Judy Cantor-Navas’s career spans over 3 decades and touches every corner of the industry, from local newspapers to Billboard, Disney, and now, Substack. Starting as a writer at the Associated Press, Judy was passionate about long-form articles and finding the next riveting story.
Music journalism came to her first as an assignment from her editor at the Associated Press. While it wasn’t something she was particularly fond of or seen as a focus for her career at the time, soon after, it became the defining theme of her work.
Thanks to a fellowship to write in Argentina, Judy began a fantastic career as a music journalist, which led her to dozens of countries in Latin America. She also had a consultant job that would land her clients at the highest levels of the journalistic hierarchy. I don’t want to spoil too much from the interview, but I will say if you like Encanto, then you’ll love hearing about Judy’s work on it.
Judy is disciplined, fabulously open-minded, and has a wealth of knowledge to share about the field of music journalism, writing in general, and Latin American music. Her Substack, Cuba on Record, is centered around the story of Panart Records, the first independent Cuban record company. Explore the pages of her substack to unlock eyebrow-raising history about the impact and sounds from the record label. Each week, you’re in for a new discovery.
Check out Judy’s Substack, Cuba On Record below here
Read more from Judy’s archive here.
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