New Latino Pop Artist IMMI GRANT Makes a Splash
While President Obama talked about immigration reform in his State of
the Union speech, new Latino pop artist IMMI GRANT has already
addressed the issue in his debut single, “Immigrant (Inmigrante).” The
track is a powerful Pop-Spanish/English song with a strong message to
inspire people to follow their dreams. IMMI and songwriter/producer Gray
Devio teamed up on the track, sending a positive message about
immigrants who come to the US to start over. “We are learning to follow
our dreams, and must never give up,” says the young
Argentinean-American. “With perseverance, anything is possible. This is
what America is all about.”
IMMI has already been profiled in El Diario, New York City’s leading Spanish language newspaper (http://www.eldiariony.com/Immi:-representando-a-los-inmigrantes#.URqOE_L4KSp)* as well as on the site Voxxi (http://www.voxxi.com/immi-touches-immigrants-struggles-song/#ixzz2FWrcd9HV). The video for “Immigrant (Inmigrante)” has already amassed over 350,000 views (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFR86jvzQkE)
and the song is a finalist in the 2012 International Songwriting
Competition in the Latino category as well as the John Lennon
Songwriting Contest.
IMMI, his parents and five siblings immigrated to New York in 2001, when the economic crash in Argentina caused a financial crisis that took a heavy toll on the family. Because the American school system and language was so different from what he knew back home, IMMI was held back a year until he could catch up. By the time he graduated high school he was totally acclimated to his new life. “Things are very different here than in Buenos Aires,” he notes. “In Argentina, everything is more relaxed and people are very social all the time. I played with my friends in the street until it got dark and was time to go to bed. When we moved to Inwood (in Long Island, NY), we were one of only a few immigrant families and none of the kids played outside. It was weird for me.
“At that time, there were vast differences between the Latino and American culture-very different food, the ways families spend their weekends, the whole social structure,” IMMI says. “Today, Argentineans watch TV shows from the US and are familiar with everything that goes on here, including slang language, fashion styles and music.”
The song “Immigrant (Inmigrante)” comes from IMMI’s own experiences: “Since moving to the US, I understand what it means to be an immigrant. People from all over Latin America come here for a better life, to raise their families, give their kids a better future, live in a safer environment, make money and enjoy opportunities not available to them in their native lands. I’ve worked as a waiter, a cashier and a sales person along side people from Mexico, Nicaragua, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Cuba, The Dominican Republic and Salvador. We all worked hard side by side, and shared stories about how difficult is it to get citizenship, which leaves so many in a state of limbo. But this is ‘the land of opportunity,’ and I want to inspire people to follow their dreams, encourage them to come here with their culture and inject it into America. After all, everyone here comes from a family of immigrants somewhere down the line.”
http://youtu.be/HFR86jvzQkE
IMMI, his parents and five siblings immigrated to New York in 2001, when the economic crash in Argentina caused a financial crisis that took a heavy toll on the family. Because the American school system and language was so different from what he knew back home, IMMI was held back a year until he could catch up. By the time he graduated high school he was totally acclimated to his new life. “Things are very different here than in Buenos Aires,” he notes. “In Argentina, everything is more relaxed and people are very social all the time. I played with my friends in the street until it got dark and was time to go to bed. When we moved to Inwood (in Long Island, NY), we were one of only a few immigrant families and none of the kids played outside. It was weird for me.
“At that time, there were vast differences between the Latino and American culture-very different food, the ways families spend their weekends, the whole social structure,” IMMI says. “Today, Argentineans watch TV shows from the US and are familiar with everything that goes on here, including slang language, fashion styles and music.”
The song “Immigrant (Inmigrante)” comes from IMMI’s own experiences: “Since moving to the US, I understand what it means to be an immigrant. People from all over Latin America come here for a better life, to raise their families, give their kids a better future, live in a safer environment, make money and enjoy opportunities not available to them in their native lands. I’ve worked as a waiter, a cashier and a sales person along side people from Mexico, Nicaragua, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, Cuba, The Dominican Republic and Salvador. We all worked hard side by side, and shared stories about how difficult is it to get citizenship, which leaves so many in a state of limbo. But this is ‘the land of opportunity,’ and I want to inspire people to follow their dreams, encourage them to come here with their culture and inject it into America. After all, everyone here comes from a family of immigrants somewhere down the line.”
http://youtu.be/HFR86jvzQkE
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