Meet the Latine Artists Cultivating Europe’s Growing Latin Music Scene

Meet the Latine Artists Cultivating Europe’s Growing Latin Music Scene

Many of the Latin music and dance genres we love today contain European influences: Italian opera helped create Mexican rancheras. Uruguayan/Argentinian tango is a fusion of milonga and Spanish flamenco. Nueva Canción draws inspiration from French chanson. But the opposite hasn’t always been true when it comes to Latin genres making their mark in Europe.

Much like in the United States, Latin music has met a long journey to acceptance in Europe. Several Latin music genres — especially popular Black genres such as reggaetón, salsa, and bachata — have been the source of moral and racial panic in Spain, for example, where the middle and upper class associated reggaetón with Latine gangs and sexually explicit content. But as the revenue and audience of the Latin music market increases, reaching millions across the globe, so has the interest of Europe in the very genres it once ignored and ridiculed.

In 2023, the Latin Grammys took place in Spain for the first time in the event’s more than 20-year history, and even non-romance-speaking European countries like the United Kingdom and Ukraine have seen spikes in Latin music listenership within the past few years.

More and more Latine artists from across Europe are taking center stage in the Latin music scene — Ana Tijoux from France; Boy Pablo and Esteban Muñoz from Norway; Sophie Castillo, Juanita Euka, Elle Darlington, and Desta French from the UK; Yendry from Italy. And then there are also non-Latine Spanish artists like Rosalía, Quevedo, and Bad Gyal who have capitalized on Latin genres and grown its popularity in the region. As a result, the European Latine scene seems to be taking its own unique form.

“I think the music coming from Latin America and the U.S. is very established, and they’ve introduced this new genre to mainstream music that people are loving,” says Sophie Castillo, a Colombian-Cuban artist from London who describes her music as “alternative dark pop with a Latin twist.” “Here in Europe, it’s our responsibility to try to offer something a little bit different that can still reach the mainstream.”

She continues: “There’s definitely an urban Latin scene, but from what I’ve noticed in terms of British audiences is that the sounds that are doing well here are not just copies of what is done in the U.S. or Latin America, but they’re the ones that have a slight alternative nature to them — a kind of fusion thing. The stuff that is really popular over here is bringing a new perspective to the industry and to Latin music.”

Born and raised in London, Castillo grew up with her Colombian mother and uncle, who were part of the first big wave of Latine migration to the UK in the 1970s. Surrounded by a lively Colombian family, Castillo stayed in tune with her roots.

“Growing up in touch with my culture, it was lovely — we were always eating Latin food, always speaking in Spanish, and having Colombian parties. But then when I would go to school, I had such a British London experience. I think if I had been raised in Latin America or if I wasn’t Latin American, I probably would just be sticking to one genre or language, but my heritage mixed with my experience growing up in London definitely has inspired me to show both sides of myself.”

Castillo’s multicultural identity is evident in the blend of sounds she incorporates within her  music, birthing genre-bending medleys like indie bachata that break the barriers of traditional musical categories. This pluralism is a common denominator among many Latine artists from Europe.

Having moved from the Dominican Republic to Italy with her mother as a 4-year-old, Dominican-Italian artist Yendry had completely different musical influences than Castillo.

“I grew up with both Latin and Italian music in the house. I absorbed lots of melodies from Neapolitan music and a sense of rhythm from old salsa and bachata, and I also take reference from old Italian movies and old Dominican songs,” she says. “I want to make music that I love, infused by both of my cultures. That’s what makes it interesting, the fact that I can pull from different worlds — I see it as a special gift when I’m creating, and I feel it most when I’m writing.”

Yendry’s music incorporates both Latin percussions and European electronic beats, and her discography encompasses a world of genres, including R&B, dembow, bachata, electronica, and experimental pop. But although she combines her identities seamlessly within her music, Yendry had a harder time doing so as a young teenager growing up in Italy.

“There is a good Latin community in Italy now, but when we first moved, I didn’t have any Latin friends, and I had to deal with that feeling of not belonging,” Yendry says. “I built my own community in Turin, and I connected easily with people that, like me, had a different cultural background. Most of my friends are half Italian and half African, and I still don’t have any Latin friends in Italy.”

When asked whether they think the European Latine music scene is on the rise, both Yendry and Castillo say it is, with France leading the way.

“France definitely has the most people listening to my music,” Yendry adds. “I just got off tour in Europe, and being in Paris, they were some of the biggest and warmest concerts. It’s crazy to me because Spanish is not their first language, so I’m still amazed by this and what emotions can do, how it’s translated through music and feelings.”

She is also seeing traction in Switzerland.

“One thing that shocked me during the tour was the big Latin community in Switzerland,” she says. “Geneva was my first sold-out show, and I didn’t expect all those Spanish-speaking people in the crowd. It was amazing!”

Esteban Muñoz, a Chilean indie artist from Norway whose artist name is bob junior, has a vastly different perspective on the Latin music scene in Europe.

“There’s not a lot of Latin music in Europe and definitely not in Norway,” he says. “Here in Norway, there are almost no Latin artists, and therefore, no Latin music scene. We always have cover bands, or traditional bands who play when there are small Latin events and whatnot, but I think that is pretty much it nowadays.”

Norway’s Latine population is considerably smaller than that of the UK and Italy — an estimated 31,058 Latines live in Norway, compared to around 250,000 Latines who live in the UK and more than 280,000 Latines who reside in Italy. Muñoz recalls having a hard time finding community in Glesvær, the municipality of Sotra where he spent the first 13 years of his life.

“Bergen had a good bunch of Latin people in the ‘90s, and most of them I met in church, but outside of that, there wasn’t any Latin community I was a part of,” he adds. “It’s always been weird because in Norway I feel like a Latino, but when I visit my family in Chile, I feel Norwegian. Kinda get stuck in between two identities there. I think a lot of people feel the same way.”

Given his experiences, Muñoz is skeptical about whether the European Latine music scene is on the rise. “It’s slowly taking over the commercial market in parts of the U.S.,” he says. “But we’ll see if it will hit hard in Europe or not. I have my doubts.”

Rising or not, artists like Yendry, Castillo, and Muñoz are nurturing the European Latine music scene into a kaleidoscope of sounds that every listener should have the privilege of exploring. Multiculturalism has always defined the evolution of music, and the Latin music landscape in Europe is no exception.

When talking about what the European Latin music scene is missing, Castillo says, “I think it’s just about the right labels taking that leap of faith and being like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to commit.’ We’ve seen what Latin music has done all over the world. We’ve seen what it’s done in the U.S. Now it’s our time to shine as well.”

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