Program Archives
Latin Music USA
Producers: WGBH/Elizabeth Dean/Adriana Bosch
Genre: Documentary
Program Length: 4 Episode/60 Minutes
Broadcast Date: October 12th and 19th, 2009
Rebroadcast: April 28th, 2017 and May 5th, 2017 at 9:00 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings)
ABOUT THE FILM-

Produced by a team led by WGBH, in co-production with the BBC, Latin Music USA invites the audience into the vibrant musical conversation between Latinos and non-Latinos that has helped shape the history of popular music in the United States.

Episode One: Traces the rise of Latin jazz and the explosion of the mambo and the cha cha chá as they sweep the US from East to West. Latin Music infiltrates r&b and rock and roll through the 1960s.

Episode Two: Puerto Ricans and other Latinos in New York reinvent the Cuban son and the Puerto Rican plena, adding elements from soul and jazz to create Salsa, which becomes a defining rhythm for Latinos the world over.

Episode Three: Mexican-Americans in CA, TX and across the Southwest create their own distinct musical voices during the second half of the 20th century. Their music would play an important role in the struggle for Chicano civil rights and ultimately propel them from the barrio to the national stage.

Episode Four: Focuses on the Latin pop explosion of the turn of the century, focusing on the success of artists like Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan and Shakira in the English-language market – in the context of an increasingly Latinized US.  As studios focus on star-driven pop, Latino youth gravitate toward urban fusions – Spanish rap and reggaeton, as well as Rock en Español.

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About Us
Latino Public Broadcasting is the leader of the development, production, acquisition and distribution of non-commercial educational and cultural media that is representative of Latino people, or addresses issues of particular interest to Latino Americans. These programs are produced for dissemination to the public broadcasting stations and other public telecommunication entities. LPB provides a voice to the diverse Latino community on public media throughout the United States. Latino Public Broadcasting is a registered 501(c)(3), EIN: 95-4776447.
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