Leila Cobo Talks Process For Selecting Honorees, Says Celia Cruz's Success Should Be Studied & More | Billboard Latin Women in Music 2025 - video Dailymotion

Leila Cobo chatted with Billboard’s Griselda Flores and Jessica Roiz ahead of Billboard Latin Women in Music 2025.

Transcript

00:00How special is a night like tonight for you?

00:12It is super I know it sounds cliche to say it's super special but it is because it's the third

00:19year and and the fact that we're you know when we did this the first year we we I think we were

00:26collectively like very excited but we had no idea we were like is this gonna be one year two years we

00:32didn't know and the fact that really so many people have put faith in the project it's working

00:38Telemundo has really been behind it I have to say on a third year and with so many women

00:47that we have to choose from that really fills me with with uh with joy because I we didn't think

00:53we weren't sure if it was gonna last and now we see that we kind of placed our bets correctly and our

00:59faith was well placed and it's I feel like I see everyone just so excited and looking forward to

01:04this particular event obviously because celebrating women is something that we do constantly at work

01:09but also in our personal lives so this is something that I this is one of my favorite events um do you

01:15see it keep going do we have another year we have another year we have more than one year we have

01:21many years I can't speak for anyone but I have faith I have faith that this is gonna last I do and I

01:32and I see many new women coming up and you know what's also exciting I see many established artists like

01:39older artists that are touring again so it's like every year we have to shift through all these artists and

01:46and and I keep thinking oh my god tenemos mujeres latinas en la musica for 20 more years

01:53estamos bien leila one of our frequently asked questions is how does bilber select the honorees

01:59every year well it's a very complex puzzle but we look first and foremost at uh have what kind of success

02:09have they had in the year how relevant are they for that year what's happening with them so though if they

02:15have a new album a new tour if they've done particularly well if they've launched a new

02:19project like someone was asking me why Selena Gomez for women of the year for example and I was saying

02:25because Selena had a really interesting and stellar year you know she had the movie she has her new

02:31album she has all her product lines there's a lot happening with this woman she's also someone who speaks

02:38out about many things so we look kind of like at a whole picture but really we want artists who are

02:44relevant this year and who are some of those female artists that Leila Covo listens to oh my gosh I

02:51listen to a lot I definitely listen to Evie Queen I definitely listen to Ana Bárbara I've been listening

02:58to Nati's new Wachata album and I like Yami Safi as a new artist um no I listen to a lot I I mean

03:08Shakira and Karol G because I'm Colombiana so they're always on my playlist

03:13And yeah to finish I have to ask Celia Cruz obviously would have been a hundred this year

03:18would have turned a hundred this year why is it important and we're celebrating her in a big way

03:23this year why is it important to keep talking about what she's done for music well Celia is another one

03:30that's on my playlist because I think Celia is one of the best artists of all time in any language and I

03:37had the great privilege of meeting her and interviewing her you know late in life I think

03:44she's just so phenomenal I think everybody should everybody women and men should study Celia's live

03:50performances and appreciate what she did on stage her command her vocal command this is a woman who

03:57never lip-synced ever ever she never lip-synced in her life and uh and I think she's extraordinary

04:04her work ethic her professionalism uh the way she carried herself and she was just so nice and warm

04:12and humble and down-to-earth to me she is like everything an artist should be wow I love that

04:18Leila have so much fun thank you for everything that you do for women in Latin music thank you