Latin American music began taking form with the arrival of the Spanish and their music, which was then influenced by Native American sounds. Spain was highly influenced by the North African Moors' high-pitched singing, along and the French troubadour tradition of songs being ten lines of eight syllables each. Spain's influences spread, inspiring the Latin American people to create unique sounds all their own. While Latin America is credited by Scaruffi.com with producing six forms of music, four of the most popular and widely recognized sounds are the nueva cancion, salsa, Tejano music and the reggaeton.
First created in Chile during the 1960s, nueva cancion is associated with the Latin American New Left and hippie movement. Presenting political lyrics within the songs, many musicians in this genre were forced into exile during the 1960s and 1970s, when their left-wing political aims were outweighed by the right-wing military dictatorships that took over. The nueva cancion style's strong political messages have made them a favorite among the people and began being used in political campaigns in 2004 with the Orange Revolution.
Salsa music incorporates multiple styles and variations that have existed since the 20th century. Salsa's exact origin is debatable. The rhythm may have been created by Latin Americans to celebrate their culture, or it may simply be Cuban music with deeper beats. Regardless of the influences on the music, salsa is widely associated with Latin culture, in the use of large bands and spicy rhythms of eight to sixteen beats.
Drawing inspiration from all Latin American countries, Tejano was created in Texas by Latin immigrants. Symbolizing the Latin American people and their heritage rather than their new place of residence, the rhythm took form between 1910 and 1917. Settlers used the basic flute, guitar and drum to provide Europeans who fled from Mexico to South Texas entertainment during the Mexican Revolution.
Reggaeton is a mix of Jamaican reggae with Latin American styles such as the Puerto Rican bomba and has created a personalized sound all its own. This branch of music began in the 1990s, with youth in urban communities adding Spanish rap to Latin rhythms. Lyrics tending more toward hip hop were associated with dancehalls. In 2004 the urban music gained mainstream exposure and caused controversy with the use of explicit and violent lyrics.