The rich world of Latin music always existed in the background of Western pop, but never broke into the mainstream. In all the countries south of the US, thrives a scene that combines Spanish music with the music of the local natives and the input from the sons of the African slaves, and of course the influences of American pop. This music is imported into the US by its large Latin community, and throughout the twentieth century it contributed its share to the development of pop, its touches being well-felt in jazz, rock, disco, hip-hop and dance. But somehow, it always remained marginal. In the fifties, when rhythm 'n' blues, country and Tin Pan Alley merged to form rock'n'roll, it looked like Latin music would also have its day, with the emergence of rock'n'roll star Ritchie Valens. But Valens was killed in a plane crash, and since then no one was able to repeat his success, and no one produced a huge hit like 'La Bamba'. Until 1999, when finally there was a record that equaled 'La Bamba', and Latin pop could carry on where Valens left off.
Ricky Martin's 'Living la Vida Loca' smashed through the barrier, and opened the way for Latin performers. Martin himself maintained the momentum, and was a big star for a while. Jennifer Lopez, coming from a young generation of Latino actors that made it in Hollywood, switched to music as well, and became an entertainment icon and a sex symbol. Enrique Iglesias showed that charm is an inherited trait, and succeeded where his legendary father failed, creating a style that appealed to Anglo-Saxon pop fans. Even Christina Aguilera made occasional visits to her Latin side, and showed other pop stars that it is a market worth tapping into. These and others established Latin pop, and opened new possibilities for it. But for me, none of this was very exciting.
I guess that if I had a more extensive background in Latin culture, I'd connect better to this music. On the other hand, if Latin pop would have created something truly powerful, it would drive me to learn more about the culture, and so far, nothing I heard gave me that urge. Out of all the Latin artists, Shakira is my favorite, partly because she is a bella muchacha, but also due to the interesting variety in her music. A Colombian of Spanish-Italian-Lebanese descent, she mingled Latin, Arab and Western music, developed a dance that combined belly-dancing and booty-shaking, and formed her own unique style. With the rise of the Latin wave she could transcend the borders of Colombia, and this record shot her to the top, putting her in line with the pop princesses. Basically it is just a danceable little ditty, but those echoes of Andean music make it exotic enough to stand out.
The Latin world at large is waking up in recent years, and after centuries of trailing after the West, it is beginning to catch up. Culturally and politically, it is an effervescent and blustery world, and I anticipate many years of polemical and fruitful dialogue with the other cultures. Such records prepare the ground.
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