CONTENTS

De La Torre
Latin Pop from the Heartland
By Dan Kimpel
A
mbition and drive are generally revealed early in the lives of artists.
For 19-year-old songwriter-performer De La Torre, it was this spirit
that determined he would attend his senior year of high school
online, so he could devote his energies to making a series of YouTube
videos. It was these videos that impressed Grammy-winning platinum
songwriter-producer Desmond Child.
De La Torre has now relocated from his hometown of Bowling Green,
OH to Los Angeles, CA. There he is tracking
his debut album Nosotros and developing
his career with the guidance of Child
and co-manager Debbie Ohanian under
the auspices of their newly launched company,
So Success Entertainment. A debut
single, “No Te Entiendo” co-written by the
artist with Descemer Bueno and Michelle
Fragoso, is accompanied by a haunting
video shot in Havana and directed by Cuban
urban music legend, X Alfonso.
De La Torre is a Latin artist. Although
his parents speak Spanish, as a second
generation Cuban-American growing up in
Ohio he had few opportunities to communicate
in the ancestral lingo. But given that
solo male artists are virtually non-existent
in pop music, a decision was made that De
La Torre would sing en Español.
When not writing or recording, the artist
concentrates on language tutoring as well
as voice and acting classes. “I am focusing on personal development,
and practicing Spanish two hours a day,” he confirms.
Born Anthony De La Torre, the young artist had an earlier brush with
show business. At age 12, through a talent search, he landed a New
York manager and some commercial roles plus a voice-acting gig in Go,
Diego, Go!, a spinoff of Dora the Explorer. But his parents wanted him
to have a “normal childhood,” so it was back to the barren flatlands of
Northwest Ohio.
When he was 15, De La Torre attended a Catholic Youth conference
that he says, “set my faith on fire.” He considered joining the priesthood
and began making Christian rap videos. “There are so many ways to help
people without a collar on,” says De La Torre. “My goal is to bring positivity
to people––whatever that looks like.” He also assisted his mother with
her industrial cleaning service. “Cleaning was a peaceful thing for me,”
he notes. He discovered an even more lucrative career, entertaining at
birthday parties and events as a Justin Bieber impersonator.
Writing with Desmond Child––co-writer of such hits as “Livin’ La Vida
Loca” and “Livin’ on a Prayer”––was initially intimidating, De La Torre explains.
“One of the very first times I met him he had already started work
on a song for me. Desmond is like a god. I felt completely unworthy to
be there. I’m writing ‘I like girls’ and he’s writing a masterpiece. Desmond
says, ‘Keep doing it and you will get better.’ He writes constantly. His creativity
wheel is always spinning.” De La Torre has an affinity for recording
and says the studio is a place for every idea to be considered. “There
are no bad ideas, according to Desmond. Even if it’s the worst idea ever,
someone might come up with a great idea because of it.”
An impressive cast of songwriters and producers are in De La Torre’s
corner: hit writers and producers like Claudia Brant, Fernando Osorio,
Rock Mafia, Jon Vella, Gary Go, Jodi Marr and Andreas Carlsson. Additionally,
he has recorded in Toronto with Rob Wells, Jesse LaBelle,
Shaun Frank and Yash.
De La Torre will be introduced to the world as an independent artist.
“You can’t go to a label and say, ‘Hey! I can sing!’ They’d tell you to come
back when you have a lot of fans. Labels don’t want to create a star. They
want someone who has a million followers already.” The artist’s supple,
expressive voice and endearing charisma are coupled with a deep devotion
to the craft of songwriting. He might be young, but he is clearly no
babe in the woods as he concludes, “Even in this position I have such a
long road ahead of me. It’s never been easier to self-produce music, but
it’s never been harder to get it heard.”
Contact Angela Rodriguez, AR Entertainment,
305-441-7976, acrent@aol.com
30 November 2013 musicconnection.com