A tale of 2 sexy Latinos

Although a lot of Pinoys still have to hear about Shakira, there is really no question that she is now the biggest-selling Latin artist all over the world. It is not Ricky Martin or Santana but this young Columbian girl of the powerful voice and the electrifying moves who has revived interest in Latin music in a very big way.

It was about three years ago when I first saw a Shakira video, Underneath Your Clothes from the album Laundry Service. She looked and sounded sensational but I also knew that despite the Spanish heritage, Filipinos take a while to warm up to Latin artists or they don’t at all. It will take a major effort to get a Shakira hit into the local charts or there might never be any at all.

Which is really a pity because although we have already lost most of our Spanish, there was much Pinoys can identify with in the rhythms from Laundry Service. Whenever Wherever is another great cut. I am sure too that local pop divas can learn a lot by watching and listening to Shakira who seems to have gotten everything right at a very young age.

Shakira was barely out of middle school when she released her first album Magia at 13. One big seller after another followed over the years, culminating with Laundry Service, which introduced her to the English-speaking market. The result was so successful that her label Epic decided to go even further with her next one, which was released in two versions, in Spanish as Fijacion Oral and in English as Oral Fixation.

Take a good look at the cover if you are wondering what the title is all about. It is the beautiful Shakira cradling a baby to her breast, which psychologists say is the source of the oral fixation in human beings. On the other hand, the title can also mean being fixated with the oral as in vocals or singing. Whether oral fixated or not, the music is great and photos in the album are gorgeous. In fact, I think she makes those tarted-up pop divas in the US look like trash.

Only the language is old in Fijacion Oral. The songs are fine examples of the kind of pop rock we usually get these days and the producers have adapted these rhythms so well to the Spanish language. Topping the line-up is La Tortura, the wonderful reggae duet about romantic anguish with Spanish pop hero Alejandro Sanz, which was the first hit out of the album.

Other outstanding cuts are the show-stopping La Pared; the sexy, light rock ditty Dia Especial; the hard bouncing Escondite Ingles and the languorous Obtener un Si, which is really a delight to listen to. Now, if you are still not keen on Spanish, there is no reason why you should lose out on Fijacion Oral. You can just pick up the English Oral Fixation which is also available locally.

As for that sexy example of today’s Latin lover, Ricky Martin has been very busy lately with an assortment of things. There are his causes like fighting the sexual exploitation of children and helping victims of recent disasters. There are his fetishes like giving "golden showers" that has gotten him into hot water with the public. And then, there is the new album, Life, which should really be getting more attention.

Voicewise, Martin in Life is at his best. In fact, because I first heard him as a member of Menudo, I never thought he would mature with so much angst in his singing. Like most pop idols, Martin has unfortunately become trapped in what people see as his major accomplishment, the feverish, energetic, beyond the limit performance of La Vida Loca. In Life, he grabs the chance to prove what he can do and to show that he’s also good with other things.

Life is his most experimental and sounds like his best to date. Martin is seriously into Eastern rhythms and uses a lot of exotic strings in the album. Check out ‘Til I Get to You. Like Shakira, he goes into reggae with Drop It On Me. Nothing shakes the bon-bon here but Martin is as sexy as ever in Stop Time Tonight. And as though he wants to show that he remains very much in step with today’s music he has Fat Joe and the upcoming Amerie in the reggae-tinged I Don’t Care.