Other clarity...

I've been hearing a lot of Spanish pop in Tangier. I assumed that it came from Tangier's proximity to Spain, and the fact that most of the FM stations you can pick up here are Spanish.

But then I got some mix CDs from Marrakesh, and there was a lot of Spanish music there too... And not just Spanish pop, but also hip-hop and other more interesting styles.

So here's wayne&wax, a blogger who commented on hawgblawg, and his discussion of a Puerto Rican reggaeton group called Calle 13. He has video and music samples that demonstrate its own influences from Brazilian musics...

This all suggests to me that while some of this Latin American music might be mediated through Spain (for the Rif and the north of Morocco), much is also coming more directly to the rest of Morocco through more conventional sources--namely, the Internet.