As Latinx Heritage Month pumps up the volume this week, Spotify is amplifying the diverse sounds and rich stories of Latin culture via its “Lo Nuestro es Arte” (“What’s Ours is Art “) campaign, which aims to celebrate and affirm Latin culture and its singular creators throughout the global Latin diaspora (Latinidad) as invaluable art and creatives. The audio platform’s wide-spanning initiative encompasses multimedia on- and off-platform touchpoints spanning music and playlists, film and video, podcasts and visual arts. Introduced at the beginning of the annual celebration in mid-September, the project spotlights the fast-rising Latin artists and podcast creators spearheading those spaces as well as the icons who paved the way before them.
At the core of Spotify’s campaign is the Latinx Heritage Month hub, an audio content destination where music-lovers will discover an endless treasure-trove of specially curated, multi-genre playlists exploring the past, present and future of Latin music throughout the decades. The playlist collections, which include mixed-media music and podcast playlists, highlight the expansive styles and multiculturalism of Latin culture as well as the visionary creators and storytellers pushing the culture forward.
The Sounds of LatinX collection features the hottest tracks and coolest artists defining Latin music today. LatinX Forever stacks up classic hip-hop, reggaeton and pop hits from Fat Joe, Shakira, Pitbull and Elvis Crespo, while Mixto is a mezcla (mix) of Latin indie, Latin R&B and everything in between from next-gen artists like Omar Apollo and Nathy Peluso. Reminding listeners that girls truly run the world, fem. puts the new generation of women artists at centerstage, with tracks from Jenn Morel, Empress Of and Tatiana Hazel.
The Future of Latin collection passes the mic to the future-forward artists pushing the boundaries of Latin music as well as the emerging genres bubbling up across the global Latin underground. Regional Mexican Rising features tracks from the new school of artists evolving the exploding regional Mexican music scene, including Natanael Cano, Junior H and LDNE, while Tropical Rising explores the colorful world of tropical, with tracks from Daniela Darcourt, Tito Nieves and Milena Dominique. Serving as deep dives into the Latin genres to know now, these playlists also introduce new voices in Latin pop, urbano/Latin urban and Latin indie.
Elsewhere, the Beyond the Music playlist collection brings to the fore the issues impacting marginalized communities and amplifies the artists advocating for immigrant, Afro-Latin, indigenous and LGBTQ+ people. Highlights include Orgullo Afro-Latino, which celebrates Black lives and Afro-Latin artists, and Raíces Indígenas, which features Latin artists like Lila Downs and Sara Curruchich honoring their indigenous roots.
The Podcasts We Love collection uncovers some of the top podcasts and storytellers that are sharing the latest Latin stories and dissecting the pressing social and cultural issues affecting the international Latin community today.
The Latinx & Proud playlist is where listeners can find interesting conversations and unique cultural commentary from some of the leading and independent creators in podcasting every month. Sound Stories: Reggaeton collects a series of stories and podcast episodes, including episodes from J Balvin’s Spotify original podcast series Made in Medellín, tracking the history and meteoric rise of reggaeton as a worldwide genre and groundbreaking cultural phenomenon.
In California Love, author and former New York Times writer Walter Thompson-Hernández presents an audio love letter to his Los Angeles hometown as told through his personal experiences and the stories coloring his surrounding communities. Con Todo: Brown Love, an offshoot of the Netflix series Gentefied, digs deep into the complexities of the U.S. Latin experience via conversations with Latin actors and media personalities discussing issues surrounding machismo, Afro-Latinidad, self-care and more.
Beyond the music, the “Lo Nuestro es Arte” campaign also includes multiple specially commissioned art pieces, videos and films. Spotify first rolled out the initiative last month (Sept. 21) with the launch of its anthem video, which shows artists, podcasters and special guests, including Anthony Ramos, Prince Royce, Kali Uchis, Jenn Morel, and Walter Thompson-Hernández, declaring their work, culture and voices as art.
Spotify also unveiled a mini-film series exploring the bicultural Latin experience in the U.S. Available to watch on Spotify’s Instagram page all month long, the series features stories revolving around music and podcasts and their intersectionalities with art as told by today’s leading Latin artists and podcast stars, including Myke Towers, Prince Royce and others.
To reinforce the conversation of Latin art as an essential art form, Spotify has commissioned artworks from five diverse Latin visual artists who created exclusive art pieces inspired by different genres and podcasts: Orly Anan, Cristina Martinez, Luisa Salas, Pedro Nekoi and D’Ana Nunez. As key components to be used throughout the campaign, the artworks, which will feature influential artists like Romeo Santos, Helado Negro, Ivy Queen and Natanael Cano, can be seen across playlist covers, social media activations and eye-catching billboards in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
Head to Spotify to explore the expansive playlists and podcasts on the Latinx Heritage Month hub and check out the “Lo Nuestro es Arte” experience in full.