Latin American music
Latin American music is a generalized term for a variety of musical styles and genres of Latin America, as well as for the music played and listened to by the people who come from such countries and live in large Latin American communities (like in the USA). In spoken language a shortened term "Latin music" is most often used (Spanish "Musica Latina").
Latin music plays an important role in everyday life of Latin America and represents a mix of many different musical cultures and traditions, though its basis is composed of three major components: Spanish (or Portuguese), African and Indian musical cultures. As a rule, Latin songs are performed in Spanish or Portuguese, sometimes in French. Latin American performers who live in the USA are usually bilingual and thus often use two languages while writing their songs. It should be also noted that Spanish or Portuguese music cannot be considered Latin American, although it is closely connected with the latter by a large number of ties; whereas the influence of Spanish and Portuguese music on the Latin American one is mutual. In spite of the fact that Latin American music is extremely various and in every Latin American country music has its own unique peculiarities, it can still be divided into several regional styles: Andean music, Central American music; Caribbean music, Argentine music, Mexican music, Brazilian music.
Today, as regional genres of music become more and more popular, Latin music is more often used in conjunction with other styles like hip-hop, R&B, rock, etc