latin music lyrics

Latin music lyrics are also sometimes called Latin American music lyrics and cannot be easily separated from the unique sound of Latin American music. Latin music lyrics are sometimes confused with Spanish music lyrics or Mexican music lyrics, which are a different genres altogether.

Latin music has exploded into the music mainstream since the 1990’s after the untimely death of Tex Mex singer Selena out of Corpus Christi, Texas. Since this time, pop artists like Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez (J Lo) have brought this genre of music to new heights. Salsa, Cumbia, Merengue and Rock en espanol have offered popular variations within the genre.

Before this time, however, Latin music was more traditional in sound and lyrics. Latin music lyrics in traditional songs often offer the call-and-response technique common in African-American musical traditions. Many of the traditional Latin music lyrics also contain a religious theme such as the Nativity, Easter or Resurrection through the eyes of a primarily Catholic culture.

More recent Latin music lyrics, however, such as those in the Reggaetón style more resemble hip hop lyrics. Reggaetón is a blend of reggae, bomba or plena and hip hop. Sometimes the rapping of lyrics is also incorporated into the songs. Like hip hop, this brand of Latin music lyrics has been criticized for being too violent, degrading to women and too sexual in nature.

Lumping all current Latin music lyrics into this one category for criticism is a mistake though since the majority do not have this kind of content. Typical themes of current Latin music include such subjects as dancing, partying, anecdotes, love lyrics, cultural stories and life problems in general.