Fito Blanko is an irrepressible ambassador for Toronto's Latin music scene
By Ben RaynerPop Music Critic
Tues., Aug. 11, 2015timer3 min. read
Ideally, Fito Blanko would prefer it if Toronto at large was better acquainted with the wealth of world-class Latin pop music being made within its city limits, but he's not bitter about being somewhat relegated to the fringes for now.
"No, no," shrugs the likeable Mississauga singer, born Roberto Testa in Panama 31 years ago, over a couple of patio pints one recent sunny afternoon. "A lot of people don't know that there's this type of talent here in Toronto, Latin talent. Just like me, there are tons of other Latin artists and musicians who do this every day.
"I just feel like they would enjoy my music if they got a chance to hear it. I would play any festival — it doesn't matter who I'm opening up for or who the festival is catered to — because I know that the music knows no boundaries. It's infectious. You feel it. So you don't necessarily have to be into my music to catch a Fito Blanko show and really understand it.
"It all boils down to the music. I'm blessed and I'm happy with where I'm at right now."
As he has every right to be. After flirting with the "big leagues" for several years now — collaborations with the likes of Drake, Beenie Man, Fat Joe and Elvis Crespo (with whom Blanko was nominated for a Latin Grammy in 2013 for "Pegadito Suavecito"), enthusiastic support from Pitbull manager Robert Fernandez and, in 2013, a signing to the popular Miami rapper's Mr. 305 Inc. label — Blanko made a lunge for the big leagues this past spring when his jubilant dance-pop hit "Meneo" found its way onto the bestselling Furious 7 soundtrack.
That song has been ubiquitous on at least four continents' YouTube playlists ever since, while Blanko himself has been a conspicuous local presence during the past month's Pan Am/Parapan Am Games festivities, acting as an official ambassador for the event and a three-time Panamania performer, and lending the games with an official anthem entitled "Come Alive."
The irrepressibly enthusiastic performer has, however, rather boldly elected not to follow "Meneo" up with more of the same high-energy club fodder he's effortlessly cranked out since his debut single "VIP" first made the rounds a decade ago, but with a noticeably subtler and slinkier set of mid-tempo numbers entitled Paraíso Nocturno due at the end of August via his own Crown Loyalty Entertainment indie imprint.
"I realized that all the songs had a certain feel, a certain vibe, so I wanted to keep that sound throughout the entire record; I didn't want to disturb it by doing something that people are more familiar with when it comes to my music," he says.
"It's kind of exciting. Some people might take it as a risk. 'If you have an audience, why don't you just cater to your audience and repeat?' And that's cool. But I've been in the music industry long enough to know it's always possible to reinvent yourself and there's nothing more rewarding than creating a certain sound, because once you create that sound it becomes yours. It becomes your sound. And I feel like this is kind of how this album worked. On this particular project, we created a sound and we stuck to it."
Mississauga's own Fito Blanko performs his hit from the Furious 7 soundtrack and chats with music critic Ben Rayner during another edition of the Toronto Star's Newsroom Concert Series.
Mississauga's Fito Blanko is the Pan Am Games' ambassador-about-town and a Panamania performer. He sings 'Come Alive' and chats with music critic Ben Rayner during another edition of the Toronto Star's Newsroom Concert Series.
Blanko concedes the new direction — which he and producer/right-hand man Sensei Musica have dubbed "reggae-rotic" — is better suited to late-night, windows-down summer drives than tropical beach parties. But he's hoping that the many new fans he's earned this year will come along for that ride.
"This platform that was given to me with The Fast and the Furious has really opened a lot of doors for me internationally," he says. "What's crazy is the places that some of those views are coming from. A lot of them are coming from different places in Europe, a lot from Asia, so it's a testament to the franchise itself but also a testament to the music, as well. Music knows no boundaries, no language — it's a vibe thing."