The Influence of Latin American Music on Popular Culture
22 November, 2023According to the IFPI Global Music Report, the music market in Latin America recorded a growth of 25.9% in 2022. This growth implied that the industry in the region has maintained its steady increase in the last ten years. Latin American music has developed a mainstream presence in different parts of the world. In this article, we look at how it has spread its influence across industries.
Spotlight on the World Stage
Latin American music has recorded some global hits like “The Girl” from Ipanema, which was on everyone’s lips in the mid-1960s and eventually won the Grammy Awards for Record of the Year in 1965. Many years later, in 2017, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee gave the world another Latin American hit titled “Despacito”. The song (Despacito) was popular globally and a record-breaker as it became the first YouTube video to reach and cross three billion views on the social site. Latin American music is currently one of the most popular music genres worldwide, with various subcategories, including rumba, salsa, merengue, tango, samba, bossa nova, and more.
Latin American Music in Games
The gaming industry has used Latin American music in very creative ways. One worthy of mention is the use of Banda music by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II as a marketing tactic to penetrate the Latin American market. Call of Duty collaborated with Banda MS to create a musical genre called “Corrido of Duty.” Their partnership gave birth to a track titled “141”, which was meant to pay tribute to Call of Duty’s 141 Mexican special task force and a character named Colonel Alejandro Vargas.
Online casinos may also use these soundtracks to represent region-specific elements, especially in their wide selection of themed slot games. By using components like music and cultural pieces, online casinos are able to make their games feel more indigenous. For instance, on online casinos like Buzz Bingo, we see a fusion of ancient Egyptian artifacts in titles like “Egypt Mega Ways”, and casino game suppliers like Thunderkick use Mexican soundtracks in music-themed online slot games like Esqueleto Explosivo.
Melodies in Film
Latin American musicians have also played a big part in creating the sound of Hollywood films. We’ve seen Lalo Schifrin, the Argentine composer and pianist, create magical music for movies like Mission Impossible. His lively mix of bongo beats and powerful brass sounds in The Man From U.N.C.L.E theme earned him an Emmy. Lalo has also added his Latin American musical touches in films like Mannix, Enter the Dragon, etc. The likes of Juan Garcia Esquivel, a Mexican composer, wrote music for 20th Century Fox and Paramount. Others like Agustin Lara, Juan Manuel Cascales, Ary Barroso, and Carmen Miranda have transported Latin-style music to films of different nationalities.
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