The music of Latin America refers to music originating from Latin America, namely the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions of the Americas south of the United States. Latin American music's origins are a mix of the music of the continent's indigenous peoples with the musical traditions brought to the continent by European colonists and African slaves. Due to its highly syncretic nature, Latin American music encompasses a wide variety of styles, including influential genres such as cumbia, bachata, bossa nova, merengue, rumba, salsa, samba, son, candombe and tango. During the 20th century, many styles were influenced by the music of the United States giving rise to genres such as Latin pop, rock, jazz, hip hop, and reggaeton.
Geographically, it usually refers to the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions of Latin America, but sometimes includes Francophone countries and territories of the Caribbean and South America as well. It also encompasses Latin American styles that have originated in the United States such as, New Mexico music, Tejano, various forms of country-Western, as well as Chicano rock, Nuyorican rap, and Chicano rap. The origins of Latin American music can be traced back to West Africa, Central Africa, Indigenous, and the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the Americas in the 16th century, when the European settlers brought their music from overseas. Latin American music is performed in Spanish and Portuguese.
Popular music styles by country and territory
Argentina
While the exact origins of tango remain uncertain, Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges believed the genre to have originated in the brothels of 19th century Buenos Aires or Montevideo. Editors of World Music: The Rough Guide (2000) called Borges' statement "a little presumptive" and pinpoint the early developments of tango to the bars frequented by porteños. Emerging from a melting pot of European immigrants, criollos, blacks, and indigenous peoples, the genre is believed to have been influenced by Andalusian flamenco, Spanish contradanse, Italian folk music, Cuban habanera, African candombe and percussion, German polkas, Polish mazurkas, and Argentine milonga. In its early history, tango music was associated with brawls at brothels and knife-wielding womanizing men, known locally as malevos or compadritos. By 1914, men outnumbered women in Argentina by 100,000, leading to an increased rate of prostitution and the brothel lifestyle that came with it. Men would often dance at cafes and bars and try to outdo one another with improvised dance steps in an attempt to attract a woman.
Their dances were characterized by "showy yet threatening, predatory quality, often revolving around a possessive relationship between two men and one woman". In its original form, tango music included the violin, guitar, and flute. By the late 19th century, the bandoneon had been introduced into the genre. The instrument, first developed in Germany for playing folk and religious music in churches that lacked organs, is believed to have been brought to the region by immigrants and sailors. One of its early pioneers, Eduardo Arolas, was nicknamed the "Tiger of the Bandoneón". Arolas believed the instrument was made to play in tango. Vicente Greco is credited with standardizing tango with his group, Orquesta Típica Criolla, by using two violins and two bandoneons. The instrumentation of tango remained largely unchanged until the 1940s. Tango music began playing in populated areas such as fairgrounds and streets in Buenos Aires. It contained lyrics that were "sometimes obscene and deeply fatalistic". Similar to families in the United States during the rise of rock and roll, families in the area tried to shield their children from tango. Upper-classmen began taking an interest in tango: writer Ricardo Güiraldes performed tango during a tour of Europe in 1910 and has been credited with introducing tango in Europe. Güiraldes' introduction made tango the first Latin dance to gain popularity in Europe. Actor Rudolph Valentino performed the tango in his film The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse (1926), with Hollywood taking advantage of "[Valentino's] charisma, the magnetism of tango, and the attraction they both had on a huge public".
Other styles of music in Argentina include the chacarera, milonga, zamba and chamamé. Modern rhythms include cuarteto (music from the Cordoba Province) and electrotango. Argentine rock (known locally as rock nacional) was most popular during the 1980s, and remains one of Argentina's most popular music genres. Rock en español was first popular in Argentina, then swept through other Hispanic American countries and Spain. The movement was known as the "Argentine Wave".
Bolivia
Bolivian music is perhaps the most strongly linked to its native population among the national styles of South America. After the nationalistic period of the 1950s Aymara and Quechuan culture became more widely accepted, and their folk music evolved into a more pop-like sound. Los Kjarkas played a pivotal role in this fusion. Other forms of native music (such as huayños and caporales) are also widely played. Cumbia is another popular genre. There are also lesser-known regional forms, such as the music from Santa Cruz and Tarija (where styles such as Cueca and Chacarera are popular).
Brazil
Brazil is a large, diverse country with a long history of popular-musical development, ranging from the early-20th-century innovation of samba to the modern Música popular brasileira. Bossa nova is internationally well-known, and Forró (pronounced ) is also widely known and popular in Brazil. Lambada is influenced by rhythms like cumbia and merengue. Funk carioca (also known as Brazilian funk) is also a highly popular style, including tamborzão rhythms.
Chile
Many musical genres are native to Chile; one of the most popular was the Chilean Romantic Cumbia, exemplified by artists such as Americo and Leo Rey. The Nueva Canción originated in the 1960s and 1970s and spread in popularity until the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, when most musicians were arrested, killed or exiled.
In Central Chile, several styles can be found: the Cueca (the national dance), the Tonada, the Refalosa, the Sajuriana, the Zapateado, the Cuando and the Vals. In the Norte Grande region traditional music resembles the music of southern Perú and western Bolivia, and is known as Andean music. This music, which reflects the spirit of the indigenous people of the Altiplano, was an inspiration for the Nueva canción. The Chiloé Archipelago has unique folk-music styles, due to its isolation from the culture centres of Santiago.
Music from Chilean Polynesia, Rapa Nui music, is derived from Polynesian culture rather than colonial society or European influences.
Costa Rica The music of Costa Rica is represented by musical expressions as parrandera, the Tambito, waltz, bolero, gang, calypso, chiquichiqui, mento the run and callera. They emerged from the migration processes and historical exchanges between indigenous, European and African. Typical instruments are the quijongo, marimba, ocarinas, low drawer, the Sabak, reed flutes, accordion, mandolin and guitar.
Cuba
Cuba has produced many musical genres, and a number of musicians in a variety of styles. Blended styles range from the danzón to the rumba.
Colombia
Colombian music can be divided into four musical zones: the Atlantic coast, the Pacific coast, the Andean region and Los Llanos. The Atlantic music features rhythms such as the cumbia, porros and mapalé. Music from the Pacific coast such features rhythms such as the currulao —which is tinged with Spanish influence— and the Jota chocoana (along with many more afro-drum predominating music forms)—tinged with African and Aboriginal influence. Colombian Andean has been strongly influenced by Spanish rhythms and instruments, and differs noticeably from the indigenous music of Peru or Bolivia. Typical forms include the bambuco, pasillo guabina and torbellino, played with pianos and string instruments such as the tiple guitarra. The music of Los Llanos, música llanera, is usually accompanied by a harp, a cuatro (a type of four-string guitar) and maracas. It has much in common with the music of the Venezuelan Llanos.
Apart from these traditional forms, two newer musical styles have conquered large parts of the country: la salsa, which has spread throughout the Pacific coast and the vallenato, which originated in La Guajira and César (on the northern Caribbean coast). The latter is based on European accordion music. Merengue music is heard as well. More recently, musical styles such as reggaeton and bachata have also become popular.
Dominican Republic
Merengue típico and Orchestra merengue have been popular in the Dominican Republic for many decades, and is widely regarded as the national music. Bachata is more recent arrival, arriving in the first half of the 20th century, taking influences from the bolero and derived from the country's rural guitar music. Bachata has evolved and risen in popularity over the last 40 years in the Dominican Republic and other areas (such as Puerto Rico) with the help of artists such as Antony Santos, Luis Segura, Luis Vargas, Teodoro Reyes, Yoskar Sarante, Alex Bueno, and Aventura. Bachata, merengue and salsa are now equally popular among Spanish-speaking Caribbean people. When the Spanish conquistadors sailed across the Atlantic they brought with them a type of music known as hesparo, which contributed to the development of Dominican music. A romantic style is also popular in the Dominican Republic from vocalists such as Angela Carrasco, Anthony Rios, Maridalia Hernandez and Olga Lara. Reggaeton is currently one of the most popular genres coming out of the Dominican Republic. It has been recently popularized in night clubs with these high beats. This was made by the help of Dominican artist El Alfa. El Alfa has made "dembow" one of the most popular types of reggaeton. He has been able to produce highly played songs that are played in multiple countries.
Ecuador
Traditional Ecuadorian music can be classified as mestizo, Indian and Afro-Ecuadorian music. Mestizo music evolved from the interrelation between Spanish and Indian music. It has rhythms such as pasacalles, pasillos, albazos and sanjuanitos, and is usually played by stringed instruments. There are also regional variations: coastal styles, such as vals (similar to Vals Peruano (Waltz)) and montubio music (from the coastal hill country).
Indian music in Ecuador is determined in varying degrees by the influence of quichua culture. Within it are sanjuanitos (different from the mestizo sanjuanito), capishkas, danzantes and yaravis. Non-quichua indigenous music ranges from the Tsáchila music of Santo Domingo (influenced by the neighboring Afro-marimba) to the Amazonian music of groups such as the Shuar.
Black Ecuadorian music can be classified into two main forms. The first type is black music from the coastal Esmeraldas province, and is characterized by the marimba. The second variety is black music from the Chota Valley in the northern Sierra (primarily known as Bomba del Chota), characterized by a more-pronounced mestizo and Indian influence than marimba esmeraldeña. Most of these musical styles are also played by wind ensembles of varying sizes at popular festivals around the country. Like other Latin American countries, Ecuadorian music includes local exponents of international styles: from opera, salsa and rock to cumbia, thrash metal and jazz.
El Salvador
Salvadoran music may be compared with the Colombian style of music known as cumbia.