Latin ballad

Latin ballad (Spanish: balada romántica) is a sentimental ballad derived from bolero that originated in the early 1960s in Los Angeles, California and Southern California.

Some of the best known artists of the Latin ballad are Julio Iglesias, Mocedades, José Luis Rodriguez, Luis Miguel, Camilo Sesto, Emmanuel, Nino Bravo, Roberto Carlos, Ricardo Montaner, Raphael, Mijares and José José among others. Because of its difficulty, the Latin balladeers are often recognized as skilled singers such as the case of Nino Bravo, Camilo Sesto, José José, Luis Miguel or Raphael.

In recent decades it has become the dominant musical genre of Latin pop.

Origin and evolution

Music fans can find roots of "Ballads" in pre-war years. Blues and jazz in the United States underwent transformations that were brewing since the 1930s and 1940s and that led to the origin of new rhythms. Bing Crosby's "White Christmas", Frank Sinatra, Marlene Dietrich's "Lili Marleen" and Dooley Wilson's "As Time Goes By" were examples of early Ballad singers. Rock and roll in the mid-1950s transforms contemporary types of music in terms of how to sing them and instrumentation, which includes electric instruments in addition to the traditional balladism. Ballads spread in the acetates records and in American cinema to the world also influencing.

One of the main diffusers was Elvis Presley, when he diversified his music, in addition to rock and roll, cultivating the new ballad, influencing the romantic Sentimental ballad of the late decade (led by Paul Anka "You are my Destiny",1958, "Put your Head on my Shoulder",1959, and Neil Sedaka ).