How Latin Musicians Have Influenced The Global Sound of Music

The genre bachata was developed in the Caribbean island of Dominican Republic. This genre was created based on boleros (slow-tempo Latin music), son cubanos, waltzes, Mexican music and merengue. Bachata is well known as love and depressing songs in which many people describe them self with this genre. At one point back in the earlier 1960s, bachata was considered vulgar and low-class. “Acceptance of the music has increased significantly in the last two decades, although some dominicans, both individuals living on the island and stateside, still do not accept the music because of the implication of its lower-class origins and associations with such themes as crime, poverty, drinking, and prostitution’’(Stavans 47). The genre Bachata has spread and grown so quickly for the past few years that is has become very famous in the United States, Europe, China, and South America. The genre bachata is well known to attract people with its lyrics, instruments, and dance since it identifies many people with real life events.

Moreno asserts that ““Too many times, we have read our history books that have been written by Europeans, and it has had a tremendous impact in the way we view our culture and listen to our music. I do think that our identity is lost with it and at some point, we try to find it again later in life” (7). Students are able to see a different point of view rather than only the perspectives of textbook writers who at times deprive students from the full truth and the media who exaggerates or embellishes the truth. Many artists and musicians express their anger and oppression through music and students are able to listen to this and get the complete synopsis of problems happening in the world. For instance, in “The Embodiment of Salsa: Musicians, Instrument and the Performance of a Latina Style and Identity,” Patria Roman-Velasquez argued that the embodiment of salsa develops through specific practices whereby instruments, performance techniques, vocal sounds, bodily movements and ways of dressing are encoded and experienced as part of a particular Latin identity. Therefore, this expressing that music has much of an influence in Latin identity and the construction of identity and

In this essay I will be describing and going into detail about salsa, plena, bomba, and merengue music. What really is the style of music along with the importance it has in and for the island it belongs to. As well as the effect the music has dealing with tourism and some of the famous musicians in that style.

Born in Lake Jackson, Texas on April 16, 1971, Selena Quintanilla-Perez would come to be known as the “Queen of Tejano music.” With the help of different sources to provide evidence and support to my argument, the aim of this paper is to examine how Tejana singer, Selena was able to impact those around her with her career as a musician and through the medium of music. Selena rose to success by continuously crossing over to different markets. She not only impacted her fans one by one, but also brought about social and cultural changes by fleshing out tensions between Anglo and Latino communities by bringing people together through music.

In my personal experience, Mexican music has revolved around my life for as long as I can remember. Growing up in a bordertown has its Hispanic heritage. Whether I was at home, school, or even in public places, I would hear Spanish related music playing in the background. I believe Spanish music holds many values when it comes to different occasions. The music can manipulate the minds of its listeners using love, passion, and outstanding rhythms. After reading an article online, I can explain how three different genres of traditional Mexican music influence people’s culture.

Hispanic’s music had a great impact in USA. Nowadays, Americans listen to Hispanics’ music. Hispanics’ music now is part of American’s culture. These changes in USA began around of 19th century, when Hispanics immigration increases in the USA. One of the big changes in music occurred around 1940s, when Americans began to recognize the efforts of Cuban-American musicians. One of the Cuban bands was Cugat. It was known better Orchestra ‘based in New York’s Waldorf Astoria’ which had a great visual and musical style. Another Cuban band was Machito who were dominated as one of the best New York’s scenes at that time. Thanks, to those bans Americans adopted some of Cubans’ dances and performances such as rumba, mambo and cumbia. Americans used and still using the Cuban instruments like bongos and maracas to create their rhythms. Later on, Americans created Jazz by African Americans with the influenced of Cuban’s music.

In the 19th Century, Merengue was being introduced in saloons and ballrooms everywhere on the island. However, this new music found its opposition among Europeans at the time. The custom style of dancing at this time was the Tumba, a cultural dance of the time which was danced in groups. The Merengue was embraced and accepted by the Dominican people and evolved within the country according to region. An example of this is the region of the Dominican Republic known as “El Cibao” has taken its influence from merengue and specified it to a particular sound and style influenced by that region a style which has been come to be known as “Perico Ripiao”. This dance eventually came to be revered by many as a sound relative to the Dominican Republic, it showed nationalism and was used to unify Dominicans.

During the 1950’s Perez Prado moved to New York and with him he brought the mambo, a brand new genre of music. While Perez Prado was in New York he created many albums that become very popular. These albums promoted the mambo making it a very popular field of music.

My career in the United States got off at a rough start but not until I joined the Tito Puente Orchestra and truly became the Queen of Salsa. People knew me for my dynamic voice but my performances and outfits are what really aroused the audience. I always had over-the-top attire usually with sequins, feathers, lace, and wild hair. After an incident at a restaurant, I began to say “Azucar!” or “Sugar!” during my performances, which became my famous phrase. By the 1970’s, I was performing regularly with the Fania All–Stars and in Miami. Many people in Miami had left Cuba as well but claimed they would only go back if Cuba became a democracy, which is why Miami could have been called my second home. During the 1970’s and the 1980’s, I had switched up my musical style with various artists. I collaborated with Caetano Veloso, Pattie LaBelle, Wyclef Jean, Emilio Estefan, Luciano Pavarotti, and David Byrne. I also began to appear in films including The Mambo Kings and The Perez Family. After 40 years of singing, I had won several Grammy Awards and Latin Grammys and produced over 70 albums including 23 that went gold. My life was singing and that was all I could ask for. With all the men in the salsa business, I overcame boundaries and obstacles to

Multiple Mexicans had moved to Chicago to work in factories created to build cars, or at least parts for vehicles. Additionally, they came in dense numbers to border states like Texas, California, and Arizona. Alongside this, television became even more popular as it relayed big news and entertained many more crowds. Not only that, but music played a major role in influencing the people with their multiple genres.

In 1960, Barretto was a house musician for the Prestige, Blue Note, and Riverside labels. He also recorded on Columbia Records with Jazz flautist Herbie Mann. New York had become the center of Latin music in the United States and a musical genre called "pachanga" was the Latin music craze of the time.

Anyone with an interest in Latin-American Jazz in the past twenty-five years is sure to have heard the remarkable vocal styles of Flora Purim. She is well known for her part in “Return to Forever” with Chick Corea. Purim has also recorded and performed with many critically acclaimed artists, including Dizzy Gillespie, Gil Evans, Opa, Stan Getz, Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead, Santana, Jaco Pastorius, and her husband Airto Moreira. Flora Purim is called the “Queen of Brazilian Jazz.”

But before that Jelly Roll Morton, who is a ragtime and jazz musician had played jazz with a “spanish tinge” but was not considered Latin Jazz. In 1943, Bauzá wrote the song “Tanga” which is supposed to be the first Latin Jazz song. Latin Jazz became more and more popular and became the path to Latin Music with Mambo with Tito Puente as the most common musician and also Salsa. Most of the common Jazz musicians where Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozo and more. These musicians mostly played in the Latin clubs in New York and then ventured out to more venues as they became popular and the demand to hear them before the it ended with the start of Rock and Roll and the connection to Cuba was closed off from the United States but that didn’t stop what was already being played and heard by the general

After being in Cuba, Prado moved his music to Mexico, where his music and the dance was rapidly picked up and enjoyed by many. The mambo dance was characterized by complicated foot-steps and free upper body movements. (Wilson, 1) Mambo music is popular and listened to often in the Latin culture. In local cultures today, the Cuban dance is done by many professional dancers all

It’s about 09:30 P.M and I have to be in downtown San Diego to play live at club Sevilla. We play Latin music, Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia, Bachata and its something that I grew up playing all my life, its part of me, and defines me as a person and would not leave that hobby for any reason. But what I called a hobby, was becoming a job, many times I had to push over friendships, girlfriends, or other social time just to make it to band practice, that’s how important it was for me. Latin music requires a lot of skill, it requires music theory, and for the most part, most of us were natural musicians, we did not read music except the trumpets, saxophone, and trombone. There were a total of 13 people in the band. There was a conga,