Latin Alternative
Encyclopedia
Latin Alternative, or Alterlatino, is the brand of latin music produced by combining genres like alternative rock
, electronica
, metal
, New Wave
, pop rock
, punk rock
, reggae
, heavy metal
or ska
with traditional Latin America
n sounds. Because these genres are generally considered to fall under the broad Rock en Español
or Latin Rock category, media coverage started to use the word 'Latin Alternative', especially in the United States
.
s. 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 on the US, as an answer to the Rock en Español movement in Latin America, led by bands like Soda Stereo
, Caifanes
or Héroes del Silencio
.
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, as any Rock en Español band had made ever. Latin Alternative was born.
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.
(Latin Alternative Music Conference) 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 has been changed to New York City. The 2009 event featured artists from across the Americas including Argentina's Juana Molina
, Puerto Rican hip-hop/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
.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
, pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
, punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
or ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
with traditional Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n sounds. Because these genres are generally considered to fall under the broad Rock en Español
Rock en Español
Rock en español is the Spanish-language rock music. While the term is used widely in English, it is used in Spanish mainly to distinguish such music from "Anglo rock." It is a style of rock music that developed in Latin American countries and Latino communities, along with other genres like...
or Latin Rock category, media coverage started to use the word 'Latin Alternative', especially in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
History
Rock music has been produced in Latin America since the late 1950s. Some Rock bands started to use unusual instruments such as maracas and quenaQuena
The quena is the traditional flute of the Andes. Usually made of bamboo or wood, it has 6 finger holes and one thumb hole and is open on both ends. To produce sound, the player closes the top end of the pipe with the flesh between his chin and lower lip, and blows a stream of air downward, along...
s. In the late 1960s, artists like Santana started using a different technique to make Rock music; by incorporating influences of Latin Jazz
Latin jazz
Latin jazz is the general term given to jazz with Latin American rhythms.The three main categories of Latin Jazz are Brazilian, Cuban and Puerto Rican:# Brazilian Latin Jazz includes bossa nova...
. Its sound was incorporated by young Latino-players on the US, as an answer to the Rock en Español movement in Latin America, led by bands like Soda Stereo
Soda Stereo
Soda Stereo were an Argentine rock band who are recognized as one of the most influential and important Latin American and Ibero-American bands of all time...
, Caifanes
Caifanes
Caifanes is a Spanish-language rock band from Mexico City formed in 1987. They achieved fame throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s. The original lineup consisted of Saúl Hernández , Sabo Romo , Alfonso André and Diego Herrera . Argentine guitarist Alejandro Marcovich joined in 1989...
or Héroes del Silencio
Héroes del Silencio
Héroes del Silencio was a Spanish rock band from Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain, formed by Juan Valdivia and Enrique Bunbury. During the 1990s they experienced success around Spain and the Americas, and in various European countries including Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Serbia and Portugal...
.
In the early 1990s, it was used by Mexican bands such as Maldita Vecindad
Maldita Vecindad
La Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio are a band formed in Mexico City in 1985. They are pioneers in rock en Español and are one of the most influential rock bands in Latin America....
and Café Tacuba. They were accepted on the Latino circuit in the US, especially by the Mexican community, as any Rock en Español band had made ever. Latin Alternative was born.
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 LAMCLatin Alternative Music Conference
The Latin Alternative Music Conference is a major conference geared towards the marketing of Spanish-language alternative music. It showcases what it considers the best in Latin music and the exciting fresh sounds coming out of rock, hip-hop and electronica scenes...
(Latin Alternative Music Conference) 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 has been changed to New York City. The 2009 event featured artists from across the Americas including Argentina's Juana Molina
Juana Molina
Juana Molina is a singer-songwriter and an actress.-Biography:Following the 1976 Argentine coup d'état, her mother fled the country and lived in exile in Paris for five years...
, Puerto Rican hip-hop/reggaeton outfit Calle 13
Calle 13 (band)
Calle 13 is a band formed by stepbrothers René Pérez Joglar , who calls himself Residente and Eduardo José Cabra Martínez , who calls himself Visitante Calle 13 is a band formed by stepbrothers René Pérez Joglar (born February 23, 1978 in Hato Rey, a subsection of San Juan, Puerto Rico), who calls...
, Colombian group Bomba Estéreo
Bomba Estéreo
Bomba Estéreo is a band founded 2001 in Bogotá, Colombia that describe their music as "Electro Vacilón" or "Electro tropical". The band began as a project of Simón Mejía's, releasing their first album as a solo project with contributions from various musicians...
, Brazilian singer-songwriter Curumin
Curumin
Curumin is a Brazilian musician whose style incorporates elements of samba, funk, jazz, bossa nova, and hip hop. He sings in Portuguese, and his first album, Achados E Perdidos, was released on September 20, 2005 on the Quannum Projects label...
and Mexico's Natalia Lafourcade
Natalia Lafourcade
Natalia Lafourcade is a Mexican pop-rock singer and songwriter. Her band's name is Natalia y La Forquetina.-Biography:...
, and was profiled along with the wider Latin Alternative scene in an article in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Argentina
- Bersuit VergarabatBersuit VergarabatBersuit, formed formally in 1989, is one of the most important Argentine rock bands of the 1990s/2000s. The previous name of the band was Henry y la Palangana....
- CabezonesCabezones-Formation:The band, originally from the city of Santa Fe, was formed in 1994. At first, their music was punk, with songs such as "Uniformado de Cagón", but they left that genre behind to start making so-called "hardcore-dark" music....
- Illya Kuryaki and the ValderramasIllya Kuryaki and the ValderramasIllya Kuryaki and the Valderramas was an Argentine funk duo formed in 1991 by Dante Spinetta and Emmanuel Horvilleur. In 2001 Dante and Emmanuel split to continue their solo careers...
- Juana MolinaJuana MolinaJuana Molina is a singer-songwriter and an actress.-Biography:Following the 1976 Argentine coup d'état, her mother fled the country and lived in exile in Paris for five years...
- Los Fabulosos CadillacsLos Fabulosos CadillacsLos Fabulosos Cadillacs is an Argentine ska band from Buenos Aires. Formed in 1985, they released their first album, Bares y Fondas in 1986...
- Los PiojosLos PiojosLos Piojos were a rock band from Argentina, highly popular, and one of the seminal bands of the 1990s Argentine suburban rock movement.As with most suburban rock bands, their formative sound owes a significant amount to the style of the Rolling Stones...
- Soda StereoSoda StereoSoda Stereo were an Argentine rock band who are recognized as one of the most influential and important Latin American and Ibero-American bands of all time...
Colombia
- ShakiraShakiraShakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...
- AterciopeladosAterciopeladosAterciopelados , also referred to as los Aterciopelados on some albums and other promotional materials, are a rock band from Colombia. Led by Andrea Echeverri and Héctor Buitrago, they have been one of the first rock bands from Colombia to gain international notice and is among the country's top...
- JuanesJuanesJuan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez , better known as Juanes is a Colombian musician who was a member of heavy metal band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. In 2000, his solo debut album Fíjate Bien won three Latin Grammy Awards.Juanes has sold more than 13 million albums...
- Cabas
- Carlos VivesCarlos VivesCarlos Alberto Vives Restrepo is a Grammy Award and three-time Latin Grammy Award winning-Colombian singer, composer and actor.-Biography:...
- Bomba EstéreoBomba EstéreoBomba Estéreo is a band founded 2001 in Bogotá, Colombia that describe their music as "Electro Vacilón" or "Electro tropical". The band began as a project of Simón Mejía's, releasing their first album as a solo project with contributions from various musicians...
Chile
- Los TresLos TresLos Tres is a Chilean rock band composed of four members: a rock/folk singer and three jazzmen. It was one of the noted bands in the Chilean nineties, together with La Ley and Lucybell....
- Sexual DemocraciaSexual DemocraciaSexual Democracia was a Chilean alternative rock band, active in the late 1980s until early 2000s. Sexual Democracia is considered the commercially most successful band from Valdivia.-History:...
- Chancho en piedraChancho en PiedraChancho en Piedra is a Chilean Funk-Rock band, considered influential in the popularization of alternative rock in Latin America. They are commonly described as similar to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but are also known for their unique sound and goofy style...
- Tiro de graciaTiro de graciaTiro de Gracia is a chilean Hip hop group formed by MCs Juan Sativo and Lenwa Dura, they began their career on the early 1990s, considered one of the most popular and influential in Latin American outside of Mexico....
- Los BunkersLos BunkersLos Bunkers is an alternative rock from Concepción, Chile, formed in 1999 by brothers Álvaro and Gonzalo López, Mauricio Basualto, and brothers Francisco and Mauricio Durán....
- Los TetasLos TetasLos Tetas was a Chilean Funk band formed in 1995 by four musicians: Pepino , Rulo , C-Funk and Tea Time ....
Mexico
- CaifanesCaifanesCaifanes is a Spanish-language rock band from Mexico City formed in 1987. They achieved fame throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s. The original lineup consisted of Saúl Hernández , Sabo Romo , Alfonso André and Diego Herrera . Argentine guitarist Alejandro Marcovich joined in 1989...
- Café tacvbaCafé TacvbaCafé Tacuba is a band from Naucalpan, Mexico. The group is widely credited with being a pioneering group of the Rock en Español movement, which gained popularity in the early 1990s...
- Tijuana No
- La LupitaLa LupitaLa Lupita are a Mexican band that combine rock and Latin music. Their lyrics are humorous and sometimes sarcastic. They released their first album, "Pa' Servir a Ud," in 1992, combining heavy metal, norteñas, disco music, funk, mambo, and pop. They recorded their next album, "Que Bonito es Casi...
- La Gusana CiegaLa Gusana CiegaLa Gusana Ciega is a Mexican rock/pop/alternative band formed by Daniel Gutiérrez , Jorge Vilchis , Germán Arroyo and Luis Ernesto Martínez "Lu" .- History :...
- MolotovMolotov (band)Molotov is a four-time Latin Grammy Award-winning Mexican rock band formed in Mexico City on September 23, 1995. Their lyrics feature a mixture of Spanish and English, rapped and sung by all members of the group. Musically, Molotov blends heavy basslines with heavy guitar riffs...
- Control MacheteControl MacheteControl Machete is a Mexican hip hop group from Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. Its members are Fermin IV , Patricio "Pato" Chapa Elizalde, and Toy Kenobi .-History:...
- El Gran SilencioEl Gran SilencioEl Gran Silencio is a rock en español band from Monterrey, Mexico that blends a variety of rock, reggae, dancehall, and dub influences with traditional Latin American musical forms such as cumbia, vallenato and banda as part of the musical movement known as Avanzada Regia...
- Plastilina MoshPlastilina MoshPlastilina Mosh is a Mexican alternative rock group from Monterrey, México, part of the musical movement known as Avanzada Regia. Jonás González is the lead singer and guitar player. Alejandro Rosso is more involved with the creative process, providing most of the instrumentation and occasional...
- COhETICA
- JumboJumbo (band)Jumbo is the name of an Avanzada Regia Alternative rock band from Monterrey, Mexico.They were founded in May 1997 with the following lineup:*Alejandro Clemente Castillo Guerra, known simply as "Castillo";...
- ZurdokZurdokZurdok was a Mexican rock band based in Monterrey. It was formed in 1993 under the name Zurdok Movimento, changing it several years later to simply Zurdok. It was one of the most important bands in the Mexican rock band scene at the end of the 1990s and the early 2000s.The band recorded 3 studio...
- KinkyKinkyKinky may refer to:*Kinky , a five-member band from Monterrey, Mexico**Kinky , their self-titled album*Kinky *Kink , unconventional sexual practices...
- ZoéZoéZoé is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Mexican alternative/psychedelic band. They initially formed in Mexico City in 1994, although membership started to stabilize in 1997...
- AkwidAkwidAkwid is an American hip hop group combining hip hop-style vocals with regional Mexican music. An earlier incarnation of the group was known as Juvenile Style...
- Cartel de SantaCartel de SantaCartel de Santa is a Mexican band from the "barrio de la Aurora", Santa Catarina, Nuevo León, Mexico. The band started playing in 1996 as part of the Avanzada Regia musical movement and is currently composed of Eduardo Davalos de Luna, also known as MC Babo , MC Dharius, Rowan Rabia and DJ Agustín...
- Mexican Institute of SoundMexican Institute of SoundMexican Institute of Sound is an electronic music project created by Mexico City-based DJ and producer Camilo Lara. By day, Lara is the president of EMI Mexico and at night he is mastermind of M.I.S. Along with groups like Nortec Collective and Kinky, M.I.S...
- Nortec CollectiveNortec CollectiveNortec Collective is a musical ensemble formed by various individual one or two man production projects. The group came together in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Their sound genre mixes electronica with musical elements and instrumentation of Tambora and Norteño music, resulting in the nortec ...
- Bostich
- Fussible
- Natalia LafourcadeNatalia LafourcadeNatalia Lafourcade is a Mexican pop-rock singer and songwriter. Her band's name is Natalia y La Forquetina.-Biography:...
- Los Concorde
Spain
- AmparanoiaAmparanoiaAmparanoia is the pseudonym of Spanish singer/guitarist Amparo Sánchez combining her first name with the word 'paranoia'. It was also the name of the band she fronted from 1996 to 2006. Debut album, El Poder de Machín, has been described as being "bright, exuberant.....
- Dusminguet
- ChambaoChambaoChambao is a flamenco-electronic band originally from Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, known for a Flamenco Chill sound that fuses flamenco sounds and palos with electronic music...
- Jarabe De PaloJarabe de PaloJarabe de Palo is a Latin rock group from Spain led by Pau Donés , singer, songwriter, and guitarist.- History :Pau Donés, born in Montanuy Huesca, Aragon and raised in Barcelona, worked for various groups before being able to take on his current project, Jarabe de Palo. He began at age 15 with his...
- BebeBebe (entertainer)Bebe is a Spanish singer and actress.-Biography:Bebe was born María Nieves Rebolledo Vila in Valencia de Alcántara, Spain. Her parents were members of the Extremaduran folk group Surberina...
- MacacoMacacoMacaco can refer to:*Macaco - a martial arts technique used in capoeira*Macaco - a musical band.*A comics character and periodical created by K-Hito *The Portuguese variant of the pejorative epithet, Macaca...
- Ska-PSka-PSka-P is a ska punk band formed in , Spain, in 1994.The band can be categorized, politically, as an anti-establishment musical group. It is one of the most popular ska bands in Spain, Europe, and Latin America....
- Ojos de BrujoOjos de BrujoOjos de Brujo is a nine-piece band from Barcelona, Spain, who describe their style as "jipjop flamenkillo"...
- CanteCa de Macao
- Che SudakaChe SudakaChe Sudaka is a six-piece band, composed of South Americans resident in Barcelona.- Music :The group play "mestizaje music" , a style combining traditional South American and Spanish styles with influences from ska, reggae, rock and world music...
- La Mala RodríguezLa Mala RodríguezMaría Rodríguez, also known as La Mala, La Mala María, or Mala Rodríguez , is a Latin Grammy Award-Winning Spanish hip hop singer.-Early life:...
- Heroes del SilencioHéroes del SilencioHéroes del Silencio was a Spanish rock band from Zaragoza, Aragón, Spain, formed by Juan Valdivia and Enrique Bunbury. During the 1990s they experienced success around Spain and the Americas, and in various European countries including Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Serbia and Portugal...
- Duncan DhuDuncan DhuDuncan Dhu was a Spanish group created in San Sebastián, Spain in 1984. Its original members were Mikel Erentxun , Diego Vasallo and Juan Ramón Viles ....
United States
- FATIMAFatima-People:* Fatima , a female given name of Arabic origin* Fatima bint Muhammad, daughter of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad* Fatima Jinnah, the younger sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah...
- Tango36
- Femi-Tabú
- Curanderos
- OrigenOrigen (band)Origen is a Spanish pop/rock band formed in 2001 in Miami, FL. The four member group consists of lead vocalist María Isabel Rueda , guitarist Hector Velásquez, drummer Tonio Cuto, and bassist Ruben Martínez.-History:...
- delexilio
- Yerba BuenaYerba BuenaYerba buena is a rambling aromatic herb of western and northwestern North America, ranging from maritime Alaska southwards to Baja California Sur...
- OzomatliOzomatliOzomatli is a seven to ten piece band playing primarily Latin, hip hop, and rock music, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and their wide array of musical styles - including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, rap, and others.In a 2007 NPR interview, band...
- Very Be CarefulVery Be CarefulVery Be Careful is a Los Angeles band that plays Colombian vallenato music, a traditional cumbia sound that centers around the accordion, backed with percussion and bass....
- Grupo FantasmaGrupo Fantasma (American band)Grupo Fantasma is an eleven-piece, Grammy Award winning Latin funk orchestra from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2000 from the merger of two Austin acts, The Blue Noise Band and The Blimp, the band emerged with a sold out show at the former Empanada Parlour in Austin...
- Leo Machado
Venezuela
- Los Amigos InvisiblesLos Amigos InvisiblesLos Amigos Invisibles is a multiple-Grammy nominated and Latin Grammy winning Venezuelan band that plays a blend of disco, acid jazz and funk mixed with Latin rhythms...
- JeremíasJeremiasCarlos Eduardo López Avila, better known under his stage name Jeremías, is a British-Venezuelan singer-songwriter who was born in London, England on September 19, 1973, of Venezuelan parents. He moved to Venezuela at the age of 2, although he still maintains a British passport...
- Devendra BanhartDevendra BanhartDevendra Obi Banhart is a singer-songwriter and visual artist. Banhart was born in Houston, Texas and was raised by his mother in Venezuela, until he moved to California as a teenager. He began to study at the San Francisco Art Institute in 1998, but dropped out to perform music in Europe, San...
- La Vida BohemeLa Vida BohèmeLa Vida Bohème is an alternative independent band from Caracas, Venezuela, formed by Rafael Perez, Daniel De Sousa, Sebastian Ayala, and Henry D'Arthenay in late 2006 and mid 2007. The band takes influence from late '80s punk, disco, funk, electronic music, jazz, salsa, reggae and dance music...
Record labels for Latin Alternative Music
- Nacional RecordsNacional RecordsMax Glücksmann, born was an Argentine Jewish pioneer of the music and film industries.-Biography:Glücksmann was born in Czernowitz, then part of the Austrian Empire, and emigrated to Argentina in 1890....
- Doula Music
- Happy-fi
- Surco
- K Industria Cultural
- EMI LatinEMI LatinEMI Televisa Music, also known as EMI Latin and EMI International, is a subsidiary of EMI which focuses on Latin American music....