E5: Leila Cobo: Decoding Despacito - An oral history of Latin Music

A delightful and insightful look into the Latin music industry spanning five decades worth of history from the early 1970s covering its rise to popularity, resonating beyond niche markets, and becoming part of the pop culture mainstream and our contemporary social constructs.

@leilacobo, a pianist, novelist, journalist, TV host and executive editor for Latin content and programming for Billboard, delivers a rigorous and carefully constructed historical outline using 19 songs as its vehicle, each becoming a stepping stone in the fabric of the Latin music’s industry.

As we read through the book and listened to each of the songs (something which we highly recommend), we found a much larger sense of appreciation, thanks to Cobo’s technical insights into the tunes, arrangements, and melodic quality, as well as the carefully outlined backst ...