Editor's Letter: "Ricky Filled Us with Pride"

Ever since Ricky Martin set off the Latin Music Explosion in 1999, People en Espa?ol has been telling his story and that of those who followed in his footsteps.

I admit it: I was never a big Menudo fan. In the early 80s, when all my girlfriends were papering their bedroom walls and ceilings with posters of Puerto Rico's most famous boy band—and spending hours practicing the guys’ choreography— I could barely hum the chorus of “Súbete a mi moto.”

As clueless as I was, which I attribute to a defective DNA, I do remember taking note when Ricky Martin joined the group in 1984. I was beguiled by his angelic smile and, for the last 40 years, I’ve been following his prolific career and applauding his success. The same year that I joined People en Espa?ol as a senior writer, Ricky filled us with pride by stealing the show at the GRAMMYs with his performance of “La copa de la vida.” Over the following quarter century, our covers have told his life story —from Latino star to worldwide idol, from Evita to Palm Royale.

The artist who was at the forefront of the Latin Music Explosion at the turn of the century—one who came in through the doors that had been opened by Carlos Santana, Jose Feliciano and Gloria Estefan, and who opened them even wider for Shakira, Enrique Iglesias and Bad Bunny, among others— today is featured on the cover of our second digital issue celebrating that movement and this year's Hispanic Heritage Month.

Also in this issue, we celebrate Ricky's crossover colleagues in the class of the 2000s, all of them megastars today, and those who came along later to get the whole world singing and dancing in Spanish and English. In today's streaming services, thanks to all of them, Latin music is the fastest-growing genre in the United States. Twenty years may be nothing, cries a Carlos Gardel tango, but 25 years of success definitely deserve a party!

See you next issue,

Maria Morales

Senior Editorial Director