Platonic and honest friendships between dudes can be so cute and downright awesome. The Urban Dictionary, the pinnacle of internet wisdom, defines “bromance” as “the complicated love and affection shared by two straight males.” We have our issues with the restrictive nature of this definition, but OK, we’ll go with it. The entertainment industry is full of relationships marked by “complicated love and affection.” Can we think about Ben Affleck without Matt Damon? Or our own Latino superstars Gael García Bernal without the other great Mexican actor of his generation, Diego Luna? (we mean, just look at them… the definition of Latino bromance right there). 

Well, a recent bromance in the music scene has sparked the imagination of millions. Colombian reggaeton powerhouses J Balvin (his full telenovela name is José Álvaro Osorio Balvín) and Maluma (nombre de culebrón: Juan Luis Londoño Arias) share a close bond. It is a true bromance that strips away any sense of competition between the two artists. Perhaps, because they share the same Colombian background and deep passion for music, J Balvin and Maluma have struck a friendship despite having a significant age difference of nine years. J Balvin was born in 1985 and Maluma in 1994. Perhaps Maluma finds in J Balvin a mentor, someone who is slightly more experienced in life and the many ups and downs of fame. The media has often played out a sort of rivalry between the kings of reggaeton, but these are only ill-founded rumors. Fact is, these two dudes love each other. 

These are some of the things we love about this pair and why we hope que su amistad sea rica, honesta y duradera. Enter the frase célebre of our dear Laura Quiñones from the legendary Carrusel, but with a twist: “ay, qué bromántico.”

They are both proud children of the city of Medellín and it shows.

J Balvin and Maluma are the faces of contemporary Colombia, and, just like Shakira a few years ago, they have helped wash away the harmful stereotypes that still subsist in popular culture. More so, they were both born and raised in the city of Medellín, which in the 1980s and 1990s became the infamous epicenter of the drug trade. J Balvin and Maluma are the perfect poster boys for the post-Escobar Medellín: creative, energetic and stepping firmly into the future. In one of the handful of photos together they have posted on social media, Maluma wrote: “Medellin pal mundo cucho!! Medellin tiene mucha luz para dar!!” (From Medellin to the world!! Medellin has a lot of light to give!!). Great artists go back to their roots. 

They both built their careers from the ground up, as second acts to legends like Daddy Yankee.

This photo was taken in Mexico City in 2016 when Maluma’s and J Balvin’s stars were just aligning and they were crossing over to international stardom outside of the Spanish-speaking market. This photo is a true delight: the past and present of a genre that has defined Latino music today. Who could have guessed they’d be such major artists today.

Igual de excéntricos, they are both equally quirky.

Both artists have created enigmatic personas that redefine Latin American masculinity. Going against traditional macho stereotypes, both take care of their appearance and choose styles that shine, form the clothes down to their often unique haircuts. They are more Lady Gaga than Daddy Yankee, and we say this in the best possible way.

They believe in musical collaboration and admire each other.

Look at those big smiles: not an ounce of professional jealousy. They have both praised each other’s musical prowess and have hinted at a possible further collaboration, which would be like the Super Bowl and the Oscars together for reggaeton fans worldwide. 

In fact, they are now teasing at an imminent full-on collaboration! They celebrated J Balvin’s cumple and increased our thirst in the process.

This is not a drill, we repeat, this is not a drill… this is what Maluma posted just a week ago to celebrate his amigacho‘s birthday. “We will soon bring something”, he writes. Se nos cuecen las habas to know what these two are plotting. They are playful… but come on, don’t play with us!

This teasing is just making us crazy, but they love it and we are sure they are having tons of fun a nuestras expensas!

We love how happy they always look together, smiling and living the high life. Here, Maluma is like “So what up, shall we release something together?”. 

They are not afraid to also tease each other on social media.

One of the ways in which the singers slay notions of conservative Latino masculinity is by calling out each other on their good looks. This is not common for two openly straight dudes, particularly in Latin America, and sensationalist media looks for a few dollars publishing rumors who are unfounded and insulting to the queer community. It is the twentieth-first century, people! 

Will the wait finally be over? We would love this bromance even more.

According to E! Latino, the singers met on April  2018 and their first collaboration, a remix of “X”, the song made famous by Nicky Jam and J Balvin, now Maluma and Ozuna, was released on June 29 of that same year. We would love this pair to collaborate much further, perhaps writing something together.

Se llevan pesado, pero se aguantan, like all good brothers from another mother.

In a video posted in February this year by the artists from the Colombian capital city Bogota, which might signal that they secretly wrote new material together, J Balvin mocks Maluma’s new haircut. He says: “Por fin se cortó el pelo, ya lo pueden presentar en la casa” (“He finally cut off his hair, you can take him home and introduce him to your family”). We should point out that Maluma cut off his famous cabellera for a good cause.

They seem to be aware of everything that the other does on social media, like good BFFs.

The perfect frenemies. In this photo, which has nearly a million likes, Maluma teases J Balvin: “Someone tell him who is the real daddy”. We can guess that Maluma didn’t really like that comment about his lost mane, eh?

We love to witness the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

They are both young men (J Balvin, the oldest, just turned 34 this month), so they will likely remain friends for years and years to come. Music careers, particularly in genres like reggaeton, which depends as much on talent as it does on youth, tend to be short. We can just imagine what they will look like as a pair of viejitos watching videos of their best years and, hopefully, smiling over their many collaborations. Se vale soñar.

READ: 21 Things You Didn’t Know About Reggaeton Star J Balvin

If you’re a fan of movies and a lover of all-things Latino, the 91st Academy Awards did not disappoint. Yes, the Hollywood industry is still lacking representation, especially when it comes to Latinos. However, there’s no denying that we are here, and the Oscars last night in LA proved that 100 percent.

Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” — and its ten nominations — is a big reason that Mexico and Latinos shined this year at the Oscars. Our favorite Latino stars were also on hand and brought so much light, love, and of course, stylish glam.

Jennifer Lopez showed up in a disco-style dress.

Lopez, wearing a Tom Ford gown, looked absolutely magical in the dress. In all honesty, however, it was too shimmery. The dress was blinding on the red carpet and when she was presenting alongside actor Chris Pine she practically made him disappear. Love the glamour, but it was a little much

Tessa Thompson looked ravishing in this gorgeous Chanel black dress.

She was stunning. Period.

Every person in “Roma” was also serving looks at the Oscars.

With so much attention going toward Yalitza Aparicio, Alfonso Cuarón, Marina de Tavira, it’s nice to see the rest of the cast enjoying the festivities.

While on the red carpet, Diego Luna said he loved that he heard so many people speaking Spanish.

We love this picture of Luna, Aparcio, and her mother. Luna interviewed Aparacio very recently, and the two both share the experience of working on a Cuarón film.

Javier Bardem rocked out during a Queen performance.

Queen — fronted by Adam Lambert — opened the Oscars by performing “We Are The Champions.” The main person to be rocking out during the mini concert was Bardem who was literally headbanging.

Bardem also presented Best Foreign Film and spoke — in Spanish — about the importance of learning from other cultures.

We were all impressed by Bardem’s flawless speech, but actress Angela Basset was clearly more impressed.

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-VerseSpider” won Best Animated Feature

“I grew up in a bilingual household in the bilingual city of Miami where you hear Spanish all over the place, and it’s not particularly remarkable,” producer and co-writer Phil Lord said in an interview with Remezcla. “It was important for us to hear Spanish and not necessarily have it subtitled. It’s just part of the fabric of Miles’ community and family life.”

Luna brought even more Spanish while presenting one of the Best Picture nominations — for “Roma” of course.

Luna walked on stage and began speaking in Spanish alongside chef José Andrés. Luna said in Spanish “the door is now opened and no one will get us out.” Andrés said “Each person’s life is a recipe all on its own with different measures of joy and sadness, struggle and success, love and loss. All of the ingredients are universal.”

Guillermo Del Toro presented Best Director to Alfonso Cuarón.

“Being here doesn’t get old” Cuarón said, who is now a seasoned Oscar winner.

Congrats to all the winners!

READ: Latinos Have A Long History Of Being Nominated At The Academy Awards With Some Major Wins

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