Reinventing Enrique Iglesias: Constructing Latino whiteness in the Latin urban scene

Abstract

In 2014, Enrique Iglesias shattered Latin music records with his hit song, “Bailando,” in collaboration with Afro-Cuban artists Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona, thereby firmly planting himself within the Latin urban music scene. “Bailando” ushered in a new wave of reggaetón-pop fusions that have since dominated the Latin pop market. In so doing, it follows a larger historical trajectory of white Latino artists performing Afro-Latino musical practices, in this case reggaetón. This paper examines media coverage surrounding “Bailando” alongside the song’s accompanying music video to consider how it constructs Latino whiteness. I argue that this Latino whiteness is distinct from US whiteness, but still reproduces racial hierarchies that inform dominant constructions of Latinidad.