Reggaetón - More popular than you can imagine

A few years ago, in a story documenting the expanding reach of the Reggaetón music into the Southwest of the United States, the Phoenix New times described this unique style of music as "audio crack" with the power to "creep up on even the most rhythmically challenged and make them move." I don't know about that but it certainly has become a cultural juggernaut in Latin America and Peru is no exception.

Reggaetón emerged in the early 1990s as a synthesis of Jamaican reggae rhythms and various other styles of Latin American music. It also absorbed a style of “hip hop” rapping for it’s vocals that, although primarily Spanish, is infused with slang and terms from English and other languages.

In Peru, it is hugely popular with gigantic sold out shows and the obligatory screaming fans. Last March, Lima was the site of the Third Annual International Reggaetón Festival where an estimated 25,000 people showed up to see such popular acts such as Rakim & Ken-y and Wisin & Yandel. A second concert held in northern Peruvian city of Trujillo was attended by more than 20,000 fans who showed a similar level of enthusiasm.

That level of popularity of the genre led to one of the most interesting uses of the music last year - as a lure for younger Peruvian voters.

During the hotly contested race for the presidency in Peru, the APRA party, whose candidate was the eventual victor Alan Garcia, trotted out a Reggaetón commercial. While Garcia was ridiculed by other parties for the pop-culture advertisement, it was certainly gave APRA the spotlight at the time it was aired.

For many Hispanic youth, Reggaetón is a unique style of music they consider their own completely distinct from the musical antecedents it evolved from. The influence of this genre has spread to the wider Latino communities in the United States.

In recent years, has started to show a cross-over potential for wider audiences. The success of artists such as Daddy Yankee whose massive popularity got him on Time Magazine's 2007 list of the world's "100 Most Influential People." So if you aren't familiar with it now... you probably will be before long.


Find out more about Peru, South America and my varied interests over on Klephblog.

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