Target Corp. has struck up a partnership with Latin music titan Emilio Estefan, who will curate a special selection of his favorite music, movies and books for the discount giant.
The 59-year-old Cuban-American mogul -- and the husband of Gloria Estefan-- will also help create partnerships with Latin music artists that will be exclusive to the Minneapolis-based retailer.
"We'll look to promote existing artists and unknown artists," Estefan said in an interview. "We're hoping to reach different people and who knows, maybe we'll discover two or three great books."
Estefan's picks will be featured in the Entertainment department of Target stores beginning June 6, and will be refreshed every six weeks. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
For the time being, Estefan's collection will only be available at 100 Target stores nationwide -- primarily cities with large Latin populations, such as Miami, Los Angeles and San Antonio. Locally, Target stores in West St. Paul and on St. Paul's East Side will be stocked with his picks.
Estefan put Latin music on the pop charts in the 1980s as the force behind Miami Sound Machine. Since then, he has been nominated for more than 30 Grammy awards, winning 19 of the music industry's top honor. He was instrumental in developing careers of his wife, along with Shakira, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Jon Secada and Jennifer Lopez.
The Estefan announcement Tuesday is part of Target's overhaul its entertainment offerings in its 1,700-plus stores nationwide. The makeover comes as the delivery of books, music and movies has been forever altered by digital technologies. The Estefan picks only feature physical books, DVDs and CDs, but they will be available on Target's website, as well.
Target has long paired with celebrities for exclusive goods-- ranging from cooking star Giada de Laurentiis to designers Missoni and Jason Wu.
In most cases, celebrities have collaborated on branded products. But in this instance, Estefan is acting as kind of a cultural arbiter -- a first for Target, according to John Butcher, vice president of Entertainment.
Janet Moore 612-673-7752
