Salsa (music)
Salsa is a vibrant genre of dance music that originated in Cuba and Puerto Rico, gaining significant popularity in the United States during the 1940s and 1950s, particularly among Puerto Rican immigrants. Musically, salsa is characterized by its infectious rhythms and a blend of various influences, including the clave rhythm from Africa and elements from genres such as jazz and son. The term "salsa," meaning "sauce" in Spanish, was popularized by the musician Jimmy Sabater to describe this dynamic music style.
Prominent figures in the salsa movement include musicians like Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, and Cal Tjader, who were instrumental in shaping the genre and expanding its reach through recordings and live performances, often associated with the influential Fania Records label. Salsa dancing is equally diverse, with various styles that reflect regional differences, such as casino rueda from Cuba and Colombian salsa, known for its brisk footwork. Other forms, like mambo-style salsa, emphasize energetic movements and expressiveness. Overall, salsa music and dance serve as cultural expressions that continue to evolve and resonate with audiences around the world.
Salsa (music)
Salsa is a kind of dance music that originated in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Puerto Rican immigrants in the United States popularized the music in the 1940s and 1950s; it has subsequently become one of the most well-known kinds of dance music in the world. Its influences come from nations around the globe, and salsa musicians are among some of the world’s best-known performers.
History
Though opinions vary, many music historians feel that salsa originated in Cuba, with a kind of music called son, a call-and-response form that originated in France and was brought to the island nation by immigrants. Son’s main characteristic is the use of the clave rhythm. This rhythm originated in Africa; it consists of four main beats spread across two bars at a time, along with a set of instruments, including the mambo drum, the trumpet, and the guaracha, a musical gourd. This music gradually spread to Puerto Rico and then moved on to the United States. In Puerto Rico, the form grew and developed, becoming a mix of several different styles of music. The name salsa, the Spanish word for "sauce," was coined by Jimmy Sabater, a renowned early salsa musician.
During the early twentieth century, there was a great deal of musical interchange between the United States and Cuba. In the 1940s and 1950s, however, as Fidel Castro became increasingly powerful in Cuba, communications between the countries broke down. The Puerto Rican immigrants in the United States carried on the tradition of salsa, and the music’s listener base grew rapidly in New York City’s Spanish Harlem and the Bronx.
Salsa Music Pioneers
During the 1960s and 1970s, musicians such as Cal Tjader, Joe Cuba, Cheo Feliciano, Tito Puente, and Celia Cruz became popular through such labels as Fania Records; a famous group of musicians called the Fania All-Stars developed. These musicians came from various backgrounds, all finding room to flourish in New York City’s music world. Tito Puente, for instance, was a traditionally trained musician who studied percussion at the world-renowned Juilliard School. He was a nightclub performer, first finding his audience in the post–World War II nightclub world. His band, Puente’s Latin Jazz Ensemble, became one of the most famous salsa bands in history. One of Puente’s most famous and beloved co-performers, Celia Cruz, immigrated to America from Cuba in her twenties. Her first ambition was to be a teacher, but she decided to pursue a music career instead; she began singing with Puente in the 1960s, soon becoming an indelible part of the band.
Cal Tjader did quite a bit for salsa, even if his own career was not focused entirely upon it. During his early jazz years with piano great Dave Brubeck, he learned to play the vibraphone, best described as a kind of vibrating xylophone; this would become his main instrument. His highly successful 1964 album Soul Sauce did much to popularize salsa music.
Joe Cuba began in music as a conga drum player during the 1960s. His band, the Joe Cuba Sextet, recorded many mambo and salsa hits. One of Joe Cuba’s most famous singers, Cheo Feliciano, came to New York from Puerto Rico in 1952. After ten years singing with Joe Cuba’s band, Feliciano left to sing with the Eddie Palmieri Salsa Orchestra. Feliciano was one of the Fania All-Stars, recording such hits as "Los Entierros" (1995) and "Amada Mia" (1980).
In the twenty-first century, many artists continue producing popular salsa music. Grammy-nominated singer Luis Figueroa released his debut salsa album titled Luis Figueroa in 2022, and fifteen-year-old Puerto Rican musician Luis Vázquez’s 2021 song “Tu Fan” gained rapid popularity. Other artists and groups, such as Christian Alicea, Bad Bunny, and Rauw Alejandro, have also produced popular salsa-inspired music. Additionally, the New York City-based movement, The Salsa Project, supports the preservation and continuation of the salsa music tradition.
Marc Anthony has produced a number of salsa albums and songs featuring elements of salsa music, including Libre (2001), Valió la Pena (2004), and 3.0 (2013). “Vivir Mi Vida” (2013), Anthony’s cover of Algerian raï singer Khaled’s "C'est la vie” (2012), and “Flor Pálida” (2013), Anthony’s cover of Cuban singer Polo Montañez’s song by the same name, both received global praise. Valió la Pena received the 2005 Grammy for Best Salsa Album, and 3.0 received the 2014 Latin Grammy Award for Record of the Year. Anthony’s other albums include Opus (2019), Pa'llá Voy (2022), and Muevense (2024).
Salsa influenced many forms of modern music, including hip-hop, Latin American Jazz, and pop. The Cuban musical style timba, popular in the early twenty-first century, combines rhythm and blues, funk, and salsa. Bands such as La Charanga Habanera, led by David Calzado, and Song by Pupy y Los que Son, Son, released popular timba songs, including “Un loco con una moto” (2011) and “Gozando En La Habana” (2012).
Kinds of Salsa Dance
Salsa dancing is as widely known as its music, if not more so. There are numerous kinds of salsa dances; their differences might seem slight, but variations show significant cultural separation. Casino-style salsa dancing, or casino rueda, is the form most commonly seen in Cuba. Casino-style dancers move in a circle, rather than in pairs, responding to called-out commands from the dancer appointed as the leader of the circle. Colombian salsa, seen in few places outside Colombia, is marked by fast footwork and vigorous movements; it incorporates elements of traditional salsa dancing and swing dancing developed in the 1920s in the United States. Plena is a form of music that was actually far older than salsa but was seized upon and reintroduced by salsa musicians. The form originated from enslaved Puerto Ricans; some plena songs are quite serious, while others are more lighthearted. Because plena songs are typically more restrained than other salsa songs, their dances are more formalized and less dramatic than typical fast-paced, peppy salsa dancing. Plena dancers face one another while dancing, rather than following a more elaborate spatial pattern. Mambo-style salsa, also known as New York style, involves a lot of physical exertion; body waves, shimmying, and expansion and contraction of the rib cage are among its elements.
Bibliography
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