Central America is a is dominated by the popular Latin musical trends, including salsa, cumbia, mariachi, reggae, calypso and nueva canción. The countries of Central America have produced their own distinct forms of these genres, including Salvadoran calypso and Panamanian salsa. The most well-known form of Central American popular music is punta, a style innovated by the syncretic Garifunas who live across the region, especially in Honduras and Belize. The marimba, a type of xylophone, is perhaps the most important folk instrument of Central America, and it is widespread throughout the region. The Garifuna are descended from escaped Nigerian slaves and Island Caribs who were deported from St. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... Latin American music, or the music of Latin America, is sometimes called Latin music. ... Salsa music is a diverse and predominantly Caribbean and Latin genre that is popular across Latin America and among Latinos abroad; the style is the primary music played at Latin danceclubs and is the essential pulse of Latin music, according to author Ed Morales . ... Cumbia is a Colombian folk dance and dance music. ... Mariachi is a type of musical group, originally from Mexico, consisting of at least two violins, two trumpets, one Spanish guitar, one vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar) and one guitarrón (a small-scaled acoustic bass), but sometimes featuring more than twenty musicians. ... Reggae is a style of music developed in Jamaica. ... Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in the British and French colonial islands of the Caribbean at about the start of the 20th century. ... Nueva canción (Spanish for new song) was a movement in Latin American music that emerged in the mid-1960s, taking root in South America, especially Chile and other Andean countries. ... Punta is a type of music found primarily in Honduras and Belize. ... The Garifuna or Garífuna are an ethnic group in the Caribbean area, descended from a mix of Amerindian and African people. ... // The Modern Instrument The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. ... A modern xylophone Xylophone in Bali 1937 The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family which probably originated in Indonesia (Nettl 1956, p. ...

Belize

Main article: Music of Belize Belize is a small country in Central America, and its culture is a mix of Mestizo, Maya, Spanish, British and African influences. ...

Aside from having the most active Garifuna music scene, especially the field of punta, Belize is also known for brukdown, a popular genre that developed in the mining camps in the interior of the country. The Garifuna are descended from escaped Nigerian slaves and Island Caribs who were deported from St. ... Punta is a type of music found primarily in Honduras and Belize. ... Brukdown is a genre of Belizean music. ...

Costa Rica

Main article: Music of Costa Rica Costa Rica is a Central American country whose culture is a diverse mixture of African, European and native elements. ...

The Punto Guanacaste is the official national dance of Costa Rica, a country perhaps best known for its own distinct variety of popular calypso music. Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in the British and French colonial islands of the Caribbean at about the start of the 20th century. ...

El Salvador

Main article: Music of El Salvador El Salvador is a Central American country whose culture is a mixture of Mayan, Aztec, Spanish and West African influences. ...

El Salvador has participated in many Latin musical trends, such as cumbia, a genre more closely associated with Colombia but which has a unique sound in El Salvador. The xuc was decreed the national dance in the 1950s, though it was not found throughout the country at the time. Cumbia is a Colombian folk dance and dance music. ... // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the height of the baby boom from returning...

Guatemala

Main article: Music of Guatemala Like its Central American neighbors, Guatemalas national instrument is the marimba, a sort of xylophone. ...

Guatemala, like its neighbors, is well-known for the national instrument, the marimba. Guatemalan traditions are much more closely based on the instrument, and on ancient Mayan music, than other Central American countries.[[This is not true people can say anything in this wedsit and it can be complete bullshit.]] The word Maya or maya can refer to: The Maya – a Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America the modern Maya people the pre-Columbian Maya civilization the Maya language Maya – a concept in Hindu/Vedic philosophy a state of misperception of reality the inherent force of...

Honduras

Main article: Music of Honduras Honduras is a Central American country whose musical culture is a mixture of indigenous, European and African elements. ...

Honduras is known for Garifuna music as well as the well-preserved traditions of the Lenca people. The Garifuna are descended from escaped Nigerian slaves and Island Caribs who were deported from St. ... Lenca is the name given to a Mesoamerican ethnic group linked to the Maya culture. ...

Nicaragua

Main article: Music of Nicaragua Modern Nicaraguan culture is a mixture of indigenous and European, especially Spanish, influences. ...

Nicaraguan music is traditionally marimba-based, and includes the well-known dance music of the Palo de Mayo festival, which is held every May. This article is about the month of May. ...

Panama

Main article: Music of Panama Panama is a Central American country, inhabited mostly by mestizos (persons of mixed African, European and indigenous ancestry), with a small minority of Africans. ...

The mejorana, an instrument similar to a guitar, is a popular instrument unique to Panama. The country is also known for the tamborito folk dance and the many international stars of Panamanian salsa and Panamanian cumbia. The acoustic archtop guitar, used in Jazz music, features steel strings The guitar is a stringed musical instrument. ...