Generacion Latino >BY Helene Stapinski

American Demographics, July, 1999

Rappers like Big Pun, the first Latino hip hop artist to go platinum, and C-Note, the new boy-group, are on their turntables. Both of Julio Iglesias' young sons are starting to cross over, as is Selena's brother, A.B. Quintanilla, who just came out with a hip hop-tinged album. Then there's Marc Anthony, the new Menudo, and Chayanne, who are all appealing not only to Latino teens, but to the Anglos as well.

"I believe it'll catch on," says Batchelor of the trend. "Latino music is a music of passion."

Helping to spread the Latino beat is the variety of musical styles available. If you don't like one style, you're bound to like another that suits your tastes. In Southern California, mariachi, banda, and norteno music rule. Cumbia sounds-like tejano, which uses polka beats and accordion-are hot in Texas. But in Miami, Caribbean salsa is big. New York's clubs play a mix of merengue from the Dominican Republic and rock en espanol, not to mention hip hop.

"It's absolutely happening," says John "Gungie" Rivera, New York's biggest Latin party promoter. "It's just cool now. Common sense tells you with so many Latinos in the world and in the U.S., it was bound to happen."

He not only sees Anglos crowding the dance floors of the Conga Room and the Latin Quarter, but fighting for reservations to restaurants like Patria in New York, Topo La Bamba in Chicago, and Cha Cha Cha in Los Angeles. Latin food has always been popular in the United States, but now it's ultra-trendy. Latinos and Latino wannabes alike can be found washing down their fancy $14 lobster-filled empanadas with expensive tequilas and the newest round of imported beers.

In fact, Mexican beer is the fastest-growing import category in the beer industry, says Benitez. "Corona was just leading the way," she says. The newest addition to the market is a beer called Tequiza, which includes the tequila base, agave, and is being marketed by the grandaddy of all brewers, Anheuser-Busch.

Following on the heels of the Latin beat is Latin-influenced fashion. Willie Escobar Montanez, a New York City-based Latino designer, believes that designers like Tommy Hilfiger oversaturated the urban black line. "People are looking for a fresh look from hip hop," he says, "like the Latin look. Our voice is out there now."

Escobar Montanez has added guayabera shirts to his Esco line this year. The boxy, short-sleeved, lightweight shirts were once only popular with old Cuban men because they're extremely comfortable and because of the big breast pocket, perfect for storing cigars. But now kids everywhere, from Miami's South Beach to New York's hip Lower East Side, are sporting the shirts.

Esco isn't the only company making money from the traditional guayabera. In Los Angeles, a young designer named Mario Melendez is making a killing. And down in South Florida, Rene La Villa of Miami Cool Wear has seen his 20-year guayabera business spike by nearly 25 percent in the past two years. Over the Internet, La Villa sells mostly to Anglos. "The guayabera is cool," he says.