From flamenco’s soulful melodies to reggaeton’s catchy beats, this collection presents Spanish musical genres and their worldwide impact.
The 1990s witnessed a remarkable transformation for pop music in Spain with artists like Monica Naranjo and La Movida Madrilea becoming major cultural forces.
Tango
Tango is an irresistibly seductive dance style and genre of music, full of sensuality and passion. Originating in working-class neighborhoods of Paris and moving onward to ballrooms and theaters worldwide, tango has deep-seated roots which continue to excite.
A blend of Spanish, Italian, Gaucho, and African influences creates a distinctive sound accompanied by poetically written lyrics. It can be performed solo guitar, duo of guitarists or orchestra (known as an “orquesta tipica”).
Astor Piazzolla popularized and modernized the genre of tango worldwide. Today’s artists draw upon various musical traditions to craft new sounds for this uniquely American art form.
Salsa
Salsa music can be an incredibly unifying force, uniting people of different backgrounds in joyful creative communities across cultures. According to Panamanian salsa artist Ruben Blades, Salsa “is part of global urban folklore”.
Rhythm: Samba music is fast-paced and upbeat, featuring an infectious beat known as the clave (from its sequence of beats). Vocalists known as soneros frequently improvise lyrics to add their personal flair to each song they perform.
Salsa music evolved from mambo, which itself originated in Cuban son. Migration patterns among Puerto Rico, Cuba and New York City led to musical interactions that gave birth to salsa music.
Merengue
Merengue is a popular rhythm with African origins that, depending on its style, also draws from European ones. Originally developed by Dominicans living in New York where it became wildly popular and has since spread all around the world.
After Trujillo’s dictatorship ended, merengue gained more reach and evolved further globally, taking on elements of American pop music that contributed to fresher lyrics as well as faster-paced, hotter sounds with modern undertones.
Merengue groups usually consist of a conjunto tipico (traditional band), accordion and guira drum – an instrument similar to a maraca that must be played steady with rhythmic brushstrokes to provide the distinctive sound and rhythmic melody that define merengue music.
Corridos
Corridos were popular during the Mexican Revolution and subsequent conflicts against American expansionism as a way to honor those who died and create an identity for Mexico. Songs like “La Cucaracha” became so enduringly beloved that they have since become iconic symbols of Mexican culture.
Historical corridos were typically written using the decima format with 20-30 stanzas and recorded on both sides of an audio tape recorder; modern corridos typically follow less stringent rules and can be shorter; nevertheless, their storytelling remains rich and authentic.
Natanael Cano and Ovi create trap corridos, an unconventional genre that marries classical corrido elements with new-wave trap music or hip hop elements. Utilizing instruments such as the renaquito (an acoustic guitar with nylon strings tuned a fourth higher than regular classical guitar) and tololoche (bass-type string instrument), these artists weave their experiences from life into this genre to produce something truly original.
Reggaeton
Reggaeton is a Latin music genre which first emerged in Panama during the 1990s as an adaptation of Jamaican reggae and dancehall music. Since then, however, it has taken on elements from other Latin genres and developed a distinctive beat known as Dembow (or Dembow Beat) originally popularised by Bobby Dixon-produced song by Jamaican artist Shabba Ranks of that name.
Reggaeton music shares many elements with hip hop, such as beat and rap-styled lyrics; however, it is not considered Latin hip hop since most reggaeton songs feature nonviolent, clean lyrics. Reggaeton-hip hop or merengue hip hop may still be remixed with English language rap to produce reggaeton-hip hop music.
Rock
Rock en espanol is a genre with a longstanding scene, drawing influence from rock and roll, Euro disco, Latin American music and Spanish traditions. La Movida Madrilea in Madrid in the 1980s spurred its development; female artists Alaska y los Pegamoides and Martirio pioneered diversity within Spanish pop music with their unconventional sounds that broke boundaries to showcase new sounds fostering growth of rock en espanol genre.
Bolero is a captivating form of romantic ballad that expresses love, sorrow and longing through song. Instrumental accompaniment includes guitar and the zambomba friction drum; its vocal variation known as Danzonete includes drama and passion as played on Balearic Islands with tabor pipes called xeremiers.