HarlemLIVE

Due to the popularity of this article, the author Aisha Al-Muslim will write a follow up to this article. Be sure to check it out in early July.

As Spanish reggae has gotten popular over the last decade, Panamanian reggae artists have increasingly felt that their contributions are being overlooked and their music copied by Puerto Rican musicians.
There is even a question about who invented Spanish reggae, which sounds similar to Jamaican reggae, except for the fact that its language is usually Spanish, not English.
Though many people believe Spanish reggae was created in Puerto Rico, I think that it came from Panama. Unlike Puerto Rico, Panama is home to many West Indians, whose culture originally produced reggae. They moved to Panama to build the Panama Canal and stayed to make a life. Spanish reggae was invented during the 1980’s. Panamanian musicians like El General and Renato made Spanish reggae popular all over the world. But in New York, Puerto Rican artists dominate the airwaves, while Panamanians feel overlooked.

Just as Puerto Ricans have taken credit for inventing salsa, they are also getting recognition for inventing Spanish reggae, which really belongs to Panamanians.
Puerto Rican artists like Vico C and Ivy Queen are well known for being Spanish reggae musicians, but the artist who really gave Spanish reggae a good name was EL General.
It seems to me that only Puerto Rican Spanish reggae is played on the Spanish radio stations here. On the few shows that include any Spanish reggae at all, the music is by members of the Reggaeton group of Puerto Rican artists. Similar groups exist for Honduran and Panamanian musicians, but their music almost never gets played on the Spanish radio stations in New York.