Here are some of the traditional instruments that are commonly used in this region.

Latin music is characterized first and foremost by the rhythm. This is not some background or subtle beat; the rhythm is in many ways the real focus of the music. But, it’s not the only part of the music; melodies and harmonies are both important parts of this music as well.

The music of Latin America refers to music originating from Latin America, namely the Romance-speaking countries and territories of the Americas and the Caribbean south of the United States.

• Pandeiro. This instrument resembles a tambourine.
• Conga. With its origins from Cuba, this single-headed drum commonly comes in a set of two.
• Güiro.
• Timbale.
• Maracas.
• Clave.
• El Tres.
• La Marimba.

The Top Most Important Musical Instruments of Latin America:

• La Marimba. This is a big, percussion instrument native from Central America.
• El Tres. This is an instrument that can be commonly found in the Caribbean islands.
• La Antara.
• El Reco Reco.
• El Bombo Leguero.

Music of Latin America is the product of three major influences- Indigenous, Spanish-Portuguese, and African Indigenous Latin-American Music Natives were found to be using local drum and percussion instruments such as the guiro, maracas, and turtle shells, and wind instruments such as zampona ( pan pipes) and quena ( ……

Music plays an important role in personal expression and identity, and with an increase in Latino artists and music in the United States, Latin music has given Latinos a sense of pride in their heritage and identity. Music plays an important role in shaping a person’s identity….

It should come as no surprise that Latin music has become so popular over the decades and even more so in recent years. The musical style appeals to people of all ages and backgrounds because of its rhythmic beats and catchy upbeat vibe. It has never mattered if the lyrics were in English, Spanish or both….

To find out what all the hype is about, let’s look at the five most popular Latin American music genres:

• Salsa.
• Merengue.
• Bachata.
• Tango.
• Modern Latin American pop music.
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The African musical influence is considered most dominant in widely popular Latin genres like samba, salsa, merengue, bachata, and timba.

Brazil

Reggae (/ˈrɛɡeɪ/) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora….Reggae.

Nesta Robert Marley

7 of the best reggae artists of all-time

• 7) Burning Spear. Burning Spear, also known as Winston Rodney, is no doubt one of the most enduring reggae artists of all time.
• 6) Steel Pulse. Steel Pulse formed in Birmingham in 1975.
• 5) Peter Tosh.
• 4) Sizzla.
• 3) Toots and the Maytals.
• 2) Desmond Dekker.
• 1) Bob Marley.

Reggae, style of popular music that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and quickly emerged as the country’s dominant music. By the 1970s it had become an international style that was particularly popular in Britain, the United States, and Africa….

Lyrics discussed such themes as oppression, crime, economic shortages, racial discrimination, political violence, and homelessness (Davis and Simon 1979). The Rastafari influence also contributed to the cultural significance of reggae music.

The term reggae was derived from rege-rege, a Jamaican phrase meaning “rags or ragged clothing,” it is used to denote a raggedy style of music. The reggae genre came into to being in the 1960’s as an evolution of the Rocksteady and Ska musical styles.

Neville O’Riley Livingston, the Jamaican vocalist better known as Bunny Wailer, died on March 2 at Medical Associates Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica, at age 73. A founding member of The Wailers alongside Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, Wailer went on to become a reggae icon in his own right….

Reggae has influenced societies throughout the world, contributing to the development of new counterculture movements, particularly in Europe, in the USA and Africa. Indeed, by the end of the 1960s, it participated in the birth of the skinhead movement in the UK.

Whatever the factual basis of such stories, there remains little doubt that reggae is one of the most widely embraced musical genres in Africa today. Over the years, Africa has produced superstar reggae talent, as well, notably Alpha Blondy of Ivory Coast and the late Lucky Dube of South Africa….

However, while Bob Marley was a pioneer of reggae, he did not invent it, as there were others performing it before him. Reggae music grew from ska and rocksteady, which were two other genres which came out of Jamaica during the early 1960s….

Roots reggae usually refers to the most recognizable kind of reggae, popularized internationally by artists like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, which dominated Jamaican recordings from around 1972 into the early 1980s.

These days, reggae may not be a commercially powerful genre in and of itself. But as we noted earlier, it inspires, informs and inflects countless popular songs to this day. And make no mistake, in its home base of Jamaica, reggae is still a very big deal….

Rastafari, also known as Rastafarianism and the Rastafari movement, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. Rasta beliefs are based on a specific interpretation of the Bible.

Before smoking the plant the Rasta will say a prayer to Jah (God) or to Haile Selassie I. The Rasta call them reasoning sessions when they use Ganja for Nyabinghi. Acting silly would be considered disrespectful to a Rasta. Before Rasta smoke the ritual plant, they say a prayer to their god Haile Selassie.

Jah or Yah (Hebrew: יה‎, Yah) is a short form of Hebrew: יהוה‎ (YHWH), the four letters that form the tetragrammaton, the personal name of God: Yahweh, which the ancient Israelites used. …

Rastas believe that they can come to know the true meanings of biblical scriptures by cultivating a mystical consciousness of oneself with Jah, called “I-and-I.” Rastas read the Bible selectively, however, emphasizing passages from Leviticus that admonish the cutting of hair and beard and the eating of certain foods ……

Many Rastafari also celebrate Christmas, which is celebrated on 7th January. Many Rastafari do not celebrate personal birthdays; nor do many Rastafari emphasise or attend funerals, as their faith celebrates life rather than death….

A Rasta woman is easily recognized in society by her grooming standards; sans makeup, head covered, modest dress with knees and shoulders covered (skirts and dresses only) and no chemicals in their hair. Rasta women cannot use any form of birth control, and abortion is not an option, as it is seen a murder.

While Christians believe that God Is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Rastafarians believe that God is the Father, the Son, Haile Selassie, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Rastafarianism is an OFFSHOOT of Christianity, as opposed to a sect of Christianity.