Making Celine Latino Friendly

Posted February 20, 200916 yr

Making Celine latino friendly
Matthew Coutts, National Post

A group of Spanish academics at the Université de Montréal has established a research group to tackle the question of why Celine Dion, who is worth more than $250-million and has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide, has failed to capture the Latin American market.

The Research Group on Spanish in America has been designed to provide the Quebec diva with the tools to break into the market by studying her current Spanish-language songs, revising their translations, critiquing her pronunciation and looking for ways to expand her catalogue of Spanish-language music.

The group is helmed by Enrique Pato, a Université de Montréal Hispanic studies professor, who says Ms. Dion would need to correct diction faults evident in the four songs she currently has recorded in Spanish, including an airy version of All by Myself. The professor, a Madrid native, says Ms. Dion needs to pronounce each "Z" as though it were an "S" and learn to roll her "Rs" as Latinos do.

"Her pronunciation is really good but there are tiny mistakes that she could do better," Mr. Pato said. "It is really important for people to learn about artists and culture from other countries, and I think the best way to introduce yourself to another country is to speak the language."

At age 40, Ms. Dion has sold more records than any other woman in history, headlined an exclusive five-year showcase at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and has garnered two decades of accolades that include Junos and Grammy victories, Academy Awards and the Order of Canada. Her French and English-language records have topped charts in Canada, the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia and she is ranked the fifth richest woman in entertainment, according to Forbes magazine.

Ms. Dion's agents were not able to comment on her success in Spanish-speaking nations, but it does seem tame compared with elsewhere. Her latest record, Taking Chances, managed to reach 40th place on the Mexican album chart and as high as eighth on the Spanish album chart.

Her current 132-city Taking Chances World Tour only included four stops in Spanish-speaking regions: a stadium appearance in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Jan. 31, and three Mexican stops in early December.

The Research Group on Spanish in America comprises 14 Master's and PhD students of Quebec and Latin American origin and is intended as a learning tool for linguistics students. The university noted that neither Ms. Dion nor her manager-husband, René Angélil, commissioned the research group, but Mr. Pato said the final product will be provided to her record label with the hope it will be of use in expanding her entertainment empire into Latin America.

He said if Ms. Dion released a Spanish album she could expand her potential fan base by over 400 million people.

"I don't know why people don't realize that here in Canada we have at least two of the most important singers in the world, Celine Dion and Shania Twain," Mr. Pato said. "We chose Celine Dion because we are in Montreal, you know."

The researchers have no plans to launch a study of Ms. Twain's Spanish-language oeuvre.