During Pride Month 2023, La Cruz went from an independent artist trying to make his mark to an empowering gay voice in reggaeton music. The rising Venezuelan star went viral among the LGBTQ+ online community thanks to his sexy music video “Quítate La Ropa”, which featured men perreando, or twerking, for him in a locker room. La Cruz has since parlayed that gay fantasy into a thriving music career co-signed by genre giants such as Karol G, Young Miko and Danny Ocean.
“I feel [Pride Month] it's necessary to see how far we've come and where we can go next,” says La Cruz Advertising sign above Zoom. “Honestly, I'm proud of who I am all year. I'm open about my sexuality all year round because it's normal for me.”
Puerto Rican trap artist Kevin Fret pioneered the representation of gay men urban music before his assassination in January 2019. Since then, there has been a notable increase in LGBTQ people in reggaeton, with women like Young Miko and Villano Antillano leading the way. Now, La Cruz is becoming a top gay reggaeton artist. Growing up as Alfonso La Cruz in La Guaira, Venezuela, he listened to the music of reggaeton pioneers like Ivy Queen and Arcángel. La Cruz sings a bit of the latter's love song “Mujer Maravillosa,” while noting the lack of a gay perspective in the genre back then.
“This song is about a woman, but when I was in love with my first boyfriend and I heard it, I felt like I could relate,” she says. “I would love to hear a song that expresses exactly what I was feeling. In a genre that I've been listening to all my life, I've never heard a song where I could say, “Wow! I experienced what happened in this song.”
Due to the ongoing economic crisis in Venezuela, La Cruz decided to move to Madrid to pursue his dreams of a music career. In 2018 he became known throughout Spain for the reality singing competition Operation Triunfo. After the show, La Cruz was courted by a few record labels. Someone was ready to sign him on the condition that he would not refer to gender in his songs. Instead, La Cruz went the independent route and assembled a small team that believed in his vision.
“I didn't sign any contract that would make me unhappy or that I couldn't relate to,” he recalls. “I had obstacles in my career and it was more at the industry level musically with A&R, record labels and music streaming platforms. I've seen myself in uncomfortable situations, but I've taken everything as a sign to keep going.”
In 2022, La Cruz began pushing the boundaries of reggaeton with his music videos for “Desnudx,” “Boulevard,” and “Te Conocí Bailando,” which featured him in love with (or lusting after) other men. Throughout his debut album Hawaii, named after his hometown in Venezuela, the objects of his love clearly identify with male pronouns. The album's songs have totaled 2.5 million official streams in the US on demand, per Luminate.
“Sometimes as gay people we are very limited from achieving our dreams because we think they won't happen based on being gay,” he says. “That's something we have to get out of our heads. I love being a point of reference for those kids who want to make music but don't because they're afraid. Only fear stops you. You have to go.”
In June 2023, La Cruz made the leap to international stardom thanks to his next single “Quítate La Ropa”. In sultry reggaeton, he sang about wanting to lose his clothes with a lover. In the music video, La Cruz was surrounded by shirtless male hunters perreando in a gym locker room. The song went viral on TikTok during Pride Month with gay men embracing a reggaeton anthem that they could groove to in their own videos.
“The idea for the 'Quítate La Ropa' video came to me in a gym,” he laughs. “I knew it had to involve some twerking. It's something a gay boy in a locker room sometimes imagines. This is how I showed the world that there are other things. This song basically changed my life.”
La Cruz's “regayton,” which is what his fans playfully call his music, has caught the attention of artists such as Omar Apollo, Young Miko, Villano Antillano, and top Venezuelan reggaeton artist Danny Ocean. The latter recently featured La Cruz in his music video for “Cero Condiciones,” which talks about “coming out of the closet” to live a free and true life. After DMing Colombian superstar Karol G on Instagram for several months, she invited La Cruz to meet her at her concert in Caracas last March.
“I told her I was really nervous because I'm a big fan of hers,” he recalls. “He told me, 'No! I'm also a big fan of yours!”. It was a beautiful moment because he is one of my idols. Knowing that she listens to me and likes what I'm doing, it's incredible. He supports my message and my idea and said 'Keep it up'. I feel like I made a spiritual connection with her.”
La Cruz's recent singles, such as “Easy Boy,” a reggaeton ode to casual sex, are distributed by Sony Music Entertainment España. He is also working hard on his second album. With a bigger team and the support of the LGBTQ+ community, La Cruz wants to continue breaking down barriers for queer artists like himself.
“To have a community of people who identify with my music and can relate to these experiences, that's the most beautiful thing,” he says. “With my music I want to give visibility and normalize many things on a social level that are looked down upon. It's the people who consume my music that make things happen [for me] and I'm having a great time with them.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/latin/la-cruz-interview-1235702931/
