Original title
Latin Music USA
Released
10/12/2009
Origin country
US
Genre
Documentary
Production companies
BBC, GBH
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
1
Number of episodes
4
From Latin jazz and mambo to salsa, Tejano, Chicano rock, Latin pop and reggaeton, LATIN MUSIC USA tells the story of the rise of new American music forged from powerful Latin roots, and reveals the often-overlooked influence of Latin music on jazz, hip hop, rhythm and blues, and rock 'n' roll on all of American culture.
Traces the rise of Latin Jazz and the explosion of the Mambo and the Cha Cha Cha as they sweep the US from East to West. Latin Music infiltrates R&B and Rock and Roll through the 1960s.
Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in New York reinvent the Cuban Son and the Puerto Rican Plena, adding elements from Soul and Jazz to create Salsa, which becomes a defining rhythm for Latinos the world over.
In the third episode, Mexican Americans in California, Texas, and throughout the Southwest form their own distinctive sounds during the second half of the 20th century. Their music would play an important role in the fight for Chicano civil rights, and in turn launch them from the barrio onto the national stage.
Focuses on the Latin Pop explosion of the turn of the century and the success of artists like Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan and Shakira in the English-language market. As studios concentrate on star-driven Pop, Latino youth gravitate toward urban fusions -- Spanish Rap and Reggaeton, as well as Rock en Espanol.
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