ABSTRACT
The interaction of numerous cultures throughout Latin America’s history produced a wealth of musical styles. Much of the Latin American commercially driven popular music, such as salsa, the popular Afro-Caribbean genre that draws on Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Dominican idioms, has its roots in folk music. Several Latin American countries have been home to important art music composers, some of whom, especially up until about 1950, have drawn inspiration from the folk musics of their homelands. Several Latin American countries have been home to important art music composers, some of whom, especially up until about 1950, have drawn inspiration from the folk musics of their homelands. Though composers at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first centuries have made use of international models, they have transformed and incorporated them into the ongoing cultural synthesis that has operated for centuries in the music of Latin America.
