Did It Really Take 500 Years For Spaniards To Finally Appreciate Latin American Music? Yes.

Spanish Rolling Stone magazine just posted an article called "La cumbia: el nuevo genero que esta de moda" [Cumbia: the new trendy genre] lauding the Latin American musical staple. Of couse, when the anonymous writer wrote "new" he or she really meant "new to us," because cumbia music has been around for years. (From personal experience, I've been dancing to them tropical grooves since the '80s, back when bands used to play cumbia versions of just about any popular pop song at my cousins quinceañeras.) 

Christopher Columbus "discovered" America in 1492 and Hernan Cortes landed in Santo Domingo around 1504. That was a long-ass time ago, to say the least. These European explorers took all kinds of stuff from Latin America back to their countries: food, precious metals, gaudy garments, but, for whatever reason, it seems like they passed on our music. Spaniards, specifically, only know the likes of Paulina Rubio, Shakira, Ricky Martin, Mana, and nothing else. Why? Because their music is generic pop and doesn't sound regional or third world-ish. Mariachi and rancheras have enjoyed some popularity -- Paquita La Del Barrio, oddly, does well in Spain -- but that's probably because Almodovar placed other genre exponents, such as Chavela Vargas, in his movie soundtracks. 

I've actually met a few Spaniards that dig the tangy sounds of cumbia and even *gasps* REGGAETON, but they're hardcore music nerds. Still, make no mistake: the Spanish populo loathes anything too sudaca-sounding and the Rolling Stone writer knows it:

"Will this work in our country? Spain has always been refractory toward this genre. Our old colonial prejudices, limited knowledge, and scarce interest in dancing keep us from enjoying it. We've also never been known to pay attention to the music of successive migratory waves that arrive to our country."

Spanish music does incredibly well in Latin America; Miguel Bose, Alaska, Mecano, Camilo Sesto, Julio Iglesias, Rocio Durcal, Rocio Jurado, etc., etc. are all household names. Even weird bands like Locomia were mainstream pop stars at some point. But, alas, there's no reciprocation. And this attitude isn't limited to cumbia music: Cafe Tacuba, for example, will sell out the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC while playing for 500 Spanish nerds and sudacas -- at most -- in Madrid.  

So who cares if Spaniards like cumbia -- or reggaeton, bachata, rancheras -- or not, right? Right. But it's just odd. Odd because Spain's music scene, with its fancy Primavera Sound and FIB festivals, bills itself as being cutting edge but, it turns out, has been held back by "old colonial prejudices." Kumbia Queers, where you at? Not at Primavera Sound, that's for sure:

"Some of us still remember the stampede of hipsters at the 2009 Primavera Sound, when DJ Rupture started his set with El Hijo De La Cumbia. The grand public barely had any contact with that genre."

My two cents, Spain: You're missing out, ¡tios!