Dr. Munardiz considers the label of “Latin American Music” to be too broad of a term, and I 100% agree. I too believe that it should be pluralized as “ Latin American Musics” due to the countless varieties of music in each region of Latin America. Many regions have more than one style of music, and there is a ton of aboriginal cultures as well. By calling it just “Latin American Music”, it is implied that there is only one style, which could not be further from the truth.
Latin American Music and Latin Music have similar roots to each other, but there is a main key distinction between the two. Latin American Music is music made in countries that speak romance languages originating from Latin roots, with the most common languages being Spanish and Portuguese. These countries are south of the United States. Latin music shares similar characteristics, but the term is applied to that style of music made in the United States of America. It has been rising in popularity and has even surpassed country music and EDM.
An ostinato is a musical element containing rhythm and pitches that repeats over and over throughout a piece of music. In Latin American Musics, it is a very important part of the music. Depending on the rhythm used, it provides a basic framework for the style, as well as a groove to make the music interesting. The ostinato in these styles is a driving force that greatly encourages dancing along.
A couple examples of musical expression the male use of the common “ habanero” pattern are “Toque – Song for Olokun” sung by Fernando Hernández with Inés Sotomayor’s group, and “Ghana’e” by Willie Colon. These sound quite different, but the habanero pattern is easily recognizable in both.