By Tatiana Krisztina
 

First, there was “La Bamba” by Ritchie Valens. Then “La Macarena” by Los Del Rio. “Livin’ La Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin was a hit in the late 90s. And in 2017, there was “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee.

 

Latin music has been in and out of mainstream American pop music, but to no critical acclaim. “La Bamba” was sung by a man who changed his name to hide his Latin identity. “La Macarena” was a short-lived dance craze. “Livin’ La Vida Loca” was a fun party song, but with Martin’s flamboyant style it was nothing more than that. “Despacito,” or “Slowly” in English, finally gave Latin music a serious foothold in pop music with three Grammy nominations, over one billion streams on Spotify, and holder of seven Guinness World Records.

 

Some could say that the remix, the one played on American radio, created popularity because it featured Justin Bieber. But Bieber only brings less than a minute of English to the song. The real draw of the song is the catchy chorus and reggaeton beats, which isn’t new for either Daddy Yankee or Fonsi. Wayne Marshall describes the song for Vulture  as “a good pop song, combining decades of songwriting experience, a weaponized chord progression, inspired performances by seasoned professionals, and access to an international music industry.”

 

Daddy Yankee had mainstream success in 2004 with “Gasolina,” but it was mostly played in clubs and by teenagers mumbling all the lyrics except the title word. But in Spanish-speaking countries, he was selling out tours and winning Latin Grammy awards. Fonsi had made strides in the Latin music world with ten studio albums to date and even a celebrity scandal when he cheated on his wife while she was battling cancer.

 

Both Fonsi and Daddy Yankee are natives of Puerto Rico. So it was no surprise that the music video was filmed in their home country. With the video amassing being the second most popular YouTube video behind “Baby Shark,” many got to see the beauty of Puerto Rico. According to Billboard, tourism in Puerto Rico went up 45 percent with many tourists visiting sites in the music video like the Old San Juan sector. All eyes were on Puerto Rico. And months later they stayed, but for a different reason. 

 

In September 2017, Hurricane Maria hit the island with devastating results. Over three thousand people died, and caused $91 billion in damage, the most costly hurricane in Puerto Rico’s history. Even though Puerto Rico is an American territory, the U.S. president at the time and his team took great strides to prevent aiding the island. 

 

Music tends to reflect society, and like anti-war songs during the Vietnam War, the popularity of Latin music shows that most Americans don’t have the same view as the previous president of the United States and supported the nation in its time of need. Over $24 million was raised from corporate donations for the island.

 

The “Despacito” artist Luis Fonsi was featured on “Almost Like Praying,” a song by Lin-Manuel Miranda that featured various Latin artists with proceeds going to hurricane relief efforts. He even received the Global Gift Philanthropy Award for his charitable contributions after the hurricane.

 

Overall, the country of Puerto Rico is persevering and is still in the process of rebuilding. Like its people, Latin music endured. “Despacito” caused Latin music to turn a new corner. Like Leila Lobo said for Variety, “Today we no longer talk about the next “Despacito,” but about an ongoing Latin music movement.” Non-Latin artists are also jumping on the bandwagon, Ed Sheeran did a song with Camilla Cabello called “South of the Border,” Beyonce did a remix of “Mi Gente” with J Balvin. Selena Gomez embraced her Latin roots with a recent all Spanish album.

 

Without the virality of “Despacito” would Bad Bunny have the career he has now? Rosalia, Ozuna, J Balvin and other Latin artists wouldn’t be playing festivals or featured on prominent American pop stars’ songs. Latin music wouldn’t have gotten the foothold in pop culture that it has now.