Impactful and Influential Artists Who Are Afro-Latino

It’s phenomenal how impactful and influential Afro-Latino people have been in society. The theme of this piece is Afro-Latino music while highlighting specifically Afro-Latino artists throughout time. 

Celia Cruz 

To start this off there’s the one and only, Queen of Salsa Music Miss Celia Cruz. Everyone who listens to Spanish music knows of her or has heard her voice because she has engraved herself into Spanish music and culture. She grew up in Havana Cuba, her passion for music led her to be the first black front person for the group La Sonora Matancera. Her voice has given us classics such as “La Vida es Un Carnaval” and “La Negra Tiene Tumbao.” 

The 3 time Grammy winning artist has impacted the world in more ways than musically. She founded the Celia Cruz Foundation, which has the mission of providing financial support for underprivileged hispanic students to study music. Overall, Celia Cruz was an early pioneer and role-model for Afro-Latino musicians and people. 

Jhene Aiko 

Afro-Latino artists are not confined to solely making Spanish music. Grammy nominated, R&B singer Jhene Aiko is part Dominican and African-american. Her impact and status in the R&B community proves that Afro-Latino people can make a space for themselves wherever they want. She has been in the game from 2010’s till today.

Ozuna 

Shifting back to Spanish music, it would be a crime to not highlight Ozuna the Afro-Latino reggaeton superstar from Puerto Rico. He has created countless hits such as “Se Preparo,” “Taki Taki,” “Una Locura” and the list continues. Ozuna has established himself in reggaeton history. From the later half of the 2010’s to present time this Afro-latino artist has made a name for himself. Ozuna has worked with Romeo Santos, Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny J Balvin and even more A-list Latin music artists. 

Sech 

Lastly, there’s the “Otro Trago” superstar Sech, who’s worked with the likes of Bad Bunny and Daddy Yankee, none other than Sech. Born in 1993, this young artist grew up in Rio Abajo, Panama. Although he grew up in poverty this did not stop Sech from fulfilling his dream of becoming a musician. Sech broke into pop culture in 2019 with his single “Otro Trago,” which broke the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one in Panama, Spain, Mexico and more! Sech is one of the few current popular reggaeton artists that is paving the way for dark-skin Afro-Latino artists. We can be confident that the 2020s will be filled with more Sech. 

Although there are some highly impactful and successful Afro-Latino artists, they are still a minority. That is why it is important to highlight people like Celia Cruz and Ozuna so that the younger generation have people to look up too. It’s hard to believe that you can achieve something when you see that the people doing it don’t look like you. Representation is key because when you see people that look like you doing something then it gives you the

confidence that you can too. With more representation appearing in the music scene the future of Afro-Latino music seems bright.