Santos Bravos is the first Latin boy band of HYBE, the South Korean production company behind groups such as BTS, TXT and Seventeen, so its five members from Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Brazil and the United States are confident that the “K-pop methodology” will propel them to success, they told EFE.
The band, derived from a reality show, already had a full house at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City last week, when its members were revealed: Mexican-American Drew Venegas, Peruvian Alejandro, Mexican Kenneth Lavíll, Puerto Rican Gabi and Brazilian Kauê Penna.
“We have been working very hard and we are very fortunate to be the first Latin boy band under HYBE Latin America, and I think that, because we took the K-pop methodology and had with that a training program, there is no other way we would have grown and become the artists we are today,” Drew said in an interview.
This is the new bet in Latin America of HYBE, the leading producer of K-pop, a genre whose sales grew more than 1,000% in the last decade and which brought the value of South Korea’s music exports to 1.2 billion dollars in 2023, according to the consulting firm Statista.
The K-pop methodology meant that these boys had to “dedicate every day of their lives for six months” to “consistency, hard work and discipline,” but also spend Sundays “resting, rejuvenating the mind and rejuvenating the body,” said Drew, 25, the oldest of the group.
“I feel that being part of this project and having the ‘K-pop methodology’, for me, made us improve a lot as artists and made us become more disciplined and, without a doubt we wouldn’t be the artists we are now, if it wasn’t for that methodology,” added Gabi, 20.
Santos Bravos: A Pan-American project
HYBE had already broadened its horizons by launching in 2024 in the United States the female group Katseye, which exceeds 33 million monthly listeners on Spotify and has among its members Daniela Avanzini, of Cuban and Venezuelan descent.
But this is the first time it has produced a Pan-American project that will feature Latin music, as the group’s first single, ‘0%’, shows.
“Our first musical style, obviously, is based on all things Latin, on that freshness, that tastiness that we Latinos have. And I think you will find a connection, a very nice brotherhood. And our goal is always to change the world for the better,” said Kenneth, 16, the youngest of the group.
Alejandro, 21, said it is “very refreshing to be and to have a group that represents the Latino community in different ways and different countries”.
“We have different cultures and we learn a lot every day from one culture and the other,” he said.
Despite this mix of countries and combined conversations in Spanish, English and Portuguese, what they have “in common is that they are all very passionate about music and making art,” described Kauê, 19.
“It’s a very important moment for Latin music. Now we are seeing many Latin artists jumping levels and sharing their art with more and more people. This, for us, is very important because Latin music needs to be shared more and more,” said the Brazilian.
After recording videos in Miami, the group will sing on November 1 at the Day of the Dead Festival on Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City’s main avenue, explained Kenneth, originally from the Mexican state of Veracruz, reported Agencia EFE.
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