When we talk about what made rock & roll as we know it, the most common description is: a mixture of R&B, a predominantly black genre, and country, a predominantly white genre. But the sound is not as black and white as many think.

In this episode, Latino USA explores the Latino influences that helped shape rock & roll dating back to the 1950s. We also profile unsung Latino rock artists who had a hand in crafting the sound—from riot girl Alice Bag to David Bowie’s right-hand man guitarist Carlos Alomar.

Featured image: (L) Alice Bag (Photo by Louis Jacinto); (R) Robert Trujillo (courtesy of Robert Trujillo)