¡Mi gente! Your faves could never. Latin music domination continues around the world with the top spots of global streaming platforms being stacked with Latinx artists. What a time to be alive. Remember when we all had to pretend Drake was Dominican to get some kind of representation out here? But when you think about the sheer number of people on the planet that speak Spanish, it totally makes sense that Latinx artists would have such a massive reach. 

And let’s be real, while fluency helps, you really don’t have to be proficient to enjoy reggaeton. The energetic, pulsating beats can compel anyone to move. Do you really think everyone in the United States knew the English translation of Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” in order to enjoy it? Music transcends language and so does Colombian trap artist J Balvin apparently. Do you think anyone even noticed that the lyrics in “Harlem Shake” are largely in Spanish? Nope. 

J Balvin is here to stay.

For six consecutive weeks, J Balvin has chopped the global charts on YouTube. That’s a total of 1.26 billion views on the platform. 

“Artista más visto en YouTube Global,” Balvin wrote in an Instagram caption.

This comes as no surprise to Balvin fans. In 2018, Balvin ousted drake as the most-streamed artist worldwide on Spotify. The singer surpassed 48 million monthly listeners last summer thanks to his single “X” with Nicky Jam which streamed over 327 million times. Balvin is in great company on the global charts with Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny, and Ozuna all in the top 10. The trio’s single “China” with Anuel AA and Karol G is currently number 1 on the YouTube global charts and number 2 in the United States chart. However, we’re pleased to note that “Señorita” by Camilla Cabello and Shawn Mendes is topping the charts in the states. 

Balvin shouts out his Latinx fans. 

“Artista más escuchado en el mundo en @spotify posición #1 que celebro con todos mis latinos y los soñadores. Gracias Gracias Gracias,” Balvin wrote in the caption. 

Our boy is famous basically everywhere?

The top countries streaming Balvin’s music are Mexico with 240 million views, Argentina with 121 million views, and Colombia with 121 million views. The United States is in fourth place with 112 million views, followed by Spain, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, and Venezuela. But fear not, Balvin has fans in at least 100 different countries according to YouTube. 

We stan a humble king of the masses!

Like, literally could you imagine how this level of adoration and attention would completely warp your mind? I would be a monster. I would build a house out of fan mail and then set it ablaze just to laugh at my stupid fans. I’d have so many, who cares! Meanwhile, the artist, who typically regales his followers with personal messages on Instagram every morning at 5 a.m., knows how to connect with his fans. Balvin even served ordinary people from a coffee cart in New York City the other day. 

“Buenos días , buenos días , buenos días !!!!! ARCOÍRIS TOUR empieza 30 de Agosto en Puerto Rico !! Choliseo,” he wrote on Instagram. 

 We stan a humble king of the masses!

This isn’t the first Latin wave (and it won’t be the last).

In the 1990s, the late and great Selena catapulted Tejano and Cumbia music into the mainstream American consciousness. This ushered in the era of the “Latin Explosion” where legends were born. Ricky Martin, Thalía, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias, and Jennifer Lopez made their marks. Hell, even Frank Sinatra personally invited Luis Miguel to record a duet of “Come Fly With Me” on his 1994 album Duets II. 

In the 2000s, there was the “Latin Pop Boom” that saw the likes of Shakira, Paulina Rubio, and Christina Aguilera topping the charts. You may even remember non-Latinx artists trying to ride the wave with Beyoncé collaborating with Shakira on the duet, “Beautiful Liar,” and releasing a Spanish language version of the single “Irreplaceable.” It almost feels odd to call these decades different waves or eras when it is pretty clear Latinxs have been consistently rocking the charts since Gloria Estefan in the 1980s. Since then, in the United States, we have been blessed with many more Latinx acts including the likes of Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Camila Cabello, Becky G, and Cardi B. And of course, there are all the amazing imports from Latinx countries around the world. If we want to continue this Latinx chart domination, I only have one piece of advice: stream “China” by J. Balvin on YouTube and Spotify!

It was just a normal late night in for two teenagers in Lake Tahoe watching TV when they heard the refrigerator open. Hayes Sherman, 15, knew his mom and her cousin were sleeping upstairs, but couldn’t imagine they’d be up that late for a midnight snack.

It was a bear, and he was there for their tacos. Thanks to a Nest camera, the bear’s escapade was all caught on camera.

When the teens heard “Tupperware being opened really loudly and aggressively,” they knew something was wrong.

Not a normal mom move. The fridge door was opened for so long that the door started to beep. “I wasn’t exactly sure of what to do,” Hayes said.

The bear actually *broke* the Tupperware to get to the tacos.

The bear topped off his Taco night with two pints of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream–the Half Baked and The Tonight Dough flavors, of course. The bear also helped himself to some crackers. Susan Mohun, Hayes’ mother, took to Facebook to tell her friends, “Not all houseguests are considerate.”

“I was really scared,” Hayes said of the bear.

They turned the TV off and went to hold the sliding door in place to make sure the bear didn’t get into the same room as them. Hayes and his friend, Bobby Harden, 15, held the door closed as the bear tried to open it. The door was shaking when Hayes realized they didn’t have their phones and couldn’t even warn his mom.

An Apple watch ended up saving the day, but nothing could save the tacos at that point.

He used his Apple watch to call his mom and whispered, “Mom, there is a bear in the house. Don’t come downstairs.” Then, he called the police. “It was very difficult, because I was whispering to 911 on my watch in a very dark room while trying to hold the door closed so the bear couldn’t get in,” Hayes later recalled.

Mohun didn’t even believe her son until she looked out the window and saw her car doors were opened.

“I saw my car doors were opened, and I heard the refrigerator alarm beeping really loudly and realized those were two bad signs,” she said. Mohun later recalled that she was battling some serious maternal instincts. “That is the worst-case scenario as a parent to have a bear between you and your children,” she said. “I am glad that I didn’t run downstairs, because that probably would have just agitated the bear. It was one of the scarier parenting moments I’ve ever had, but thank God it all worked out,” she said.

Just 13 minutes later, the police arrived.

For Hayes, 13 minutes of barricading your door against a hungry bear felt like hours. All police had to do was open the front door and watch the bear leave the house. The bear was so reluctant to leave the taco party, loitering in the driveway, that Deputy Prero fired a warning shot from her gun to make the bear get a move on.

The teens were so happy to see Deputy Prero that they hugged her, and, claro, took a photo together. In a Facebook post by Placer County Sheriff’s Office, the solution to the bear problem was simple. From the upstairs bedroom window, Mohun “explained the layout of the house and Deputy Prero quickly realized the bear entered through an unlocked garage door, which then closed behind the bear. Deputy Prero opened the front door (and got out of the way!), allowing for an avenue of exit.”

The bear *did* leave an unwelcome “present” on their living room rug.

We suspect that the Tupperware in question weren’t simple tubs of mantequilla. The damages are unimaginable. No more tacos, broken brand-name Tupperware and a giant caca in the living room. Thanks, bear.

If you live in bear country, and want to protect your tacos, you should probably listen to Placer County Sheriff’s Office’s warning.

Placer County Sheriff’s Office reported that “deputies have responded to many bear related calls in the Tahoe area the last couple of weeks and want to remind our home owners and visitors to lock their car doors and all residence doors. Additionally, don’t leave any food in cars. Bears have a very keen sense of smell and will find it, even behind locked car doors!”

Protect your tacos, people!