Nueva trova was a movement in Cuban music that emerged in the mid-1960s. It combined traditional folk music idioms with progressive and often politicized lyrics. Though originally and still largely Cuban, nueva trova is popular across Latin America, especially in Puerto Rico and Venezuela. While expressing progressive sentiments similar to those of nueva canción, it had the advantage of support from the Cuban government, since it promoted the Cuban Revolution. During the 1960s, the genre's first Cuban stars arose, including Silvio Rodríguez, Vicente Feliu , Carlos Varela and Pablo Milanes . At roughly the same time, Puerto Ricans like Roy Brown, Andrés Jiménez , Antonio Caban Vale, Haciendo Punto en Otro Son also became famous. In both Cuba and Puerto Rico, the politicized lyrics of nueva trova were very often critical of the United States; Puerto Rican singers were especially critical of Vieques' continued use as a United States Navy training ground.

Despite the criticism of the United States government, many nueva trova artists were inspired by the likes of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, as well as the British band The Beatles, Chilean revivalist Violeta Parra, Uruguayan singer-songwriter Daniel Viglietti and the Catalan protest singer Joan Manuel Serrat. At approximately the same time as the rise of nueva trova, similar musical genres across the world were increasing in popularity as part of a roots revival; these involved the popularization of traditional music welded with socio-political lyrics. Nueva trova was most closely influenced by South American (especially Chilean) nueva canción, Spanish nova canção , Bolivian canto nuevo, Portuguese canto livre and Brazilian Tropicalismo.