New York Latin Culture Magazine™

World-class Indigenous, European, African, Asian & Oceanian Culture since 2012.

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Latin Music NYC

Latin music is as diverse as we are. Latin jazz, salsa and hip-hop were made in NYC. Regional Mexican is the most popular Latin music in the United States. Reggaeton passed through on its way to becoming the sound of global youth.

The stage is one thing, but the natural habitat of Latin music is living rooms, patios, yards, playgrounds, parks and the street. Drumming, singing and dancing aren’t extraordinary. They are a natural and essential part of who we are.

If you want to know the real history of a region and the real history of a community, you listen to the songs.”

Gianluca Tramontana (Rolling Stone, Radio Free Brooklyn) for “Changüí: The Sound of Guantánamo” on Petaluma Records in 2021

Latin Music News

Check Before You Go

New York City reopens under Covid protocols. Every business is different. Check before you go.

  • Helio Alves and Duduka Da Fonseca (Trio da Paz) play Brazilian jazz at Terraza 7 in Elmhurst, Queens on Thu, Jun 3 🇧🇷
  • As part of the NY PopsUp festival, the Multi-Grammy nominated Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band salutes Puerto Rican composers and plays the complete Grammy nominated and Jazz Journalists Association Record of the Year “West Side Story Reimagined” at the Playground 52 Amphitheater in Longwood, The Bronx on Sun, June 6 from 2:30-5:45 pm. FREE 🇵🇷
  • The Afro Latin Jazz Alliance presents Potatoes are People Too (Adam & Zack O’Farrill) at Drom in the East Village on Thu, Jun 10 🇨🇺
  • Juan Carlos Formell (Los Van Van) & Danae Blanco play Cuban jazz at Terraza 7 in Elmhurst, Queens on Thu, Jun 10 🇨🇺
  • Só Brasil: Erik Charlston JazzBrasil plays a tribute to Hermeto Pascoal at Zinc Bar in Greenwich Village on Thu, Jun 11 🇧🇷
  • Stephane Wrembe channels Django Reinhardt at Barbés in Park Slope Brooklyn on Sun, Jun 13 🇫🇷
  • The Blue Note Jazz Festival is June 15 – Aug 15
  • Pedrito Martinez plays Cuban rumba at Drom in the East Village on Fri, Jun 18 🇨🇺
  • Pedro Giraudo Tango Quartet plays Terraza 7 in Elmhurst, Queens on Thu, June 17 at 7pm, and Barbés in Park Slope Brooklyn on Fri, Jun 18. They just released a new album “Impulso Tanguero.” 🇦🇷
  • The Queens Jazz Orchestra honors NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Heath at Flushing Town Hall in Flushing, Queens on Fri, Jun 18
  • Celebrate Juneteenth with Celisse, Ché Buford and mal sounds, and the Juneteenth Legacy Project at Joe’s Pub in the Public Theater in NoHo on Jun 19
  • The Afro Latin Jazz Alliance presents the Ivan Renta Quintet at Drom in the East Village on Thu, Jun 24 🇵🇷
  • SummerStage is back. The schedule comes out soon.
  • The Tony Succar “Mas De Mi” documentary about his Best Salsa Album and Producer of the Year Latin Grammy wins is out and New York Latin Culture Magazine is in it! 🇵🇪

Small clubs resumed live music first. After a year of New York rents with little revenue, they need our support. Let’s go back to:

  • Barbés eclectic bar in Park Slope, Brooklyn is open
  • Club Bonafide in Midtown East
  • Drom world music club in Manhattan’s East Village is open
  • Nublu, the eclectic jazz night club in Manhattan’s East Village
  • Terraza 7, the Latin jazz club in Elmhurst, Queens is open
  • Zinc Bar, the cellar jazz club in Greenwich Village is open
Music Archive

Latin Music is as Diverse as Latins

Swing (1935-1946), bebop modern jazz (1940s), Latin jazz (1943), disco (1970), salsa (1970s) and hip-hop (1970s) are musical forms of the City itself.

Jazz and reggaeton passed through and were forever changed by New York. House music (1980s) was started at the Warehouse Club in Chicago, but by New York DJ Frankie Knuckles.

The music publishers and Tin Pan Alley are New York. It all gets mixed up with Broadway too. As the world media capital, whatever happens in New York gets sent out into the world.

The Caribbean Roots of Hip-Hop

Latin Music NYC (Alessandro Flore/Dreamstime)
Latin Music NYC (Alessandro Flore/Dreamstime)

This is a Jamaican sound system. It’s for a party in the neighborhood. Nowadays there is sound system culture in Brazilian favelas, Colombian comunas, and in cars in New York City, but it’s originally a Jamaican thing.

DJ Cool Herc (Clive Campbell) threw the first hip-hop parties. It all started at “His Back to School Jam” at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in Morris Heights, The Bronx.

Herc did several hip-hop firsts, but he is remembered for his giant speakers, his “herculords.” Campbell is a New Yorker, but he was born in Kingston, Jamaica. So these are some of the Caribbean roots of hip-hop.

Culture

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