So much of Latin culture—that monolithic term describing the myriad cultures within and beyond borders—relies upon tradition. In perpetuating foodways, mores, faiths and superstitions, our past informs and guides our present. In some ways, these obligations of legacy can feel unduly burdensome and weighty, but in others they are a source of joy. A time-honoured recipe passed down through scribbles and whispers may require painstaking effort, yet successfully recreating the smells of a grandparent’s kitchen can unlock unmeasurable delights. Similarly, as this playlist aspires to show, honouring the musical customs and conventions of those who came before allows for an unmistakable mix of pleasure and pride. For some, the music seems almost literally in their blood, and certainly in their bloodline. The paternal lineage passed down from ranchera legend Vicente Fernández through his son Alejandro and subsequently to his grandson Alex makes a compelling case for the power and promise of sustaining this distinctly Mexican art form. The elder two have built staggering catalogues of work that qualify each of them as stars respective of one another’s successes, while the youngest of the three is still relatively early in his musical path. Still, they’ve come together with a clear cognisance of how they all fit within the family’s larger story, as evidenced by the bluntly titled 2019 single “La Dinastía Fernández”. During her brief but brilliant time in the spotlight, Selena made the Quintanilla family proud, from her tenure in Selena y Los Dinos through her still-heralded solo career. With its eclectic and multicultural set of influences, Tejano music stands up to the challenge of change by adapting and incorporating rather than repelling and rejecting. As such, the genre’s undisputed queen took creative risks without sacrificing the merits of the community in which she came up. She could lead a track as radical as 1994’s “Techno Cumbia” or the David Byrne-penned “God’s Child” while maintaining an authentic connection to her roots. Of course, legacy need not be limited to the bounds of a given surname. Contemporary regional Mexican star Christian Nodal is self-taught, which has only added to his charms. Still, he comes from Sonora, a place where norteño music emerged and thrived for decade upon decade. His self-described mariacheño style simultaneously pays homage to that tradition and pushes the wider genre grouping forward. His relative youth not only makes these sounds more palatable to a younger audience, but also conjures the songs that his parents’ and grandparents’ generations played at their homes and functions. Time can unravel our connection to our histories. The lure of creativity can take a singer or musician into genres sonically distant from what came before. But the same impetus drives artistry even as the instrumentation or technology changes, yielding new traditions and novel inflections of older forms. The true beauty of legacy is that it is alive. —GARY SUAREZ