Throughout the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century, the demand for Latin music in the United States increased dramatically, and the various Latin genres have become some of the most popular in the contemporary music scene. While most analysis of Latin American music’s success in the US focuses on the mid-twentieth century, very little historical research has been done on the late-twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Alongside the growth of popularity of Latin American music, interest in studying such music has increased. Further research into reggaetón, Latin artists, and Latino communities in the US help to explain the influence of Latin America on the US music industry. I will be analyzing existing research, music by Latino artists, and chart data to detail the influence of Latin American music in the US around the turn of the twenty-first century. María Elena Cepeda’s “Shakira as the Idealized Transnational Citizen: Media Perspectives on Colombianidad in Transition” explains how Shakira has developed as an artist and as a Latina in the United States to gain popularity. Deborah Pacini Hernandez details the development of the Latin music industry in the United States in the late twentieth century in her “Marketing Latinidad in a Global Era”. In “Shifting Urban Genres”, Samuel K. Byrd analyzes how less-popular Latin musicians in the United States have adapted to a demand for distinctly “Latin” music while building upon existing American demands and culture. Most of the music historiography that discusses the development of Latin music in the United States does so through specific case studies and has a tendency to focus on the genres of cumbia, Latin pop, and reggaetón.
In the chapter “Shakira as the Idealized Transnational Citizen: Media Perspectives on Colombianidad in Transition”, María Elena Cepeda analyzes how Colombian artist Shakira has gained popularity and respect in the United States, even from non-Latino audiences. Cepeda argues that much of her U.S. audience sees Shakira as an ideal of transnationalism because she brings her Colombian music and influence to the United States while also leaving behind negative stereotypes of Colombians and adopting much of the U.S. lifestyle. María Elena Cepeda is influenced by her work as an Assistant Professor of Latino Studies at Williams College, where she analyzes popular culture, music, language, and media. Cepeda looks at Shakira’s music, promotion, and audience to discuss how her identity has shaped (and been shaped by) U.S. culture. Cepeda discusses how Colombians have viewed Shakira’s music and identity, how U.S.-Latinos responded to her English-language debut, and how non-Latinos had consumed her music. Further, Cepeda looks at how US publications discussed Shakira during the early twenty-first century. Cepeda is critical of Colombian understandings of identity, which focused less on national affiliation and more on regional origin within Colombia. Further, María Elena Cepeda admires Shakira’s transnational status and popularity. Cepeda uses a wide array of sources to generate her analysis of Shakira’s perception in the United States and pays attention to diverse sources of information; however, Cepeda uses very little information from individuals, such as quotations. Cepeda addresses legitimate criticisms and praises of Shakira’s work, ultimately arguing that her blend of Colombian instrumentation and American values helped to propel her into the spotlight as a mainstream artist in the United States.
In “Marketing Latinidad in a Global Era”, Deborah Pacini Hernandez discusses the influences behind the so-called “Latin Music Boom” of the late 1990s and explains how the American music industry has attempted to promote and distribute works by Latin artists. Hernandez argues that the expansion of Latin music in the United States has been widely driven by Latino communities and musicians, who have pushed for further recognition from recording institutions. As a professor of Anthropology at Tufts University, Deborah Pacini Hernandez is well-versed on Latin American culture and music. Hernandez studies the development of new record label divisions, increased immigration to the U.S. from Latin America, and the expansion of Latin genres. Deborah Pacini Hernandez is critical of how organizations such as the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences have created distinctions between Latin and non-Latin works. Further, Hernandez is critical of how the U.S. music industry has historically failed to promote Latin music on the same level as American and European music. Hernandez’ traditionally historical lens of the development of Latin music provides a clear overview of the expansion of Latin influences in the United States. Further, Hernandez cites specific events in the expansion of these genres that help to clarify the development of Latin music; however, Hernandez uses very little information from U.S. and international consumers of Latin music, preferring to focus on the industry executives who have driven promotion and sales. As opposed to Cepeda’s analysis of a specific Latin musician, Hernandez attempts to provide information on the music industry as a whole. Additionally, Hernandez provides a much more event-based outline of Latin music within the United States. Hernandez focuses on a more diverse set of genres and players in the music industry, she is able to provide context that is relevant to reggaetón, cumbia, Tejano, and more, which all influence music production today.
Samuel K. Byrd discusses in “Shifting Urban Genres” how Latin musicians in the United States have attempted to gain popularity by presenting Latin genres and “feels” to primarily non-Latino audiences. Byrd argues that much of Latin music creation in the United States is less influenced by understandings of genres and expectations and is more influenced by a characteristic “feel” of Latin music. Byrd is a professor at Hunter College (SUNY), who has studied anthropology, Latin music, and U.S. immigration from Mexico, making him well-qualified to analyze the impact of U.S. culture on Latin music. Byrd looks at several local band in Charlotte, North Carolina that have been influenced by perceptions of what constitutes Latin music. These bands often attempt to employ Latin stylings to create original works or to cover American songs in a way that is distinctly Latin in feel. Byrd assumes that all performances by Latino artists and bands that employ aspects traditionally attributed to Latin music are attempting to be distinctly “Latin” in feel. While the chapter does provide some insight into how American audiences view Latin music, the scope of the research is very limited, looking solely at one city, which is not typically viewed as a cultural center for Latinos. Rather than looking at major artists or publishers, Byrd analyzes local understandings of Latin music by small groups and artists. Compared to other scholars, Byrd makes more of an attempt to classify Latin music as a whole with a specific “feel”, which might be more accurate of a description to U.S. consumers.
While there is significant research into Latin music as a whole, this research often struggles to categorize and define this music. Further, most of the scholarship on Latin music has a fairly vague understanding of what constitutes Latin music. Like a lot of scholarship on Latin America, there is not a full agreement on what all the region encompasses. Some scholars choose to include works from the Caribbean and the United States, while others only outline the genres as music performed and written by Latinos in a way that draws upon the stylings of Latin America. These scholars often struggle to characterize the region’s music because of the region’s wide-reaching cultural influences. As is the case with the Cepeda chapter, Latin music is analyzed by fans of specific artists or those who have access to individuals in the music industry. Further research into local understandings of Latin music, similar to the case study by Samuel K. Byrd, may be helpful in developing an understanding of genre and feel of Latin music.
Referenced Sources
Byrd, Samuel K. “Shifting Urban Genres.” In The Sounds of Latinidad, 141–64. Immigrants Making Music and Creating Culture in a Southern City. NYU Press, 2015. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt15r3z46.11.
Cepeda, María Elena. “Shakira as the Idealized Transnational Citizen: Media Perspectives on Colombianidad in Transition.” In Musical ImagiNation: U.S.-Colombian Identity and the Latin Music Boom, 61–86. New York University Press, 2010.
Hernandez, Deborah Pacini. “Marketing Latinidad in a Global Era.” In Oye Como Va!: Hybridity and Identity in Latino Popular Music, 142–62. Temple University Press, 2010. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1bw1j5k.10.