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 Entertainment | November 2006 
Mexican Singer Breaks with Christmas Tradition
 Leila Cobo - Reuters/Billboard
| | Mexican crooner and uber-star Luis Miguel, who this year aims to break the jinx with his first Christmas album, "Navidades Con Luis Miguel," released November 14 on Warner Music Latina. |
It may sound like a cliche, but it's a fact: Latins like to party at Christmas. This partly explains why Latin dance compilations, not necessarily Christmas-themed, are the preferred fare at Christmastime.
In contrast, Latin Christmas CDs by major acts are a rarity in the U.S. Latin market and don't have a particularly good track record. The big exception is Gloria Estefan's "Christmas Through Your Eyes," released in 1993, which has sold nearly 900,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
But subsequent attempts at marketing the Christmas Latin spirit largely have fallen flat. Raphael's 2004 album "Vuleve Por Navidad" scanned a mere 1,000 copies; Jon Secada's "The Gift" (2001) and Christian star Marcos Witt's "Tiempo de Navidad" (2004) sold only 3,000 apiece.
Enter Mexican crooner and uber-star Luis Miguel, who this year aims to break the jinx with his first Christmas album, "Navidades Con Luis Miguel," released November 14 on Warner Music Latina.
Boasting big-band arrangements and an upbeat overall feel, "Navidades" features mostly Spanish-language adaptations of Christmas classics, from "Noche de Paz" (Silent Night) to "Te Deseo Muy Felices Fiestas" (Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas).
The twist here is that instead of performing the often-used translated versions of these songs, Miguel requested special adaptations for his use from songwriters Juan Carlos Calderon and Edgar Cortazar.
"They wanted lyrics Luis Miguel style," says Cortazar, who translated "Let It Snow" (Va a Nevar) and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (Frente a la Chimenea). "Frente a la Chimenea," which literally translates to "in front of the chimney," has nothing to do with Rudolph and doesn't feature any reindeer.
"We were looking for something more romantic, but happier, not as nostalgic," Cortazar says.
Aside from Miguel's album, the other noteworthy Christmas release for the season is "Universidad Navidena" (Christmas University), a collection of standards performed by music ensembles from five schools of music: University of Southern California, Berklee College of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and University of Miami.
The EMI Televisa release was conceived as a showcase for music students playing a variety of Latin styles, from jazz to salsa to pop.
"Universidad Navidena" also includes a Spanish version of "Rudolph." But this one is a literal translation where the reindeer is very much the protagonist. |
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