J.Lo promotes new album back home in New York's Bronx area

Jennifer Lopez, who has proudly declared she is "just a girl from the Bronx," delighted fans in her old neighborhood by appearing at a local record store to sign autographs and promote her first all-Spanish album.

Photo: J.Lo promotes new album back home in New York's Bronx area

A crowd of 500 gathered in front of the store to see Lopez, who was accompanied by her husband, Marc Anthony.

"I want to say thank you to everyone for coming to celebrate with me this very special day for me," Lopez, a New Yorker of Puerto Rican origin, said in Spanish. Continuing in English, she said, "It touches my heart to be able to bring this album back to my neighborhood, back to my home."

The album, "Como ama una mujer," or "How a Woman Loves," was released Tuesday and was mainly produced by her husband.

Lopez has said singing in Spanish has been a career-long goal of hers.

The pop singer-actress also has two Hispanic-themed films coming out this year: "Bordertown," a film about the killings of hundreds of women in and around the city of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and "El Cantante," starring her husband as Puerto Rican salsa singer Hector Lavoe.

Both films will open in U.S. theaters in the summer.