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Argentine-American journalist, television director, and producer Nicolas “Nick” Barili will host De La Calle, a cultural docu-series that explores Latino music. The project, created by Barili, is a new partnership between MTV Entertainment Studios and Zero Point Zero Production to take viewers on a journey into the Latinx diaspora.
De La Calle will dive into the evolution of Urbano music and cultures that ignited the musical revolution of Hip Hop, Reggaeton, Bachata, Latin trap, Cumbia, and other sounds influencing music worldwide.
Barili will map out and shed light on a genre that used to be marginalized by society while having enlightening conversations with the biggest names in Latin music, cultural icons, and other fascinating characters, including Residente, Sech, Arcangel, Snow Tha Product, Nicky Jam, Renato, Dimelo Flow, Ivy Queen, Vico C, Orishas’ Youtel, Chocquibtown’s Goyo, El Aleman, and Duki.
“Through music, I want to explore the heartbeat of Latin and Hispanic culture and the vast diaspora that entails,” Barili told HOLA! USA. “What connects us? What makes us different? De La Calle takes us to the streets to document the creativity, beauty, dignity, vulnerability, and strength to persevere through the struggle,” he explains.
According to Nick, in addition, to talking about the rise of the movement, his goal is to show the humanity behind our superstars. “There is so much more to our communities than the negative stereotypes I see when I turn on my tv. What better way to tell our stories than through the power of music?!” he notes.
“I named the series De La Calle not only because the seeds of the music movements were born in the streets but also because I want to be intentional about humanizing the streets,” Barili explains to our publication. “The majority of the people I come across on the street are hard-working folks trying to get by. But the stereotype that has been perpetuated has the world thinking that only negative things happen in the streets. We are reclaiming the streets para la comunidad con dignidad (for the community with dignity).”
The show is part of MTV Entertainment Group’s key strategy and commitment to diverse storytelling and fostering global connections and communities. De La Calle comes from the idea to unite Latino urban music from the United States to Panama, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Spain, and beyond; therefore, the show will be transmitted in English and Spanish.
“I’m also proud that De La Calle will be bilingual so we can talk to artists and the community at each location in the language they are most comfortable with. We will subtitle everything so that both English and Spanish-speaking audiences feel included,” the host assures.
For Nick Barili sharing these stories are personal, not only because he is Latino but because he also experienced how it feels to be rejected or overlooked. “When I created Hard Knock TV back in 2005, Hollywood wouldn’t give me an opportunity to tell in-depth stories of musicians so I started posting interviews on YouTube because it was the only place that couldn’t tell me no,” he says. “17 years and 100 Million views later, I get to do things on my terms. De La Calle is a culmination of the work I have dedicated my life to. It just took a few years to build the leverage I needed to show-run and host De La Calle,” Barili adds proudly.
The music and culture journalist found inspiration in late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, who also was an author and travel documentarian. “I am a huge fan of Bourdain! When I started pitching this series, I would tell everyone that I wanted to document the human experience through music the way Bourdain did through food,” Nick tells HOLA! USA. “All that manifestation worked because I partnered with ZPZ, the company that produced his show all these years, and with MTV, the network that is synonymous with documenting music.”
De La Calle is premiering in 2023 in Paramount+ and MTV. The show will be executive produced by Christopher Collins, Lydia Tenaglia, Craig H. Shepherd for Zero Point Zero Production, and Bruce Gillmer, Amanda Culkowski, and Jennifer Demme for MTV Entertainment Studios. Nick Barili for Hard Knock TV and Picky Talarico will also executive produce.