Me

outselling some of the most famous names in American rock. But this was proof that in those days, for the most part English-speaking Americans had no idea what was going on in the Spanish-speaking music world.
    Only two weeks after the album’s release, I appeared on the cover of Time magazine, under the headline “Latin Goes POP,” and according to that article, I was at the forefront of a new generation of Latin artists who expressed their culture in English. The article observed—and with reason—that a great part of our success had to do with it being the right time. In other words, the Latino community was growing at a monumental rate in the United States, and this growth was translating into Spanish-language radio stations, television channels, and newspapers. Latin culture was penetrating American culture on every level, and the very fabric of American society was beginning to change. It was in those details that I began to recognize the auspice of my life: Had I been born at any other time, even only ten years before or ten years after, it is possible that I would not have had the same success and my life would have played out very differently. But that’s how my life has always been—things always come at the precise moment that they should, including, apparently, the moment of my birth.
    One month later I appeared on the cover of People , one of the most popular and powerful entertainment magazines in the United States, with an article that talked about my “instant fame.” Of course, in the eyes of the American media I was someone totally unknown who had just landed on the U.S. musical stage. What they didn’t know was that I had a fifteen-year career under my belt, and that the worldwide recognition I had accomplished—this fame they spoke of, this scary new summit where I now found myself—was a result of a calculated strategy. The promotion of the album was planned by the record label to give the biggest possible push for what they saw as a product: “Ricky Martin.” As Desmond Child once put it: “Ricky is a prince who has been prepared to become a king.”
    It has never bothered me that my career had been planned with a very clear strategy in mind. What did bother me at that time was discovering that the media had designated me as the representative for all Latinos. I feel very proud of being Latin, but that certainly does not mean that all Latinos must be like me, nor will they necessarily identify with my music or sense of aesthetics. So from the first moment that my fame started to increase, I felt somehow responsible to break stereotypes and explain to the world that although we come from the same continent, not all Latinos are the same.
    There is so much ignorance toward Latin American culture. I have met individuals who, upon hearing that I am Puerto Rican, say: “Yes, of course, Costa Rica!” Or they might look at me and think I’m Italian. When my music began to hit in Europe, I gave a lot of interviews in which I spoke about my culture and how it is manifested in my music. I also took advantage of this opportunity to speak about the differences. For example, in certain parts of the world, some people were shocked to see me show up without a mariachi hat. They believed that everything Latin, from Mexico to Patagonia, is the same and that we all eat tacos and sing “rancheras” (typical Mexican songs). So, I would make an effort to explain that Latin America is multifaceted, with many different cultures; even on the same island, you will find several different cultures, accents, musical styles, and rhythms. I cannot say that my music is 100 percent Latin, because it would be an insult to all the rest of the Latino musicians around the world. In Latin America there is salsa, merengue, tango, rock, vallenato, cumbia, son, and many more genres that have developed throughout the continent, and my music is a blend, a fusion, of the various styles since I am not an artist who strictly adheres to one style or another. Of course, my music has Latin influences, but it also has Anglo-Saxon and “europop” influences. So to say that I am a Latin singer is okay. But it’s wrong to give my music the all-encompassing label of Latin music, or to imagine that all Latinos are, or sound, like me.
    When my music started to become popular in the United States, everything happened at once. Thanks to all my touring and promotions, I was already known around the world as an international artist