Salsa music is a diverse and predominantly Spanish Caribbean genre that is popular across Latin America and among Latinos abroad. Salsa incorporates multiple styles and variations; the term can be used to describe most any form of popular Cuban-derived genre, such as chachachá and mambo. Most specifically, however, salsa refers to a particular style developed in the 1960s and '70s by Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants to the New York City area, and stylistic descendants like 1980s salsa romantica. The style is now practiced throughout Latin America, and abroad; in some countries it may be referred to as música tropical.^[1] Salsa's closest relatives are Cuban mambo and the son orchestras of the early 20th century, as well as Latin jazz. The terms Latin jazz and salsa are sometimes used interchangeably; many musicians are considered a part of either, or both, fields, especially performers from prior to the 1970s.^[2] Son is a style of Cuban music which became popular in the second half of the 19th century in the eastern province of Oriente. ... Mambo is a Cuban musical form and dance style. ... In Cuba, Rumba is a generic term covering a variety of musical rhythms and associated dances. ... The music of Puerto Rico has been influenced by African and European (especially Spanish) forms, and has become popular across the Caribbean and in some communities worldwide. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... For other uses, see Conga (disambiguation). ... Trumpeter redirects here. ... The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... A sunburst-colored Precision Bass The electric bass guitar (or electric bass; pronounced , as in base) is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers (either by plucking, slapping, popping, or tapping) or using a pick. ... Claves(pronounces Clar-vays) is a percussion instrument (idiophone), consisting of a pair of short (about 20-30 cm), thick dowels. ... The cowbell is a percussion instrument. ... Timbales (or tymbales) are shallow single-headed drums, shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... Timba is the Cuban counterpart of salsa music, and is often understood to be a sub-category of salsa. ... Salsa erótica is a style of salsa music, very similar to salsa romántica in its soft style and beats, but is characterized by sexually explicit lyrics, which are usually lacking in the more romantic romántica style. ... Salsa gorda is a music genre, a kind of salsa music also known as salsa dura. ... Salsa romántica, also known as salsa monga, is a sub-genre of salsa music that emerged in the mid 1980s in New York and Puerto Rico. ... Charanga-vallenata is a style of Latin music that combines conjunto, charanga and vallenato-style accordion. ... Mereng-house is a style of music that blends salsa music and merengue. ... Songo-salsa is a style of music that blends Spanish rapping and hip hop beats with salsa music and songo. ... Vallenato-salsa is a style of salsa music associated with Colombia. ... Salsaton is a subgenre of both salsa and reggaeton. ... This article uses Weasel Words. ... The music of the Caribbean is a diverse grouping of musical genres. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... For the dance, see Cha-cha-cha (dance). ... Mambo is a Cuban musical form and dance style. ... Also known as Salsa Monga (Limp Salsa) is a commercialized toned down version of salsa music that emerged in the mid 80s. ... Son is a style of Cuban music which became popular in the second half of the 19th century in the eastern province of Oriente. ... Latin jazz is the general term given to music that combines rhythms from African and Latin American countries with jazz harmonies from the United States. ...

Salsa is essentially Cuban in stylistic origin.^[3], though it is also a hybrid of Puerto Rican and other Latin styles mixed with pop, jazz, rock, and R&B.^[4] Salsa is the primary music played at Latin dance clubs and is the "essential pulse of Latin music", according to author Ed Morales,^[5] while music author Peter Manuel called it the "most popular dance (music) among Puerto Rican and Cuban communities, (and in) Central and South America", and "one of the most dynamic and significant pan-American musical phenomena of the 1970s and 1980s".^[6] Modern salsa remains a dance-oriented genre and is closely associated with a style of salsa dancing. For other uses, see Pop music (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Rhythm and blues (disambiguation). ... This article uses Weasel Words. ...

The word salsa

Salsa means sauce in the Spanish language, and carries connotations of the spiciness common in Latin and Caribbean cuisine.^[7] More recently, salsa acquired a musical meaning in both English and Spanish. In this sense salsa has been described as a word with "vivid associations but no absolute definitions, a tag that encompasses a rainbow assortment of Latin rhythms and styles, taking on a different hue wherever you stand in the Spanish-speaking world".^[8] The precise scope of salsa is highly debatable.^[9] Cuban and Puerto Rican immigrants in New York have used the term analogously to swing or soul, which refer to a quality of emotionally and culturally genuine music in the African American community. In this usage salsa connotes a frenzied, "spicy" and wild musical experience that draws upon or reflects elements of Latin culture, regardless of the specific style.^[10] For other uses, see Sauce (disambiguation). ... This article is about the international language known as Spanish. ... Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of jazz music that developed during the 1920s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States. ... For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ...

Various music writers and historians have traced the use of salsa to different periods of the 20th century. World music author Sue Steward has claimed that salsa was originally used in music as a "cry of appreciation for a particularly piquant or flashy solo". She cites the first use in this manner to a Venezuelan radio DJ named Phidias Danilo Escalona;^[11] Max Salazar traced the word back to the early 1930s, when Ignacio Piñerio composed "Échale Salsita", a dance song protesting tasteless food.^[12] Though Salazar describes this song as the origin of salsa meaning "danceable Latin music", author Ed Morales has described the usage in the same song as a cry from Piñeiro to his band, telling them to increase the tempo to "put the dancers into high gear". Morales claims that later in the 1930s, vocalist Beny Moré would shout salsa during a performance "to acknowledge a musical moment's heat, to express a kind of cultural nationalist sloganeering [and to celebrate the] 'hotness' or 'spiciness' of Latin American cultures".^[13] Benny Moré (August 24, 1919 – February 19, 1963) is considered by many fans of Cuban music the greatest Cuban singer of all time. ...

Some people object to the term salsa on the basis that it is vague or misleading; for example, the style of musicians such as Tito Puente evolved several decades before salsa was a recognized genre, leading Puente to once claim that "the only salsa I know comes in a bottle. I play Cuban music". Because salsa can refer to numerous styles of music, some observers perceive the word as a marketing term designed to superficially categorize music in a way that appeals to non-aficionados.^[14] For a time the Cuban state media officially claimed that the term salsa music was a euphemism for authentic Cuban music stolen by American imperialists, though the media has since abandoned this theory.^[15] Tito Puente, Sr. ...

Some doubt that the term salsa has any precise and unambiguous meaning. Peter Manuel describes salsa as "at once (both) a modern marketing concept and the cultural voice of a new generation", representative of a "crystallization of a Latino identity in New York in the early 1960s". Manuel also recognizes the commercial and cultural dichotomy to salsa, noting that the term's broad use for many styles of Latin pop music has served the development of "pan-Latin solidarity", while also noting that the "recycling of Cuban music under an artificial, obscurantist label is but one more example of North American exploitation and commodification of third world primary products; for Latinos, salsa bridges the gap between "tradition and modernity, between the impoverished homeland and the dominant United States, between street life and the chic night club, and between grassroots culture and the corporate media".^[16]

The singer Rubén Blades once claimed that salsa is merely "a concept", as opposed to a definite style or rhythm. Some musicians are doubtful that the term salsa has any useful meaning at all, with the bandleader Machito claiming that salsa was more or less what he had been playing for forty years before the style was invented, while Tito Puente once responded to a question about salsa by saying "I'm a musician, not a cook" (referring to salsa's original use to mean sauce). Celia Cruz, a well-known salsa singer, has said, "[s]alsa is Cuban music with another name. It's mambo, chachachá, rumba, son ... all the Cuban rhythms under one name".^[17] Rubén Blades. ... Machito (February 16, 1912-April 15, 1984) was an influential Latin jazz musician and bandleader. ... Tito Puente, Sr. ... Celia Cruz (October 21, 1925 – July 16, 2003) was a three-time Grammy Award and four-time Latin Grammy winning Afro-Cuban-American salsa singer who spent most of her career living in New Jersey, and working in the United States and several Latin American countries. ...

Music writer Peter Manuel claims that salsa came to describe a specific style of music in the mid-1970s "when a group of New York-based Latin musicians began overhauling the classic big-band arrangements popular since the mambo era of the 1940s and '50s", and that the term was "popularized" in the late 1960s by a Venezuelan radio station and Jerry Masucci of Fania Records.^[18] In contrast, Ed Morales cites the use of salsa for a specific style to a New York-based editor and graphic designer named Izzy Sanabria. Morales also mentions an early use of the term by Johnny Pacheco, a Dominican performer who released a 1962 album called Salsa Na' Ma, which Morales translates as "it just needs a little salsa, or spice".^[13] Mambo is a Cuban musical form and dance style. ... Fania Records was a New York based record label founded by Johnny Pacheco (a musician) and Jerry Masucci (a lawyer) in 1963. ... Johnny Pacheco, born March 25, 1935 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic is a producer, musician, bandleader, and arguably the godfather of and one of the most influential figures in salsa music. ...

Characteristics

Though the term salsa music is not necessarily precise in scope, most authors use the term to refer specifically to a style created in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Author Ed Morales has said the obvious, most common perception of salsa is an "extravagant, clave-driven, Afro-Cuban-derived songs anchored by piano, horns, and rhythm section and sung by a velvety voiced crooner in a sharkskin suit". Image File history File links CeliaCruzQuimbara. ... Image File history File links TitoPuenteAyMiCuba. ... Image File history File links LosVanVanSalsaCubana. ...

A trombone, sometimes considered a defining characteristic of salsa

At its root, however, salsa is a mixture of Spanish and African music, filtered through the music histories of Cuba and Puerto Rico, and adapted by Latin jazz and Latin popular musicians for Latino populations with diverse musical tastes.^[8] The basic structure of a salsa song is based on the Cuban son, beginning with a simple melody and followed by a coro section in which the performers improvise.^[19] Ed Morales has claimed that the "key staples" of salsa's origins were the use of the trombone as a counterpoint to the vocalist and a more aggressive sound than is typical in Cuban music; the trombone also carries the melody, while the rhythm is most generally provided by bongos, congas and timbales.^[20] Peter Manuel notes how New York and Puerto Rican salsa differs from the 1950s Cuban ""son"" in various ways, such as the greater use of timbales and trombones, the occasional use of Puerto Rican elements like the declamatory exclamation le-lo-lai, its frequent lyrics about barrio life in New York and elsewhere, the "smooth" sound of the salsa romántica" style that emerged in the 1980s, and salsa's role as a soundscape for the Latino identity momvement of the 1970s^[21]
Image File history File links Posaune. ... Image File history File links Posaune. ... Hand drumming is significant throughtout Africa The music of Africa is as vast and varied as the continents many regions, nations and ethnic groups. ... Latin jazz is the general term given to music that combines rhythms from African and Latin American countries with jazz harmonies from the United States. ... The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ...

Songs and instrumentation

A modern salsa band lineup including less traditional salsa instruments such as a saxophone and a full drumset

Salsa bands play a wide variety of songs, including pieces based on plenas and bombas, cumbia, vallenato and merengue; most songs, however, are modern versions of the Cuban son. Like the son, salsa songs begin with a songlike section followed by a montuno break with call-and-response vocals, instrumental breaks and jazzy solos.^[22] In the United States, the music of a salsa club is a mix of salsa, merengue, cha-cha-cha and bachata, whether sourced from a live band or a DJ. Some salsa clubs also add reggaeton to the mix due to its popularity with youth. Image File history File links Salsaband2. ... Image File history File links Salsaband2. ... The saxophone (colloquially referred to as sax) is a conical-bored instrument of the woodwind family. ... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set) is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as a cowbell, wood block, chimes or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer. ... Plena is a folkloric genre native of Puerto Rico. ... For other uses, see Bomba (disambiguation). ... Monument to the dance and music of cumbia in El Banco. ... Vallenato, along with cumbia, is the most popular folk music of Colombia. ... Merengue is a type of lively, joyful music and dance that comes from the Dominican Republic. ... Son is a style of Cuban music which became popular in the second half of the 19th century in the eastern province of Oriente. ... Laser lights illuminate the dance floor at a Gatecrasher dance music event in Sheffield, England A nightclub (or night club or club) is a drinking, dancing, and entertainment venue which does its primary business after dark. ... Bachata, a form of music and dance that originated in the countryside and rural marginal neighborhoods of Dominican Republic. ... Reggaeton (also spelled Reggaetón, and known as Reguetón and Reggaetón in Spanish) is a form of urban music which became popular with Latin American (or Latino) youth during the early 1990s and spread over the course of 10 years to North American, European, Asian, and Australian audiences. ...

The most important instrumentation in salsa is the percussion, which is played by a wide variety of instruments, including claves, cowbells, timbales and conga.^[23] Apart from percussion, other core instruments are the trumpets, trombones, and bass, usually an electric baby bass.. Other melodic instruments are commonly used as accompaniment, such as a guitar, the piano, and many others, all depending on the performing artists. [The tres guitar was used in a particular style of band known as a conjunto but that format is nearly extinct and it is indeed a rarity to find a band that uses a tres.] Bands typically consist of up to a dozen people, one of whom serves as band leader, directing the music as it is played. Two to four players generally specialize in horns, while there are generally one or two choral singers and players of the bongo, conga, bass guitar, piano and timbales. The maracas, clave or güiro may also be played, typically by a vocalist. The bongocero will usually switch to a kind of bell called a campana (or bongo bell) for the montuno section of a song. Horns are typically either two trumpets or four trumpets or, most commonly, two trumpets with at least one saxophone or trombone.^[24] Percussion instruments are played by being struck, shaken, rubbed or scraped. ... Claves(pronounces Clar-vays) is a percussion instrument (idiophone), consisting of a pair of short (about 20-30 cm), thick dowels. ... The cowbell is a percussion instrument. ... Timbales (or tymbales) are shallow single-headed drums, shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned. ... For other uses, see Conga (disambiguation). ... Trumpeter redirects here. ... The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... A short grand piano, with the lid up. ... Maracas Maracas (sometimes called rhumba shakers) are simple percussion instruments (idiophones), usually played in pairs, consisting of a dried calabash or gourd shell (cuia - kOO-ya) or coconut shell filled with seeds or dried beans. ... The term clave may refer to Clave, a rhythmic pattern Claves, a percussion instrument This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The güiro is a percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. ...

A cowbell, an important percussion instrument

Salsa essentially remains a form of dance music; thus, many songs have little in the way of lyrics beyond exhortations to dance or other simple words. Modern pop-salsa is often romántica, defined partially by the sentimental, lovelorn lyrics, or erótica, defined largely by the sexually explicit lyrics. Salsa also has a long tradition of lyrical experimentation, with singer-songwriters like Rubén Blades using incisive lyrics about everything from imperialism to disarmament and environmentalism.^[25] Vocalists are expected to be able to improvise during verses and instrumental solos. References to Afro-Catholic religions, such as Santería, are also a major part of salsa's lyrics throughout Latin America, even among those artists who are not themselves practitioners of any Afro-Catholic religion.^[26]
Image File history File links Koebel. ... Image File history File links Koebel. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Rubén Blades. ... Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ... Disarmament means the act of reducing or depriving arms i. ... For the psychology topic, see Environmental psychology. ... For other uses, see Santeria (disambiguation). ...

Rhythm

A pair of claves, commonly used to play the clave rhythm by the clavero.

Salsa music traditionally utilizes a 4/4 time signature. Musicians play recurring rhythmic accompaniments often in groups of eight beats (two measures of four quarter notes), while melodic phrases span eight or sixteen beats, with entire stanzas spanning thirty-two beats. Image File history File links Claves. ... Image File history File links Claves. ... Claves(pronounces Clar-vays) is a percussion instrument (idiophone), consisting of a pair of short (about 20-30 cm), thick dowels. ... Clave (pronounced clah-vay) is a rhythmic pattern or timeline which has its roots in West African music and was developed in Cuba. ... The time signature (also known as meter signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each bar and what note value constitutes one beat. ... In music, a quarter note (American) or crotchet (Commonwealth) is played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note. ... In music a phrase (Greek φράση, sentence, expression, see also strophe) is a section of music that is relatively self contained and coherent over a medium time scale. ...

While percussion instruments layer several different rhythmic patterns simultaneously, the clave rhythm is the foundation of salsa; all salsa music and dance is governed by the clave rhythm. The most common clave rhythm in salsa is the so-called son clave, which is eight beats long and can be played either in 2-3 or 3-2 style. Percussion redirects here. ... Clave (pronounced clah-vay) is a rhythmic pattern or timeline which has its roots in West African music and was developed in Cuba. ...

 The 2-3 clave The 3-2 clave 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8. 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8. ..*.*...*..*..*. *..*..*...*.*... 

Even when the clave rhythm is not played by its own, it functions as a basis for the instrumentalists and singers to use as a common rhythmic ground for their own musical phrases. The instrumentalists emphasize the differences of the two halves of the eight-beat clave rhythm; for example, in an eight-beat-long phrase used in a 2-3 clave context, the first half of the phrase is given more straight notes that are played directly on beat, while the second half instead contains notes with longer durations and with a more off-beat feeling. This emphasizes that the first four beats of the 2-3 son clave contain two "short" strikes that are directly on beat, while the last four beats contain three "long" clave strikes with the second strike placed offbeat between beats two and three. Salsa songs commonly start with one clave and then switch to the reverse partway through the song, without restarting the clave rhythm; instead, the rhythm is shifted four beats using breaks and stop-time. The Off-beat is a musical term commonly applied to rhythms that emphasize the weak beats of a bar. ... For other uses, see Break. ... In music, stop-time is, according to Samuel A. Floyd Jr. ...

Percussion instruments have standard patterns that reoccur in most salsa music with only slight variations. For example, this is a common rhythmic pattern called the cáscara based on the 2-3 clave, and is played on the shells of the timbales during the verses and less energetic parts of a song: Timbales (or tymbales) are shallow single-headed drums, shallower in shape than single-headed tom-toms, and usually much higher tuned. ...

 Timbales cáscara rhythm in 2-3 clave 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8. (beats) *.*.**.**.**.*.* (* = cáscara strikes) 

During the chorus and solo parts, the timbalero often switches to the following rhythm, which is normally played on a cowbell (the mambo bell) mounted on the timbales set: The cowbell is a percussion instrument. ...

 Timbales mambo bell rhythm in 2-3 clave 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8. (beats) +.*.+++*.++*+.+* (+/* = weak/accented cowbell strikes) 

The timbales pattern above is often accompanied by a handheld cowbell (the bongo bell) also played during the chorus but by another person, using this simpler rhythm:

 Handheld bongo bell rhythm in 2-3 clave 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8. (beats) +.*.+.**+.**+.** (+/* = low/high-pitched cowbell strikes) 

The piano has many roles in salsa, being an important solo instrument and providing harmony, rhythm and sometimes even the lead melody. During the montuno section, in which the singers and chorus engage in a call and response pattern of singing, the piano player plays a repeating ostinato figure known as a guajeo or tumbao which serves as a backbone for the rhythm section. The piano always respects the clave. The montuno patterns have many variations, but are basically highly syncopated two-bar vamps made to match the clave. For example: In music, syncopation is the stressing of a normally unstressed beat in a bar or the failure to sound a tone on an accented beat. ... In Jazz, a vamp is simply a repeating bass figure. ...

 Piano montuño rhythm in 2-3 clave 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8. (beats) *.**.*.*.*.*.*.* (* = key strikes) 

The bass pattern often follows a distinct salsa rhythm pattern known as the tumbao which alternates between the fifth and the root of a chord. One side of the tumbao will be in near unison with the clave, while the other side is syncopated against the clave: Polish reegee group from wroclaw ...

 Bass tumbao rhythm 1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8. (beats) ...5..8....5..1. (5 = fifth of chord, 8 = high octave of chord, 1 = low octave of chord) 

Lyricism

Salsa lyrics range from simple dance numbers with little lyrical innovation and sentimental romantic songs to risqué and politically-radical lyrics. Music author Isabelle Leymarie notes that salsa performers often incorporate machoistic bravado (guapería) in their lyrics, in a manner reminiscent of calypso and samba, a theme she ascribes to the performers' "humble backgrounds" and subsequent need to compensate for their origins. Leymarie claims that salsa is "essentially virile, an affirmation of the Latin man's pride and identity". As an extension of salsa's macho stance, manly taunts and challenges (desafio) are also a traditional part of salsa.^[27] Look up Macho in Wiktionary, the free dictionary This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... The Bravados is a 1958 western film directed by Henry King and starring Gregory Peck, Joan Collins, Stephen Boyd, Henry Silva, Albert Salmi, Kathleen Gallant, Barry Coe, George Voskovec, Lee Van Cleef and Gene Evans. ... Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music which originated in Trinidad at about the start of the 20th century. ... Samba is the most famous of the various forms of music arising from African roots in Brazil. ...

Politically and socially activist composers have long been an important part of salsa, and some of their works, like Eddie Palmieri's "La libertad - lógico", became Latin and especially Puerto Rican anthems. Many salsa songs use a nationalist theme, centered around a sense of pride in black Latino identity, and may be in Spanish, English or a mixture of the two called Spanglish.^[27] For the James L. Brooks motion picture, see Spanglish (film). ...

History

In the 1930s, '40s and '50s, Cuban music within Cuba was evolving into new styles derived primarily from son and rumba, while the Cubans in New York, living among many Latinos from Puerto Rico and elsewhere, began playing their own distinctive styles, influenced most importantly by African American music.^[5] Their music included son and guarachas, as well as tango, bolero and danza, with prominent influences from jazz.^[28] While the New York scene continued evolving, Cuban popular music, especially mambo, became very famous across the United States. This was followed by a series of other genres of Cuban music, which especially affected the Latin scene in New York. Many Latin musicians in New York were Puerto Rican, and it was these performers who innovated the style now known as salsa music, based largely off Cuban, and to a lesser extent, Puerto Rican music.^[29] Son is a style of Cuban music which became popular in the second half of the 19th century in the eastern province of Oriente. ... Rumba is an adult only type of music rhythms and dance styles that originated in Africa and were introduced to Cuba and the New World by African slaves. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Cuban Guaracha Traditionally an early form of peasant street music with satirical lyric content somewhat in the Son rhythm style. ... Argentine Tango music is traditionally played by an orquesta tipica, which often includes violin, piano, guitar, flute, and especially bandoneon. ... The bolero is a type of dance and musical form. ... The Danza is an enclosed sandwich originally created by Polish Deli owner Neb Brasky in Lincoln, Nebraska circa 1987. ... Mambo is a Cuban musical form and dance style. ...

Salsa evolved steadily through the later 1970s and into the '80s and '90s. New instruments were adopted and new national styles, like the music of Brazil, were adapted to salsa. New subgenres appeared, such as the sweet love songs called salsa romantica, while salsa became a major part of the music scene in Venezuela, Mexico and as far away as Japan. Diverse influences, including most prominently hip hop music, came to shape the evolving genre. By the turn of the century, salsa was one of the major fields of popular music in the world, and salsa stars were international celebrities. Strong influences on the music of Brazil come from many parts of the world, but there are very popular regional music styles influenced by African and European forms. ... Also known as Salsa Monga (Limp Salsa) is a commercialized toned down version of salsa music that emerged in the mid 80s. ... Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ...

Origins

Salsa's roots can be traced back to the African ancestors that were brought to the Caribbean by the Spanish as slaves. In Africa it is very common to find people playing music with instruments like the conga and la pandereta, instruments commonly used in salsa. Salsa's most direct antecedent is Cuban son, which itself is a combination of African and European influences. Large son bands were very popular in Cuba beginning in the 1930s; these were largely septetos and sextetos, and they quickly spread to the United States.^[30] In the 1940s Cuban dance bands grew much larger, becoming mambo and charanga orchestras led by bandleaders like Arsenio Rodriguez and Felix Chappotin. In New York City in the '40s, at the center for mambo in the United States, the Palladium Dancehall, and in Mexico City, where a burgeoning film industry attracted Latin musicians, Cuban-style big bands were formed by Cubans and Puerto Ricans like Machito, Perez Prado, Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez.^[31] New York began developing its own Cuban-derived sound, spurred by large-scale Latino immigration, the rise of local record labels due to the early 1940s musicians strike and the spread of the jukebox industry, and the craze for big band dance music.^[32] World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second_largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... West Indies redirects here. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... For other uses, see Conga (disambiguation). ... Spanish antique tambourine The tambourine is musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a single drumhead mounted on a ring with small metal jingles. ... Son is a style of Cuban music which became popular in the second half of the 19th century in the eastern province of Oriente. ... Mambo is a Cuban musical form and dance style. ... A charanga is a Cuban orchestra composed of piano, strings, vocals, flute and Cuban musical style characterized by this kind of orchestration. ... Arsenio Rodr guez (August 30, 1911 - December 30, 1972) was a Cuban musician who developed the son montuno. ... Nickname: Motto: Capital en movimiento Location of Mexico City in south central Mexico Coordinates: , Country Federal entity Boroughs The 16 delegaciones Founded c. ... Machito (February 16, 1912-April 15, 1984) was an influential Latin jazz musician and bandleader. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Tito Puente, Sr. ... Tito Rodríguez a. ... A Zodiac jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that can play specially selected songs from self-contained media. ... A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late 1940s, although there are many big-bands around nowadays. ...

Mambo was very jazz-influenced, and it was the mambo big bands that kept alive the large jazz band tradition while the mainstream current of jazz was moving on to the smaller bands of the bebop era. Throughout the 1950s Latin dance music, such as mambo, rumba and chachachá, was mainstream popular music in the United States and Europe. The '50s also saw a decline in popularity for mambo big bands, followed by the Cuban Revolution of 1959, which greatly inhibited contact between New York and Cuba. The result was a scene more dominated by Puerto Ricans than Cubans. Bebop is a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on harmonic structure rather than melody. ... Rumba is an adult only type of music rhythms and dance styles that originated in Africa and were introduced to Cuba and the New World by African slaves. ... For the dance, see Cha-cha-cha (dance). ... The Cuban Revolution refers to the revolution that led to the overthrow of General Fulgencio Batistas regime on January 1, 1959 by the 26th of July Movement and other revolutionary elements in the country. ...

1960s

The Latin music scene of early 1960s New York was dominated by bands led by musicians such as Ray Barretto and Eddie Palmieri, whose style was influenced by imported Cuban fads such as pachanga and charanga; after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, however, Cuban-American contact declined precipitously, and Puerto Ricans became a larger part of the New York Latin music scene. During this time a hybrid Nuyorican cultural identity emerged, primarily Puerto Rican but influenced by many Latin cultures as well as the close contact with African Americans.^[33] Ray Barretto a. ... Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936 in New York City) - pianist and bandleader. ... Pachanga is a type of Latin American music and dance originating from Cuba in the 1960s. ... A charanga is a Cuban orchestra composed of piano, strings, vocals, flute and Cuban musical style characterized by this kind of orchestration. ... President Kennedy in a crowded Cabinet Room during the Cuban Missile Crisis. ... Nuyorican Poets Cafe. ...

The growth of modern salsa, however, is said to have begun in the streets of New York in the late 1960s. By this time Latin pop was no longer a major force in American music, having lost ground to doo wop, R&B and rock and roll; there were a few youth fads for Latin dances, such as the soul and mambo fusion boogaloo, but Latin music ceased to be a major part of American popular music.^[34] Few Latin record labels had any significant distribution, the two exceptions being Tico and Alegre. Though East Harlem had long been a center for Latin music in New York, during the 1960s many of the venues there shut down, and Brooklyn Heights' Saint George Hotel became "salsa's first stronghold". Performers there included Joe Bataan and the Lebron Brothers.^[35] This article is about the state. ... For the Lauryn Hill single, see Doo Wop (That Thing). ... For other uses, see Rhythm and blues (disambiguation). ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... For other uses, see FAD (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ... Boogaloo (shing-a-ling, popcorn music) is a genre of Latin music and dance that was very popular in the United States in the late 1960s. ... Tico is a colloquial name for the natives of Costa Rica. ... Alegre is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. ... Spanish Harlem, also known as East Harlem or El Barrio, is a neighborhood in northeastern part of the borough of Manhattan, one of the largest predominantly Hispanic communities in New York City. ... View of Brooklyn Heights from Manhattan Brooklyn Heights is a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. ... Joe Bataan Joe Bataan is an American musician from New York, of Filipino and African American descent. ...

The late 1960s also saw white youth joining a counterculture heavily associated with political activism, while black youth formed radical organizations like the Black Panthers. Inspired by these movements, Latinos in New York formed the Young Lords, rejected assimilation and "made the barrio a cauldron of militant assertiveness and artistic creativity". The musical aspect of this social change was based on the Cuban son, which had long been the favored musical form for urbanites in both Puerto Rico and New York.^[36] By the early 1970s, salsa's center moved to Manhattan and the Cheetah, where promoter Ralph Mercado introduced many future stars to an ever-growing and diverse crowd of Latino audiences.^[35] In sociology, counterculture is a term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. ... The Black Panther Party (originally called the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a revolutionary Black nationalist organization in the United States that formed in the late 1960s and grew to national prominence before falling apart due to factional rivalries stirred up by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. ... The Young Lords, later Young Lords Organization and in New York (notably Spanish Harlem), Young Lords Party, was a Puerto Rican Hispanic nationalist group in several United States cities, notably New York City and Chicago. ...

The Manhattan-based recording company, Fania Records, introduced many of the first-generation salsa singers and musicians to the world. Founded by Dominican flautist and band-leader Johnny Pacheco and impresario Jerry Masucci, Fania's illustrious career began with Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe's El Malo in 1967. This was followed by a series of updated son montuno and plena tunes that evolved into modern salsa by 1973. Pacheco put together a team that included percussionist Louie Ramirez, bassist Bobby Valentin and arranger Larry Harlow. The Fania team released a string of successful singles, mostly son and plena, performing live after forming the Fania All Stars in 1971; just two years later, the All Stars sold out Yankee Stadium.^[31] One of their 1971 performances at the Cheetah nightclub, was a historic concert that drew several thousand people and helped to spark a salsa boom.^[35] Fania Records was a New York based record label founded by Johnny Pacheco (a musician) and Jerry Masucci (a lawyer) in 1963. ... Johnny Pacheco, born March 25, 1935 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic is a producer, musician, bandleader, and arguably the godfather of and one of the most influential figures in salsa music. ... William Anthony Colón (born 28 April 1950) is a Puerto Rican salsa music icon. ... Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (September 30, 1946 – June 29, 1993)[2] was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. ... Arsenio Rodríguez initially developed son montuno from son. ... Plena is a folkloric genre native of Puerto Rico. ... Bobby Valentin a. ... Larry Harlow (b. ... Fania All-Stars was a salsa group established in 1968 by Johnny Pacheco as a showcase for the leading musicians and singers of the record label Fania Records, the leading salsa record company of the time. ... This is about the stadium the New York Yankees currently play in. ...

Salsa quickly spread outside of New York City, to Miami, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Colombia. The city of Cali, Colombia became that country's major center for salsa in the late 1960s, when salsa became a major part of the local Feria de la Caña de Azucar. Salsa also established itself in Quayaquil, Caracas and Panama City.^[37] Nickname: La Sultana del Avila (English:The Avilas Sultan) La Sucursal del paraiso Motto: Ave María Santísima, sin pecado concebida, en el primer instante de su ser natural. ... This article is about the capital city of Panama. ...

1970s

From New York salsa quickly expanded to Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela, and other Latin countries, while the new style became a symbol of "pride and cultural identity" for Latinos, especially Puerto Ricans.^[38] The number of salsa bands, both in New York and elsewhere, increased dramatically in the 70s, as did salsa-oriented radio stations and record labels.^[39] Popular performers like Eddie Palmieri and Celia Cruz adapted to the salsa format, joined by more authentically traditional singers like Willie Colon and Ruben Blades.^[40] Colón and Blades worked together for much of the 1970s and '80s, becoming some of the most critically and popularly acclaimed salsa performers in the world. Their lyricism set them apart from others; Blades became a "mouthpiece for oppressed Latin America", while Colón composed "potent", "socio-political vignettes". Their 1978 album Siembra was, at that time, the best-selling Latin album in history.^[41] This article is about the state. ... Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936 in New York City) - pianist and bandleader. ... Celia Cruz (October 21, 1925 – July 16, 2003) was a three-time Grammy Award and four-time Latin Grammy winning Afro-Cuban-American salsa singer who spent most of her career living in New Jersey, and working in the United States and several Latin American countries. ... Willie Colón (born 28 April 1950) is a Puerto Rican-American salsa musician. ... Rubén Blades (born July 16, 1948) is a Panamanian salsa singer, songwriter, actor and politician. ...

The 1970s saw a number of musical innovations among salsa musicians. The bandleader Willie Colón introduced the cuatro, a rural Puerto Rican guitar, as well as jazz, rock, and Panamanian and Brazilian music.^[42] Larry Harlow, the arranger for Fania Records, modernized salsa by adding an electric piano. By the end of the decade, Fania Records' longtime leadership of salsa was weakened by the arrival of the labels TH-Rodven and RMM. Salsa had come to be perceived as "contaminated by fusion and disco", and took elements from disaptare styles like go go, while many young Latinos turned to hip hop, techno or other styles.^[43] Salsa began spreading throughout Latin America in the 1970s, especially to Colombia, where a new generation of performers began to combine salsa with elements of cumbia and vallenato; this fusion tradition can be traced back to the 1960s work of Peregoya y su Combo Vacano. However, it was Joe Arroyo and La Verdad, his band, that popularized Colombian salsa beginning in the 1980s.^[44] The name cuatro can refer to any of several Latin American instruments of the guitar or lute family. ... Strong influences on the music of Brazil come from many parts of the world, but there are very popular regional music styles influenced by African and European forms. ... Larry Harlow (b. ... An electric piano (e-piano) is an electric musical instrument whose popularity started in the late 1960s, was at its greatest during the 1970s and still is big today. ... Jazz fusion (or jazz-rock fusion or fusion) is a musical genre that merges elements of jazz with other styles of music, particularly pop, rock, folk, reggae, funk, metal, country, R&B, hip hop, electronic music and world music. ... This article is about the music genre. ... For other uses, see Go go (disambiguation). ... Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... Techno is a form of electronic dance music that became prominent in Detroit, Michigan during the mid-1980s with influences from electro, New Wave, Funk and futuristic fiction themes that were prevalent and relative to modern culture during the end of the Cold War in industrial America at that time. ... Monument to the dance and music of cumbia in El Banco. ... Vallenato, along with cumbia, is the most popular folk music of Colombia. ... Álvaro José Arroyo González (also known as Joe Arroyo or El Joe) is a Colombian salsa and tropical music singer and songwriter. ...

1980s

The 1980s was a time of diversification, as popular salsa evolved into sweet and smooth salsa romantica, with lyrics dwelling on love and romance, and its more explicit cousin, salsa erotica. Salsa romantica can be traced back to Noches Calientes, a 1984 album by singer José Alberto with producer Louie Ramirez. A wave of romantica singers, mostly Puerto Rican, found wide audiences with a new style characterized by romantic lyrics, an emphasis on the melody over rhythm, and use of percussion breaks and chord changes.^[45] However, salsa lost popularity among many Latino youth, who were drawn to American rock in large numbers, while the popularization of Dominican merengue further sapped the audience among Latinos in both New York and Puerto Rico.^[46] The 1980s also saw salsa expand to Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Europe and Japan, and diversify into many new styles. Also known as Salsa Monga (Limp Salsa) is a commercialized toned down version of salsa music that emerged in the mid 80s. ... Salsa erotica is a style of salsa music, very similar to salsa romantica in its soft style and beats, but is characterized by sexually explicit lyrics, which are usually lacking in the more romantic romantica style. ... José Alberto (b. ... Merengue is a type of lively, joyful music and dance that comes from the Dominican Republic [1]. It is popular in the Dominican Republic. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...

In the 1980s some performers experimented with combining elements of salsa with hip hop music, while the producer and pianist Sergio George helped to revive salsa's commercial success. He created a sound based on prominent trombones and rootsy, mambo-inspired style. He worked with the Japanese salsa band Orquesta de la Luz, and developed a studio orchestra that included Victor Manuelle, Celia Cruz, José Alberto, La India, Tito Puente and Marc Anthony. The Colombian singer Joe Arroyo first rose to fame in the 1970s, but became a renowned exponent of Colombian salsa in the 1980s. Arroyo worked for many years with the Colombian arranger Fruko and his band Los Tesos.^[47] Hip hop music is a style of music which came into existence in the United States during the mid-1970s, and became a large part of modern pop culture during the 1980s. ... Sergio George(born 1961) is a pianist and record producer, known for working with many of salsa musics most famous performers, including Marc Anthony, Tito Puente, Orquesta de la Luz and Jerry Rivera. ... Orquesta de la Luz is a Japanese salsa band that began performing and recording in 1990. ... Victor Manuelle (born Victor Manuel Ruiz on September 28, 1970 in New York, New York[1], but raised primarily in Isabela, Puerto Rico) is a successful salsa singer, songwriter, and improvisational sonero, known to his fans as El Sonero de la Juventud (The Youths Sonero). He is identified primarily... La India (born Linda Viera Caballero on March 9, 1970 in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico) is a noted singer of salsa also known as the Princess of Salsa. La India Lindas parents decided to move to New York soon after her birth. ... For other people named Marc Anthony or Mark Anthony, see Mark Anthony. ... Fruko y sus Tesos is a salsa group from Colombia which enjoys immsense popularity throughout the Latin American world. ...

1990s to the present

Vallenato fusionist Carlos Vives in concert

In the 1990s Cuban salsa became more prominent, especially a distinct subgenre called timba. Using the complex songo rhythm, bands like NG La Banda and Los Van Van developed timba, along with related styles like songo-salsa, which featured swift Spanish rapping. The use of rapping in popular songo-salsa was innovated by Sergio George, beginning with his work with the trio Dark Latin Groove, who "breathed the fire of songo rhythms and the energy of rap and soul into salsa".^[48] Image File history File links CarlosVives. ... Image File history File links CarlosVives. ... Timba is the Cuban counterpart of salsa music, and is often understood to be a sub-category of salsa. ... The word Songo has a number of meanings: The Songo people of northern Angola. ... NG La Banda is a cuban musical group founded by flutist José Luis Cortés. ... Los Van Van is a Cuban band led by Juan Formell, a bassist who in 1967 became musical director of Elio Reves charanga orchestra. ... Songo-salsa is a style of music that blends Spanish rapping and hip hop beats with salsa music and songo. ... Rap redirects here. ... DLG (Dark Latin Groove) was a innovative band of the late 1990s that mixed salsa, reggae, and hip-hop. ... For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ...

Salsa remained a major part of Colombian music through the 1990s, producing popular bands like Sonora Carruseles, while the singer Carlos Vives created his own style that fuses salsa with vallenato and rock. Vives' popularization of vallenato-salsa led to the accordion-led vallenato style being used by mainstream pop stars like Gloria Estefan. The city of Cali, in Colombia, has come to call itself the "salsa capital of the world", having produced such groups as Orquesta Guayacan and Grupo Niche.^[49] Carlos Vives (born 1961) is a Colombian singer and composer. ... Vallenato, along with cumbia, is the most popular folk music of Colombia. ... For other uses, see Rock music (disambiguation). ... Vallenato-salsa is a style of salsa music associated with Colombia. ... Gloria Estefan (born Gloria María Fajardo on September 1, 1957 in Havana, Cuba) is a five-time Grammy Award-winning Cuban American singer and songwriter. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Grupo Niche is one of the worlds best known salsa and cumbia group from Colombia and it enjoys great popularity throughout Latin America. ...

Salsa has registered a steady growth and now dominates the airwaves in many countries in Latin America. In addition, several Latino artists, including Rey Ruiz, Marc Anthony, and most famously, the Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan, have had success as crossovers, penetrating the Anglo-American pop market with Latin-tinged hits, usually sung in English.^[50] Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... Rey Ruiz (born c. ... For other people named Marc Anthony or Mark Anthony, see Mark Anthony. ... Gloria Estefan (born Gloria María Fajardo on September 1, 1957 in Havana, Cuba) is a five-time Grammy Award-winning Cuban American singer and songwriter. ...

The most recent innovations in the genre include hybrids like merenhouse, salsa-merengue and salsaton, alongside salsa gorda. Since the mid-1990s African artists have also been very active through the super-group Africando, where African and New York musicians mix with leading African singers such as Bambino Diabate, Ricardo Lemvo, Ismael Lo and Salif Keita. Salsa is only one of many Latin genres to have traveled back and influenced West African music.^[50] Merenhouse is a style of music developed in the US and Latin America by groups such as Proyecto Uno and Zona 7. ... Salsaton is a subgenre of both salsa and reggaeton. ... Salsa gorda is a music genre, a kind of salsa music also known as salsa dura. ... Baloba album from 1998 Africando is a musical project formed in 1990 to unite New York-based salsa musicians with Senegalese vocalists. ... Ricardo Lemvo is a salsa singer from the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaïre). ... Ismael Lo is a Senegalese musician. ... Amens album cover Salif Keita (born August 25, 1949) is an internationally recognized Afro-Pop singer and song writer from Mali. ...

References

Notes

Eddie Palmieri (born December 15, 1936 in New York City) - pianist and bandleader. ... Celia Cruz (October 21, 1925 – July 16, 2003) was a three-time Grammy Award and four-time Latin Grammy winning Afro-Cuban-American salsa singer who spent most of her career living in New Jersey, and working in the United States and several Latin American countries. ... In Yorùbá mythology, Yemaja is a mother goddess; patron deity of women, especially pregnant women; and the Ogun river (the waters of which are said to cure infertility). ...

Further reading

• Aparicio, Frances R. (1998). Listening to Salsa: Gender, Latin Popular Music, and Purto Rican Cultures. Hanover, New Hampshire: Wesleyan University Press. 
• (Spanish) Arteaga, José (1990). La Salsa, 2nd revised edition, Bogotá: Intermedio Editores. 
• (Spanish) Baéz, Juan Carlos (1989). El vínculo es la salsa. Caracas: Fondo Editorial Tropykos. 
• (1991) in Boggs, Vernon W. (ed.): Salsiology: Afro-Cuban Music and the Evolution of Salsa in New York City. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. 
• Gerard, Charley (1989). Salsa! The Rhythm of Latin Music. Crown Point, Indiana: White Cliffs. 
• Loza, Steven (1999). Tito Puente and the Making of Latin Music. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 
• (1991) in Manuel, Peter (ed.): Essays on Cuban Music: North American and Cuban Perspectives. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. 
• Marre, Jeremy (1985). Beats of the Heart: Popular Music of the World. New York: Pantheon. 
• Mauleón, Rebeca (1993). Salsa: Guidebook for Piano and Ensemble. Petaluma, California: Sher Music Co.. 
• Roberts, John Storm (1972). Black Music of Two Worlds. New York: Praeger. 
• Roberts, John Storm (1979). The Latin Tinge: The Impact of Latin American Music on the United States. New York: Oxford University Press. 
• (Spanish) Rondón, Cesar Miguel (1980). El libro de la salsa: crónica de la música del Caribe urbano. Caracas: Editorial Arte. 
• (Spanish) Santana, Sergio (1992). ¿Que es la salsa? Buscando la melodía. Medellín: Ediciones Salsa y Cultura. 
• (2002) in Waxer, Lisa (ed.): Situating Salsa: Global Markets and Local Meanings in Latin Popular Music. Routledge. 

External links

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• Salsa music at Salsa Wiki (hosted by Wikia)

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