Ricky Martin has long been an international superstar – even long before ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’ took over virtually every airway in the world. But it’s hard to deny that with that song, the Puerto Rican singer entered the global mainstream and ever since he’s been a pop icon.

From being one of the first major pop stars to publicly come out as gay, to acting in popular TV series, and getting married and becoming a father of four, Ricky Martin has always been a very busy man.

And despite a global pandemic that has forced all of us to stay at home and find a ‘new normal,’ Martin has forged a path forward. He recently sat down for an interview with Billboard to discuss everything from new music, the global Coronavirus pandemic, and his identity as an out and proud gay Latino.

Considering we’re all still living amid a global pandemic, the Billboard interview started on this very relevant topic.

@ricky_martin & @RollingStone interview septembre 2020. #rickymartin #coverboy #model #Album11 #NewSingle #Music #MovimientoTour #puertorico #gay https://t.co/A9eRTrT8Md

— Ricky Martin Army Official (@RMArmyOff) September 18, 2020

Billboard points out that Martin and his family live in a very big and beautiful house in Beverly Hills, which likely makes staying at home a bit easier compared to the rest of us. However, Martin points out that he has a very loud home – with four kids and his mom all living under one roof. But he admits, “…I am very lucky. I am in a comfortable home where my kids can play.”

Ricky Martin is also working on new music. He released Pausa in May, and now as he works on new music the world is a very different place. He told Billboard: “I started working on my music maybe nine months ago. In my mind, the album was going to be called Movimiento, which means movement. But with all this [pandemic], it just told me… “The way it was, was not working. Let’s do it differently.” I have music with rhythm, but I was not going to tell people to move! So I named it Pausa.”

He also speaks about his close relationship with fellow Puerto Rican, El Conejo Malo.

Shortly after Billboard released its history-making cover with Bad Bunny on the the cover, Martin described San Benito as a “Latin queer icon.” Many people – of all backgrounds – took issue with that. But Ricky Martin tells Billboard that “allies are so important. Without them, our fight for equality is impossible. It really tickles me to see Bad Bunny as a gay icon — just like Cher could be. Why not?”

The Puerto Rican singer shared what his coming out experience was like and reveals he never tires of sharing it.

Ricky Martin reflects on the moment he admitted to himself that he was gay https://t.co/oRgHOyIZJc

— sunviraj sonnet🏳️‍🌈 activist (@sonnetsunvi) September 21, 2020

In the interview, Martin is very open about his coming out as gay. The singer came out as gay in 2010, married husband Jwan Yosef in 2017, and together the couple is raising four children.

Rolling Stone asked Martin, 48, what it was like to remain closeted during “the most public, exposed period” of his life.

“I had moments of extreme positivity, and not so positive [moments],” Martin answered. “Life was a bit on steroids in those days. Everything was really intense, but I could take it! I come from a school of military discipline when it comes to training for music, dance, and acting. I started when I was 12. So for me, it was about not being ready to open [up]. When you open an egg from the outside, what comes out is death. But when the egg opens from the inside, what comes out is life. It’s something that needs to come from within. Every time someone forces someone to come out, what you’re doing is you’re destroying the natural flow of the self-discovery.”

When asked what motivated him to come out publicly, Martin said that a kid somewhere in America needs to see positive headlines about coming out.

“Today I woke up to this beautiful headline that I know someone out there is in need of. The headline was something like, ‘I came out. And ever since I’ve been the happiest.’ Something like that, something… My heart is beating faster because I know today a kid somewhere in America woke up needing to hear those words. A lot of people say they get tired of talking about the same thing. Why would I? Are you kidding me? For so many years I had to keep it inside. And then the effect of someone… What people are getting from it in their healing process?”

Billboard also asked Martin his feelings on how the media is profiting and accepting Puerto Rican and Latinx culture.

When asked if he feels that the American media has gotten better or more open to understanding Puerto Rican culture, Martin responded: “We certainly have a long way to go, but the important thing is that we see that there’s an audience that is interested. And it’s up to us to bring [the] education.”

And he’s absolutely right. This year has seen several Latino artists rise to the top of all sorts of charts. Bad Bunny and J Balvin are among the most streamed artists globally and Bad Bunny is one of the most streamed artists on YouTube as well.

Meanwhile, Maluma and Jennifer Lopez are working on a film that will be out early next year. The Emmy’s, VMAs, and other award shows finally had decent representation of artists of color – particularly among the Latinx community.

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Everyone could not stop talking about Joe Biden playing “Despacito” at a recent event. Even Fox News, of course, couldn’t stop talking about it but Sean Hannity made the news on social media. It isn’t because of how he talked about the story. Instead, it was about how he pronounced the song.

Sean Hannity had a real problem with Joe Biden playing “Despacito” at a recent campaign event.

“Duh-SPAH-seh-tow”pic.twitter.com/rlnxroVJIs

— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) September 17, 2020

Vice President Biden was in Kissimmee, Florida at a campaign event at the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month when he played “Despacito” in the microphone from his phone. Biden was panned across social media with claims that he was pandering to the Latino community by playing the song. However, it is important to note that Luis Fonsi, the singer of the song, had just introduced him so it seems like a playful moment.

First, some people are really impressed that these are scandals right now for Biden.

Dude, if the worst thing one can say about Biden is this, while Donald is the most corrupt, most anti-democratic president in our history, the choice is clear #BidenHarrisToSaveAmerica

— Cal_HAM (@Cal_HAM) September 17, 2020

President Donald Trump responded to the moment by tweeting a doctored film. The president found the time to find a video where “Despacito” is replaced by N.W.A.’s “F— Tha Police.” The video feeds into President Trump’s campaign against Biden claiming that the former vice president supports defunding the police. Biden has spoken on the issue and is not in favor of defunding police wanting to add to the law enforcement budget.

Some people are curious about how Hannity made it so long without ever hearing the song.

This song was #1 for 16 consecutive weeks. No song had ever in the history of the Billboard Top 100 been on top longer than that.

It takes an incredible amount of either cultural ignorance or racism to not be familiar with Despacito https://t.co/zfVoAMYWnK

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 17, 2020

We all remember the times of “Despacito.” The song was on the radio waves on every channel for months. There was no escaping the song because it was everywhere. Somehow, Hannity managed to live during this time and managed to not hear the song as much as the average American.

American truly wants to know how he managed to mispronounce one of the biggest songs in the world.

still not over how sean hannity pronounces "despacito" pic.twitter.com/zD2U2DvBHj

— The Late Late Show with James Corden (@latelateshow) September 21, 2020

Like, even Justin Bieber learned how to pronounce the song. It is probably one of the most known Spanish words thanks to Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee making it the song of the summer when it was released. The singers even say is slowly and break it down to the syllables.

Of course, this led people to assume how he pronounces other Spanish words that most people know.

He definitely prounounces it “Kway-suh-dill-ah”

— Grace 🗽 (@graceamoseley) September 17, 2020

We all know people who can’t properly pronounce some Spanish words. Now, there is nothing wrong with mispronouncing a Spanish word. People who really try are often left working on their pronunciation. However, people are surprised that someone could mispronounce such a widely known word.

The moment has reminded some of another famous mispronunciation on Fox News.

Move over, Lou Dobbs. A new contender has emerged! pic.twitter.com/Mo3FI5z4ZL

— Laura Martínez® (@miblogestublog) September 17, 2020

In October of 2018, Lou Dobbs was talking to his viewers about the migrant caravan making their way through Mexico heading to the U.S. While reporting on the caravan, Dobbs tried his best to pronounce Huixtla and what came out was definitely not that.

READ: Joe Biden Speaks Alongside ‘Fearless Fighter’ Kamala Harris In First Appearance And Recalls Her Family’s Immigrant Story

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