Why are the Swiss loco for Latin music?
14.9.2020
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
The Latin pop song Despacito by Luis Fonsi was the smash hit in 2017. While the rest of Europe has emancipated itself from Latin schmaltz, Switzerland is still hooked on the stuff. But why?
12 years of working as an editor and producer for private radio stations have scarred me for life. It’s an environment where half a dozen Latin hits are played on heavy rotation – that’s five times a day on average. This ceaseless aural attack over airwaves is hard to bear. Spanish instead of Chinese water torture for your ears. Give me the first bars of Despacito and I’ll double up in agony. If I’m hearing «Calma», I’m feeling «Tormenta». And no way am I forgiving Ricky Iglesias for a single beat of «El perdón». No, señor, this kind of music is horrendous.
After two years of trying to recover from the trauma, I meet Jule while out drinking beer. She works for Warner Music in Hamburg and is visiting friends in Zurich. At Warner, Jule’s in charge of the «domestic market,» meaning Germany, Austria and Switzerland in her case. As one of the three biggest major record labels alongside Sony and Universal, Warner is responsible for what we’re fed over the radio, on YouTube and Spotify. I’m talking about the mainstream, of course. It’s these big three that make the charts.
So I ask Jule why the Latin music hype is still going strong. I beg her to ban Reggaeton and co. from German-speaking radio stations. Guess what she replied. «It’s just you Swiss people. Austria and Germany have long ditched Latin music…»
A Latin stronghold: Switzerland
Really? The Swiss people are all about preserving traditions; change doesn’t come easy to us. But I’m surprised that this sluggishness also reveals itself in our collective taste in music. It’s been three years since «Despacito» and we still think Latin music is the next big thing!
Taking a closer look at the annual charts confirms what Jule said. Eight of the top 50 songs in the 2019 Swiss charts can be classified as Latin – two of them even made the top 10. In the same year, Austria had only three Latin tunes in the charts and Germany just two. None of them made the top 10.
SWITZERLAND
8 Pedro Capó - Calma
9 Daddy Yankee feat. Snow - Con calma
16 DJ Snake & J Balvin feat. Tyga Loco contigo
22 Ozuna - Baila baila baila
35 Maître Gims & Maluma - Hola señorita
38 Loco Escrito - Punto
43 Benji & Fede - Dove e quando
44 Takagi & Ketra, Omi & Giusy Ferreri - Jambo
GERMANY
11 Daddy Yankee feat. Snow - Con calma
30 DJ Snake & J Balvin feat. Tyga - Loco contigo
AUSTRIA
18 Daddy Yankee feat. Snow - Con calma
32 Pedro Capó - Calma
42 DJ Snake & J Balvin feat. Tyga Loco contigo
Of all places, it’s Switzerland, a country praised for high quality, that’s lapping up cheaply produced, mind-numbing music for the masses from Latin America. Who knows, maybe it’s just payback for DJ Bobo tormenting Latin America with Euro dance back in the 90s. Perhaps music producers vowed to take revenge for René Baumann's atrocities years ago. The drivel that’s played by radio stations all over the country definitely reeks of revenge.
Sure, call me a xenophobic, narrow-minded music snob. But the truth is, I can warm to almost any genre, except for mass-produced el cheapo Latino pop. You’d be forgiven to think I’m purely focused on obscure indie artists, but I’m not. On the contrary. After getting through some dark years that were the noughties, the pop genre has taken a turn for the better and grown up. Pop is emancipating itself. Adele, Lorde, Taylor Swift, Lana del Rey or Charlie XCX prove that women in today’s music business are more than well-marketed mannequins playing the Lolita card to cater for wet dreams. The brilliant Billie Eilish is the logical consequence of this trend.
In view of this, Switzerland’s weakness for Latin machismo feels like a remnant of bygone times. In the eight Latin songs that made the Swiss year-end charts, women only play a scantily dressed supporting role in the music videos. The artists, songwriters and producers were all men. And yet, there are definitely female artists out there who are shaking up the Latin music scene. Rosalía’s flamenco revival «El mal querer» was on my personal heavy rotation three years ago. Unfortunately, the singer from Barcelona did not appeal to the Swiss masses.
Let’s try to explain
To make sense of why Latin music is so popular in this country, we need to take a closer look at the target group of Swiss local radio stations. From my personal experience in the business, I know that most stations define their target listener as female, between 30 and 40, living in suburbia. We used to call her «Julia, 35» and based the entire programme on her. The existence of this target person is confirmed by Nicola Bomia, Head of Radio Programming at CH Media tv & radio, which includes Radio 24, Radio Argovia, FM1, Melody, Pilatus, Radio 32 and Virgin Radio Switzerland. To prevent Julia from tuning into the competition, the music must appeal to her. And that seems to be Latin music. Why is this the case? Neither Nicola nor Jule know. After all, the target group for radio stations in Germany and Austria is also likely to be 35 and female. The only thing is that the Julias over there don’t have the same fuego for Latin music. Rapper Bonez MC or soul schmaltz singer Sarah Connor are more up their street. So where does Swiss Julia’s pasión for Latin music come from?
Theory 1: dreaming of a Latin lover
Muscly, tanned and tall is how «Julia, 35» would describe the man of her dreams. Sure, he may be a bit of a bit macho and have a jealous streak but he also pays her compliments. Something she’ll never get from a Swiss man. Quarrels are fine, too, as long as he treats her like a princess afterwards. In bed, her Latin lover is a beast – at least that’s the fantasy. In view of the fact that Julia’s been married for six years to Marcel from the next village, the Latin lover will remain a dream fed by the fiery rhythm of Latin music.
Theory 2: memories of the past
Julia’s been wanting to leave Marcel for quite some time now. But for the sake of their two children, she’s not going to. There’s no way she wants Sören and Jacqueline to grow up without a father. Julia escapes reality by thinking back to her trip to South America after high school. If only her younger self had had the courage to run away with Julio, the surf instructor, in Colombia. She’d be happy now. Enjoying life under the palm trees of Cartagena, teaching European tourists how to surf instead of doing the bookkeeping for the local plumber. At least the music on the radio rekindles memories of hot nights in Latin America.
Theory 3: the useless attempt to cast off Swiss conservatism
Julia is open-minded and tries to emphasise this with her taste in music. She’s not one of them. Politics aren’t her thing, so she rarely votes. However, when she heard there’d be a vote about putting up ten refugees in a local apartment, she popped a «No» in the ballot box. Security is important to her. Five years ago, Marcel invested a lot of money to install an alarm system in the family home. The alarm was first triggered by the neighbour’s cat, Fridolin, the cheeky monkey, who climbed in through the half-opened cellar window and devastated their house. That window’s been locked with a double lock ever since. Although she generally trusts people, she’d rather be safe than sorry. A square? No, Julia wouldn’t call herself that. Quite the opposite. She goes to Zumba classes, her favourite salad is Italian Caprese and her drink of choice on a night out is Caipirinha. Traditional music isn’t her bag. She much prefers listening to Loco Escrito. He makes amazing Latin music and is Swiss on top of that!
There’s no accounting for taste
Whatever it may be that appeals to Julia, I, for one, don’t have to put up with the cheesy cantions. At most, I’m grazed by this atrocity whenever a private radio station’s playing somewhere. There are no Julias in my circle of friends and there never will be. The Caliente festival and Reggaeton bashes go down without me. Julia can gladly go and look for her Latin lover without me. Should things still get too much for me, I could always emigrate Germany or Austria – safe havens from Latin music.
Simon Balissat
Teamleader Editorial
Simon.Balissat@digitecgalaxus.chWhen I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.
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