Guatever North by Northwestern

Episode Notes
[“Colombia, Mi Encanto,” from Encanto]
Maria & Natalia: Hello! Welcome to Guatever.
Maria: And Happy New Year.
Natalia: Welcome to 2022.
Maria: I’m Maria Caamaño.
Natalia: And I’m Natalia Camino.
Maria: And today we are talking about Disney’s Encanto.
Natalia: We know that we usually only talk about music. But overall, we think this movie is just really important for the Latino community. And we want to talk about it.
Maria: Also, the songs are really good. 
Natalia: Yes, also, the songs are really good. 
Maria: So first up, let’s discuss Encanto. For those of you who do not know, Encanto is a movie released by Disney. It takes place in Colombia. It’s one of the – possibly the third – Latino household [movie] with Kuzco from Emperor’s New Groove being the first and Coco being the second.
Natalia: Yes, even though like Coco for me, obviously, it was a very important movie because it was one of the first times I could actually see my culture or my traditions represented. And like, it all felt very familiar for me. Obviously, like…
Maria: That is not the complete, like… 
Maria & Natalia: Latino experience. 
Natalia: Yeah. And so I think it’s really cool that Disney is just expanding. 
Maria: It’s also nice to see a movie that just represents another Latin American country, but also in a sense… 
Natalia: …represents all Latinos. 
Maria: Yeah, it’s like a win for all Latinos, because I feel like the styles of some of the songs are representative of also different styles of music that all Latinos enjoy like Salsa…
Natalia: And like Cumbia.
Maria: Yeah, and like Latin rock. But yes. 
Natalia: Yeah, I think also because something – we’ll get more into this later – but something that Encanto does well is showcase…
Maria: The immigrant experience in Latin America.
Natalia: Yeah. Because there’s not just immigrants coming into the US. There’s also people, as Encanto showcases, that have to leave either their hometown and go into another area of that country for political reasons or any other type of reason. 
Maria: Well, yeah, cause in Encanto they never really say. Yeah, we’re gonna try and not spoil for anyone, also. So if you haven’t seen it, do not worry. But you will understand the main idea.
Natalia: But also go watch it!
Maria: It’s so good. It is so good. It’s such a good movie. I think that everyone should watch it. Like, just because I think that it does a really good job in representing not only like the immigrant experience, but – me and Nat talked about this – so it shows a lot of the fact that in Latin America, there’s not really a racial monolith. 
Natalia: It’s a mixture of various races. And I think this is important because there’s usually just this one Latino stereotype or this one Latina stereotype.
Maria: I think that it does a good job because that’s the reality. There’s so much racial diversity in Latin America. So it does a really good job of also showcasing that I think, which is nice to see for once. 
Natalia: And I think it’s important. 
Maria: Yeah. Let's move on to the songs in the soundtrack. And we’re gonna start with “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”.
[“We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” from Encanto]
Maria: So this is my personal favorite of the film. I think it is so fun and it finally showcases Pepa’s side of the family – like Pepa and Félix’s side of the family. 
Natalia: Because like throughout the movie you don't really understand their dynamic. 
Maria: Yeah, but also like you don’t really get to see like Camilo or Dolores really until that point. Their voices are amazing. Like Dolores’ part is so cool. And then Camilo’s part – the raspiness of this man’s voice. I would have loved to have them have their own songs because they killed it so much in this song. But this is also the song that went viral on TikTok. Like if you haven’t heard of this song, honestly, don’t know what t

Episode Notes
[“MALAMENTE,” by Rosalía]
Maria & Natalia: Hi! 
Natalia: Welcome to “Guatever.”
Maria: I'm Maria Caamaño. 
Natalia: And I'm Natalia Camino.
Maria: And today we are talking about something that's…
Natalia: A little controversial.
Maria: A little bit spicy!
Natalia: But we have very strong opinions.
Maria: Yes, very...I think strong is the right word.
Natalia: Right? Look at me with my adjectives. 
Maria: This has been kind of like...honestly, I think that it's received enough attention, but I…
Natalia: It still doesn’t have a lot of attention. 
Maria: Yeah, exactly. So, if y'all didn't know, on September 12th of this year, the VMAs took place. And one of the categories that was in there is “Best Latin Song”. So, the nominees for this category were Shakira and the Black Eyed Peas’ “Girl Like Me,” Maluma’s “Hawái,” Karol G’s “Bichota,” J. Balvin, Dua Lipa, Bad Bunny, and Tainy’s “Un Dia,” and Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez’s “Dákiti.” And of course…
Natalia and Maria: Billie Eilish and Rosalía.
Maria: For, I don't even know the song. 
Natalia: I don't even know the song 
Maria: Literally. For “Lo Vas A Olvidar.”
Natalia: And so what's interesting about this predicament in a sense is that, keep in mind this is the best Latin song...
Maria: Yes. 
Natalia: And one of the song nominations includes no Latin artists.
Maria: Literally. So naturally, that was the song that won.
Natalia: Yes. I think...So we want to dive deeper into Rosalía and kind of like what she represents within the Latin music industry of the appropriation of Latin culture by Spanish. And so I think it's gotten to the point where we mentioned Rosalía and we’re...like some of our friends were confused. 
Maria: No, yeah, literally.
Natalia: Because they're like, “Oh, I thought she was Latina.” And we're like, “No, like, she's not.”
Maria: She's really not. 
Natalia: She's from Spain, which makes her Hispanic, but not Latina. 
Maria: Exactly. 
Natalia: But she has appropriated the culture to a certain point... 
Maria: That’s just unacceptable. Honestly, me and Nat have – we've tried to record this episode probably like four times. 
Natalia: Yeah. 
Maria: And honestly, it never sat right with us because we thought, “Oh, people are gonna think that we're trying to cancel her...that we're trying to make it like a huge thing.” It's really not.
Natalia: We just want to bring awareness to this.
Maria: And like, have accountability. Because honestly, like, I love her music. 
Natalia: No, like “MALAMENTE” was one of my most listened to albums. If you haven't listened to it...
Maria: It's beautiful. 
Natalia: It's beautiful. 
Maria: But enjoying an artist’s music does not excuse their unacceptable behavior. 
Natalia: And we felt like we could talk about this because many times like some publications or like certain people, either one, shouldn't be talking and giving their opinion about this, based on their own identity. Or two, don't understand the complexity of it fully.
Maria: Exactly. So we'll break it down a little bit. As Nat said, Rosalía was born in Barcelona, which is in Spain – if you did not know. Which essentially makes her Hispanic. A lot of people don't understand the difference between Hispanic and Latinx. So Hispanic means Spanish speaking. So it essentially includes Spain and any other Spanish speaking country, even if it's not in Latin America.
Natalia: And then in regards to Latinx or Latiné or Latino/Latina – that's an entire other argument and story – but that includes Latin American countries, including countries that don't speak Spanish, such as Brazil, Haiti. 
Maria: Yeah. 
Natalia: There are a few others. But yeah, that's the distinct difference. 
Maria: Yes. And so I think that a lot of the time people have...they don't understand the difference between it and I especially think that we've been seeing that with her getting so man

Episode Notes
[This episode was recorded during Latinx Heritage Month back in the month of October.]
[“Volví,” by Aventura and Bad Bunny]
Maria & Natalia: Hi! Welcome to “Guatever.” 
Maria: A year later!
Natalia: I'm Natalia Camino.
Maria: And I'm Maria Caamaño.
Natalia: And we're back.
Maria: Yes, after a year.
Natalia: This is going to be our re-introduction...
Maria: Rebranding!
Natalia: Rebrand! Rebrand! Season Two.
Maria: Yes, we are back. So, life update. Um...
Natalia: We've changed a lot since the last release of an episode. 
Maria: Yeah. And, um, I mean, me and Nat went through COVID. We went through living together again, but this time it felt like prison?
Natalia: For context...So last year, Maria and I were in a dorm together, but because of COVID that is where we slept…
Maria: We had breakfast. We had classes. We had lunch...everything.
Natalia: We had dance class in there. Keep in mind, this is in the same confinement. And we saw a total of two other people that entire six month period.
Maria: I still don't know how 1) we found things to talk about.
Natalia: We always found things to talk about. For six months. 
Maria: I don't know how.
Natalia: Nothing was happening in our lives.
Maria: Literally nothing. Nothing. And also, I don't know how Nat and I just stayed friends. Truly a miracle because I don't think anyone could go through that and, like, not drive each other crazy.
Natalia: This can be seen in the increased amount of divorce rates during the pandemic.
Maria: I-What? 
Natalia: Did you not know that?
Maria: Yes!
Natalia: But we didn't get divorced. 
Maria: Okay.
Natalia: We did not break up. But yes, Maria and I did not break up. We're still roommates. We’re still friends.
Maria: Yes, very much. So for kind of like the start, or kind of like our reintroduction, we wanted to do a special edition episode for Latinx Heritage Month.
Natalia: Yeah. In case you didn't know Hispanic Heritage Month starts on September 15th. And this date is significant because it's the independence of many countries in Latin America, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Then, on the 16th, Mexico and Chile celebrate their Independence Day. 
Maria: Yes. 
Natalia: And I made Maria watch El Grito with me. 
Maria: Yes. 
Natalia: On the eve of the 16th.
Maria: But yeah, because we wanted to get into Latinx Heritage Month, me and Natalia were talking about this. And in the nature of how our podcast started, whenever she and I start talking about something continuously, we just decide to set the microphone on and start talking. So...
Natalia: This is an ongoing debate. 
Maria: Yes, it has been going on since freshman year. We've had fights. We've threatened each other with physical fights over this. Do you remember that? 
Natalia: Um, Maria brings this up when we meet other Latinos, and she's like, “I need to ask.” 
Maria: Yeah. 
Natalia: It's for scientific research.
Maria: So the big question today is: is it frijoles or habichuelas?
Natalia: Both translate to “beans” in English. 
Maria: Oh, yeah. 
Natalia: For our non-Spanish speakers out there. 
Maria: Yes. 
Natalia: We're talking about the word for beans.
Maria: Yes. I feel like beans is like the...I guess like if you were to say the “Latino food” that like all of the countries share. I feel like it has to be beans, right?
Natalia: It’s rice and beans. 
Maria: Yes. 
Natalia: Both very good.
Maria: I love it. So much. So much. I miss it so much.
Natalia: You just need to learn how to cook it. 
Maria: STOP!
Natalia: They sell beans here. And rice!
Maria: I know! But I'm terrible at cooking.
Natalia: I know. You're learning, though. 
Maria: But um, essentially…
Natalia: Maria wanted to introduce this debate and have us debate it on air, per se. Is that the correct term? 
Maria: Yes. 
Natalia: Okay.
Maria: It's not because of that. It's because I don't think that there is anything more Latinx than L

Episode Notes
_This episode was recorded back in May of 2020, following the release of J Balvin’s Colores.
_

Link to Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2CbYfcdLARdCyol8HUMmYL?si=63tDfgxGQMif9cl647g69Q

[“Reggaeton,” by J Balvin]

Natalia: Hi!

Maria: Welcome to Guatever! Social distancing edition!

Natalia: So, Maria and I are currently almost 3,000 miles away. I am in the state of Michigan – sadly – and Maria is in the Dominican Republic.

Maria: We are doing this over Zoom. So, we want to acknowledge that the audio might not be the best quality.

Natalia: I'm sorry if that hurts your ears. So, today we're talking about J Balvin, who is one of the biggest Latino artists in the music industry.

Maria: Yes, we've talked about him multiple times, but not really focused on who he is as an artist.

Natalia: So, you’ve probably heard J Balvin’s name before since, like Maria mentioned, we've talked about him when we talked about “I Like It”. He also performed in the Superbowl back in February. He also headlined Coachella, Tomorrowland, and Lollapalooza. And actually performed with Beyonce at – I think it was Coachella?

Maria: Yeah.

Natalia: In 2018.

Maria: He was also given the title of artist of the decade by Spotify with Ariana Grande.

Natalia: But even though he's had like 327 nominations and winning 82 awards, a lot of people still don't know who he is. Especially, I think, in the United States because I think globally his name is a lot more recognized but here it still isn't.

Maria: Yes, definitely. I agree.

Natalia: So, who is he?

Maria: So, his full name is José Álvaro Osorio Balvin and he's from Medellin, Colombia.

Natalia: Yeah. So, he originally first started performing at urban clubs in Medellin, slowly increasing his social media following. So, he actually even went to university and studied international business. So, some of you guys probably have heard some of his songs where he goes for the stage name El Negocio, meaning the business. That's where it comes from. Because he studied international business. Just a fun fact.

Maria: So one of the reasons why J Balvin is also such a big icon is because he's one of those artists that has always tried to globalize Latin music. He's fluent in English, but he also makes a point to always make his music in Spanish because what he wants to do is to make reggaeton a globally popular genre without having to sing in English...which most Latin artists that have made it big in the US have done.

Natalia: For sure. Like, if you think about like Shakira, Enrique Iglesias, or Ricky Martin they all had to release albums in English in order to be successful. But J Balvin has acquired the success he has without really ever singing in English.

Maria: Even Pitbull! Oh, no.

Natalia: Even Pitbull.

Maria: Oh, no.

Natalia: Critics have even called J Balvin one of the greatest global contemporary songwriters and artists in any genre because of this. Because he just globalized music. Because, like, in his album Vibras he knows that his audience, a lot of them don't necessarily speak Spanish, but that they can still enjoy his music just by the vibes they get from it and how he doesn't necessarily...like...he thinks music is a global language. That language in itself doesn't need to be what deters people from listening to him.

Maria: Yes, and I think that's also why he made a point to call his album Vibras. Also, I think that if you know J Balvin it's probably because of his song “Mi Gente”. And the entire point of the song “Mi Gente” is to express that feeling that you might not know the language, but music really makes other people from other countries and like, from whatever culture you're from, really bond. And I think that's one of the messages he really tries to emphasize with his music.

Natalia: “Mi Gente”, J Balvin described it, how it was kind of a criticism against the music industry and how it discriminates aga

Episode Notes

Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1VR1sJMtl8e9ph14hET7EA
[“Hablamos Mañana,” by Bad Bunny]
Maria: So now we're going to kind of touch on his music because he came out with the new album. Nat and I literally waited until midnight to hear it, but I also think we're not the only ones.
Natalia: No.
Maria: Everyone did. Everyone was waiting. Also, he released an album for the first time in 16 months yet, X100PRE stays relevant. I still listen to X100PRE every day.
Natalia: X100PRE came out on Nochebuena. So in Latin America, Nochebuena is the day before Christmas and that’s celebrated more than Christmas Day.
Maria: Yeah, the night of the 24th of December.
Natalia: So what did I do? So I was in Mexico, but I was with all my cousins. I have a lot of cousins and they're like kinda running all over the place. So I locked myself in like a room. Plug my headphones in, listen to it, walked out, and was like wow. Merry Christmas. Best Christmas present I've received. Getting back to his new album.
Maria: Yeah. Let’s get back into Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana. We kind of like decided that we're gonna touch on our personal favorites and then also the songs we think are going to be the biggest hits.
Natalia: So this album is completely Latino. Unlike the last album where Bad Bunny had a song with Drake, this one features collabs with only Latin artists, but from all over Latin America. With Duki from Argentina, Pablo Chill-E from Chile, Sech from Panamá, and Daddy Yankee, who is an overall reggaeton icon. He sings Gasolina, which you've probably all heard.
Maria: And he was also the inspiration for Bad Bunny to become an artist.
Natalia: Bad Bunny is living his dream.
Maria: So we're going to kind of like alternate and talk about our favorites.
Natalia: So the first song in the album is “Si Veo a Tu Mamá”, which is like at the very beginning. The beat is very catchy. But some of you might have recognized it because he sampled a song called “The Girl From Ipanema”. And so that's why it might sound very familiar and I think it's so cool that he did that. It kind of shows how he can modernize it. And then also the lyrics. When he says, “Solo comparto memes, ya no escribo nada. Y no he borra’o tu foto, solo la puse en privada.” So that translates essentially to “Now I only share memes, I don't write anything anymore. I didn't delete your photo. I only put it on private”. And I think that really speaks to our generation.
Maria: Yeah.
Natalia: Because... Yeah, so the song is more melancholy and kind of sad...
Maria: But it's also really happy. It's the one thing I’ll point out.
Natalia: Which is very ironic. And it's great. Musically, great song.
Maria: Yes. Okay. One of my favorites is “La Santa”, which is Daddy Yankee and Bad Bunny’s collaboration on this album. I actually didn't think I’d like it as much, but the more I listened to the album, the more it stood out to me. I think more because lyrically I kind of really liked it. Like I saw this TikTok...
Natalia: Oh no.
Maria: About like this guy who was talking about how like Bad Bunny’s album is kind of like phases of a breakup.
Natalia: Yes, I saw that TikTok.
Maria: Yeah. And so like, I don't know. I feel like this is like one that's particularly like when you start realizing that you're catching feelings for someone but you're in denial. And I think it perfectly captures that feeling.
Natalia: So, kind of going off of that. So, Bad Bunny...he kind of tells a story that's not – it's not chronological – but he tells a story throughout his album. So the next song I really like is “Pero Ya No”.
And this is kind of at the end of the last phase of a relationship where it's like, I used to like you, you used to like me, but not anymore. And honestly, Bad Bunny has some really funny verses. When we were listening to this, like, the first time we listened to it fully, I laughed a few times.
Maria: Oh, yea

Episode Notes

Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1VR1sJMtl8e9ph14hET7EA


[“¿Quien Tu Eres?,” by Bad Bunny]


Natalia & Maria: Hello!


Maria: Welcome to Guatever! I’m Maria Caamaño.


Natalia: And I’m Natalia Camino.


Maria: And today we're finally getting around to doing a podcast episode on Bad Bunny!


Natalia: Unless you've been living under a rock, you are probably aware that Bad Bunny released his second album called…


Natalia & Maria: Yo Hago Lo Que Me Da La Gana.


Maria: Which translates to: I do what I want.


Natalia: Whatever I want. Which is iconic because no one can release an album on that date for another four years because it was a leap day.


Maria: Yeah, but that's like the type of stuff he does.


Natalia: I love him.


Maria: I love him so much!


Natalia: So the release of his album was the biggest debut of 2020 so far. And as of right now, Bad Bunny is in the Top 25 Most Listened To Artists on Spotify worldwide, which is very impressive…


Maria: And just proves his power.


Natalia: I love him. So we're going to break up this episode into like two parts. First, we're going to talk about who he is and the impact he has had on Latin America.


Maria: And the next is just talking about his album.


Natalia: Obviously, we won't get through his entire album because…


Maria: There are 20 songs.


Natalia: So we will pick and choose some of our favorites. So to fully understand why we love Bad Bunny, you need to understand that Maria and I are roommates because of him.


Maria: Literally. So, clears throat let me get started.


Natalia: Storytime!


Maria: So basically, when I was looking for a roommate at Northwestern, there is always a Facebook group for the incoming class. And I posted in the girls’ group looking for roommates that I was looking for one and I put like, “Oh, one of my favorite artists is Bad Bunny.” And then I got a message from someone…


Natalia: I commented, “OMG! I like Bad Bunny too!”


Maria: And then, literally because of this, we started DM-ing and became roommates.


Natalia: We will not read that conversation. It is a very awkward conversation. It has words...


Maria: It was very cringey.


Natalia: It was super cringey. There are words like proposal. And we talked about chairs a lot.


Maria: We did talk a lot about chairs. But that’s kind of like our energy, so it makes sense.


Natalia: So we're just gonna take a quick moment and appreciate…


Maria: What Bad Bunny has done for us. Benito…


Natalia: Benito...Gracias.


Maria: Gracias.


Natalia: This is for you.


Maria: This friendship is because of you.


Natalia: Look at what you've created. So who is he? His full name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio.


Maria: He was born in Vega Baja in Puerto Rico. And he rose to fame really, or at least I remember, that he rose to fame mostly because of his song “Diles” and “Soy Peor.”


Natalia: Over the past few years he's risen to fame, mostly due to the support of Puerto Rican and Dominican audiences. And he kind of touches on this on the last track on his new album, where he says…


Maria: Gracia' a to' mis domi y a mi gente en Puerto Rico. Cada cosa que logro a ustede' se la' dedico. Which translates to “Thank you to my Dominicans and my people in Puerto Rico, everything I do, I dedicate to you.”


Natalia: But he has shown his gratitude to the people of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic in various ways. So on his last album X100PRE, which was his first solo album, he has a song called “La Romana”. Which I'm … So Maria is laughing because for spring break I am going to la República Dominicana, and we are going to La Romana. Because it is a place.


Maria: So La Romana is in the coast of the DR, and it’s literally known for just being a place to go to the beach…


Natalia: I’m going there for spring break. And I've been practicing my Dominican accent. Utede no tan listo. ¡He estado pra