Spanish Reggae Music

Heck ... with the terrific popularity of Spanish Reggae Music it seems Jamaica has more influence on Spain than Spain ever had on Jamaica!

Because - as I'm sure you know(!) - it was Spain who supposedly first discovered Jamaica during the Christopher Colombus era!

Reggae originated in Jamaica, but ... how on earth did it get there ...

Spanish Reggae Music - Jamaica

Round about 1494, the Spanish discovered Jamaica and settled there.

It was already inhabited by indigenous peoples - but many died, unaccustomed to illnesses and diseases brought in by Spanish settlers.

So ... the Spanish transported Africans to this beautiful island, to use as slaves.

It's these slaves we have to thank for reggae roots - originally closely linked to the Rastafarianism religion.

By the way ... the Spanish left Jamaica in 1655 - when the English took over.

Spanish Reggae Music - Panama

No doubt you've heard of the great Panama Canal - built early 1900s!

Many Jamaican workers were used in its construction.

Quite a number stayed on in Panama - keeping their reggae culture, but eventually adopting Spanish as their native tongue.

Consequently, reggae music was gradually adapted and translated to suit Hispanic audiences.

The music found appeal ... and spread ...

Puerto Rico

We can thank the Puerto Ricans for really popularising spanish reggae.

They took the beats and rhythms from Panama, incorporating their own influences of hip hop, dancehall, rapping ...

Since the mid-1990s, the term reggaeton has been used to describe the more developed spanish reggae style ... and it's popularity increases ...

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