Me

from Puerto Rico. Before arriving in the United States, I had done a sixty-concert tour, including shows in New Delhi, Bangkok, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Malaysia, and Australia. I did shows all over Europe. And everywhere I went I was known as “the international artist.” But when I arrived in the United States, I was “the Latino phenomenon.” I would always go out of my way to say that although I am Latino—something I’m very proud of—I don’t represent all Hispanics, as I am my own version. What some people don’t know is that although I am Latino, I have French, indigenous, and African blood. . . . In truth, I am a mestizo, as most of us are on the American continent. The fact that I am considered Hispanic is a happy coincidence. One part of my family came from Europe and landed in the American northeast, and today they are considered Caucasian. But another side of my family landed on my island, Puerto Rico, and for that reason I was considered “the Latin phenomenon.”
    In fact, many Americans, perhaps the majority, know very little about Latin culture and their knowledge is often based on a number of prejudices and preconceptions that are completely wrong. So even though my first cover on Time was great, after a while I stopped liking the whole “Latin Goes POP” thing. But to this day, this has made me work hard to project a positive image of Latin culture and show the world that we are more than just a simple label.

FALLING APART
    MY FAME CONTINUED to grow. Tens of thousands of people showed up when I held an open-air concert in Rockefeller Center in New York as part of NBC’s morning talk show, Today . So many people came that they stopped traffic in the center of Manhattan. And there were countless magazine covers and endless attention. I was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone swimming in a pool surrounded by naked women; the dream of all rock and pop musicians—it was the ultimate stamp of my success.
    That same year, “Livin’ La Vida Loca” received six nominations for MTV Video Music Awards, and on top of that, the song was nominated for three international awards at the same event. In total, I won five of the nine awards for which I was nominated, and once again the public gave me a standing ovation when I sang the song live at the awards show.
    From a professional point of view, it was one of the best years of my life. And to conclude it, on my birthday, Entertainment Weekly named me artist of the year. I had reached such extraordinary heights that I could even begin to doubt how I could go any higher. Just as I said in an interview during that time, what could I possibly do after this? Climb Mount Everest?
    Well, I did not have much time to sit and ponder the question, because the record label quickly informed me that they wanted another album as soon as possible. Now, when I think about it, I realize I should have said no. Definitely no! It was too soon and I was not ready to fully immerse myself in the intense creative work needed to record a new album. But I was so busy working and making an effort to do everything I had to do to keep the wheels in motion, maybe I didn’t have the time or the distance to really evaluate what was being asked of me. The label said they would need a new album, so I simply went along.
    It was one of the worst decisions of my life.
    It was absolute craziness and a very serious mistake. But it was my decision and I decided to go through with it. Some say I should blame my advisers or the record label for pressuring me, but the truth is it was all my fault. This wasn’t Menudo anymore and I was no longer a kid who was being told what to do. I was a grown man and I had been working in the music industry for many years, yet I agreed to do something I did not want to do. The only way to learn in life is by making our own mistakes, and that was one of the mistakes I learned most from.
    So we started to prepare the next album in English, called Sound Loaded. Every week I had four or five consecutive days of concerts on the “Livin’ La Vida Loca” tour, and after the last show, I got on a plane to return to Miami, where I locked myself up in the studio to record. We worked until the break of day; then I would sleep a bit. I’d wake up and return to the airport to get to the next stop on the tour, right on time to do the sound check for the show. Many of my friends in the industry said this was crazy, that this is not how it was done.
    “When