Romeo, Romeo, Romeo

In what surely has to qualify as a sign that the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor has awakened New York and its newspaper of record (no, I'm not talking about El Diario La Prensa) to things Latin@, the New York Times today "discovered" Aventura:

Mr. Santos, 27, is the frontman of Aventura, a quartet that specializes in the slinky Dominican ballad style called bachata. The group has helped make bachata’s romantic tidings and spiky guitar syncopations a staple of Latin radio; Mr. Santos, Aventura’s suave, sweet-voiced singer — best known by his nickname, Romeo — is a major star and heartthrob. But he and his band mates, Bronx-bred New Yorkers of Dominican descent who sing in both Spanish and English, are nearly invisible in the Anglo news media. Even in their hometown their renown varies from block to block.

“If I’m in a Latin neighborhood, and I walk into a restaurant, I might not be able to eat,” Mr. Santos said. “They’ll be there with the cameras, ‘Romeo, Romeo!’ Down here, though” — Mr. Santos gestured to the indifferent crowd milling on the sidewalk outside the movie theater (at Union Square) — “it’s not like that.”

So, the Times has finally discovered a band I really like. Maybe I should write some snarky commentary about the timing. No. Not yet. But before I do that, there's still time to sing along with this:



Enjoy.