Con ton y son

The internet radio station Pandora has several pre-made genre stations to choose from.  A couple weeks ago I discovered the Cuban music station... and my life was forever changed.  Latin American music is AWESOME.

I think that non-Latin musicians like doing Latin music every now and then - it just grooves better than lots of other genres do.  For example, take the song Save the Last Dance for Me performed by the Drifters:

You can hear a very straight rhythm, especially coming from the drum set.  Now consider Michael Bublé's cover of the song:

It's obviously Latin music from the beginning - salsa, to be exact.  The clave rhythm (on claves) starts in the second verse, and you can hear the tumbao (on the conga) later on:

Even the inflection and rhythm of his singing is more syncopated, giving it a nice Latin groove.

What about Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton?

Just your good ol' fashioned rock ballad.  But Michael Bublé strikes again!  Here's his cover of this song:

He's turned it into a slow Brazilian bossa nova, even singing a verse or two in Portuguese.  The basic bossa nova rhythm is easily felt throughout:

For a final example, let's listen to the original version of Stand by Me by Ben E. King:

There's a little bit of a Latin vibe going on in there, but Prince Royce takes it to a whole new level:

The song is now a full-blown bachata, a style of music that originated in the Dominican Republic.  The characteristic bongos and güira are prominently heard.  A good portion of the lyrics have also been translated into Spanish.

But there aren't just Latin covers of non-Latin songs; artists cover songs that were Latin in the first place, as well as writing their own original music in different Latin styles.  Latin American music has subtly crept into the tastes of Anglo-America.  You can't help but tap your foot or bounce your head or move some part of your body while listening to it (at least I can't).  Is Latin music prevalent because of our proximity to its birthplace, or is it just great stuff?  Honestly I don't care - I'm just glad it's here.