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In contrast, the energizing Huapango (1941) by his younger compatriot José Pablo Moncayo (1912-1958), inspired by a lively dance from the Mexican state of Veracruz , is a great opener. Huapango is hugely popular in Mexico and the Southwestern U.S., but a contemporary rival has appeared on the scene in Danzón No. 2 by Arturo Márquez (b. 1950). This elegant work, composed in 1993, is timeless in its evocation of the danzón, a Cuban dance form that found its way to the Gulf coast of Mexico. It is composed in strict clave, the distinct two-measure rhythmic unit that is the heartbeat of a great deal of Latin dance music, from the Cuban son to contemporary salsa. The Latin American salon dance of the 19th century was known first hand by Manuel M. Ponce (1882-1948), another leading early 20th century Mexican composer, whose influences ranged from Mexican folklore to French impressionism and neoclassicism. His Concierto del sur (1941), composed for the legendary Andrés Segovia, is one of the great guitar concertos. Here, elegance is juxtaposed with haunting melodies and Mexican rhythms -- a welcome alternative to the ubiquitous “Concierto de Aranjuez”.  Having created his own chromatic style over a number of years, best heard in his Violin Concerto and the lithe Ocho Miniaturas for chamber orchestra, Panamanian composer Roque Cordero has in recent years made a point of embedding folksongs of his native country in his concert works.

Though arguably the most famous Latin American composer, Brazil ' s extraordinarily prolific Heitor Villa Lobos (1887-1957) surfaces all too rarely on concert programs. His highly engaging music combines folkloristic elements from all over South America with rigorous counterpoint. The Fantasia for soprano saxophone, three horns and strings (1948) is a delightful concerto that turns the tango on its head in a dazzling display of polyrhythms. Other works of interest:Ciranda das sete notas for basson and string, the Mozartian Sinfonietta No. 1, and the string quartets 1, 10, and 11. Another composer whose music fuses a Latin rhythmic sensibility with razor sharp contrapuntal techniques is Uruguayan-born José Serebrier (b. 1938) who has been an important musical force in his adopted country, the United States, both as a conductor and a composer. In his Partita (Symphony No. 2) from 1958, fugues are transformed into congas and candombes with sparkling orchestral colors. Recent works by Serebrier include a series of orchestral tangos.

Though Xavier Montsalvatge (1912-2002) spent most of his life in Barcelona, several of his greatest works were deeply inspired by the music of Spain ' s former colonies in the West Indies . The Cinco Canciones Negras (1949), the first of Montsalvatge' s musical journeys to the Antilles , began as a single song for soprano and piano but as a result of popular demand, grew into a lush orchestral song cycle punctuated by exotic percussion.  Spanish-born Julián Orbón (1925-1991) emigrated to Cuba in the early 1940s, where he immersed himself in the rich musical culture. He studied with Copland at Tanglewood, and later settled in New York City. Orbón’s Tres versiones sinfónicas (1953), which pays homage to Medieval and Renaissance Spanish music as well as Afro-Caribbean traditions.