Latin American music

Latin American music is the music of all countries in Latin America (and the Caribbean) and comes in many varieties. Latin America is home to musical styles such as the simple, rural conjunto music of northern Mexico, the sophisticated habanera of Cuba, the rhythmic sounds of the Puerto Rican plena, the symphonies of Heitor Villa-Lobos, and the simple and moving Andean flute. Music has played an important part recently in Latin America's politics... more

Latin American music is the music of all countries in Latin America (and the Caribbean) and comes in many varieties. Latin America is home to musical styles such as the simple, rural conjunto music of northern Mexico, the sophisticated habanera of Cuba, the rhythmic sounds of the Puerto Rican plena, the symphonies of Heitor Villa-Lobos, and the simple and moving Andean flute. Music has played an important part recently in Latin America's politics, the nueva canción movement being a prime example. Latin music is very diverse, with the only truly unifying thread being the use of Latin-derived languages, predominantly the Spanish language, the Portuguese language in Brazil, and to a lesser extent, Latin-derived creole languages, such as those found in Haiti. There are many diverse styles of Latin music, some of which constitutes Afro-American musical traditions, meaning that elements of European, African, and indigenous music are fused. In the past, various authors have suggested extreme... less