Knowra Music of Latin America Music of Latin America The diverse musical traditions of Latin America, shaped by Indigenous, African, and European influences and expressed through regional styles, instruments, and genres.
Indigenous music of the Americas : Musical traditions developed by Indigenous peoples of the Americas, including ceremonial, social, and oral practices. Indigenous instruments, rhythms, and practices remain integral to many regional traditions.
Samba : A Brazilian musical genre and dance with roots in Afro-Brazilian communities and a major role in Rio de Janeiro's Carnival. Samba links Afro-Brazilian rhythm and community practice with Brazil's most visible Carnival music.
Clave rhythm : A recurring rhythmic pattern that organizes time in several Afro-Cuban and related musical styles. Clave provides a rhythmic framework for genres such as son and salsa.
Atlantic slave trade : The forced transportation of millions of Africans across the Atlantic from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Enslaved Africans and their descendants sustained and reshaped musical practices throughout the region.
Latin music : A broad commercial and cultural category for music associated with Latin America and Latin American diasporas. The market category overlaps with, but does not encompass, the region's full range of traditions.
African diaspora : The global dispersal of African peoples and their descendants through migration, enslavement, and later movements. African diasporic communities carried musical practices that transformed Latin American genres.
Tango : A music-and-dance tradition that emerged in the Río de la Plata region around the late nineteenth century. Tango exemplifies urban musical exchange between immigrant communities and local traditions.
Tres : A Cuban string instrument with three pairs of strings, commonly used to play rhythmic and melodic patterns. Its interlocking patterns are central to the sound of son cubano.
Cuban son : A Cuban genre combining Spanish-derived song and guitar traditions with African-derived percussion and rhythmic structures. Its development in eastern Cuba illustrates a specific Afro-Hispanic musical synthesis.
Caribbean music : The diverse musical traditions of Caribbean societies and their diasporas. Caribbean music overlaps with Latin American traditions but includes places outside Latin America.
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