Juanes wrote songs for peace and gathered famous friends (Alejandro Sanz, Carlos Vives, Juan Luis Guerra, etc.) to play for hundreds of thousands on the Colombian-Venezuelan border in an effort to get the countries' two presidents to stop saber-rattling; Shakira opened schools for poor Colombian kids and spoke out on issues; knowns (Yerba Buena's Andres Levin) and unknowns (Andres Useche) created songs and videos for the Obama campaign.

But no new act or style emerged to shake things up and give the year some spark, and award shows ground out predictable honors for the already famous. Reggaeton is going nowhere, salsa is dying and too many younger acts seem like echoes of established originals.

Two Cuban music shows, "Celia: The Life & Music of Celia Cruz" and "Miami Libre," traded in Cuban music's vitality for cultural and political cliches, for an audience happier with the nostalgia they know than changes they can't control (though Anissa Gathers was uncanny at channeling La Guarachera de Cuba).

That said, some work stands out.

Latin music's top five

1. Juan Luis Guerra and Juanes' concerts: The towering songwriter and merengue revisionist Juan Luis still swings irresistibly live, while Juanes proves with each tour that he's a rocker for the ages.

2. Bajofondo's "Mar Dulce": Gustavo Santaolalla and Juan Campodonico's sophomore release was even sexier, more hypnotic and musically adventurous than the first.

3. Julieta Venegas, "MTV Unplugged": Only a few new songs on the Mexican songstress' acoustic outing, but a luscious new world of sounds that made everything seem fresh.

4. Tiempo Libre and Los Herederos: Miami's best timba and rumba bands jammed for the final night of the Global Cuba festival was rhythmically riveting and uninhibited fun.

5. Vallenato Sinfonico: Beloved vallenato duo Jorge Celedon and Jimmy Zambrano's concert with the Bogota Philharmonic and the Miami Symphony was more Colombian-style folk-pop party than genuine classical collaboration, but, boy, was it a good time.