Latin pop music

Latin pop
Stylistic origins	Latin music pop
Cultural origins	Spain Portugal Latin America
Typical instruments	Spanish guitars accordions bass guitars drums bongo drums tambourine drums drum machines keyboard trumpets trombones pianos claves cowbells timbales congas
Derivative forms	Latin ballad Tropipop
Fusion genres
Chicano rock Latin rock
Regional scenes
Americas: Mexican pop US pop Europe: Spanish music Portuguese music
Other topics
Pop culture

Latin pop (Spanish and Portuguese: Pop latino) refers to pop music that contains sounds or influence from Latin America, but it can also mean pop music from anywhere in the Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking world. Latin pop usually combines upbeat Latin music with American pop music. Latin pop is commonly associated with Spanish-language pop, rock, and dance music.

Latin pop is one of the most popular Latin music genres today. However, before the arrival of artists like Thalía, Shakira, Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias, Latin pop first reached a global audience through the work of bandleader Sergio Mendes in the mid-1960s; in later decades, it was defined by the romantic ballads that legendary artists such as Julio Iglesias or Roberto Carlos produced in the 1970s.

Latin pop became the most popular form of Latin music in the United States during the 1980s and 1990s, even achieving massive crossover success among non-Latino listeners during the late 1990s. While not restricted to America by any means, Latin pop was profoundly affected by production techniques and other styles of music — both Latin and otherwise — that originated primarily in the United States. Tejano music, centered in Texas and the U.S./Mexico border region, had begun to introduce synthesizers, slicker production, and a more urban sensibility to formerly rootsy styles like norteño and conjunto. Moreover, New York and Miami were home to thriving Latin club scenes, which during the 1980s led to the rise of Latin freestyle, a club-oriented dance music that was rooted in Latin rhythms but relied on synthesizers and drum machines for most of its arrangements. Both of these sounds influenced the rise of Latin pop, which retained Latin rhythms in its uptempo numbers but relied more on mainstream pop for its melodic sense.

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Wikipedia