Reggaeton is a form of dance music that blends Jamaican influences like reggae and dancehall with Latin American genres like bomba and plena, as well as hip hop. It combines these musical elements with rapping in Spanish. There is debate around whether reggaeton originated in Panama or Puerto Rico, as Jamaican music historically mixed with Latin styles first in Panama due to significant Jamaican migration there to work on projects like the Panama Canal in the early 20th century. This migration occurred as workers were needed for endeavors like the Panama Railroad Company and a failed French canal building attempt.

1. Reggaeton ! Reggaeton ! Reggaeton ! Reggaeton !

2. What is Reggaeton ?

4. So… P a n a m a or P u e r t o R i c o

6. is there a… Misunderstanding of the origins ?

7. Historically there has been an invisible line that has segregated Jamaican music and other Latin dance styles. But that line was breached in Panama, a country with a significant Jamaican population that had migrated south to work on the Panama Canal in the early 20th century.

8. Carribean Migration

9. Since the opening of the Panama Railroad Co. many Caribbeans needed jobs. Another wave of Jamaican and Caribbean migration to Panama came in the 1880s as a result of a French company’s attempt to build a canal across Panama. The attempt ultimately failed, but preceded U.S. efforts to build the Panama Canal in the last decade of the 19th century.

10. The End