Latin American music or Latin music encompasses rhythms and styles originated or related to Latin America and its influence in the United States and several European countries such as Spain or Portugal. Some critics have defined Latin music as an incorporation of four elements: music style, geography, cultural background of the artist and language. The first of those encapsulates all music styles generated from Latin countries, such as salsa, merengue, tango, bossa nova and bachata; as well as other styles derived from a more mainstream genre, such as Latin pop, rock, jazz and Reggaeton.
Geographically, it usually refers to the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking regions of Latin America but sometimes include Francophone countries of Latin America as well. The origins of Latin music begins with Spain and Portugal's colonization of Latin America in the 16th century. Latin American music is performed in Spanish, Portuguese, and to a lesser extent, French. As a popular genre in the music industry, it is used to describe any Spanish or Portuguese-language genre including those from Spain and Portugal.
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