Does Rosalía Appropriate Latinx Music?
The musician Rosalía has rapidly become a global pop sensation in recent years, with her career skyrocketing after publishing top hit albums like “El Mal Querer” and “Motomami.” However, with such fame, she has also gained massive criticism as audiences question whether she is crossing the fine line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation as a white Spaniard capitalizing off Latin American culture.
Born and raised in Barcelona, Spain, Rosalía’s career began with a focus on Flamenco, a genre of traditional folkloric Spanish music dating back to ancient times in southern regions of Spain. Later, she expanded her career by adopting various Latinx tunes including — but not limited to — Reggeaton, Batacha, Salsa, and Afro-Caribbean melodies. However, the central question is whether Rosalía is entitled to identify with and profit off a culture’s music that was born from the oppression caused by her country and ancestors. The answer is no, she is not.
This is specifically seen in her common and normalized use of Reggeaton and Afro-Caribbean beats in her songs. Reggeaton, as hinted by its name, derives from the Afro-Indigenous genre of Reggae music. Reggae originated from Mento, a form of music that developed during the enslavement of Tainos. Tainos were the native people of the pre-Columbian Caribbean islands, during the time in which Spaniards brought slavery into Jamaica. After this period of slavery, Jamaicans were relocated to Panama in the early 1900s to build the Panama Canal under harsh conditions, so they turned to music for comfort, causing the fusion of Reggae and the Spanish language. As this new form of Reggae music began to take shape, it made its way through the Caribbean into Puerto Rico, where it was popularized and soon became Reggeaton. The roots and heritage of Reggeaton began as — and continue to be — a medium of resistance, perseverance, and pride of Afro-Latinx people against their white oppressors. Yet, Rosalía, a Spanish woman with a large platform, ignorantly disregards that and actively chooses to profit off a genre born from the trauma and enslavement caused by her Spanish ancestors.
Rosalía herself even said to Billboard for its “Growing up Latino” series that she “feels Latina” when visiting Latin American countries like Panama and Mexico, despite not actually being a part of this ethnic group. She has also won various Latin music awards, including Best Urban Song and Album of The Year at the 2019 Latin Grammys, along with Best Latin Video for her Reggeaton hit song, “Con Altura” — which was inspired by a Puerto Rican show — at the VMAs. When giving her acceptance speech, she highlighted her Barcelonian heritage and claimed she was “so happy to be [there] representing [her] culture.” She was already receiving large criticism for walking away with awards that could’ve been given to actual Latin artists that were very deserving of them, but this statement made matters even worse. Afro-Dominican journalist, Jennifer Mota, said, “What part of ‘Con Altura’ was Rosalía’s culture, exactly?” Rosalía’s naive comment was like a slap to the face for various audiences because she chose to highlight her European heritage and culture at an event that was meant to uplift Latin-American — especially Afro and Indigenous Latinx — culture and artistry.
Ultimately, Rosalía is praised for adding her own unique touch to Latin music with her Flamenco style singing and Spanish accent, but in reality it is simply a Eurocentric mentality of entitlement to something that is not hers. She is taking away valuable space from the unique and authentic artistry of actual Latin singers. In a world where Latin American culture is often dismissed and suppressed, Latinx people have found ways to prevail through art and music. Instead of letting a white Spaniard insert herself into the culture and gain all of the credit, we should shift our attention towards the various talented Latin artists that are celebrating their cultural heritage through their music.
