Throughout the twenty-first century, the popularity of Latin music has grown significantly in the United States and across the globe, culminating in Bad Bunny’s three-year run as the most-streamed artist on Spotify globally; however, U.S. reception to Latin music was not always as overwhelmingly positive. By looking at the popularity of Latin artists, recognition of the genre, and the origins of modern Latin music, it is possible to understand how U.S. audiences have consumed music from Latin American artists during the late twentieth and early twenty first century. U.S. audiences had largely focused on American, British, and Canadian artists throughout the twentieth century, but the expansion of Latino communities into the U.S.–and the development of new musical genres–has led to an increase in popularity for Latin American musicians. Alongside the growth of popularity of Latin American music, interest in studying such music has increased. The United States has historically perpetuated a power imbalance between the U.S. and Latin America, exuding significant influence over Latin America; however, music creation and consumption has the opportunity to provide evidence of Latin Americans as significant players, even within the United States. Further, music allows for an analysis of how Latin American music styles have influenced culture and music production in the United States.
Latin Music largely encompasses a variety of genres originating from across Latin America. The diversity of Latin music is often attributed to the similarly diverse communities that have historically interacted in Latin America since Spanish colonization in the fifteenth century. In many areas, European colonists, indigenous communities, east Asian migrants, and African victims of the transatlantic slave trade interacted to build unique communities and musical stylings[1]. The musical stylings of almost any given area within the region are historically influenced by a plethora of communities. Some of the most popular styles of Latin Music internationally include reggaetón, cumbia, and bachata[2]. In the United States, reggaetón is particularly popular. Created in Panama, reggaetón is a subgenre of Latin music that combines aspects of hip-hop, reggae, and dancehall. Reggaetón was created as a Spanish-language response to Jamaican dancehall following an increase in interest for the genre within Panama. Further, the genre is deeply linked to Afrocentric musical styles due to the large influence of black Panamanians who were responsible for much of the genre’s creation[3]. The genre is marked by a “dembow riddim”, often explicit language, and bass drums[4]. Now, as one of the most popular sounds in Latin Music, reggaetón has achieved commercial success internationally. The genre has been popularized throughout the twenty-first century by artists such as Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Rauw Alejandro, Tainy, and Anitta. Further, the genre’s characteristic rhythm has been adopted by non-Latin artists, including Beyoncé (“I’m That Girl”), Doja Cat (“Woman”), and Dua Lipa (“New Rules”). This adaptation of Latin music is not unique to reggaetón’s rhythm, however; the popular bass line and melody of The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout” can be traced back to Mexican folk songs, such as “La Bamba”[5]. Latin music, therefore, has influenced a large amount of non-Latin artists, helping to shape the music scene throughout the United States, whether apparent or not.
Throughout the twentieth century, immigration from Latin America to the United States surged. In the 1980s, the population of U.S. Latinos increased by 53 percent, increasing the cultural influence of Latin America within the United States[6]. This increase in immigration has led to the creation of Latin cultural centers, especially in Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles, California[7]. In the early twenty-first century, Latinos constituted over 50 percent of the Miami-Dade County’s population and represented the countries of Colombia, Nicaragua, Haiti, Brazil, Cuba, and others[8]. This diverse, and primarily Latino, population has created a center of Latin cultural expression and production that has helped promote Latin culture to US audiences. This population growth, consequently, coincides with a growth in Latin influence over popular culture.
During the twentieth century, many executives within the music industry did not see a market for Latin music within the United States, claiming that the relatively low population of Latinos in the U.S. was content with the American and British music popular at the time and, thus, did not desire new genres strongly enough to warrant a significant investment[9]. While Latinos within the United States generally preferred Latin music, the demographic also consumed R&B, hip-hop, and rock ‘n’ roll[10]. Further, recording labels and distributors received most of their profits from physical sales of music, which were sold in the form of vinyl records and compact discs (CDs), so executives had an interest in maximizing their profits by appealing to the wealthiest demographics, which typically consisted of white Americans. For these reasons, the U.S. music industry was reluctant to sign Latino musicians as major artists, until major record labels began to create distinct branches specializing in recording and promoting Latin music. Additionally, recognition of Latin music throughout the twentieth century was often generalized, with critics comparing all form of Latin music as a single category, while distinctions were made between U.S. genres, such as R&B, rock, pop, and hip-hop. This generalization became particularly frustrating to Latin musicians in regard to the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ (NARAS) annual Grammy Awards, where Caribbean styles, Mexican folk music, and Latin rock all competed for a single “Latin” category[11]. Following pushback, the NARAS created new categories to more accurately reflect the multitude of Latin genres; further, the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (LARAS) was established as a separate organization to specifically promote and celebrate Latin music[12].
One of the most influential individuals in the growth of Latin music in the United States is Shakira, whose ties to her Colombian heritage can often be heard reflected in her music. As one of the first Latina transnational citizens to achieve commercial success in the United States with Spanish-language music, Shakira is viewed as a key figure in Latin music’s popularity in the United States. Further, Shakira is one of the first Latina artists to be signed and promoted by a record label as a major artist[13]. Shakira was born in 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia, where she spent most of her youth[14]. As a young singer-songwriter, Shakira drew influences from Colombian pop, U.S. rock, disco, and her father’s Lebanese music[15]. While her first two albums, Magia and Peligro, were not commercially popular, her third studio album, Pies Descalzos (released 1996), achieved commercial success within both Colombia and the United States[16]. Shakira’s success has been recognized internationally; she has performed at the Super Bowl, written an official anthem for the FIFA World Cup, and maintained a successful career for nearly thirty years.
Since the mid-twentieth century, the popularity of Latin music has increased greatly in the United States. Due to artists such as Shakira, El General, and Daddy Yankee, Latin musical styles have been met with critical acclaim and commercial success in the United States. With the creation of new genres, and the fusion of existing genres, Latin music has evolved into the variety of sounds in the current musical landscape.
References
[1] Deborah Pacini Hernandez, “Marketing Latinidad in a Global Era,” in Oye Como Va!: Hybridity and Identity in Latino Popular Music (Temple University Press, 2010), 142–62, https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1bw1j5k.10.
[2] Philip Samponaro, “‘Oye Mi Canto’ (‘Listen to My Song’): The History and Politics of Reggaeton,” Popular Music & Society 32, no. 4 (October 2009): 489–506, https://doi.org/10.1080/03007760802218046; Hernandez, “Marketing Latinidad in a Global Era.”
[3] Samponaro.
[4] Samponaro.
[5] Samuel K. Byrd, “Shifting Urban Genres,” in The Sounds of Latinidad, Immigrants Making Music and Creating Culture in a Southern City (NYU Press, 2015), 141–64, https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt15r3z46.11.
[6] Hernandez.
[7] María Elena Cepeda, “A Miami Sound Machine: Deconstructing the Latin(o) Music Boom of the Late 1990s,” in Musical ImagiNation: U.S.-Colombian Identity and the Latin Music Boom (New York University Press, 2010), 35–60.
[8] Cepeda.
[9] Hernandez.
[10] Hernandez.
[11] Hernandez.
[12] Hernandez.
[13] Hernandez.
[14] María Elena Cepeda, “Shakira as the Idealized Transnational Citizen: Media Perspectives on Colombianidad in Transition,” in Musical ImagiNation: U.S.-Colombian Identity and the Latin Music Boom (New York University Press, 2010), 61–86.
[15] Cepeda.
[16] Cepeda.