Ricky Martin

THE Caribbean has produced a number of great artistes including some who have been white. I make this statement against the background of a letter sent to the editor from a member of the Puerto Rican community who found my article in the Observer of October 10, 2003, to be "offensive." The writer of the letter notes that I classified Ricky Martin as one of the white artistes who had become a major seller of African inspired music and this he finds distasteful. First, let me say that my categorisation was not meant to be an indictment of Mr Martin; it was a mere statement of what I consider to be the facts.

Let me say that "black" and "white" are convenient designations. Recent research has shown that race has more basis in customs than in biology. I cannot tell what Mr Martin's genotype is nor is that particularly important to the discussion. Mr Martin or any other artiste deemed white who has used black music has not done anything wrong. I was not making some value assessment. I was simply pointing out that the media is presently configured to favour white artistes singing "black" music.

As I pointed out in my article, a white rapper like Eminem will get significant airplay on black radio stations while the reverse has not necessarily been true. A black artiste doing music not considered urban might get exposure on white stations but might not get any support from black stations which some would consider his constituency.

My understanding of prejudice is that it can be white on white as it is sometimes and black on black. White Irish and Italians have been discriminated against by other groups of the same colour. The fact that Puerto Ricans might be discriminated against in America does not mean that some of them are not considered white.

I want to see people from the region succeed. Let me say that I am as proud of the success of a Ricky Martin and an Arturo Sandoval, who are not patently African in their features, as I am of Ibrahim Ferrer and Wyclef Jean who are Caribbean men of a darker hue. I was at the Grammys at the Shrine Auditorium when Ricky Martin tore the place apart with his performance of the Cup of Life and was ecstatic.

What is interesting is that Hispanic music was not really taken seriously in the American mainstream until structures were put in place for its promotion. What I am advocating is that similar structures be put in place in order to realise the remarkable potential of our music. Black music, particularly Hip Hop has experienced phenomenal growth in recent times, due to the fact that the appropriate media structures are in place to promote it. That was the essence of my article. What is interesting is that white/pop stations are now playing more hip-hop music because of the momentum created by urban media outfits.

More white kids are now getting exposed to black music through these pop stations. It does seem therefore that black artistes do stand a better chance of being aired on "white" stations when they perform black music. Seems a paradox? Not really, we prefer to eat Chinese food from Chinese. That is a fact of life. A black artiste doing white music does not have the same kind of credibility to a white audience as he would doing his own music.

What is lost on many observers of the music industry is that the media play a critical role in the marketing process. We in the Caribbean do not seem to understand this, which is why we have not put in place the kind of media structures to take advantage of the attractiveness of our cultural products.

I hope Cabanito will understand that I see myself as a Caribbean man and salute the achievements of those who spring from among us. Let me hasten to say that white artistes doing black music will not make it big if they are not talented. Ricky Martin has shown that he has what it takes. To say someone's colour is helpful does not mean that one will be successful based on skin texture alone. One's race will be the only factor. You missed the point Cabanito when you implied that because Martin is successful, I classify him as white. After all, the aim of the article was to highlight the success of Afro--American artistes

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