Balvin and Castro, an emerging artist also from Medellín, deliver a new, sizzling summer single.
Together, they bring forth hypnotizing beats that will make you play this song on repeat.
The traditional perreo track thumping beats fused with reggaetón drums and the duo’s skills give life to the track.
Directed by Patricia Alfonso and Chris Cabrera, along with Film Heads, the single’s video artfully brings the music to life. From rooftop cookouts, to the corner store, to clandestine dance parties, the music video is quite energetic.
J Balvin is experiencing a career Transformer-ation…
The 36-year-old Colombian singer, known as the “Prince of Reggaeton,” is getting his own Transformers figure.
On July 13, Hasbro will make available for pre-order the “J Balvintron,” a 7-inch tall figure with two mini cassette accessories inspired by Balvin’s Energía and Vibrasalbums that transform into a condor and a tiger to create a mash-up J Balvintron 3-pack. The figure also wields a blaster, and incorporates Balvin’s signature rainbow colors and smiley face icon.
While Hasbro has previously partnered with brands like Marvel and Universal to create figures from their respective universes, the J Balvintron is the first figure created with a musical artist or actual living celebrity since Hasbro launched its collaborative program in 2019.
The figure, which will be available exclusively on the NTWRK platform as a limited edition, will retail for $69.99.
“I’ve loved Transformers since I was a kid so this was a dream come true,” Balvin told Billboard.
“The J Balvintron Transformers that are coming out are a reflection of my dream toy. Ever since the proposal came to me I had this vision in mind.”
The Transformer proposal came to Balvin via livestream shopping platform NTWRK, which is known for its exclusive, celebrity-partnership product drops, and which had a strong relationship with both Balvin and Hasbro.
“NTWRK approached J Balvin and Hasbro with the idea to collaborate with Transformers because Balvin is a huge fan of Transformers and we thought it would be an amazing fan experience and cultural moment — For Balvin and Transformers fans,” says president Moksha Fitzgibbons.
Balvin, whose affinity for games in general is well known, was excited.
“I asked them to include elements from my past albums in the design. This is why they have two cassette options, one for Vibras and then one for Energia,” he says. “The colors, the names, I suggested all of these to them for inspiration. When we were in the process of making the design, Colores had just come out so we wanted to make many different color options.”
Evan Brooks, the designer in charge of the Balvintron, knew the singer was a big G1 Transformer fan, so his starting point was Soundwave, a popular Gen 1 transformer whose best-known disguise is as a cassette player. Brooks designed two small cassette players that transform into Balvin albums. Because the cassettes are usually animal-themed, “We looked at his tatoos and saw he had four or five tigers. We ran it past him and had one of them turn into a tiger that turns into Vibras, and the other one is a condor that turns into Energia.”
The first step in designing based on an actual person, says Brooks, is taking the visual elements that define the person and extrapolating them onto a robot. The biggest challenge, he says, was trying to balance Balvin’s many color associations.
“If you look at Balvin’s figure, I found his rainbow hair style very iconic. We went through ten iterations. The robot head has the five color break. We made sure the smiley face was present.”
The whole process, he says, was “very easy and very smooth,” with a bonus. Brooks, who hadn’t heard Balvin before, became a fan, and “Rojo” is now his favorite track.
The J Balvintron will only be available on the NETWRK App, which will premiere the figure along with an animated video and an interview with the Balvintron designers. Balvin will also promote the figure on social media.
Gomez, one of nine Latino/as to make this year’s list, has been recognized for “unabashedly spreading her wings and influence into whatever lane her passions lead her,” writes America Ferrera in an essay about the artist.
“He’s opened up the doors for Latino artists everywhere by making the world hear and fall in love with our culture, our sounds and our spirit,” says pop star Camila Cabello in an essay about the man born as José Álvaro Osorio Balvín. “What I truly admire and love the most about José is that he is just himself. He’s himself to the world, he’s himself to his friends and his peers, and he’s got the kind of heart that makes him a person everyone is rooting for. When he wins, we all win.”
Anne Hidalgo has been named to the Time 100.
The 61-year-old French–Spanish politician, who has served as Mayor of Paris – is the first woman to hold the office – since 2014, is being recognized for being a leader in the movement to solve the global climate crisis.
“Even in the midst of confronting the global pandemic, Mayor Hidalgo has turned Paris into a shining example of how cities can lead the transition to cleaner, healthier and more prosperous societies,” writes former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. “She is transforming the city’s landscape to make it friendlier to pedestrians and bikers, cutting car traffic and making the air safer to breathe.”
Dr. Cecilia Martinez is also being recognized for her environmental work…
“As a leader in everything from international projects to grassroots organizing, Cecilia Martinez has dedicated her impressive career to a moral imperative: the pursuit of environmental justice and the inclusion of equity and justice in environmental policy,” writes U.S. Senator Cory Booker about the co-founder and executive director at the Center for Earth, Energy and Democracy (CEED).
Bonnie Castillo, the 60-year-old Latina registered nurse and executive director of National Nurses United, has earned her spot on this year’s list for support of frontline health workers.
“She was among the first to call attention to the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) available to nurses across the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic, and fought layoffs and pay cuts that nurses faced despite their vital frontline work,” writes civil rights activist and United Farm Workers of America co-founder Dolores Huerta. “Bonnie’s commitment to the labor movement and unions is unwavering; she states that unions are the foundation of a democratic society. Bonnie does not just work to heal patients; she works to heal society.”
Felipe Neto has also made this year’s list…
The 32-year-old Brazilian social media star, who has 39 million YouTube subscribers and 12 million Twitter followers, is considered the most consequential digital influencer in Brazil and possibly in the world.
“A decade ago, from his family’s humble Rio de Janeiro home, he began creating content for YouTube and quickly found fame, a huge and loyal young audience, and lucrative endorsements,” writes Brazilian congressman David Miranda. “What has changed—radically—is how Neto uses his platform. His early notoriety was generated by standard fare for online adolescents: video games, celebrities and girls. But with the 2018 election of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and the empowerment of his proto-fascist movement, Neto, risking his brand and safety, repurposed his popularity to become one of Bolsonaro’s most effective opponents.”
For the second year in a row, Jair Bolsonaro has been named to the Time 100.
“The story of Brazil’s year can be told in numbers: 137,000 lives lost to the coronavirus. The worst recession in 40 years. At least five ministers sacked or resigned from the Cabinet. More than 29,000 fires in the Amazon rain forest in August alone. One President whose stubborn skepticism about the pandemic and indifference to environmental despoliation has driven all these figures upward,” writes Time’s international editor. “Yet the number that really matters is 37—the percentage of Brazilian society that approved of Jair Bolsonaro in a late-August poll, the highest rating since he took office early last year. Despite a storm of corruption allegations, and one of the highest COVID-19 death tolls in the world, the right-wing firebrand remains popular with a large section of Brazilians.”
Sister Norma Pimentel is being heralded for her work with immigrants…
“Sister Pimentel has been on the front lines of mercy for three decades, supporting migrants who are seeking refuge in the U.S. along Texas’ border with Mexico. As executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, she directs efforts to provide shelter, food, sanctuary and comfort to people often treated as less than human. Her organization has housed and assisted well over 100,000 people at the border,” says former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro. “Her work has taken on greater importance in the era of Donald Trump, and for good reason. As he has acted with cruelty toward migrants, she has acted with compassion. As he has preyed on the vulnerable and sought rejection, she has preached community and acceptance. As he has promoted fear, she has taught love.
Gabriela Cámara is being recognized for being “more than a chef—she is a Renaissance woman on the front lines of our industry,” writes chef Jose Andres about the Mexican chef.
Through her visionary career, Camara has become one of Mexico’s leading culinary diplomats, both in spirit and in practice.
“Not only does she run two of the most iconic kitchens on the continent—Contramar in Mexico City and Cala in San Francisco—offering the very best of her cultural heritage, she is also an adviser to the Mexican President, showing by example how food can have an impact far beyond the walls of a restaurant kitchen,” continues Andres.
J Balvin’s colorful life story will be told around the world…
Amazon Studios has picked up the worldwide rights to director Matthew Heineman‘s The Boy From Medellín, a portrait of the 35-year-old Colombian reggaeton singer and Latin music star.
The Endeavor Content-backed feature-length documentary follows Balvin, the “Prince of Reggaeton” and a Latin Grammy-winning performer, in the lead-up to a sold-out 2019 homecoming concert performance in Medellín, Colombia.
The acquisition deal comes ahead of the documentary’s world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival on September 11 via the Bell Digital Cinema platform.
“Representing my country, my city and Latin culture globally is a lifelong pursuit and I’m so proud to be a son of Medellín. I’m honored to be able to tell my story in this beautiful way and working with Matthew on this project was an incredible experience. Thank you to Amazon for making sure this story can be seen around the world,” Balvin said in a statement.
The Boy From Medellin — from Heineman, the director behind the biopic Private War — is produced by Our Time Projects and SB Projects.
“Filmmaker Matthew Heineman is a master of his craft, and beautifully depicts the perspective of an international music icon. We are thrilled to welcome Matthew back to the Amazon family and to share J Balvin’s story with our global customers,” Javiera Balmaceda, head of international originals in Argentina, Chile and Colombia for Amazon Studios, said in a statement.
J Balvin is one of today’s best-selling Latin music artists with sales of more than 35 million records (albums and singles) worldwide. His breakthrough came in 2014 with “Ginza” and the single “6 AM” featuring Puerto Rican singer Farruko, which peaked at number 2 on theBillboardHot Latin Songs chart.
Balvin and Castro, an emerging artist also from Medellín, deliver a new, sizzling summer single.
