Features
Reggaeton Stars Lend Hearts & Voices
These two artists are expected to help the Hearts & Voices benefit reach Latino youth with important HIV/AIDS prevention information, according to organizers.
“Latinos in the United States have been disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDs epidemic, representing 14 percent of the U.S. population yet accounting for 19 percent of diagnosed AIDS cases,” LIFEbeat executive director John Cannelli said.
“In New York City, we have the highest number of Latino adults/adolescents living with AIDS, more than any other state in the country.”
Calderon has been called the “face” of the reggaeton movement, a relatively new sub-genre of reggae that originated in Puerto Rico and is sweeping dance clubs across the U.S. and the world.
Blending reggae, salsa, hip-hop, African beats and fast-paced lyrics, reggaeton has quickly caught on with Latino youth in particular.
Calderon’s debut, El Abayarde, sold more than 350,000 copies and his second effort, El Enemy de los Guasbiri, debuted at No. 5 on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums Chart. A major label bidding war has erupted over the artist for his third album.
Aventura is billed as the first bachata boy-band fusing bachata styles with R&B, hip-hop and traditional American music. The group has performed well overseas and have an upcoming album, God’s Project, due to drop April 26th. The disc features Nina Sky and Don Omar.