Latin alternative
Latin alternative, or "alterlatino", is a brand of Latin rock music produced by combining genres like alternative rock, lofi, chillout, metal, electronica, hip hop, new wave, pop rock, punk rock, reggae, and ska with traditional Ibero-American sounds, in Latin Europeans and Latin Americans countries (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French and Catalan languages).
History
Rock music has been produced in Iberian America since the late 1950s. Some rock bands started to use unusual instruments such as maracas and quenas. In the late 1960s, artists like Santana started using a different technique to make rock music; by incorporating influences of Latin jazz. Its sound was incorporated by young Latino-players in the US, as an answer to the rock en Español movement in Hispanic America and Spain led by bands like Héroes del Silencio, Karamelo Santo, Soda Stereo, Caifanes or Los Prisioneros.
In the early 1990s, it was used by Mexican bands such as Maldita Vecindad and Café Tacuba, they were accepted on the Latino circuit in the US, especially by the Mexican community. Subsequently, experimental musician Lynda Thomas earned recognition and commercial success with alternative music in the same decade.
With the passage of time and many musical styles in the US-Latino, Latin alternative has become as diverse as the rock music genre itself. Today, many music journalists and fans regard Latin alternative as a subgenre of rock en Español, and like rock en Español, it may be further divided into more specific genres of music.
Events and media coverage
The most known event of Latin alternative is the Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) that every year gathers a large number of bands from all over the Americas and Spain. It was first held in Los Angeles but two years ago the new host city was changed to New York. The 2009 event featured artists from across the Americas including Argentina's Juana Molina, Puerto Rican hip-hop and reggaeton outfit Calle 13, Colombian group Bomba Estéreo, Brazilian singer-songwriter Curumin and Mexico's Natalia Lafourcade, and was profiled along with the wider Latin alternative scene in an article in The New York Times.[1]
Notable bands and artists by country
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
- Santa Lucia LFR
- The Mariachi Ghost
Chile
- Joe Vasconcellos
- La Floripondio
- Chico Trujillo
- Juana Fé
- Tiro de gracia
- Los Bunkers
- Los Tres
- Mon Laferte
- Daniel Puente Encina
- Rubio
- Alex Anwandter
- GEPE
- Pedro Piedra
- Spiral Vortex
- CAF
- De Pereiras
- Lanza Internacional
- Lopez
- La Brígida Orquesta
- Camila Moreno
Colombia
- Andrea Echeverri
- Aterciopelados
- Bomba Estéreo
- Cabas
- Carlos Vives
- Estados Alterados
- Juanes
- Ondatrópica
- Nicolás y los Fumadores
Cuba
- Addys Mercedes
- Porno Para Ricardo
- Alex Cuba
- Madera Limpia
Dominican Republic
- Alex Ferreira
- Carolina Camacho
- Toque Profundo
- Rita Indiana
France
Guatemala
- Di WAV
- Gaby Moreno
- Jesse Baez
- Easy Easy
Italy
- Talco
- Egin
- Notagitana
Mexico
- Caifanes
- Lynda Thomas
- Café Tacvba
- Tijuana No
- La Lupita
- La Gusana Ciega
- Molotov
- Control Machete
- El Gran Silencio
- Plastilina Mosh
- COhETICA
- Jumbo
- Zurdok
- Kinky
- Zoé
- Akwid
- Cartel de Santa
- Mexican Institute of Sound
- Nortec Collective
- Bostich
- Fussible
- Natalia Lafourcade
- Ximena Sariñana
- Los Concorde
- Ely Guerra
- Julieta Venegas
- Sonex
Puerto Rico
Spain
United States
Uruguay
- Hablan Por La Espalda
- Diego Janssen
Venezuela
- Los Amigos Invisibles
- Devendra Banhart
- Jeremías
- Rawayana
- Simon Grossman
- La Vida Boheme
Record labels for Latin alternative music
- Nacional Records
- Afonico Music
- Doula Music
- Happy-fi
- Surco
- K Industria Cultural
- EMI Latin
- Waxploitation
- Round Whirled Records
References
- Pareles, Jon (10 July 2009). "Latin Alternative Music's Movers and Shakers Meet". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2009.