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American Made

Native New Yorker Marc Anthony deflects talk away from his Hispanic roots

Marc Anthony is a New York native who learned English as his first language and Spanish as his second language. But when he broke on pop radio in 1999 singing the salsa-inflected "I Need to Know" and the Top 40 "You Sang to Me," the music industry and the music media said he was part of a "Latin explosion."

That made him very angry.

"When the hell does race or religion play a card in what you do artistically?" he says. "Do you think I have talent or not?

"I guess you just have to be Latino to know how that feels. It's so downright disgusting to exploit your culture, your heritage to sell a record, when it shouldn't play a (part)."

Anthony, who sings to fans in Las Vegas on Saturday, never understood why music listeners thought certain Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez hits were not just pop. Anthony says his own Spanish-language salsa songs are "authentic Latin music, authentic rhythms."

"It's socially significant music. And you're gonna tell me (Martin's) 'She's All I Ever Had' is Latin music? And (Lopez's) 'If You Had My Love' is Latin music? I was just going bonkers."

Anthony was one of the only "Latin boom" musicians who spoke against that stereotype. He wonders why he was alone in his opposition.

"Everybody else was cool with it, (saying), 'It's our time.' Who's time is it? I was born in New York. It was always my time," says Anthony, 32.

More recently, the "Latin" label has faded from the media, as more Latino and Hispanic Americans have been recognized in the mainstream.

"The establishment has to recognize this is the new face of America. I'm American. I record these records in my basement in Long Island," he says. "It's made in the USA. Whether America is ready to accept it or not, this is what they inherited. It is American music."

Anthony says, in fact, the only differences between his pop songs and his salsa music are the arrangements.

"If you pick up a guitar, the chord progressions on any of my salsa songs are any pop chord progression."

Anthony says he tries to write salsa music that stays true to tradition, but that appeals to his pop sensibilities, because he grew up listening to Aretha Franklin, Elton John and other pop artists.

But there is one big difference between Anthony's pop and salsa songs. The pop songs are modest enough for a regular-size pop band to perform in concert. The salsa songs are so fully realized that Anthony took 26 musicians on his last tour to make sure they played all the horn, percussion and other parts that filled out his salsa wall of sound.

"People in the pop band can't necessarily play the salsa stuff, because it has all these musical idiosyncracies that only someone who's trained can play," Anthony concedes.

Anthony's large band cost a big budget on previous tour, but he was debuting as an English-language pop star then, a few years ago; he wanted to "get the best cats in the world" to stage a high-quality show.

Anthony has pared that band down to 20 and is now touring to support two recent albums, the pop album, "Mended," and the salsa CD, "Libre," which he wrote with the help of an arranger.

This tour is just Anthony's latest big gig. In the last year, he headlined his own CBS concert special, performed a pre-Super Bowl concert and took part in a concert tribute to John Lennon.

His work has paid off in sales and honors. Earlier this year, Anthony won three American Latino Media Arts: outstanding male performer, outstanding performance in a music, variety or comedy special for NBC's "Christmas at Rockefeller Center, and Spanish-language album of the year for "Libre."

Anthony is in talks to act in three films in the next year, one starring Lopez and chronicling the life of legendary salsa singer Hector Lavoe. Anthony turned down parts in the recent movies "Serendipity" and "Riding in Cars With Boys," because he was on tour during film production.

Anthony says only the television appearances made him nervous.

"I don't think I ever shook as much as I did this year. Quaked in my boots," he says. "I don't look at it as how many people are watching. I look at it as how nervous I am.

"When that last song starts playing, I just start thanking God for everything. 'Thank you; it's over.' "

On tour, Anthony feels more relaxed.

"I've definitely found my way," he says. "I learned a lot from the first tour. ... I just make it my own and try to create as many memories as possible, and let it be a blur."

In the last year, Anthony also has dealt with personal drama. He and his wife, former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres Delgado, split, after getting married two years ago in Las Vegas. He has said in other interviews that their conflicting, hectic schedules hurt their relationship, but that they still love each other.

Anthony suggests the hardest -- and funniest -- part about separating was reading about it in a National Enquirer story, in which "every single fact is lopsided."

"When that particular story broke, I happened to be talking to my wife on the phone, and we were laughing at it. I'm fine, personally. It's necessary to the process of growing."

When it's suggested to Anthony that he's experienced a tough industry and media, he says he's doesn't think so.

"But that's because of the way I see things. I'm a fighter. I'm pretty tough. And from going from that stuttering shy kid to just seeing things as clearly as I've been able to, it hasn't been tough at all. It's been fun."

DOUG ELFMAN
MORE COLUMNS

Marc Anthony says there was never a "Latin boom." Anthony, a native New Yorker, says he and other Hispanic Americans are just citizens of the United States: "Whether America is ready to accept it or not, this is what they inherited. It is American music."