WHEN IT COMES TO PARry-INDUCING

Latin
I
msie
WHEN IT COMES TO PARry-INDUCING SOUNDSCAPES,
SOCIOPOLITICALLY CHARGED THEMES, AND POWERFUL ARTISTS,
LOOK NO FURTHER THAN OUR RICH LATIN MUSIC HISTORY LATINA
PRESENTS OUR DEFINITIVE, ATPHABETICALLY ORGANIZED GUIDE TO
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SEARCH FOR ON SPOTIFY NOW, PRESS PLAY
By Kamren Curiel
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CCORDION: tt may be more
associated with the potka but,
as adopted in mariachi, cumbia,
vallenato and merengue ripioo
by anists like Kumbia A[[ Starz and La
Sonora Dinamita, it's really a fiesta in a
box. lt's impossible to not get up and
dance when the "squeeze-box" takes
center stage.
lG PUN:
MC of all
The greatest Latino
time-and the first of
our soto hip-hop artists to go
platinum, with copitol
Punishment-was also an
may be that he didn't live long
enough to make amends or realize his fuI
potential. He died ofa heart attack at 28,
teaving behind classics like "Stitt Not a
Player" and unanswered questions.
7A
LAT
NA.COM
AUGUST 2012
The Mexican
American
bonda queen beat
the odds as a teenage mom who
became one ofthe
most successful
regionat Mexican
artists. She batances
a hubby and five
ANZA KUDURO:
Don Omar tapped into his
African roots for his zoro
history-making hit "Danza
Kuduro," which borrows from the'8os
Angotan dance music craze kuduro.The
music video has over 35o miltion YouTube
views, making it one of the most watched
videos in the world. Dale, Don, Dalel
chitdren*and a
career raising hell
onstage. Her hifarious reality series,
munz's, Love Jenni,
shows the real side
ofthe Long Beach
City-reppin'diva.
To
us, she's the realest.
REESTYLE:
Back in the '8os, the freesty[e
movement, comprised mostly of
Latino musicians from New york's
barrios, experimented with e[ectronica by
fusing synthetic instrumentation with
syncopated percussion. Artists [ike TKA,
Lisa Lisa, George Lamond, Stevie B and
Judy Torres became synonymous with the
dance genre. "Freestyle
opened doors for so
many Latinos," says
Torres, whose
biggest hit was
"Come lnto My
Arms." "lt's
the heartbeat of
urban Latino
cu [ture."
UIROR: tt tooks tike a cheese
n
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Ecron LAVoE:
can find satisfaction on the dance floor.
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cantante de /os cantontes's
1ffffi;:';ff.'l+l."ln:"
Puerto Rican's breathtaking voice carried
a multitude of feelings-joy, anguish and
passion-and dominated the r97os,
salsa's golden era.
KNOW YOU WANT ME (CALLE
OCHO): tt's the singte, off pitbutt's
fourth album, Rebe/ution, that
transformed him from a'hood favorite
MC to a pop-friendty international
ptayboy. You sti[[ can't go to a club
without hearing the zoog smash.
INKY: rhe five-man electrorock band is one ofthe most
L GRAN VARON:
Nuyorican trombonist and salsa
tegend Wittie Cot6n, who signed
to Fania Records at age 15, made
a huge statement in 1989 when he
reteased his epic song about AIDS at a
time when many artists shied away from
the subject. The song totd the tragic story
of Simon, a gay man who struggled to be
accepted by his machista father. tt's a
ctassic and it makes you wonder: Wheret
the sociopo[itical voice in today's satsa?
exciting live acts in Latin music.
Their summer tour in support
oftheirjust-out album, Suefio De Lo
Maqu[na, is a must-see.
A BAMBAT This
year marks
the 25th anniversary of Luis
Valdez's ctassic about the life
and tragic death of Chicano
rock star Ritchie Vatens. The fi[m also
featured a kitler soundtrack of
mostly Valens' covers performed by
Los Lobos.
AUGUST
2OI2
LAT NA.CONl
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Thalia, eaquita [a del Barrio, Juan Gabriel,
Pau[ina Rubio, Vicente Fern6ndez, Los
Bukis, Man6...welt, you getthe picture.
1
I
ocK-Nor
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I
eru
espRftol:
We love our Soda Stereo, Caf6
Tacuba and Man6, but when it
comes to rock, our bona fides
go we[[ beyond rock en
espaftol. What Ritchie
Vatens started in the
195os, Rage Against
the Machine's Zack
de [a Rocha, Jane's
,l
ts
c+
fii
z
Addiction's Dave
Navarro and the
DAVE NAVARRo
Rodriguez-L6pez brothers
ofthe Mars Volta have continued to
i
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t=
this day.
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ACIONAL RECORDS:
The brainchild of Nuyorican
Tomas Cookman, who founded
the Noft h Hollywood-based
[abe[ in zoo4, Nacional is the hub for the
most buzz-worthy, eclectic acts in Latin
music, including Ana T|oux, Bomba
Est6reo, Aterciopelados and Manu Chao.
It's/reso fresh.
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HAKIRA, SELENA,
SANTANA: S is for Superstar.
e1.
Carlos Santana busted barriers
in rock when his San Franciscobased band performed at Woodstock in
1969. Selena had conquered felono even
before her death made her world
renowned. And Shakira is hands down
the biggest Latina in music.
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RINCE ROYCE:
Still celebrating his eight wins at
this year's Latin Billboards,
where he took home Artist of the
Year and with Phose,/ beat Romeo Santos
for Album ofthe Year, Royce seems ready
to be crowned king of bcchoteros. Killer
dimples don't hurt, either.
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UE VIVA MEXICO!
There's no doubt that a[[ of our
countries have contributed to
the wea[th of Latin music, but
On August 26, 1971,
Fania At[-Stars took
the
to
' New York's hip Cheetah
nightctub to unleash satsa onto the
city. fhe classic concert, which
featured H6ctor Lavoe, Johnny
Pacheco, Larry Harlow, Wittie Cot6n
and Ray Baretto, was filmed and
turned into a documentary depicting
the heady earty'7os satsa movement.
It! a must-have for any salsa
aficionado.
8O
LAT]NA.COM AUGUST
2O']2
Mexico leads the way
in the number of top-
selling, internationa[[y
known superstars in
everything from
ranchera and
mariachi to bondo
and pop. A sampling:
Los Tigres del Norte,
Luis Miguet, Espinoza
Paz, Jose Jose,
Chaveta Vargas,
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ANGO: tt stafted
as the
forbidden dance, the dance of
the poor and the vu[gar,
where coup[es tangled
The folksy
Mexican
singer's zorr selftitled Englishlanguage debut
legs, pressed bodies
against each other and
swung each other with
abandon. lt became a
hightighted her
sffong vocats over
a coltection of
whimsicat
worldwide
phenomenon-bar none
the sexiest, most
sophisticated way to
seduce with your
clothes on. ;Che,
que bello!
songs.
we
were hooked
from track
ICENTE FERNANDEZ:
After a phenomenal career that
spanned nearly 45 years, the
kingof ranchera, known to
many as Don Chente, announced his
retirement earlier this year. The legendary
singer and actor started his career
performing on the streets for money and
rose to international fame with more than
roo atbums fu[[ of romanticized tales of
rural living and revolution. No wonder his
trademark song was "Et Rey."
ISIN Y YANDEL:
The masters of reggaeton
pop are presently on one
of the hottest tours of the
year with J. Lo and Enrique lglesias,
and in Ju[y the boricuo duo also
released their eighth studio album, Los
Lideres. Fotlow the leader indeed.
AREL RAMOS: Yarel Ramos
grew up in L.A. listening to the
toud and irresistible rhythms of La
Banda Sinaloense, dancing and
singing to Selena and being schooled by her
father on the [ate, great composer Jose
Alfredo Jimenez. So
who better to host
munz's regional
Mexican music show,
Revent6n?'As a kid
loved corridos and
I
everyyear [when] I
visited family in
Mexico lwould sing
to them proudty,"
says Ramos, 24."My
parents taught me
that a lot of culture,
history, customs and traditions are
magicatty engraved in our music." And now
she's one of its biggest ambassadors.
UZUKA PODEROSA:
The Brazitian-bred, West lndiesraised corioco bass creator
NPLUGGED: we're not talking
MTV'S sedate sets here,
gente. La
Lupe, the late, great Cuban queen
of Latin sout, reigned supreme on
stage with wild stage antics that included
the tearing off of ctothes, wigs, shoes and
eyetashes. For anyone else it might have
seemed tike a gimmick; for La Lupe, it was a
manifestation of pure passion. Unptugged
meant untamed.
represents the artistic
possibilities of Brooklyn's
Latin music-meshing
scene. Her upcoming
Carioca Boss EP will be
just as boile funk bassheavy as the 4o-minute
mixtape she blessed us
with earlier this year.