country
Puerto Rico
From bomba drums to Bad Bunny: the island that gave the world salsa and reggaetón.
Listen through Puerto Rico
5 defining tracks in the order they were released, from 1978 to 2022, each with a line on why it matters.
Preview: plays 5 of 18 tracks.
30-second previews, streamed from Apple.
Puerto Rican music runs in one unbroken line from Afro-Boricua roots to global pop domination. The bomba and plena of the coastal barrios fed the salsa explosion of the 1960s and 70s, powered by the island and its huge New York diaspora through the Fania label. In the 1990s the underground clubs of San Juan birthed reggaetón, and in the 2010s Latin trap carried a new generation, led by Bad Bunny, to the top of the world's charts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What music is Puerto Rico known for?+
Puerto Rico is famous for an unbroken line of influential music: the Afro-Boricua roots traditions of bomba and plena, the salsa explosion of the 1960s and 70s, and the birth of reggaetón in 1990s San Juan. Today the island leads global urbano and Latin trap through stars like Bad Bunny. Few places of its size have shaped popular music worldwide as profoundly.
Did reggaeton originate in Puerto Rico?+
Yes. Reggaetón took shape in the underground clubs and housing projects of San Juan in the 1990s, fusing Panamanian reggae en español and Jamaican dancehall with hip-hop over the dembow rhythm. Pioneers like Vico C, DJ Playero, and later Daddy Yankee and Ivy Queen built it into a genre, and Puerto Rico is universally recognized as its birthplace.
What are bomba and plena?+
Bomba and plena are Puerto Rico's core folk traditions. Bomba is the island's oldest music, an Afro-Boricua drum-and-dance form built on a dialogue between dancer and drummer, rooted in towns like Loíza and Ponce. Plena, which emerged in early-twentieth-century Ponce, is a narrative song form nicknamed the sung newspaper for chronicling everyday life, driven by handheld pandero drums.
Who are the most famous Puerto Rican musicians?+
Across eras the giants include salsa legends Héctor Lavoe, Ismael Rivera, Cheo Feliciano, Willie Colón, and El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico; reggaetón pioneers Vico C, Ivy Queen, Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, and Don Omar; and today's global stars Bad Bunny and Rauw Alejandro. The roots bandleader Rafael Cortijo is considered the blueprint for the whole tradition.
What language is Puerto Rican music sung in?+
Puerto Rican music is overwhelmingly sung in Spanish, from salsa and plena to reggaetón and Latin trap. Some contemporary urbano artists mix in English for crossover tracks, but stars like Bad Bunny have famously reached the top of the global charts recording almost entirely in Spanish.
The Story Behind
The stories behind Puerto Rico's defining songs
Gasolina
Daddy Yankee
The voice that asks for more gasoline on "Gasolina" is not Daddy Yankee's. The line is sung by the singer Glory, who was not credited on the record. Daddy Yankee wrote the song in 2003 with…
Read the storyEl Cantante
Héctor Lavoe
By 1977 Héctor Lavoe's career looked to be fading. Drug abuse and depression had taken a toll on his life and work, and some people were already predicting the end. That year, by one…
Read the storyEl Gran Varón
Willie Colón
"El Gran Varón" was never meant to be a hit. Willie Colón put it out as the B-side of "La palomilla", on Top Secrets, his 1989 album and his last for the Fania label, and it was never…
Read the storySources & References
- 1Reggaeton — Raquel Z. Rivera, Wayne Marshall & Deborah Pacini Hernández (eds.), 2009Book
- 2Cortijo's Wake / El entierro de Cortijo — Juan Flores, 2004Book
- 3The 50 Greatest Salsa Albums of All Time — Rolling Stone, 2023
- 4The Birth of Reggaeton in Puerto Rico — Red Bull, 2019
- 5Reggaeton — Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2024
- 6Music of Puerto Rico — Wikipedia, 2026
Further Reading
About This Article
This page is based on documented music history, artist biographies, chart data, award records, and cross-referenced sources from music journalism and academic research.
Curated by the timeline.music editorial team.
▸Read the timeline as text
The sound of Puerto Rico, decade by decade: 6 genres and 28 artists, from the 1950s to the 2020s.
- 1950s
- Bomba with Rafael Cortijo and Ismael Rivera; Plena with Mon Rivera.
- 1960s
- Bomba with Rafael Cortijo and Ismael Rivera; Plena with Mon Rivera; Salsa Boricua with Cheo Feliciano, Roberto Roena, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico and Bobby Valentín.
- 1970s
- Bomba with Rafael Cortijo and Ismael Rivera; Plena with Mon Rivera; Salsa Boricua with Cheo Feliciano, Roberto Roena, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Bobby Valentín and Andy Montañez.
- 1980s
- Bomba with Rafael Cortijo and Ismael Rivera; Plena with Los Pleneros de la 21; Salsa Boricua with Cheo Feliciano, Roberto Roena, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Bobby Valentín, Andy Montañez and Gilberto Santa Rosa.
- 1990s
- Plena with Los Pleneros de la 21; Salsa Boricua with Cheo Feliciano, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Bobby Valentín, Andy Montañez, La India and Gilberto Santa Rosa; Latin Pop with Chayanne, Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony; Reggaeton with Vico C, Ivy Queen and Daddy Yankee.
- 2000s
- Plena with Los Pleneros de la 21; Salsa Boricua with Cheo Feliciano, Willie Colón, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Bobby Valentín, Andy Montañez, La India and Gilberto Santa Rosa; Latin Pop with Chayanne, Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony; Reggaeton with Vico C, Ivy Queen, Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, Don Omar, Calle 13 and Wisin & Yandel.
- 2010s
- Plena with Los Pleneros de la 21; Salsa Boricua with Andy Montañez, La India and Gilberto Santa Rosa; Latin Pop with Chayanne, Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony; Reggaeton with Ivy Queen, Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderón, Don Omar, Calle 13 and Wisin & Yandel; Latin Trap with Anuel AA, Ozuna, Bad Bunny and Rauw Alejandro.
- 2020s
- Salsa Boricua with Gilberto Santa Rosa; Latin Trap with Anuel AA, Ozuna, Bad Bunny, Rauw Alejandro and Young Miko.
The Hitlist
The defining tracks from this region
Preview: 5 of 18 tracks
Gasolina
Daddy YankeeDaddy Yankee is the artist who took reggaetón global, the San Juan MC widely credited with popularizing the very word reggaetón. His 2004 smash Gasolina became the genre's international breakthrough, and Barrio Fino was the best-selling reggaetón album of its decade. Decades later Despacito made him part of one of the most-viewed songs in history, cementing his status as the King of the genre.