What Does Our Spanish Language Editor Listen to?

Leer en español

I am Mónica Puerta-Hill, Spanish-language editor at Getty. I have the privilege of working with colleagues here at Getty and from all over the Spanish-speaking world to expand our Spanish language content on the site.

For my playlist, I’m highlighting some of the Latin music that has impacted the world. These songs cover the most popular genres over the last 100 years. Feel free to press play while you read and share these songs meant to gather people together and make your hips sway.

1910s: Musical Theater

El Cóndor Pasa, Leo Rojas

Long before salsa, boleros, and son cubano swept Latin America, an orchestral piece from a Peruvian musical was one of Latin America’s most beautiful songs.

Written in 1913, El Cóndor Pasa (The Condor Passes) is based on the traditional Andean music of Peru and beautifully emulates the sounds of the lush Andes Mountain range. This version is performed by Leo Rojas.

And if it sounds familiar, you might be remembering a 1970s rendition by Simon and Garfunkel named If I Could that helped the piece spread beyond the Hispanic world.

1920s: The Cuban Sound

Son de la Loma, Trío Matamoros

"Mom, I want to know where those singers are from, I find them very gallant, and I want to meet them”

“Mamá yo quiero saber de dónde son los cantantes, que lo' encuentro muy galantes, y los quiero conocer”

Many Latin music styles owe their origin to Son Cubano or “the Cuban Sound,” a genre that blends Spanish and Afro-Cuban music elements. Those opening lyrics pay tribute to the rural musicians who helped introduce the world to Son Cubano. And this thrilling song was instrumental in bringing this style of music and dance to an international audience.

1930s: Tango

Por Una Cabeza, Carlos Gardel

We’re turning up the volume on this Latino party with one of the rhythms that dominated radio stations in the 1930s: tango.

Its first fans were couples in Argentina who succumbed to its passionate embrace in halls with dim lighting, the scent of sin, and faces blurred by cigarette smoke.

Since 1935, Por Una Cabeza (to lose by a nose) has been one of tango’s most popular songs. In 1992, it was catapulted to international fame when it was featured in the film Scent of a Woman.

Its lyrics tell the story of a man lamenting a love he narrowly loses “by a nose”—just like an unlucky jockey in a close finish in a race.

1940s: Bolero

Rayito de Luna, Los Panchos

“You lit my path on my unlucky night”

“Tú diste luz al sendero en mi noche sin fortuna”

This affectionate verse from Rayito de Luna played on millions of record players in Latin American homes in the late 1940s, the golden age of bolero —a romantic style of music with Spanish and Cuban origins.

The Mexican trio Los Panchos is one of the most famous bolero groups. Their song Rayito de Luna, led by the distinctive requinto guitar, captures the emotions of a man whose beloved’s eyes shine like moonbeams that guide him through the darkness.

1950s: Rumba

Madre Rumba, Celia Cruz

Between 1947 and 1959, La Sonora Matancera was one of the most sought-after and popular groups to fill dance floors on the island of Cuba. This band played everything: rumba, bolero, son montuno, mambo, guaracha, and more. Many of its members, like the inimitable Celia Cruz, went on to become famous.

Cruz recorded Madre Rumba in the late 1950s, at a time when the country was undergoing radical political and social changes, and it evokes the sumptuous dance halls of Cuba on the eve of the armed conflict. The “Guarachera of Cuba” and this album became a symbol of the resistance and passion for freedom of that turbulent era.

1960s: Bolero Ranchero

Renunciación, Javier Solís

Ranchera is one of Mexico’s most iconic genres. When you hear one, it’s hard to resist singing along with these sorrowful laments of times past.

Javier Solís is one of bolero ranchero’s most celebrated singers. In his brief, ten-year career, he recorded around 350 songs. And in the mid-1960s, every song he released topped the charts.

Renunciación is from Sombras, one of his most acclaimed albums, and it masterfully reflects the nostalgia and sadness of rancheras.

1970s: Protest Poems

La Maza, Mercedes Sosa

*Wouldn't I believe in who hears me
Wouldn't I believe in what hurts
Wouldn't I believe in what's left
Wouldn't I believe in what fights.
What would it be?
What would be the mace without the quarry?
A mess of ropes and tendons

Si no creyera en quien me escucha
Si no creyera en lo que duele
Si no creyera en lo que quede
Si no creyera en lo que lucha
¿Qué cosa fuera?
¿Qué cosa fuera la maza sin cantera?
Un amasijo hecho de cuerdas y tendones*

In the 1970s, poets composed verses to give voice to the social dissent spreading throughout Latin America. The emotional and powerful songs sung by Argentinean Mercedes Sosa, such as La Maza, captured the essence of Latin American culture and identity.

1980s: Salsa is Latin Jazz

Decisiones, Rubén Blades

When salsa music made its way to New York City in the 1970s and 1980s, it was dubbed “Latin jazz.” The Panamanian Rubén Blades’s song Decisiones told stories of Latino immigrants living in a foreign land while making people’s legs twitch with the desire to dance.

1990s: Rock en Español

De Música Ligera, Soda Stereo

In the 1990s, Rock en español replaced Latin music’s acoustic guitar with an electric one that incited audiences to shake their heads and jump with abandon.

The Argentine rock band Soda Stereo burst onto the alternative scene with irreverence and packed stadiums with Latin Americans singing “ella durmió al calor de las masas y yo desperté queriendo soñarla” (“she slept in the warmth of the masses, and I woke up wanting to dream about her”) from their hit song De Música Ligera.

2000s: El Rock de Mi Pueblo

Déjame Entrar, Carlos Vives

In the 1990s and 2000s, Carlos Vives blended rock en español with vallenato, a traditional Colombian rhythm, and gave birth to the unique style “el rock de mi pueblo” (the rock of my village).

Songs like Déjame Entrar (Let Me In) spread joy, contentment, and happiness with upbeat melodies and lyrics that are never sad.

2010s: Alternative Hip-Hop

Latinoamérica, Calle 13 (ft. Totó la Momposina, Susana Baca y María Rita)

“I turn lyrics into ideas, like a magician.”

This is how Calle 13’s composer Resident (René Pérez Joglar,) describes his genius.

Their song Latinoamérica presents social concerns such as inequality, colonization, exploitation, resilience, love, and connection to the land, set to musical arrangements that masterfully recreate Andean and Afro-American sounds using the Venezuelan cuatro, the Peruvian cajón, and the Colombian maracas.

2010s: Cumbia

Amárrame, Mon Laferte (ft. Juanes)

Cumbia is a lively and rhythmic music genre that originated in Colombia. From there, it has spread across Latin America, evolving into different regional styles.

Chilean singer, composer, and visual artist Mon Laferte explores genres from balada to ranchero, bolero, salsa, and indie rock. Alongside with the celebrated Juanes, she sings her song Amárrame, a cumbia with Andean touches that became Chile’s most-listened to song in 2017.

What better way to close this Latino party!

Thank you for listening!