M.M. finds me woefully uninformative about Ricky Martin:

>>>OK, so who is that guy? The name sounds vaguely familiar, and since
>>>you wrote "a record", he's presumably a musician.  I'm not kidding, I
>>>honestly don't know who he is.

I unhelpfully replied:

>>The latest incarnation of Desi Arnaz...
>
>Oh, I see.  Unfortunately, I never heard of Desi Arnaz.

Cuban mambo bandleader of the 1940s and '50s.  Made a Hollywood film
appearance or two...  Well known throughout the Americas in the 50s and
60s.

>>...without the maracas
>
>That's a pity, it's a nice instrument.  I have a pair at home.

Arnaz is probably why.

>>or the dizzy redhead.

Lucille Ball, US comic actress he married ...thanks to whom his fame
lasted past his orchestral hits.  She had one of the most successful TV
shows ever: I Love Lucy, and variations on that theme.  He produced, and
negotiated the business side.

>>[Martin]  Puerto Rican pop/mambo sensation with a monster
>>hit: "Livin' la vida Loca." The jury's out on whether he's got another
>>one in him.
>
>I'm trying to imagine the kind of music, but it's tough.  Thanks anyway.

He waves his arms, wiggles his bum; that sort of thing.  The girls, I think
ages 11 to 15, love(d?) it.

>>If you stretch to this kind of music,
>
>I hardly ever stretch to music,

I am sorry to hear this.  I'm currently trying to 'stretch my ear' to
Ligeti.  Some of it's most compelling, but some may remain past my musical
reach.

>and, as I said, I have difficulties with imagining what kind this kind
>is.

If Perez Prado, Xavier Cugat, and the words 'mambo,' 'dengue' and
'huaracha' mean nothing, I'd give up.  You might seek out some of it,
if you have any interest in latin-american music.

>>I'd recommend the more tongue-in-cheek but true-to-the-roots Lou Bega.
>
>Never heard of, either...

I think he's German-born, curiously.  Possibly a US Army base brat.

>...Unforgivable gaps in my classical music education.

Who said anything about classical? I did say "monster hit." More a gap in
other kinds of musical exposure.  Some might say blessed.  I wouldn't.
Bendy ears.

Bert B