Latin music isn't a genre — it's a culture. And 80 years of thriving Ibero-American sounds spanning across the Americas, the Caribbean, Spain, and Portugal are evidence of its ever-growing prominence. That's reflected in our 61-track playlist celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month 2022.
Unbeknownst to nearly no one, Latin music, in both the Hispanophone and Lusophone styles, exploded onto the global mainstream in the last five years. When Luis Fonsi's and Daddy Yankee's GRAMMY-nominated global hit "Despacito" broke the internet, the sound crossed into international borders — and markets — like never before. Today, Bad Bunny is one of the biggest stars on the planet, with his glorious, record-breaking, chart-topping, and hit-making streak still going strong.
Read More: 11 Essential Bad Bunny Collaborations: Drake, Rosalía, Cardi B, Bomba Estéreo & Others
Yet formidable contributions Stateside have continued since the golden age of boleros: New York's Mexican/Puerto Rican trio Los Panchos pioneered the romantic, nylon-driven ballad style in the '40s. In 1958, 17-year-old Ritchie Valens turned a son jarocho song into a rockabilly classic ("La Bamba"); Carlos Santana has played a key role in the evolution of Latin rock since Woodstock in the late-'60s; New York Latin troupe Fania All-Stars globalized salsa and Caribbean-rooted rhythms in the late '60s. Lest anyone forget Tejano icon Selena and her techno cumbia or the so-called "Latin explosion," led by Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Shakira, and Marc Anthony, both in the '90s.
Although reggaeton and música urbana superstars like Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Karol G continue to reign almighty on the global Latin pop scene, there is a growing number of promising, diverse voices within the Latin music soundscape bubbling up today. Honduran-born SoundCloud creator Isabella Lovestory is spearheading a provocative neo-reggaeton style of her own; Colombia's Ela Minus is giving her defiant electronic sound an exciting darkwave edge; and Mexican viral rapper Santa Fe Klan is resurrecting cumbia sonidera within the rap en español circuit.
The Latin beat goes on, and you can explore its ongoing sonic evolution in our Hispanic Heritage Month 2022 playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Pandora. Playlist powered by GRAMMY U.