I say this to anyone who will listen: Latin music these days is exploding with so much creativity and inspiration that it is simply overwhelming. Once you get past the billions of views on YouTube of the reggaeton- inspired pop music, you'll find myriad artists who consider their cultural backgrounds a blank canvas on which they express their sense of self and identity.

I did say "overwhelming," so per usual, I called in some help to pick and choose music that best exemplifies 2018: Alt.Latino regulars Stefanie Fernández, Catalina Maria Johnson and Marisa Arbona-Ruiz.

And as always, there's this caveat: There was plenty of great music we did not get a chance to talk about during our hour-long discussion. If you think we missed something essential, let us know via Facebook or Twitter; we may feature your recommendation on a future show.

Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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