The American Music Awards....Emphasis on the "American" (L2)

   November 24th, as thousands of viewers may recall, were the American Music Awards, a night where artists of all genres and backgrounds are honored with performances, tributes, and of course, the prestige that comes with an award and the recognition of millions of fans. But another important statement was made: that of the role of Latin music in American culture.

    A common misconception that permeates U.S. culture is that when us citizens of the U.S. say "America", we are referring only to our 50 states. It seems that we forget that "America" truly refers to all of North, South, and Central America. While perhaps this cultural faux pas exists out of colloquial language and ease of identification (after all, in English there really is no word like estadounidense), I think it's time that we begin to notice how we can use the term "American". A perfect example of how it can bring us together, as many countries untied in one hemisphere, is through music.

   To set the tone for the night, bilingual rap and pop success Pitbull hosted the show. His smooth demeanor and distinct blending of both Spanish and English was the perfect crossover for the combination of music styles represented. This year's awards marked the 25th anniversary of the first Latin music performance on the AMA's, by one Gloria Estefan. This year also held the 15th anniversary of the introduction of the Favorite Latin Artist category. But the true highlight of this celebration of Latin music was Jennifer Lopez's tribute to the passionate Cuban salsa singer and performer, Celia Cruz.

    This event, however, was marked by some negative social media feedback. As has followed such events like Marc Antony singing "God Bless America" in July at the MLB All-Star Game, racist tweets surfaced. A common subject was why a "Mexican" was hosting the "American" Music Awards, despite the fact that Pitbull was born in Miami, and why Jennifer Lopez was singing in Spanish. The repetition of these xenophobic social media trends brings up a cultural issue. Why is the United States focused on denying Latin American influences their right to exist in this country? Granted, not every citizen shares this view, but it certainly permeates into our society. Perhaps instead of questioning bilingualism, place of birth, and nationality, we as a country should focus on the cultural and social benefits of merging cultural influences. The American Music Awards were certainly "American", incorporating sounds and songs from around the Americas. Comments aside, this event was a success in the celebration of American music...emphasis on the "American".