From the sinuous sounds of salsa to the new wave of Latin pop gospellers, Latin Music is undergoing unprecedented attention. George Luke reports.

Mariachi is a traditional style of music from Mexico, which most movie fans in the West would associate with The Three Amigos, guitars and large sombrero hats. To sing Mariachi music, the experts tell us, two things are required: talent and a mature voice in order for the sentimiento (the feeling) to be projected. These are a few rising Christian Mariachi singers:-

PISCILA ROMERO
16-year old Priscila has been singing since the age of four. Her father, Rev Armando Romero, is an accomplished songwriter as well as a pastor, and they work together as a team. Priscila's music style is ranchero, a variation on Mariachi which is considered quite difficult to sing well. She recorded her debut album when she was 14; her third is due sometime this year.

EDGAR GARCIA
Edgar Garcia was born in Guatemala City, in a single-parent family. Raised in extreme poverty, he started taking drugs at the age of nine; when he was 19, his mother decided to move her family to LA, in a last-ditch attempt to better her childrens' chances for a decent life. Before the family left, Edgar's brother-in-law gave him a going away gift. The instructions on the box read: "Do not open this box unless you really need it. A gun should not be left around the house unattended."

The move from Guatemala City to LA didn't achieve its desired effect where Edgar was concerned. Still heavily on drugs and low on self-esteem, he opened the box one evening in November 1985. Instead of finding a gun, however, there was a Bible in the box, with the message: "If you read, trust, and believe this book, your life will be transformed." Edgar gave his life to Jesus that night, and was instantly freed from his addiction. Since then, he has written over 100 songs and recorded a dozen albums on his own label. His style ranges from Mariachi to contemporary pop. His latest album, 'Dependo De Ti' ('I Depend On You') was released last July.

ROSIE GARCIA
No relation to Edgar, Rosie Garcia was born in the USA and living in Texas, Rosie sings a combination of Mariachi, "Norteno style" (Mexican Polka), and contemporary pop, in both Spanish and English. She regularly tours Mexico, Central and South America, Spain and Cuba (she's been to Cuba six times and was the first gospel singer to visit the country in 30 years).

At the age of 18, Rosie recorded her first single with her sister and later joined the group the Escobedo Singers from Visalia, California, with whom she recorded two albums. After she got married, Rosie and her husband Rafael decided to go into the ministry full time. Since then, she has recorded 11 albums. Rosie's children are also making a name for themselves in the world of MCL. Her 18-year old daughter Blandy is a popular artist with six albums under her belt; Aaron (her 15-year-old son) has recorded two, and the debut from eight-year old Roxy (her youngest) was recorded last year.

Born in the clubs of '60s New York, Salsa is currently the most popular form of Latin music - and a revival of sorts has been taking place amongst some of its key players. According to an article in Billboard last yean "Starting with salseros Alex D'Castro and Domingo Quinones, and more recently Banchy Serrano of Grupomania, a number of Puerto Rican recording artists have publicly extolled their conversion to the Evangelical faith." Add to that list Tony Vega, Cuto Soto, Johnny El Bravo, Piro Allen, Omar Alfano, Amuni Nacer, Jailene Cintron, Andy Guzman, Raffy Torres and the renowned trumpeter Luis 'Perico' Ortiz, and it's a (veritable) salsa Hall Of Fame.

RITCHIE RAY & BOBBY CRUZ
Two prominent names in that Hall Of Fame are the men affectionately known as "the Kings Of Salsa": Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz. Bobby Cruz was born in Puerto Rico, where as a child he developed an interest in music - particularly the music of his idol, the legendary Pedro Vargas. This interest grew when he and his family left Puerto Rico for New York. Here, Bobby found an accomplice: his neighbour and friend Richie Ray, with whom he formed the Richie Ray And Bobby Cruz Orchestra.

Bobby and Richie had their first hit together in 1965 with "Comejen". They developed an infectious blend of jazz and several Latino rhythms: a combination of mambo, guaguanc, ch ch ch , pachanga, are montuno, guajira and even classical music.

During a tour of Venezuela, a local dignitary called Fidios Danilo Escalona, asked them to define their sound. They said: "Our music is like ketchup, tomato sauce giving flavour to a hamburger." Escalona replied, "Your music is salsa (sauce); from now on, that's what we'll call it." At the end of the '60s, Richie and Bobby recorded an album titled 'Salsa y Control' - and the word salsa officially entered the music dictionary.

After a string of hits, world tours and the usual showbiz excesses, Richie and Bobby eventually parted company and both ended up not only becoming Christians but also pastors (they're also both good friends of a man well known to CR readers: dance DJ Scott Blackwell).

Last July, Richie and Bobby had a reunion concert in Puerto Rico - the first time they'd performed together since a 1991 gig at New York's Madison Square Garden. Literally hundreds gave their lives to Christ at the concert, which was hailed as both a musical and an evangelical triumph. Bobby Cruz has become an institution in his native land, where a music school, a park and a public bench have all been named after him!

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ALVARO MORENO
Christian salsero Alvaro Moreno was born into a musical family in Nicaragua. His mother was a singer, and his grandfather was also musically gifted, so he was exposed to music from a very early age.

The early 70s were an intensely volatile time in Alvaro's home country. After his brother was killed during a political upheaval, Alvaro (who was still just a child at the time) was forced to flee. He escaped to Mexico and from there made his way to the USA, where he had some relatives. Unfortunately, during his time in Mexico, he began to develop what would grow into a drug habit which dogged him for the best part of 15 years. Alvaro was literally at his lowest when he heard and responded to the gospel message 11 years ago. He said, "I was homeless and miserable. At one point, I went for nearly two years without a shower. I'd started on marijuana when I was 12 and then moved on to harder drugs. But God delivered me from all that."