The other day at dinner (a delicious vegan “chicken” sandwich and edamame at Native Foods, since I know how y’all love when we talk about food), I was bonding with a new co-worker over Chilean pop music. After gushing over Javiera Mena and Alex Anwandter, inevitably, Club Fonograma came up. When it did, she had a minor flip-out and had to text her friend in D.C., who, like her, is a big fan of the site. “You totally have a fan club in D.C.,” she said.Even though I have been able to see the impact of the site online and have had the chance to meet the occasional fan, this was the first time that it really hit me. Perhaps because it was so immediate. I came to Club Fonograma as a fan of the site and, though it was intimidating at first to write for a blog I had so long admired, the warm staff and (mostly) friendly readers quickly made me feel welcome. I’ve now been a part of the staff for almost two years and have loved every minute of it.
Today we celebrate the blog’s fourth birthday and, looking back on the past year, it has truly been a year of growth. (And not just because Carlos finally let me run with my podcast idea.) We now have a writing staff of ten superb contributors hand-picked by Carlos Reyes himself. So, thanks to the entire staff: Carlos Reyes, Jean-Stephane Beriot, Andrew Casillas, Pierre Lestruhaut, Enrique Coyotzi, Conejito Colvin, Adrian Mata Anaya, Giovanni Guillén, and Souad Martin-Saoudi. Y’all are the best.
Of course, we want to give a huge thanks to our readers. We are grateful to each and every one of you who has perused our site despite the frequent food descriptions and increasing Selena Gomez coverage. We’re even thankful for those of you who only come by to troll and maybe post a comment about how we suck/should write in Spanish.
We also want to thank all the artists and their management for the great music that keeps this blog alive and for taking the time to sit down and chat with us for interviews during things like Festival Nrmal and SXSW.
And thanks to the one and only Carlos Reyes, who started this little site four years ago and who has developed it into what it is today with sheer love for music. The question that Fonograma readers ask me most often is: What’s Carlos like? Everyone seems to have a theory about the ever-elusive Mr. Reyes. I’ve heard that he’s an industry insider (LOL), a middle-aged woman blogging from her dungeon of a basement, and (my favorite) that he’s Javiera Mena. Even though I’ve never met the dude and even though Andrew Casillas pretty accurately describes him as "a mystery wrapped inside of a corn tortilla and covered with aluminum foil of secrecy," I can say with certainty that he’s a poetic and prolific writer, a tastemaker in every sense of the word (even the really pretentious sense, which is maybe the only real sense), and a true pleasure to work with.
Thanks, again, y'all. And, like Selena Gomez says, let the music move you.
P.S. Since Carlos is under the weather and could not write this post himself, please direct all of your Selena G-related hate toward me.