The first recordings of Reggae in Latin America were made in Panama in the mid 1970s. A large number of Jamaican immigrants, while they built the Panama Canal, brought Reggae music with them and introduced it into the local population. Nando Boom is considered one of the first Panama Ragga djs. Without Panamanian reggae djs such as El General, reggaeton would have never prospered. Some even argue that the Reggaeton music originated in Panama, and that simply Puerto Rican performers added influences from music house and hip hop.

Reggae is a style of music developed in Jamaica and is closely linked with the Rastafari movement, although it is not universally popular among Rastafarians. In 1985, the rapper Vico C from Puerto Rico produced one of the first records of Spanish rap. Thus, two major influences of the genre were in place, as well as the two main producing countries. This album is considered to be one of the first albums of quality with touches of this new genre that was imminently going to be born, Reggaeton. Reggae production took off seriously in Panama in the early 1990s, almost at the same time that Jamaican ragga imports were becoming popular in Puerto Rico. It was common practice for that then translate an original song by Jamaican reggae (the same melody and rhythm, but with lyrics in Spanish). Towards the middle of the 1990s, Puerto Ricans were already their own rhythms of reggae with clear influences from hip hop and other styles. These are considered the first tracks of Reggaeton, initially called bass, a shortened form of Underground. Today, music flourishes throughout Latin America and Reggaeton is a popular genre known throughout the world and with a bright future ahead.