Post and discuss Latin music and artists here, if you wish.
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Good Idea - I’d posted some in the Jazz area, all the way back to the “Latin Invasion” of the 1940s. Alberto Morales, Carmen Miranda, to later artists like Cougat, Tito Puente. And maybe a bit from when I was in Argentina, Los Chalchaleros, Los Tucu Tucu, Mercedes Sosa. But I’m not that familiar with the modern ones.
Although I do listen to some when Qobuz suggests. But less pop than Jazz and avant- grade.
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Any and all the above are welcome here.
Although I was certainly exposed to Latin artists from an early age in the 1960’s on radio, and primarily TV, my interest in Latin music and artists really kicked into a higher gear during the 1990’s and 2000’s, when Pitbull, J-Lo, Shakira, and many of the more well-known reggaeton, salsa, and bachata artists were making a name for themselves in the US music scene.
I still enjoy alot of Latin pop and reggaeton. Especially some of the newer crop of female artists in these genres. My interests have broadened out a little bit though to include regional/country music, cumbia, Brazilian and other South American genres. I like some Brazilian funk and sertanejo artists, for example. And also some of the newer trap corridos or corridos tumbados artists (e.g. Natanael Cano, Xavi…). There are some very good instrumentalists as well as rapper/singers in the latter. And there may also be some explicit lyrics as well (though I personally tend to enjoy the cleaner stuff).
I like other regional music as well, but enjoy the somewhat cooler temperature of these newer styles.
I’m from Brazil, but I haven’t been following current artists that are in top charts. My local recommendations are:
Luiza Lara:
Ina Magdala:
Carla Casarim:
LuĂsa Mitre:
Later I will recommend the spanish musicians, which is what I most listen to these days.
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I’ve always considered Jamaican music to be in a different group than Latin music. I’ve listened to calypso, ska, rocksteady, reggae and reggaeton quite a bit since I was maybe 2 years old with Calypso when Harry Bellafonte hit it big in 1956 with this release:
One of my current favorite albums in this genre was suggested to me by ROON, since I am also a Zappa and Turtles fan - warning - not what you expect from this duo, it’s really nice!
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Nice selections, eduh. I particularly liked the bossas by Carla Casarim. It’s not a genre I’ve delved into deeply. but I always liked Astrud’s work.
On the subject of Brazilian singers, I also liked several of Marilia Mendonca’s tunes in the sertanejo genre. Maybe you’re familiar with some of her work?
Paula Fernandes is a bit more mainstream, but I enjoyed some of her tunes too. She is sort of the Shania Twain of Brazilian country, I guess. 
There are just too many good singers there.
Don’t know it that well. But my parents probably listened to this. We had Calypso! with the Beetlejuice song though. And it got played to death.
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Getting away from what I listened to as a toddler, I really started back in about 1975, after a strong review for this in Stereo Review.
From which I graduated to Steel Pulse and Burning Spear
Everyone knows Marley, so I’ll not post that, but I moved on to some more Reggae fusion artists like Alpha Blondy
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I’m more familiar with her songs, her songs were played everywhere. Unfortunately, she died at an airplane accident. I guess people who liked her also listened to Maiara e MaraĂsa.
Paula Fernandes was one of the first of these new sertanejo women to make success. I used to listen to her first album. I listened to her live before she was really famous, she was starting to get known because her songs played at a tv soap opera, but I was there too see the digital pianos at the music exposition and I’ve just stayed for a few songs.
I usually listened to sertanejo that were successful during the 90s to early 00s, names like Chitãozinho & Xororó (recently, there is a joke that their song Evidências is our “national anthem”), Leandro e Leonardo, Zezé de Camargo e Luciano, Rick e Renner, Bruno e Marrone, and Edson & Hudson.
The first and third videos from Ana Castela you posted are from what we call sertanejo raiz (the more traditional one, there are still tv shows devoted to this simpler form with voice and guitar/viola), which is a generation before the one I just mentioned. The second one sounds more like what is being made now (I lost track, right after was the Sertanejo Universitário, now I don’t now what branches are going on).
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This is the first group of recommendations I will make of music in Spanish. I consider this more traditional (genre) linked to Latin America than the one I will give later.
The first recommendation is Quinteto Leopoldo. This is an instrumental group, but I really like their Album “Quinteto Con Voz”, which has featured singers. Two songs (even though full album recommended):
Next, my favorite singer, Maria Cristina Plata. Well, I already give one recommendation above, but she is my favorite spanish singer, so I decided to cheat . Some more songs from her below:
Another singer I really like is Nella Rojas (my spanish teacher at the time is from Venezuela, and she just recommended). I ended up going to Spain to see her live:
Since it is becoming a very big post, I will bring just one more this time. Natalia Lafoucarde. She is already a big name. I believe she is most famous for songs like “Nunca es suficiente” and “Hasta la raiz”. The lyrics of “Derecho de nacimiento” is among the two great protest song I know (the other would be Brazilian “Que paĂs Ă© esse?” from brazilian’s LegiĂŁo Urbana). But I decided to link other songs below:
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Thank you sincerely for all the details above, eduh. It definitely helps to put some of my listening into better perspective.
Ana Castela is still a developing talent imo. She seems quite good though. And I’m enjoying some of her recent collaborations with other artists. According to wikipedia her style is agronejo.
There are some duos I like in the sertanejo genre as well. Ze Neto e Cristiano seem pretty good. And I enjoyed some of Simone e Simaria Mendes’s videos. I will give the artists you mentioned a listen though, and appreciate all the info on them very much. My introduction to the genre was Michel Telo’s 2011 version of “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” btw (which ran on MTV Tres in the US, I believe).
I’m also familiar with some of Natalia Lafourcade’s work. But not so much of the other two artists you posted above. They all seem quite good though.
Some recent Paula Fernandes.
I remember now why I liked Paula.
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