Music

Total sales revenue generated by Latin recorded music in the U.S. surpassed $1 billion in 2022, according to data from the Recording Industry Association of America. And as Latino music continues to dominate the mainstream, cumbia is one genre that embraces its tradition while exploring new interpretations.

“Politics is a small word when you talk about human rights,” said Beatriz Luengo, director of the new documentary Patria y Vida: The Power of Music, which screened at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) known earlier this summer and is now on the festival circuit.

Reporter Ezequiel Rodríguez Andino tells the story of merengue’s rise in Puerto Rico, the ripple effects of this “musical war,” and what it all tells us about the relationship between Puerto Rico and the people from its sister island, the Dominican Republic.

Shortly before his huge success at the Latin Grammy last November, Uruguayan singer-songwriter Jorge Drexler stopped by Latino USA’s studios in Harlem to talk about some key moments in his life and career—and the unexpected turns that have come along with it.

First Lady Jill Biden appeared as a presenter at the Grammys on Sunday, just minutes after Bad Bunny gave an unapologetically Puerto Rican performance to open the show. Will her husband face the music and say something about Puerto Rico in his State of the Union address Tuesday night?

Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican reggaetonero, the biggest music superstar on the planet, and the voice of a generation. But all of this is what is lost in translation, or not translated at all, when CBS captioned his performance and speech with “singing in non-English, speaking in non-English” during the Grammys on Sunday.

In this episode, recorded just days before her Carnegie Hall performance, Latino USA host Maria Hinojosa sits down with Mexican singer-songwriter Natalia Lafourcade to talk about her inspirations and evolution as an artist, and reflect on the value of tending to one’s inner garden.

A wrap-up of the most important and interesting Latino news items from the past week

A roundup of the week’s top Latino news from around the world, written by Latino Rebels senior editor Hector Luis Alamo.

On this episode of Latino USA, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Ileana Cabra —better known under her stage name iLe— opens up about her music journey and the power of protest and song.

In 2009, Venezuelan filmmaker Marianela Maldonado set out to tell an inspirational story of her country’s famed music program, known simply as El Sistema, or “The System.” After 10 years of filming, her documentary ‘Children of Las Brisas’ tells quite a different tale.

“Poet. Maestro. Cuba’s defiant son. Pablo Milanés was all these things and more. He was also the soundtrack of my youth,” writes Puerto Rican journalist Susanne Ramires de Arellano.

Mexico’s president made a public request Wednesday to Puerto Rican reggaeton star Bad Bunny to play a free concert in Mexico City, to make up for a fake ticket scandal that left thousands frustrated outside his sold-out appearance Friday.

This week’s wrap-up comes to you from the cozy confines of quarantine, as senior editor Hector Luis Alamo has managed to catch COVID for only the second time this year.

When Puerto Rico’s beloved songbird Ileana Cabra Joglar, better known as “iLe,” was in lockdown during the pandemic, she did what she does best: she made music. In those tense times, she managed to compose a new solo album, ‘Nacarile,’ released on Friday, October 21.

In this last episode of our ‘Genias in Music’ series, we explore the life and music contributions of Petrona Martínez and its impact on the construction of a more diverse national identity in Colombia.

In this episode of Latino USA, we learn more about the people behind the band Luna Luna and hear how they say the universe and destiny have brought them together to let them live out their wildest dreams.

Prosecutors in Spain said Friday they would ask a court to sentence Colombian pop star Shakira to eight years and two months in prison, if she is convicted in her expected trial for alleged tax fraud.

The Bogotá-born musician sits with Latino Rebels in New York to discuss Bomba Estéreo’s hit collaboration with Puerto Rican reggaetonero Bad Bunny, “Ojitos Lindos,” Colombian music, and the duende myth that features in the group’s new film.

In this episode of Latino USA, the four members of LADAMA talk about their journey as friends, collaborators, and educators aiming to empower women and girls to connect through voice, percussion, and movement.

When Roberto Carlos Lange chose his stage name, he didn’t want to limit himself. Helado Negro represented something unknown and unexpected—and for over a decade, that’s what he set off to explore in his music.