When Did Latin Music Burst Back on the Scene?

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Latin music explosion like the one we’re currently experiencing. So, when did it all start?

The Beginnings of a New Era

In the early 2010s, a new wave of Latin music began to take over the airwaves. This new sound was a fusion of traditional Latin genres with modern pop, electronic, and hip-hop influences. The result was a fresh and exciting sound that quickly gained popularity with music fans all over the world.

The 1940s and 50s

With the Nazi occupation of Europe during World War II, many musicians who would have otherwise found work in England or America were unable to travel. This included Cuban bandleader and composer Ernesto Lecuona, as well as famed Puerto Rican opera singer Manuel Zeno Gandía. As a result, these artists and others like them found themselves returning to their home countries, where they began to experiment with a new fusion of African and European musical styles.

This new Latin music was heavily influenced by the jazz being played in America at the time. Cuban musicians in particular were enamored with the work of American trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, who had popularized a style of jazz known as bebop. Bebop was characterized by its fast tempo and complex harmonies, both of which would come to be hallmarks of Latin jazz.

The 1940s and 50s saw the birth of many of the genres that would come to define Latin music. In Cuba, Perez Prado developed the mambo, while in Brazil, Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto created bossa nova. These new styles quickly spread beyond their countries of origin, thanks in part to the increasing popularity of Latin American tourism destinations like Havana and Rio de Janeiro. By the end of the 1950s, Latin music was firmly established as a worldwide phenomenon.

The Birth of Rock and Roll

Rock and roll is a genre of music that emerged in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It developed from a combination of American and African musical traditions, including blues, country, gospel, rhythm and blues, and jazz. The style is typified by a heavy backbeat, simple chorus melodies, and often crowd-pleasing material.

The term “rock and roll” was first used by record producer Alan Freed in 1951 to describe the music he was playing on his radio show. It quickly became a popular term for the new style of music.

The first rock and roll records were made in the mid-1950s by artists such as Bill Haley and His Comets, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, and Chuck Berry. These records were very popular with young people, who were drawn to the energy and excitement of the music.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, rock and roll became increasingly popular with both white and black audiences. This coincided with the beginning of a new era in American history, marked by social change and youthful rebellion.

As rock and roll became more popular, it also began to change. In the 1960s, artists such as the Beatles and Bob Dylan introduced more complex song structures and lyrics into their music. This led to the development of new rock genres such as folk rock and psychedelic rock.

The Rise of Latin Music

The 1960s

The Latin music scene in the United States began to heat up in the late 1950s and early 1960s with the rise of artists like Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and Ray Barretto. But it wasn’t until the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City that Latin music really broke into the mainstream.

At the fair, Puente and Cruz performed to packed crowds, and their music was heard by people from all over the world. After the fair, Latin music began to gain popularity with American audiences, and by the 1970s, it was one of the most popular genres in the country.

Today, Latin music is as popular as ever, and its influence can be heard in everything from pop to hip-hop.

The 1970s

In the 1970s, a new generation of Cuban musicians living in exile in America began to experiment with the traditional sounds of their homeland, fusing them with elements of jazz, rock, and other styles to create a unique new musical genre. This “salsa” music quickly became popular among Hispanic Americans living in New York City and other urban areas, and soon it was being heard on radio stations across the country. In the 1980s and 1990s, a wave ofLatin American artists working in a variety of musical genres achieved mainstream success in the United States, helping to bring Latin music into the American mainstream.

The 1980s

Latin music began to gain traction in the United States in the 1980s with the popularity of Miami-based acts like Gloria Estefan and her band, Miami Sound Machine. Their 1987 album, Let It Loose, featured a mix of disco, pop, and Latin sounds that appealed to a wide range of listeners. The album spawned the hits “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You” and “Conga,” both of which topped the charts in the United States and around the world.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, another wave of Latin music swept across the United States led by Los Angeles-based act Selena. Selena’s brand of Tejano music – a style that blended traditional Mexican folk sounds with modern pop sensibilities – quickly gained a massive following among Latino and non-Latino listeners alike. Selena’s untimely death in 1995 only served to cement her place as one of the most influential Latin artists of all time.

Today, Latin music is more popular than ever thanks in large part to streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. These platforms have made it easier than ever for listeners to discover new artists and styles from all over the world.

The New Wave of Latin Music

The 1990s

In the 1990s, a new wave of Latin music burst onto the scene. A new generation of artists were influenced by a mix of genres, including rock, pop, hip hop, and dance. These artists took Latin music in a new direction, making it more contemporary and appealing to a wider audience.

One of the most popular genres of Latin music in the 1990s was salsa. This style originated in Cuba and Puerto Rico and was characterized by its up tempo rhythm and horn-based sound. Salsa became very popular in the United States, particularly among Hispanic audiences. Other popular genres of Latin music in the 1990s included merengue, cumbia, and bachata.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, a new crop of Latin artists began to gain popularity in the United States. These artists blended traditional Latin sounds with modern pop sensibilities to create a unique hybrid style. Among these artists were Ricky Martin, Shakira, Marc Anthony, and Jennifer Lopez. Their hits crossed over into the mainstream pop charts and helped to introduce Latin music to a whole new audience.

The 2000s

The new wave of Latin music began in the early 2000s, with a new generation of artists that was influenced by a variety of genres. These artists blended traditional Latin sounds with everything from pop and rock to hip hop and R&B, creating a new, unique sound that appealed to a wide range of listeners.

Some of the most popular artists of this new wave include Shakira, Reykon, Maluma, J Balvin, and Ozuna. These artists have had massive success both in Latin America and around the world, thanks to their catchy tunes and engaging performance style.

While the new wave of Latin music is often seen as a fresh start for the genre, it’s worth noting that many of these artists have been inspired by the past, drawing on classic sounds and traditions while also bringing something new to the table. This mix of old and new is one of the things that makes Latin music so exciting and popular today.

The 2010s

2010s
In the 2010s, the face of Latin music in the U.S. began to change rapidly. In 2010, a then-unknown 19-year-old from Medellín, Colombia named J Balvin released his debut album “La Familia,” which helped bring reggaeton to a new generation of listeners. That same year, Mexican-American rapper Gerardo Ortiz broke through with his corrido “El Cholo Irene.”

In 2013, Balvin scored his first major hit with “Yo Te Lo Dije,” which spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. That same year, Ortiz released “Dámaso,” a corrido about the Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán that would become one of the biggest hits in the genre’s history.

Meanwhile, newer genres like moombahton and Trap latino were beginning to gain traction. Moombahton is a electronic dance music genre created by Dutch producer Dave Nada in 2009, while Trap latino is a subgenre of Trap music that blends traditional Trap beats with Latin American musical styles like reggaeton and cumbia.

In 2014, Balvin had his breakthrough moment with the release of his single “Ay Vamos,” which spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and became one of the biggest hits of the decade. That same year, trap artist Ozuna burst onto the scene with his debut single “Si No Te Quiere.”

Since then, both artists have continued to dominate the Latin music charts and are currently two of the biggest names in Urban Latino music.