From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.
The Myke Towers Sneaker
In celebration of his sophomore album, Lyke Mike, which debuted at No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart, Myke Towers unveiled his very own Lyke Mike-inspired Air Jordan 4s. At the helm of renowned sneaker designer Dominic Ciambrone of The Surgeon, the custom pair is inspired by the colors of Puerto Rico, basketball, and Towers’ music career. “This collaboration is special because it’s the first of its kind,” Ciambrone said in a video. “I don’t think anybody has ever released a pair of shoes for an album release.” The Lyke Mike 4s, which come in a basketball court-designed acrylic box, are different shades of blue like the ocean and with the vinyl on the insoles.
Maffio’s New Venture
After deleting all of his photos from Instagram and taking a break from social media, Maffio returned with a big career move as one of the new faces of Buchanans. “As a Dominican, I have to represent and celebrate my Dominican pride in every part of the world and what better way than to do it with Buchanans,” the Latin hitmaker expressed. “Greatness is found in our music, our culture, in how we share and celebrate Latino excellence,” he also noted. Maffio is part of the new Buchanans’ Dominican Republic campaign.
Pitizion Joins Reality Show
Pitizion unveiled she will partake in the upcoming docu-series Latin Flow, airing June 10 on MTV Latin America and Amazon Prime Video. The Colombian pop star, who’s a former best new artist nominee at the Latin Grammys, hopes to inspire her fans through her personal and professional story. In addition to Pitizion, Latin Flow will tell the story of nine Colombian newcomers including Daniela Legarda, Mabiland, and Itzza Primera, to name a few.
Canelo Celebrates with Chente
After defeating Billy Saunders via an eight-round corner retirement on May 8, professional Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez celebrated his big win next to “his idol” Vicente Fernandez. This week, Canelo shared a photo on Instagram next to the iconic Regional Mexican star at his ranch in Mexico. The two stars are sitting on a couch, arms around each other, while Chente holds Canelo’s championship belt and Canelo holds tight to a Chente vinyl. “With my idol,” he simply captioned the picture in Spanish.
A Chris Perez Encounter
Chris Perez, a Latin Grammy-winning musician and widower of Selena Quintanilla, officially met rising actor JessePosey, who portrayed him in Netflix’s Selena: The Series. “Although we didn’t get to talk before the series was filmed/finished, we got to talking after it was finished…glad we did,” Perez expressed on Instagram this week, sharing a photo from the show. The meet-up comes a year after Perez said he had “no idea” about the series that was developed and executive produced by the Quintanilla family. “Here is a pic I just saw of the actor playing me in the Netflix series,” he wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo of the California-based actor. “For the record, never met him, haven’t seen the script, and I have NO idea what is going on…..but, I’d love to find out,” he added with a set of curious emojis. Perez was married to the Queen of Tex Mex from 1992 until her death in 1995 and formed part of Selena y Los Dinos.
