Leila Cobo

Leila Cobo is a Colombian television show host, a novelist, a pianist, and a journalist. She is noted for her coverage of Latin music and for the past 16 years has been the executive director of Latin content and programming for Billboard. Cobo also contributes frequently to magazines like Latina and speaks frequently at conferences and universities around the world. She also co-hosts Billboard's weekly Latin podcast and is a regular contributor to KPCC's New Music Tuesday bi-weekly segment. Prior to Billboard, she was the pop music critic for the Miami Herald and was also a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Cobo is also director of content for Nexos, American Airlines' Spanish and Portuguese in-flight magazine. As an author, Cobo has published two novels ("Tell Me Something True" and "The Second Time We Met," both on Grand Central Books/Hatchette), a musical biography on the late Jenni Rivera ("La Increible Historia de Una Mariposa Guerrera" on Penguin) and a book on the Latin music industry ("Apunta a las estrellas," also on Penguin. Her fifth book will be published in 2017.

Cobo was born in Cali, Colombia. She earned a bachelor's degree in Journalism from Bogota's Javeriana University. She got her second degree in piano performance from Manhattan School of Music in New York City and concertized extensively for several years in her native country, performing as a soloist with Colombia's Symphony Orchestra (Orquesta Sinfonica de Colombia), Orquesta Sinfonica de Antioquia in Medellin and Orquesta Sinfonica del Valle in Cali. She was also featured multiple times in Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango's concert series, performing as a soloist and in chamber groups. Cobo later obtained a Fulbright Scholarship and obtained a degree in Communication management from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California.

Cobo serves as Executive Editor for Latin Content and Programming for Billboard in charge of overseeing the brand's Latin music coverage and programming. In her position, she is in charge of programming Billboard’s yearly Latin Music Conference & Awards, one of the Latin Music Industry’s biggest events, and hosts its “Q&A’s” with Latin music's stars. Cobo also helped launch billboardenespanol.com, the brand's Spanish-language site and has been instrumental in expanding Billboard's coverage of Latin music which now includes an extensive digital component. As an expert in Latin music, she has been a panelist in numerous conferences, including BAFIM in Buenos Aires, Vina del Mar in Chile, LAMC and the Winter Music conference, among many others. Cobo has also written liner notes for major album releases, including for artists such as Shakira, Chayanne, Ricky Martin and Julio Iglesias.

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