There is increasing interest in music produced both in Latin America and from Latin Americans living within the United States, yet there have been few encyclopedias of Latin American music published in English, and fewer yet devoted to popular music. Editor George Torres, working with an advisory board and 57 contributors spanning the disciplines of musicology, ethnomusicology, anthropology, and Latin American and Latino studies scholars, vividly addresses this need in the Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music.

This densely detailed single volume encyclopedia highlights the musical genres, instrumental ensembles, and unique musical instrumentation in the “Spanish-, Portuguese-, and French-speaking countries of the Western Hemisphere south of the United States” (xviii). Popular music is differentiated here from folk music by criteria of how the music is created and distributed. Rural or urban, popular music traverses geographic and cultural boundaries and is transmitted through mass media. Key ethno-musicological and sociohistorical concepts that characterize popular Latin American music are clearly explained. For example, there is a four-page article titled “Hybridity and Cultural Syncretism,” in which musicologist Mark Brill outlines the centuries of cultural fusion and the more recent acceleration of syncretic processes that have manifested in countless musical styles. Brill concludes that more recent globalization and mass commercialization have resulted in more homogenized music that has lost “much of the individuality that engendered it” (206). A 22-page index provides access to concepts, people, and topics embedded throughout 200 articles. For instance, the index term machismo leads to a clear discussion of the concept in an article titled “Gender in Latin American Popular Music.” Articles on individual Latin American countries outline the historical developments and cultural forces from which those countries’ musical innovations emerged. For instance, the seven-page article on Brazil provides historical demographics and elaborates on the African origins of the rhythms that characterize popular Brazilian genres, such as Samba, Choro, Música Sertaneja, and Música Popular Braisileira.

While this encyclopedia does not include biographical entries for musical performers, many of the articles identify representational musicians. The articles are arranged alphabetically, signed by the authors, and include a least one suggestion for further reading. Fresh and accessible, the Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music would complement and richly supplement Latin American music surveys, such as the Musics of Latin America, edited by Robin Moore (Norton, 2012). Both of these books interpret the music within the context of regional historical, cultural, and social tensions; however, the Encyclopedia of Latin American Popular Music is more comprehensive and contemporary in coverage. For more comprehensive and specialized treatment of Latin American music, including folk music, libraries should also collect Dale A. Olsen and Daniel E. Sheehy’s The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, Volume 2, South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean (Garland, 1998).