AFRO-LATIN

AMERICAN

MUSIC
 is a
Afro-Latin American Music
term that refers to the
fusion of African and
Latin American cultures
through music. It
includes genres such as
salsa, cumbia, merengue,
Latin America is
comprised of different
regions such as the
Caribbean Islands, Mexico,
and Central and South
Americas which are of
diversified cultures of the
 Afro-Latin American
Music has been
influenced by various
cultures, including
African, European, and
Indigenous influences.
With the introduction of the
slave trade in the Atlantic
and the demand for labor in
the Latin American colonies
in Latin America, a fusion of
indigenous and enslaved
Africa cultures gave birth to
Afro-Latin American music.
 Afro-Latin
American music has
been evolving ever
since, and it is now a
global phenomenon.
The first Africans
arrived in the
Americas as enslaved
people in 1502. They
were brought to work
on plantations in
Spanish colonies like
Cuba and Puerto
Rico.
These enslaved people
were taken from Africa
with various musical
traditions, which they
combined with the
music of their new
home. This resulted in
The history of Afro-Latin
American music can be
traced during the
European colonization and
slave trade in Africa.
Their music is identified by
their rhythms, which they
adapted from the elements
of Moorish music and other
African and Caribbean
music in the slave trade
from 1550 to 1880.
The enslaved Moors of North
America in 1776 were
prohibited from playing drums,
but in the Congo Square in New
Orleans, Caribbean slaves were
free to play their drums for
recreation and entertainment
and also for communication.
These were their talking drums,
relaying current and timeless
messages which are their history,
struggle, and revolting joy. All of
these were performed by
replaying the traditional
rhythms of Moorish and African
music through drum beats.
Characteristics
of
AFRO-LATIN
AMERICAN
Music
CONVERSATIO
N
“Call & Response”
A performance of voice
interaction as an answer
to the first chant.
IMPROVISATIO
N ways of
“Non-scripted
singing”
It is a framework where
the artist has freedom in
creating the musical
mood.
 The VOICE as an
INSTRUMENT
It is the manipulation of a freely
controlled piece where they can
change the tone of voice, its
tempo, the creation of moods, and
even changing the range and
voice power.
The INSTRUMENT
as
VOICEa
The instrument serves as
a “singer” along with the
performer.