Variety Act Miami #8: Meet Leila Cobo, Author, Journalist, and VP, Latin Industry Lead of Billboard.
Latin music expert, journalist and storyteller; classical pianist; Key Biscayne queen.
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You’re reading the eighth edition of Variety Act Miami, the newsletter dedicated to spotlighting multidimensional Miamians. I’m your compère, Natalie Guevara—welcome!
Today, we meet a true Renaissance person: Leila Cobo. Leila is one of the world’s foremost experts on Latin music and its technicolor spectrum of genres, artists, songwriters, executives—and yes, stories. A Fulbright scholar from Cali, Colombia and current resident of Key Biscayne who is stunningly dexterous in the arenas of writing and music, she’s an author, novelist, journalist, and classical pianist. She’s also funny, warm, and a trove of great Miami recommendations, as you’ll soon find out.
Leila is a meticulous storyteller who never fails to move me with how thoughtfully she explores artists’ complex relationships with their own work. Her latest book, Decoding “Despacito”: An Oral History of Latin Music (Penguin Random House) takes readers on an in-depth, behind-the-scenes journey through Latin music’s biggest hits of the last 50 years, from José Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” to Rosalía’s “Malamente.” Hand-picked by The New York Times for its list of recommended summer reads—and devoured by me during a recent family trip to the Dominican Republic, which of course made the section on Juan Luis Guerra’s “Burbujas de Amor” hit that much harder!—each and every chapter in Decoding “Despacito” is compulsively readable and somehow more illuminating than the last.
And we haven’t even gotten to Leila’s day job. As Billboard’s VP of Latin Music, she is the first United States-based journalist to prominently cover Latin music on a daily basis, widening the aperture of mainstream music journalism and transforming how Latin music is reported on, discussed, understood, and respected both stateside and worldwide. Under Leila’s stewardship, Billboard has risen to become a leading authority on Latin music and its players, its Latin vertical attracting over two million unique visitors monthly. Billboard has also established itself as the marquee platform celebrating the leading voices of the Latin music movement. This fall, Billboard Latin Music Week—the biggest and longest-running Latin music event globally, and one of Leila’s top priorities at Billboard every year— returns to Miami September 20-25 with live programming featuring exclusive conversations, workshops, and performances with Latin music’s premier hitmakers, influencers, and industry talents. Latin music fans can register at BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com beginning Monday, July 19, as well as follow @BillboardLatin for updates.
In addition to Billboard’s daily, in-depth coverage and annual tentpoles dedicated to Latin music (including the Billboard Latin Music Awards, taking place Thursday, September 23 at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables), the publication has a new podcast in the works, hosted by Leila, that will give audiences a richer understanding and appreciation of their favorite artists and songs. Titled Hitmakers, the podcast will share the stories of the executives behind game-changing names and moments in Latin music. A definite “follow and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts” situation, so keep your ears peeled.
Without further ado, here’s Leila!
MEET LEILA COBO, AUTHOR, JOURNALIST, AND VP, LATIN INDUSTRY LEAD OF BILLBOARD.
On her life-long love of words and music and cultivating each discipline:
I was always in love with both worlds, since I was very little. I was the youngest in a family of four, and when my two brothers and sister went to school, our nanny taught me how to read when I was very young. I fell in love with words and writing and stories. I read all day.
Same with music. My mother was a very good amateur pianist and we had two pianos at home: an upright downstairs in the playroom and a grand upstairs. We were all expected to learn, and I was obsessed with “graduating” to the upstairs piano. My two eldest siblings eventually dropped music, and one of my brothers became a classical guitarist; one of the top in the world, actually (Ricardo Cobo). I continued with piano, and I ultimately convinced my mom to take the grand piano downstairs so I could practice in peace.
I fully expected to become a professional musician. But in high school I began to write short stories and essays and I loved it. It was a whole other way of creating. I was always torn between the two disciplines and in the end I found a way to combine the two. My music writing totally and completely benefits from my knowledge of music. It’s essential.
On her different approach to writing fiction versus producing journalism:
Although my writing style overall is very journalistic—descriptive and to the point versus highly romantic and reflective—the approach is completely different.
It hit me when I started to write my first novel, Tell Me Something True. I was working at the Los Angeles Times then, and I wrote the first chapter in a couple of hours and after maybe two pages I was done and realized I had an entire book to fill. After I got over the initial panic of, “Oh my God, how am I ever going to write hundreds of pages?” I thought, “Gosh, there is no word count! I can write everything that’s in my head!” In fiction there are no boundaries of length or content, really. I could go anywhere and say anything as long as it fits the story.
Journalism is a very restrictive mode: You’re bound by length, by the news, by your reporting, by the facts. It’s not a place to editorialize. When I’m writing the news or reporting, I get to work: I have a deadline, I gather the information, I am very clear and to the point, I turn it in. It’s a task, even at its best.
When I write fiction, I have to mentally go to this other place, inhabit someone else’s body, I have to be alone in my zone. I talk out loud when I write fiction. I cry, I laugh. I’m making up this whole world and these characters as I go along. I really don’t know where they’ll take me, but that makes it all the more wonderful.
On how she structures her time and keeps her to-do list in check:
I am extremely deadline- and goal-oriented. Give me a deadline, and I will meet it, come what may. I need deadlines to finish projects. Especially, because after many years, I’ve realized I simply can’t do just one thing at a time. I suppose it’s my internal FOMO, but I just can’t. If I’m doing a single task, I actively look for something to do that I love or badly want. Right now, for example, I’m “doctoring” a short book.
I do think time is elastic, to a point. The more you need to do, the more time you have, somehow (also the art of being a mother, right?). I start my days early—by 7 am I’m in front of my computer—and I end them late. I do my extras on the two extremes, before 9 am and after 9 pm, and I always work on weekends. I have also finally learned to say no, which, as many know, is a very difficult thing to do.
On writing Decoding “Despacito,” transcending temporary setbacks during the process, and decompressing:
Decoding “Despacito” required a lot of interviewing, and it was very frustrating for me to find that a couple of artists didn’t want to participate. At the beginning, I took it personally, which I shouldn't have, because it isn’t. Once I came to terms with the fact that different people are at different points in their lives at any given time, I was able to move on and accept that this was my book, and I could make what I wanted out of it.
Decoding was easier than other books in the sense that it was very much my wheelhouse; I was writing about what I cover day in and day out and it made the process much smoother than any other book I’ve written. As far as clearing my head, the best remedy for me is a cardio workout. It’s my therapy. After even the worst day, you work out, sweat, get those endorphins going, and ideas start to flow!
On which stories in Decoding “Despacito” were especially revelatory and challenged her original assumptions about a song:
All of them did. That was a wonderful part of the process: Discovering these great, untold stories. But I’ll mention two: Rosalía’s “Malamente” because it was such a crafted song—that’s the best way I can describe it. It was less a composition than an architectural feat, the way they added loops and programming—very contemporary ways of writing and producing, but laid on top of an extremely traditional foundation of flamenco verses. There was nothing accidental in that track.
And then, there was Julio Iglesias’s “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before,” which was simply such a great story. Julio talking how he met Willie Nelson is priceless; the ultimate intercultural experience. And I had never heard him tell it before.
On her cultural diet:
Like everyone else, I think, I am streaming an inordinate amount of content. And because my grown children were with us during the pandemic, I was exposed to different content I would normally not have watched.
Recent binges: The French series Lupin on Netflix, which I love; it’s such a different approach and aesthetic to intrigue. I also fell in love with Killing Eve on Hulu after hating the first season. I just love the character development in that one.
And I love fiction. I read fiction almost every day before I go to bed. I really appreciate the longform content in The New York Times and The Washington Post. The Post, especially, tells a lot of untold stories that humanize people who need humanizing.
And I listen to a lot of podcasts: This American Life, Hidden Brain, The Moth. How I Built This was the inspiration for a new podcast I am launching with Billboard called Hitmakers. It tells the stories of the executives behind some of the biggest names in Latin music.
On what she’s up to at 12 pm on a Wednesday:
I’m in the middle of a planning meeting for Billboard Latin Music Week. It’s a bit overwhelming. That event has grown and grown and grown and it’s hard to let go of controlling every aspect of it. I program between 16 and 20 panels. It's taking place September 20-25 at the Faena Forum in Miami Beach, and I really urge all Latin music fans to register at BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com (Ed. note: Registration opens on Monday, July 19). We have exclusive artist conversations and panels lined up.
On how she’s enjoying 6 pm on a Saturday:
I am probably working out and then getting ready to hopefully meet friends and just eat and chat and drink Prosecco, which is my favorite relaxing pastime.
On the cultural critics she admires:
In the world of podcasting, I love Shankar Vedantam and his Hidden Brain podcast and radio show. It is so thought-provoking.
As a novelist, Ann Patchett is extraordinary.
As far as music goes, I read and respect Felix Contreras (Alt.Latino), Jem Aswad and Shirley Halperin (Variety), and Billboard’s own Jason Lipshutz, Andrew Unterberger, Dan Rys, Lyndsey Havens, Gail Mitchell, Melinda Newman, and my right and left hands: Jessica Roiz and Griselda Flores. They know their music.
On one picture from her camera roll:
Working out at Crandon Park on a Saturday morning.
LEILA’S MIAMI FAVORITES.
Miami anthem (current or classic!): Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine’s “Conga.”
Restaurants & bars: For sushi, I like Sugarcane in Midtown and Pubbelly Sushi. I also love going to MIA Market in the Design District. The manager, Gaston, is a gem. I love drinks at the Mandarin Oriental, and my go-tos for business lunches are Edge at the Four Seasons and Novecento Brickell. I love the Italian ambience at Mr. C in Coconut Grove. And I also love breakfast and lunch at Artisan in Key Biscayne and at Boater’s Grill, the restaurant right on No Name Harbor inside Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park.
Cafés, diners, bakeries, & ventanitas: Can I please chastise here? I loved Oasis in Key Biscayne (Ed. note: Oasis, your legend looms large!), and I cannot believe they purchased it to close it down.
I gotta give a shoutout to my neighborhood joints: I love The Golden Hog marketplace in Key Biscayne; great coffee. Also, surprisingly: The best pandebonos and café con leche, in my opinion, are at 7-Eleven!
Threefold Café in the Gables is exquisite.
Finally, during the pandemic I discovered Koffee Kult, a coffee roaster near Pompano Beach. Best. Coffee. Ever.
Cultural centers: I still love the Fillmore Miami Beach, and the FTX Arena (formerly the American Airlines Arena) is so close to my house; I love to go. Hoy Como Ayer in Calle Ocho is forever a classic. And the Arsht Center is beautiful.
Miami-based performer: My hubby, Arthur Hanlon, is the best pop and jazz pianist I know in town or anywhere.
Small businesses: There are many that I follow and endorse. Here in Key Biscayne, I’m a fan of Marcelo’s Ceviches—fresh ceviche brought to your door. Benjamin Vargas (tel. 786-417-8719) makes the best Colombian empanadas anywhere, and also brings them to your house. The best paella is at La Despensa. I love the rum cakes at Bang Bang Bakehouse. And I get my hair done at Martha Isaac Day Spa in Coral Gables.
The Great Outdoors: Definitely my own Crandon Park and Bill Baggs.
Most delightful discovery made during quarantine: The Cleat at Bill Baggs. You get there at 5 pm, order a nice drink and watch the sun set over the Atlantic. It’s such a joy.
The recommendation you’ll always give to a first-time Miami visitor: Try to see a bit of everything. Yes, there’s shopping, and I highly recommend Brickell City Centre and Merrick Park because they’re so lovely and parking is easy. But you must check out the beaches and parks. Rent bikes and paddleboards at Crandon Beach and Bill Baggs in Key Biscayne, or work out at Peacock Park in Coconut Grove.
Wynwood is a must. There is no other district like that anywhere that I have seen; the murals are stunning and it’s full of cute shops.
You must have Cuban and Colombian food. And check out the Arsht Center.
THANKS, LEILA!
Follow Leila at @leilacobo to keep up with her volume of terrific work exploring, examining, and exalting Latin music and its many dimensions. And if you’re in town in late September, register for Billboard Latin Music Week at BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com and follow the conversation on @BillboardLatin.
Until next time, un abrazo!
This post has been updated at 11:00 am EDT on Friday, July 16th to include additional details about 2021 Billboard Latin Music Week and the 2021 Billboard Latin Music Awards.