Via Wikimedia Commons
Marc Anthony
b. 1968
Salsa superstar of Puerto Rican descent, best-selling tropical music artist, global ambassador of salsa
Marc Anthony (Marco Antonio Muñiz, born 1968) is a Puerto Rican-American singer, actor, and producer who became the best-selling salsa artist of all time — selling over 12 million albums worldwide and winning multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards.
Born in New York to Puerto Rican parents from Yauco, Marc Anthony grew up in East Harlem (El Barrio) immersed in salsa and Latin music. He initially pursued English-language pop and freestyle before transitioning to salsa in the early 1990s — a move that transformed both his career and the genre.
His salsa debut album 'Otra Nota' (1993) and subsequent albums 'Todo a Su Tiempo' (1995) and 'Contra la Corriente' (1997) made him the genre's biggest commercial star. His English-language crossover hit 'I Need to Know' (1999) brought him mainstream American success.
After Hurricane María, Marc Anthony co-founded (with Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez) a relief fund and was vocal about the inadequacy of the federal response. His emotional speech at the 2017 Latin Grammys — 'We are 3.5 million American citizens. Just like Texas. Just like Florida' — directly challenged the differential treatment of Puerto Rico.
Marc Anthony represents the commercial peak of the diaspora music tradition: a Nuyorican from El Barrio who mastered the art form born in those same streets and brought it to the world's biggest stages.