Playing with Culture: Appropriation or Appreciation?

Borrowed melodies can unite audiences, but they can also raise questions about who receives recognition

Bad Bunny once said, “Ahora todos quieren ser latino, pero les falta sazón.” 

After the attention Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, widely known as Bad Bunny, received this year from his Grammy win to headlining the Super Bowl, I couldn’t help but notice the rise of English-speaking artists incorporating Spanish instrumentals in their new music. In recent times, some artists that I noticed who recently incorporated this style into their music are Bruno Mars and Kacey Musgraves. 

Latin American music has turned into one of the most influential genres in the global music industry. Through various genres like reggaeton, bachata and Latin pop, this has helped expand the visibility of Spanish-speaking artists and introduced them to a bigger, mainstream audience. Through this exposure, new audiences were introduced to sounds that were once disregarded outside of Hispanic communities. 

Spanish guitar instrumentals, rhythmic percussion and romantic melodies are now commonly heard in various forms of music. However, as non-Latin artists adopt these sounds, audiences continue to debate whether this influence represents respectful appreciation or cultural appropriation.

Bruno Mars

Bruno Mars is one of many artists that is recognized for his ability to incorporate different music styles into his work. Throughout his career, Mars has previously incorporated funk, R&B, soul and disco into his music. 

On February 27, Mars released his fifth album, The Romantic. In this album, he incorporated Spanish-style instrumentals into a few songs. Most notably, the opening track to the album, “Risk it All,” is a romantic melody that features Spanish-inspired instruments like the acoustic guitar and a variety of brass instruments. Along with the Latin-inspired melody, the song’s music video also featured a mariachi band, a Catholic church and Mars wearing an all-white suit with a cowboy hat. 

Kacey Musgraves

Two months later, on May 1, Kacey Musgraves released her sixth album, Middle of Nowhere. This album also featured a song with a Latin-inspired melody, titled “Uncertain, TX.” In this song, Musgraves blended country with Latin and Cumbia instrumentals. 

In an interview with Zane Lowe, Musgraves showed her appreciation for the Mexican community and how the culture is undeniably woven into the country music genre. 

Musgraves told Lowe, “I was really inspired on this record to explore where country music meets some of those regional Mexican sounds in my own way.”

“When you look at traditional mariachi music and traditional Mexican music, you see such a kinship with traditional country and western music,” Musgraves added, “It comes from the same heart in a lot of ways, just different regions.” 

Gurnee resident Michelle Lomeli has been a fan of Musgraves since the release of her 2018 album, Golden Hour. After listening to Middle of Nowhere, she thought the album was incredible. As a Hispanic woman and fan of the country singer, Lomeli saw no issue in Musgraves’ use of Spanish-style instrumentals. 

“I’ve seen her posts about abolishing ICE, and I admire her for using her privilege and platform,” Lomeli said. “She has supported us and has raised awareness of what is going on in our community.” 

As the debate on non-Hispanic artists incorporating Spanish-style instrumentals in their music continues, Lomeli believes that context matters in these debates. 

“As long as they don’t use our art when it’s convenient for them, I’m all for it,” Lomeli said. “More artists should be like her and have more guts to speak out for what’s right.” 

Earlier this month, the Gámez-Cuéllar brothers opened for three shows that Musgraves held in Texas. This collaboration came after the brothers were released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in March. 

After the brothers were released, Musgraves took to Instagram to re-share the news and stated, “Great so come on the road with me.” 

Cultural Appropriation or Cultural Appreciation?

The distinction between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation can depend on various factors like intention, collaboration and acknowledgement. Cultural appreciation typically involves taking the time to understand a culture, crediting its origins and collaborating and respecting the members of that community. On the other hand, cultural appropriation is when cultural elements are used solely for profit or aesthetics by a dominant culture, ignoring the people and history tied to the community. 

In music, this distinction is often not clear. 

As the Latin-inspired sounds continue to be incorporated in different songs, community perspectives from audiences can become divided. Some listeners may feel appreciated and represented as their culture’s music is exposed to wider audiences, while other listeners may feel frustrated as wider audiences praise sounds that have been done before by cultural musicians. 

I can see both sides of the argument, but I believe that context matters. Mars has a Puerto Rican heritage, whereas Musgraves, while not sharing the heritage, has repeatedly shown her appreciation for Mexican culture. It is nice to see Spanish-style music be incorporated into different genres and exposed to wider audiences. With that, artists and listeners should still acknowledge the culture and history that inspired those melodies and instrumentals. 

There might not be a clear answer that separates appropriation from appreciation. Instead, the discussion itself highlights the importance of understanding the people and culture behind music. As various genres continue to cross borders, respect and recognition matter just as much as the creativity behind it.

Header Image by Alex Carrasquillo