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When the Memphis rap linchpins Three 6 Mafia took the stage at this year's Academy Awards to accept the Oscar for Best Original Song ("It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp"), Academy members and the television audience were stunned. Had they been paying attention to the growing momentum of Latino music, they might have predicted the win was inevitable.
The Hispanic music market is exploding in Puerto Rico, Argentina, México, the United States, and throughout the world. Until recently, traditional Latino music such as salsa, calypso, rock, and merengue have topped the charts, and radio stations could not get enough of Ricky Martin and his "Living la Vida Loca," Christina Aguilera crooning "Beautiful," or Enrique Iglesias belting out "The Way You Touch Me."
Even Latin hip-hop, which eased out these former favorites, is passé. Enter reggaetón, the newest music craze that is red hot on the radio waves, in the stores, on the streets, on boom boxes, and soon to make its way into feature films.
Hailing from the Puerto Rican rap/dance elements, reggaetón started slowly in the late 1980s. An artist would record a CD, hit the street, and sell the recording from any venue in Puerto Rico that would allow it. Like a runaway train, reggaetón gained a grassroots following during the 1990s, and it has topped the charts the past few years.
"Reggaetón, different from reggae, but a derivative, is a combination of reggae and its later form, dance hall, with bomba and plena, which are Afro-Caribbean genres found in Puerto Rico," explained Megan Romer, About.com's world music guide. "There are modern beats added as well, but reggaetón is distinguished from standard Latin pop by a particular rhythmic beat, called the dembow."
Reggaetón in the Latino Market
"What is the appeal of this craze to Latinos? "I think the Latin community is certainly, by comparison, a disadvantaged one, and disadvantaged communities tend to find cultural elements to latch on to. ...A brand-new genre of music fits the bill pretty nicely," said Megan Romer.
Reggaetón has not only struck a cultural chord; it's hitting the business world right in its bank accounts. That's no surprise. According to Hispanicmarketpro.com, almost 70 percent of U.S. Hispanics are under the age of 35 and make...