Latin American
Salsa, cumbia, boogaloo, tropical — the music that refuses to sit still. Latin American vinyl at Wax Trax.
Latin American Vinyl Records
Latin American music is a continent's worth of rhythm, and a lot of it is irresistibly danceable. The Fania-era salsa explosion (Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón) out of New York and the Caribbean; the cumbia that spread from Colombia across the whole hemisphere; boogaloo's Latin-soul fusion; and the tropical and folk traditions underneath it all. The reissue labels have been doing heroic crate-digging work here, which means more of this is back in print than ever. Your hips will thank you.
What You'll Find Here
Salsa, cumbia, boogaloo, Latin soul, tropical, and Latin folk — on LP, plus some 7-inches. Fania-era classics, reissue-label comps, and import pressings. This is prime dance-and-dig territory. If you want to start moving immediately, ask for the salsa and cumbia shelves.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between salsa and cumbia?
Salsa is the faster, brass-driven NYC/Caribbean sound (think Fania Records); cumbia is the rolling, hypnotic rhythm born in Colombia that spread continent-wide. Both are dancefloor essentials, and both live here.
What is boogaloo?
The mid-'60s fusion of Latin rhythm with American R&B and soul, mostly out of New York — bilingual, infectious, and hugely collectible.