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National Recording Registry

Latin music has profoundly shaped the American musical landscape. From the lively rhythms of Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco’s joint album Celia & Johnny to Daddy Yankee’s reggaetón breakthrough hit “Gasolina,” these songs represent the diverse and vibrant contributions of Latin artists to the American songbook.

Each year, the Library of Congress selects 25 recordings to the registry to preserve sound recordings that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” to American life. 

Last week, the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry immortalized two more Latin songs: Juan Gabriel’s heartfelt ballad “Amor Eterno” and HĂ©ctor Lavoe’s salsa anthem “El Cantante.” Now enshrined in the registry, these timeless songs testify the enduring legacy of Latin music. “For musicians of any genre, having a song inducted into the National Recording Registry is a prestigious honor,” Congressman Joaquin Castro tells Billboard Español, who’s a major driving force for Latin music on the list. “I’m very proud that the Library of Congress ultimately honored two artists from my list [this year].”

Created under the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Registry has included more than twenty works of Latin music and/or musicians of Latin descent to date. The first Latin music release to be added to the Registry was Dance Mania (1958) by Tito Puente in 2002. Subsequent inductees include Santana’s electrifying Abraxas (1970), which redefined Mexican-American rock; Buena Vista Social Club’s eponymous album (1997), bringing Cuban son to American audiences; Ritchie Valens’ “La Bamba” (1957), which reinvented a son jarocho song from Veracruz, Mexico by injecting American rock into it.

“In addition to advocating for more Latino inclusion in American media — which, more than any other industry, shapes how Americans see the world around us — I would also push for more recognition of the ways that Latinos have contributed to American excellence,” Castro explains. 

“Today, Latinos make up 20 percent of the United States, but less than five percent of the titles on the Registry come from Latino artists, adds the Mexican American politician from San Antonio. “As a result, the Registry became a natural place to direct my work – in part because the Library of Congress has tried in recent years to do a better job of honoring how Latinos and other racial minorities have shaped America’s growth.”

Below, we present the Latin music entries, arranged from the most recent inductions to the earliest.

HĂ©ctor Lavoe, “El Cantante”

04/16/2024

Lily Tomlin’s This Is a Recording joins the list this year. As her character Ernestine would say, ‘One ringy-dingy, two ringy-dingy.’

04/16/2024

Albums by The Notorious B.I.G., The Chicks and Green Day are among the 2024 inductees to the National Recording Registry, which is administered by the Library of Congress. The 25 newly-added recordings bring the number of titles on the Registry to 650.

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Several of the inducted recordings capture important scenes in popular music. Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow, which spawned the hits “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love,” captures 1967’s Summer of Love; The Cars’ The Cars and Blondie’s Parallel Lines tapped into the new wave scene of the late ’70s; HĂ©ctor Lavoe’s “El Cantante” was part the late ’70s salsa boom in New York City.

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Other inductees include Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats’ “Rocket ‘88” (1951), produced by Sam Phillips, often called the first rock’n’roll recording; Lily Tomlin’s This Is a Recording, the first comedy album by a woman to be inducted; and Gene Autry’s 1949 smash “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” the third Christmas song to be inducted (following Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”).

“The Library of Congress is proud to preserve the sounds of American history and our diverse culture through the National Recording Registry [NRR],” Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, said in a statement.

The inductees cover a wide range of genres, including jazz, bluegrass, pop, dance, country, rock, rap, Latin and classical music.

Several of the inductees achieved historic firsts. Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” became the first a cappella recording to top the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. It was also the first recording produced by a woman (Linda Goldstein) to win a Grammy for record of the year. Perry Como’s “Catch a Falling Star” (1958) was the first single to be officially certified gold by the RIAA.

Several debut or first major-label recordings were inducted — Biggie’s debut album, Ready to Die; the debut single (“Ain’t No Sunshine”) from Bill Withers’ debut album Just As I Am (1971); and the first major-label albums by Green Day (1994’s Dookie) and The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks, 1998’s Wide Open Spaces).

In addition to McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” which topped the Hot 100 in 1988, the list includes four songs that reached No. 1 on pop charts that appeared in Billboard prior to the introduction in 1958 of the Hot 100: Autry’s “Rudolph,” Como’s “Star,” Patti Page’s pop and country smash “The Tennessee Waltz” (1950) and Johnny Mathis’ “Chances Are” (1957). (The NRR lists the latter smash along with its hit B side, “Magic Moments,” one of the first hits by songwriting titans Burt Bacharach & Hal David.)

Two of the inducted albums spawned No. 1 hits on the Hot 100. ABBA’s Arrival (1976) included their signature smash “Dancing Queen.” Blondie’s Parallel Lines (1978) included their dance/disco hit “Heart of Glass,” their first of four No. 1 hits in a two-year blitz.

Two hip-hop recordings were saluted – Biggie’s Ready to Die and Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick’s “La-Di-Da-Di,” which originated as the B side of Doug E. Fresh & the Get Fresh Crew’s 1985 single “The Show.” The A side was a top five hit on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Two Latin recordings were honored. Lavoe’s “El Cantante” (1978) is among the most famous recordings by the late Puerto Rican salsa singer; it was written by RubĂ©n Blades and produced by Willie ColĂłn. Likewise, Juan Gabriel’s “Amor Eterno” (1990) is one of the late Mexican singer/songwriter’s signature songs. “It’s a great honor for my dad,” Juan Gabriel’s son Ivan Gabriel Aguilera told the Library in Spanish. “
 He would always say that ‘as long as the public, people, keep singing my music, Juan Gabriel will never die,’ and it’s nice to see that happening here.”

Benny Goodman was acknowledged for a second time, a relatively rarity in the NRR. “Rose Room,” a 1939 recording by the Goodman Sextet with guitarist Charlie Christian, follows Goodman’s 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert into the Registry. That landmark album was inducted in 2003.

Booker T. Jones, who produced Withers’ sublime “Ain’t No Sunshine,” was previously inducted as an artist with Booker T. & the M.G.’s’ 1967 album Green Onions.

Some albums are seen as crucial building blocks, even though they didn’t make the Billboard 200. An eponymous album by J.D. Crowe & the New South (1975) was important in reviving interest in bluegrass. Crowe’s musicians included Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice and Jerry Douglas.

The oldest recording honored this year is “Clarinet Marmalade,” a 1919 recording by Lt. James Reese Europe’s 369th US. Infantry Band. The all-Black band was comprised of soldiers who served in France during World War I.

The most recent release on this year’s list is The Chicks’ RIAA Diamond-certified 1998 breakthrough album Wide Open Spaces.

Remarkably, three of the honored artists were killed. Lt. James Reese Europe died in May 1919 – just three months after returning home from service in World War I, after being stabbed in the neck by one his drummers. Jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, whose 1964 album The Sidewinder was inducted, was shot to death in 1972. The Notorious B.I.G. was shot to death in 1997.

Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian of Congress, with advice from the National Recording Preservation Board, selects 25 titles each year that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and are at least 10 years old. That board is chaired by Robbin Ahrold, president and CEO of Century Media Partners LLC in Washington D.C. and a former executive with BMI, the RCA Music Group and HBO.

A record 2,899 nominations were made by the general public this year. The public can submit nominations throughout the year on the Library’s web site. Nominations for next year’s Registry will be accepted through Oct. 1.

Here’s a complete list of the recordings selected for the 2024 National Recording Registry.

Lt. James Reese Europe’s 369th U.S. Infantry Band, “Clarinet Marmalade” (1919)

Viola Turpeinen and John Rosendahl, “Kauhavan Polkka” (1928)

Various Artists, Wisconsin Folksong Collection (1937-1946)

Benny Goodman Sextet with Charlie Christian, “Rose Room”  (1939)

Gene Autry, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1949)

Patti Page, “The Tennessee Waltz” (1950)

Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats, “Rocket ‘88’” (1951)

Johnny Mathis, “Chances Are” (1957)

Perry Como, “Catch a Falling Star” / “Magic Moments” (1957)

Lee Morgan, The Sidewinder (1964)

Jefferson Airplane, Surrealistic Pillow (1967)

Lily Tomlin, This is a Recording (1971)

Bill Withers, “Ain’t No Sunshine” (1971)

J.D. Crowe & the New South, J.D. Crowe & the New South (1975)

ABBA, Arrival (1976)

HĂ©ctor Lavoe, “El Cantante” (1978)

The Cars, The Cars (1978)

Blondie, Parallel Lines (1978)

Doug E. Fresh and Slick Rick (MC Ricky D), “La-Di-Da-Di” (1985)

Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” (1988)

Juan Gabriel, “Amor Eterno” (1990)

Kronos Quartet, Pieces of Africa (1992)

Green Day, Dookie (1994)

The Notorious B.I.G., Ready to Die (1994)

The Chicks, Wide Open Spaces (1998)

Recordings by Madonna, Daddy Yankee, Mariah Carey, John Lennon, Led Zeppelin, The Police and Queen Latifah are among 25 being added to the National Recording Registry, the Library of Congress announced Wednesday (April 12).
The inductions include some history-makers. Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina” is the first reggaeton recording to be inducted; the Super Mario Bros. theme (composed by Koji Kondo) is the first theme from a video game to join the registry; Lennon’s “Imagine” is the first recording by a former Beatle to be honored. The Beatles’ landmark 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was inducted in 2003.

This year’s inductions include three albums that topped the Billboard 200 – Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s DĂ©jĂ  vu (1970), The Police’s Synchronicity (1983) and Madonna’s Like a Virgin (a 1984 release that topped the chart in 1985). Synchronicity was The Police’s only No. 1 album, DĂ©jĂ  vu was the first of three for CSNY, Like a Virgin was the first of nine for Madonna that made her the queen of pop.

This year’s inductions include five songs that reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 – The Four Seasons’ “Sherry” (1962), Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe” (1967), Irene Cara’s “Flashdance
What a Feeling” (1983), Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” (1983), and Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (a 1994 release that first topped the Hot 100 in 2019 and has returned to No. 1 every year since).

Four newly-inducted recordings reached the top 10 on the Hot 100, though they fell short of the top spot – Jackie DeShannon’s “What the World Needs Now Is Love” (No. 7 in 1965), John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (No. 2 in 1971), Lennon’s “Imagine” (No. 3 in 1971) and Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville” (No. 8 in 1977).

These 25 recordings were deemed worthy of preservation “based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage,” according to the Library of Congress. This brings the number of titles on the registry to 625. The latest selections were released between 1908 and 2012.

Several of these inductions are linked to creative figures who have recently died. Cara died on Nov. 25, followed by David Crosby of CSNY on Jan. 18; Burt Bacharach, the composer of “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” on Feb. 8; and Seymour Stein, who signed Madonna to his Sire Records imprint, on April 2. (Bacharach and lyricist Hal David received the Library’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song award in 2012.)

The induction of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” is the third major accolade for Eurythmics in the past year. In June 2022, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. This year, they are scheduled to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The induction of the Super Mario Bros. theme is the latest sign of increased respect for video game music. The Recording Academy added a new category, best score soundtrack for video games and other interactive media, at the 65th annual Grammy Awards, which were presented on Feb. 5.

Four of these entries received Grammy nominations in marquee categories. DĂ©jĂ  vu and   Synchronicity both vied for album of the year; “Ode to Billie Joe” for record and song of the year; Cara’s “Flashdance
What a Feelin’” for record of the year. The latter smash also won an Oscar for best original song.

“All I Want for Christmas Is You” joins a short list of holiday perennials in the Registry. Others include Associated Glee Clubs of America’s 1925 recording of “Adeste Fideles,” Bing Crosby’s 1942 classic “White Christmas,” Eugene Ormandy’s 1959 album Messiah, Nat King Cole’s 1961 re-recording of The King Cole Trio’s 1946 classic “The Christmas Song,” The Vince Guaraldi Trio’s 1965 TV soundtrack, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Latifah’s All Hail the Queen is just the second album by a female rapper to join the Registry, following Lauryn Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, which straddles the line between hip-hop and R&B.

All Hail the Queen was Latifah’s debut album. DĂ©jĂ  vu was the first CSNY album. At the other extreme, Synchronicity was the final studio album by The Police before Sting left for a successful solo career.

Koko Taylor’s 1966 hit “Wang Dang Doodle” is the fifth recording by a female blues artist to be saluted, following Memphis Minnie’s “Me and My Chauffeur Blues,” Mamie Smith’s “Crazy Blues,” Bessie Smith’s “Down-Hearted Blues,” and Gertrude “Ma” Rainey’s “See See Rider Blues.”

Led Zeppelin’s 1971 classic “Stairway to Heaven” became as famous as most No. 1 hits even though it was never released as a single. It was one of the first tracks to show the power of the album-oriented rock (AOR) format.

DĂ©jĂ  vu showed the influence of Joni Mitchell, this year’s recipient of the Library’s Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. Mitchell wrote “Woodstock,” which was the first and biggest hit from the album. Graham Nash, her live-in partner at the time, wrote “Our House,” a diary-like account of an average day at their home in California. Both songs became top 30 hits on the Hot 100.

“Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra” recorded by Northwest Chamber Orchestra, was released on CD in 2012, making it the most recently-released recording to make the Registry. The classical recording captures the shifting moods of Sept. 11, 2001, from the hustle and bustle of a normal working day in New York City to the violence, anger and sorrow that followed. WNYC’s radio broadcast for that historic day was inducted last year.

“The National Recording Registry preserves our history through recorded sound andreflects our nation’s diverse culture,” Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a statement. “The national library is proud to help ensure these recordings are preserved for generations to come, and we welcome the public’s input on what songs, speeches, podcasts or recorded sounds we should preserve next. We received more than 1,100 public nominations this year for recordings to add to the registry.”

Under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, the Librarian ofCongress, with advice from the National Recording Preservation Board, selects 25 titleseach year that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and are at least 10years old. For more information about the registry, including a complete list of previous inductions and directions on how to nominate a recording, go here.

Here’s a complete list of the 2023 selections for the National Recording Registry. They are listed in chronological order by release date.

The Very First Mariachi Recordings — Cuarteto Coculense (1908-1909)

“St. Louis Blues” — [W.C.] Handy’s Memphis Blues Band (1922)

“Sugar Foot Stomp” — Fletcher Henderson (1926)

Dorothy Thompson: Commentary and Analysis of the European Situation for NBC Radio (Aug. 23-Sept. 6, 1939)

“Don’t Let Nobody Turn You Around” — The Fairfield Four (1947)

“Sherry” — The Four Seasons (1962)

“What the World Needs Now is Love” — Jackie DeShannon (1965)

“Wang Dang Doodle” — Koko Taylor (1966)

“Ode to Billie Joe” — Bobbie Gentry (1967)

DĂ©jĂ  Vu — Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (1970)

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” — John Denver (1971)

“Imagine” — John Lennon (1971)

“Stairway to Heaven” — Led Zeppelin (1971)

“Margaritaville” — Jimmy Buffett (1977)

“Flashdance
What a Feeling” — Irene Cara (1983)

“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” — Eurythmics (1983)

Synchronicity — The Police (1983)

Like a Virgin — Madonna (1984)

Black Codes (From the Underground) — Wynton Marsalis (1985)

Super Mario Bros. theme — Koji Kondo, composer (1986)

All Hail the Queen — Queen Latifah (1989)

“All I Want for Christmas is You” — Mariah Carey (1994)

“Pale Blue Dot” — Carl Sagan (1994)

“Gasolina” — Daddy Yankee (2004)

“Concerto for Clarinet and Chamber Orchestra” — Northwest Chamber Orchestra, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, composer (2012)

In 1983, as the world transitioned away from the disco fever of the ’70s and into the radical era of MTV in the U.S., one song gave top 40 a particular new injection of energy. That song was “Flashdance
What a Feeling” by Irene Cara (who recently passed away on November 25), the Billboard Hot 100-topping theme to unlikely blockbuster Flashdance, marking a defining moment for Gen X’ers and beyond.

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Cara’s classic dance cut is one of dozens of Latin music works nominated to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry for 2023. “[Nominating the 33 works was also] a chance for us to celebrate Latino artists whose Latinidad was not always known to the public, or were not always celebrated as Latinos,” says U.S. House of Representative congressman Joaquín Castro. Unbeknownst to many, the singer was born and raised in the Bronx to working class Puerto Rican and Cuban parents.

Last Monday (Dec. 1), the Congressional Hispanic Caucus announced 33 Latin music nominations to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, in an effort to increase Latin representation in the United States, with Congressman Castro leading the way. 

From the dozens of Latin works nominated, the list also includes Juan Gabriel’s ballad “Amor Eterno,” Jennifer Lopez’s album J.Lo, Chavela Vargas‘ widely-covered “Paloma Negra,” HĂ©ctor Lavoe‘s salsa banger “El Cantante,” Rage Against the Machine’s eponymous debut (whose vocalist, Zack de la Rocha, is of Mexican origin), Daddy Yankee‘s explosive and pioneering reggaetĂłn banger “Gasolina,” and many more bilingual classics. 

Each year, the Library of Congress selects 25 recordings to the registry to preserve sound recordings that are “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” to American life. Despite Latinos/Latinas comprising of 20% of the U.S. population, and widely bilingual, only a staggering 4% of the 600-music catalog currently come from Latin artists. 

In the nomination letter to the Library of Congress, the Hispanic Caucus members wrote: “The National Recording Registry’s very existence speaks to the importance of music and broadcast in American culture and society [
] Yet, Latino contributions in music have been insufficiently recognized. As an art, the diversity of the Latino sound can be heard in every measure and resonates with every beat
These songs were selected with feedback from the public, and they reflect the diversity of Latino identities, histories, and geographies.”

In an interview with Billboard Español, Rep. Castro declares: “We need to celebrate the contributions that our musical artists have made to our nation, so my hope is to highlight the brilliance of Latino musicians.” From his D.C. office, Rep. Castro, who is Tejano and a Latin music aficionado, speaks to us about the process of picking their 33 genre-and-generation-spanning bilingual picks. 

Your tweet about nominating Latin songs and albums for the registry sparked an exciting conversation on Twitter. What was your reaction to reading your followers’ feedback? 

It was a lot of fun. We got hundreds of suggestions through social media, and informally. I think people were excited figuring out which of their favorite musicians, songs or albums they would nominate. We had a hard time narrowing it down to 33. 

A few years ago, I went through this process with Latino films and filmmakers for the National Film Registry. It was tougher there, because Latinos have been shut out of Hollywood for a long time, in large part. With music we have a lot more options, so we were excited to put the list together and send it in to the Library of Congress.

Rep. Joaquin Castro, Courtesy of the Office of Congressman Joaquin Castro.

A few years, we saw about one Latin artist per year (Cachao in 2012; Celia & Johnny in 2013; Santana in 2015; Gloria Estefan in 2017; Ritchie Valens in 2018; Selena in 2019) in the national list; and this year we saw three (Ricky Martin, Buena Vista Social Club, Linda Ronstadt). What are your expectations for 2023? 

I hope to see more Latino and Latina artists included in the National Recording Registry. It’s a prestigious recognition that acknowledges the importance of a piece of music to American culture. Right now only about 4% of the recordings in the registry are by Latino artists, and Latinos make up almost 20% of the country. We need to celebrate the contributions that our musical artists have made to our nation, so my hope is to highlight the brilliance of Latino musicians.

Latin music was blowing up Stateside when the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000 was established, with then-crossover acts like Shakira, Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, and Ricky Martin. Why do you think Latin music was largely excluded from the Registry then, when it began inducting works in 2002? 

If you remember the year 1999 in particular, Carlos Santana had the song “Smooth” with Rob Thomas, Ricky Martin and J.Lo had a bunch of hits. Back then, I was in my mid 20s, I thought it was only going to explode more from there, and that our artists would continue to get more recognition and acknowledgement. That has happened to some extent, but not nearly enough. This is one way that I think we can honor the importance of this music to America. 

The [nominated] songs are from different decades and generations of artists. They’re regionally diverse in terms of background, but also bilingual. I don’t suspect that anybody has ever nominated this number of Spanish or foreign songs for the registry. That’s very important, because our Latinos listen to music often in both English and Spanish, and these nominations reflect that.

Chavela’s “Paloma Negra” and HĂ©ctor Lavoe’s “El Cantante” are on your list, as well as the original Broadway recording In the Heights and Rage Against the Machine’s self-titled album. What were the criteria you had in mind when selecting the 33?

The registry says that it’s got to have an important cultural impact in the United States, but you can also have foreign performers or bands — the Beatles and the Rolling Stones are in [the registry], for example. We put out the word and reached out to different groups and folks who are in the music industry and asked for suggestions. Then we put it out on social media as well. 

I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just one genre or style of music. Our community listens to a lot of different kinds of music, and our musicians have made impacts not just in Tejano music or salsa, but in rock and hip hop. We nominated Fat Joe and Cypress Hill, for example. Knowing that the Latino community is very diverse — and [going by] my experience as a Mexican-American Tejano and Generation X-er — I wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just my playlist. 

It was tough narrowing it down, because if any group of people pick their 33 songs, it’s probably not going to be identical. There’s a lot of great music and great artists who are not on the list, but we can come back next year and the year after that. I also encourage people to submit their own list to the Library of Congress because it’s an open submission process.

By the way, did any of Billboard Español’s picks from our poll make it to your nominations? Also, any challenges? 

We looked at everything. I’ll have to go back and see which ones, but I think we’re on the same page on some. Sometimes we had a challenge deciding if we want to nominate somebody’s song or album. For example, Luis Miguel is a singer whose music has had an incredible impact in the United States, being all over radio stations everyday nationwide. We finally went with his album Romance. Or Irene Cara, who just passed away [on Nov. 25], she had two big hits, “Fame” and “Flashdance
What a Feeling.” Deciding between those two was tough as well. 

Then choosing between Chavela’s foundational “Paloma Negra” — which is the original version that became the source for so many covers — and “La Llorona” [was challenging]. There were many struggles, but I give a lot of credit to [legislative counsel] Celeste Acevedo on my staff who really honed in on the listing.

Now that submissions are in, what are the next steps?

The board is going to meet in December and make selections. They’ll make the announcements in the spring on who’s been selected. We submitted our list, and I hope others have submitted theirs as well. We’re hoping to continue to grow the representation of Latino artists in the registry. This is the Library of Congress, so it’s very prestigious. It’s a record of the music that has made cultural difference and impact in the United States of America. That’s incredibly significant.

Anything else you’d like to add? 

Absolutely. This was a chance for us to celebrate Latino artists whose Latinidad was not always known to the public, or were not always celebrated as Latinos, like Sammy Davis Jr. His mother was Cuban; I think a lot of people didn’t realize during his heyday that he was Latino. Or Freddie Fender and Vicky Carr whose surnames are Latino, but their stage names were different — they were Anglicized. I don’t want to put words in their mouth, but I suspect at some point they thought they might have a better chance at success [with those Anglicized names]. That’s also a statement about a bygone era in American entertainment, where your Latino last name may have hampered your ability to succeed in the industry, so we were very conscious of that as well.

For more info on how to nominate music to the Library of Congress, click here.