first top 10 on the Billboard 200, where it entered at No. 9.
