| Latin Rock | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1950s,Southern California, United States |
| Derivative forms | Latin Alternative |
| Other topics | |
| Latin Metal | |
Latin Rock is a term to describe a subgenre blending traditional sounds and elements of Latin American and Hispanic Caribbean Folk withRock Music.[1][2][3][4][5] However, it is widely used in the English-language media to refer any kind of rock music featuring Spanish or Portuguese vocals. This has led to controversy about the scope of the terminology.
Latin Rock should not be confused with "rock music from Latin America"[6][7][8][9] orRock en Español.[10][11][12] It's also closely related to theLatin alternative scene (which combines Latin elements withAlternative Rock,Pop,electronic music,indie orhip hop among others)[13][14][15][16][17] a term often used to refer the same phenomenon.[18]
Rock and roll music of the 1950s originated from a variety of sources including rhythm and blues, blues, gospel, country, bluegrass, western swing, andTin Pan Alley pop music. Also, there was some influence of the traditional Latin music. Caribbean rhythms likecalypso were used insurf music; and there were some rock and roll songs based oncha-cha-chá ormambo.[19]
Latin rock was born in theUnited States[20] during the late 1950s,[21] though the term was not yet created. In 1958 an adaptation of a Mexican folk song called "La Bamba" was recorded by theChicano rock artistRitchie Valens.[22] That same year, instrumental rock bandthe Champs released "Tequila", a song that incorporates clear Latin sounds and was composed by the band's chicano saxophonistDanny Flores).
During the 1960s, there were more examples of rock artists likeThee Midniters,Question Mark & the Mysterians,[23]Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs[24] orSir Douglas Quintet[25] that included Latin rhythms on their compositions. Also Chicano rock became popular inCalifornia; although not all of these can be considered early Latin rock artists since many of them lacked the Latin folk influences.[26]
In some Latin American countries, Latin rock started to develop as well. InPeru,Colombia,Argentina, but speciallyBrazil[27] whereTropicália appeared in the mid-1960s[28] with the first releases ofOs Mutantes,Gal Costa andCaetano Veloso from 1967 to 1970,[29] a music movement that merged rock music withbossa nova,psychedelia and other Latin elements,[30] and this can be regarded as the main root of the genre.[31]
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In 1969, after the release of the debut album bySantana, the term "Latin rock" appeared in the US and other parts of the world.[32] It was an attempt to describe the band's music style as a fusion of Latin American and Caribbean rhythms,soul,jazz,funk,blues,psychedelia andrhythm and blues based onrock music.[33][34]
FollowingSantana, other American bands appeared likeMalo, Ocho,Mandrill,El Chicano, Eddie Palmieri's Harlem River Drive,War, Sapo andAzteca in the early 1970s popularizing the genre in the USA and the rest of the world.[35]
The Latin American counterpart of Latin rock bands could be seen inPeru with bands like Telegraph Avenue,Traffic Sound, the Mad's, El Polen and specially Black Sugar melting rock with jazz music, Peruvian folk,progressive rock and Latin elements; inColombia highlighted Siglo Cero, Génesis and La Columna de Fuego; inArgentinaArco Iris; and inChile,Los Jaivas; inBrazil, artist such asJorge Ben developedsamba rock.
Inthe Philippines band, Maria Cafra fused elements of blues, rock, Latin andkundiman to mold their distinct sound.
The genre arrived inEurope with the SpaniardsBarrabás,[36] Dutch Massada and African-BritishOsibisa.[37]
Meanwhile,reggae music achieved a great success around the world. This rhythm originated inJamaica during the 1960s, evolving fromska,rocksteady and bluebeat.[38] Since its origins along with rock music and rhythm and blues with Jamaican folk rhythms, theCaribbean and Continental Latin America elements influenced the scene.[39] Nevertheless,Reggae orSka are not considered as part of the Latin Rock.[40] On the other hand,disco also influenced Latin rock during the 1970s.[41]
After the birth ofpunk in late 1970s, the genre also was influenced by many other music styles. Some British punk andnew wave acts likethe Clash included elements that could be considered as "latin" in "Sandinista!" (1980).[42] Other bands such asBow Wow Wow, Haircut One Hundred,Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Modern Romance,Special AKA and Blue Rondo a la Turk did as well.[43]
In Spain,Los Coyotes, Los Mestizos andRadio Futura, that had emerged as new wave and post-punk acts, finally got influenced by Latin music at mid 1980s.[44] Spain would go on to produce some Latin acts likeMacaco,Amparanoia andJarabe de Palo.
In France, bands likeLes Negresses Vertes played a fusion of rock withWorld music including Latin elements. ButManu Chao was the major success of Latin rock in France with the bandMano Negra (also as a solo artist) with a style that would be known later asLatin alternative. A mix of rock, with Latin elements,Arabic music,punk,rap,flamenco,ska andreggae.[45]
In the US during this period musicians likeLos Lobos,El Vez, Sheila E.,David Hidalgo,David Byrne (ex-leader ofTalking Heads), andCesar Rosas fused Latin music and rock music.[46] David Byrne was interested in Brazilian music.
The genre consolidated during the 1990s in Latin America.[47] Many bands appeared such asRio Roma (Mexico),Maná (Mexico),Caifanes (Mexico),Café Tacuba (Mexico),Aterciopelados (Colombia),Paralamas do Sucesso (Brazil),Bersuit Vergarabat (Argentina),Karamelo Santo (Argentina),Maldita Vecindad (Mexico),Carmina Burana (Argentina),Los Fabulosos Cadillacs (Argentina),Soda Stereo (Argentina),Los Prisioneros (Chile),Los Tres (Chile),Octavia (Bolivia),Karnak (Brazil),Chancho en Piedra (Chile),Julieta Venegas (Mexico),Arena Hash (Peru) andLos Rabanes (Panama), that incorporated Latin folk rhythms on their compositions (especiallyCaifanes andLos Fabulosos Cadillacs).Ecuadorian rock incorporated recently indigenous musical influences.
During the late 1990s, the rising population of "Latinos" in the US[48] (term popularized since the 1960s due to the incorrect and confusing use of the term "Spanish" and the unpopular term "Hispanic")[49] led the music industry to create theLatin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences as a sub-department ofNational Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Also, in 2000 theLatin Grammy Awards were created. Thus, a great part of the English media started to refer to any kind of music featuring vocals in Spanish as "Latin music".[50]
This term achieved a great success in some Latin American countries, where some of their regional press started to use the new terminology.[51] This phenomenon spread the use of the "Latin rock" term with a quite different meaning from the original one.[52] This led to controversy and confusion among many in the population.
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