Gringo’s Travels
Puerto Rico viewed from a gringo’s perspective
Hard to Find Classic Latin Music in Puerto Rico
Author: The Gringo2 May
It’s funny the expectations that you come up with. When I moved to Puerto Rico I was expecting to hear all sorts of great Latin music. Something like Salsa, Flamenco, maybe something like the Gypsy Kings, or at least something with some Spanish guitar. To my disappointment I found out I was wrong.
I would have to say a genre of music called Reggaeton is king here. Puerto Ricans tell me it’s a mix of Reggae and Spanish Hip Hop. Wikipedia states that Reggaeton started in Panama. Puerto Ricans will tell you it started here. I don’t really know.
I never have liked Hip Hop or Rap (well some people say the Beastie Boys are Rap, and I love them). So I don’t appreciate Reggaeton. The music to me sounds like Spanish Rap with the same repetitive beat over and over and over. I enjoy some Reggae, and I don’t hear the mix at all.
So in the States, you always hear Rap driving down the road with the bass as loud as it can go…. Parties, clubs, etc… Just here, it is the Spanish version. You get used to it, I guess.
I am just glad I can stream some good music!
I don’t know the good Reggeaton artist… Would someone post some links to some videos on Youtube?
- Tags: great latin music, panama, puerto ricans, Puerto Rico, reggeaton
2 Responses for "Hard to Find Classic Latin Music in Puerto Rico"
I am not sure why you expected to hear Gipsy Kings and Spanish guitar when you came to Puerto Rico. While they’re not unheard of on the island, they are both Spanish musical creations, not Puerto Rican. Puerto Rico in general doesn’t have much interest in Iberian music, mostly because there is more than enough music made in Puerto Rico to last the whole island and then some. In fact, I’d dare to say that you can hear more Puerto Rican music in Spain than Spanish music in Puerto Rico, particularly from Reggaeton.
Salsa is definitely all over the island, however, so I’m also confused why you mention not hearing it. It’s generally not blasted out of cars like Reggaeton–is that why you haven’t heard it? It definitely still gets a lot of play. If you want to go out and see salsa concerts, I would bookmark the blog Dondequiera (http://blog.dondees.com/). They list a lot of concerts and events, many times free and with live and sometimes legendary artists. The blog is in English, by the way.
As for Reggaeton, if you’re looking for the artists behind those bass thumps you hear if you stay too near a window for a period of time, google names like Daddy Yankee, Wisin y Yandel, Don Omar, Arcangel, Jowell y Randy, Los Leones, Luny Tunes, and so on. My favorite artist, who isn’t a good representative of “pure” Reggaeton but fills his lyrics with witty satire and cleverness, is Calle 13. If you speak Spanish and have been in Puerto Rico for a while I would highly recommend him.
By the way I think the roots of Reggaeton aren’t really that debated, even on the island. It started in Panama and then evolved multiple times in Puerto Rico. I’m planning on writing a blog post about it soon so if you want to know more check it out.
@Speaking:
Well I don’t really know why that is what I expected… But I did… I had never been to PR before. It’s similar to how most people thinks everyone wears cowboy hats in TX I guess.
I will keep that site handy because I would like to see/hear some salsa
That’s interesting, everyone has always told me that Reggaeton is from PR. Doesn’t make a difference to me. I just thought it was funny that I had heard that for 2 years and then saw on wikipedia that they were wrong…
Feel free to update this when you post about it.
@Everyone:
Sorry for not posting today. I had a migraine all weekend. You will get a story in the morning…
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