Latin Alternative

With ska beats, rock power chords, and a blend of swagger and sweetness in Andrea Echeverri's vocals, Aterciopelados' "Cosita Seria" is a quintessential Latin Alternative track. But then, so is the bubbly funk-rock of fellow Colombians Juanes' "Fijate Bien" and the sophisticated reach of Café Tacuba's lilting "Eres." Kinky ("Cornman") and Nortec Collective ("Tengo la Voz") break down many musical walls with their highly danceable blends. And if Manu Chao (born and raised in France to Spanish parents) is a ringer, he's a good one, his punk-folk-world stew showing why he's become a multi-continental star.

King Chango's "Melting Pot" is not about blending in, but about making something distinctive out of disparate ingredients — in this case something that sounds like Tito Puente interpreted by the Specials. That approach helps provide a context in which wide-ranging Julieta Venegas' dance-pop foray "Lo Que Pidas" can coexist with the snarky circus tones of Molotov's "Frijolero" and the retro-'70s funk of Venezuela's Los Amigos Invisibles on "Amor." The sample-heavy '60s samba of Mexican Institute of Sound's "Mirando a las Muchachas" may be the real find in the bunch, though.

"Tijuana Bass" may be a sly pun by Nortec Collective on the "Latin" music once at least nominally associated with the Baja California city, but the track itself is a brassy street party in which lo-tech traditions meet 21st century sensibilities. It's a great mid-point between the fairly straight-ahead Latin-pop of Los Fabulosos Cadillacs' "Demasiada Presion" and the hip-hop cool of Bitman & Roban's "Tatita."

Language provides a binding thread, but otherwise the music deemed "Latin Alternative" covers a lot of ground geographically (most of the Western hemisphere plus some of Europe), stylistically (ska-reggae with King Chango, street-band hip-hop with Ozomatli, post-modern mish-mash with Kinky and Plastilina Mosh, metal-with-horns from Puya, just for starters), and thematically (including statements of cultural identity in Molotov's "Voto Latino" and Maldita Vecindad's "Pachuco"). But collectively, this diverse group has helped break tenacious beliefs that to have international rock success one had to target the English-speaking American market. What's more, a number of these acts have found loyal fans among many American hipsters — some of whom don't even speak a word of Spanish.