Salsa 101: Introduction to Latin Music and Dance
By Scott Hannah and Laureano Ralon

The Music
The concept of salsa has been disputed for decades among musicians and aficionados. Some say that what’s called salsa is really Cuban son or mambo and they tend to use the words “salsa” and “mambo” interchangeably (salsa legend Celia Cruz once pointed out that “salsa is Cuban music with a different name”). Others argue that salsa is not a specific style or genre but a concept to denominate a wide range of Afro-Caribbean genres, such as bomba, plena, danza, seis, and aguinaldo from Puerto Rico; son, danzòn, and rumba in all its variants — yambú, guaguancò , guaracha, and mambo — from Cuba; cumbia and vallenato from Colombia; mangulina, salve, carabiné, bachata, and merengue from the Dominican Republic; compa from Haiti; tamborino from Panama; carbonero from El Salvador; and the calipso, zoca, and rapso from Trinidad and Tobago, to name but a few. Yet others claim that the term salsa originated as a musical marketing tag or commercial term intended for the sale and distribution of a highly complex and often confusing musical configuration.

While all of these explanations have elements of truth, they are nevertheless incomplete without each other. Those who believe that salsa music is in fact Cuban music with a different name are quite right to the extent that the Cuban son and mambo are two of the antecedents of salsa. Although salsa music today is not exclusively Cuban, we should not forget to credit the Cubans for inventing the fundamental “beats” upon which the mixtures of Afro-Caribbean and jazz rhythms were laid. That said, it is erroneous to use the terms “salsa” and “mambo” interchangeably, which overlooks the valuable contributions made to the “salsa pot” by other Latin American countries such as Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Colombia. The reality is that today’s salsa music is very different from the more folkloric, 1940s and ‘50s type of Cuban mambo featured in the film Buena Vista Social Club.

Similarly, those who claim that salsa was invented in New York by Puerto Rican immigrants are right in pointing out that jazz — swing and bebop — is an inherent element in salsa; however, they fail to recognise salsa’s Cuban roots. Cuban composers began to travel to New York in the 1920s and 1930s, long before Puerto Rico dominated the salsa scene there.

Some History
In relation to the last point, let’s consider the following dates and events in music history:

In 1927, the famous Cuban orquestra “La Sonora Matancera” — considered by the Guinness Book of World Records to be the group who has been performing for longest time (72 years) — debuted in New York.

In 1937, the Cuban composer Ignacio Piñeras’ classic son, “Echale Salsita” — “Spice It Up A Little” — became a popular hit and is the first known recorded use of the word “salsa.” The word “salsa” was later popularised by Izzy Sanabria, who in the 1970s worked as a graphic designer at Fania Records, emceed for the “Fania-all-Stars” Band, and produced the influential magazine Latin New York.

In 1940, Machito, a musician who emigrated from Cuba in the 1930s, and another Cuban named Mario Bauza, formed the legendary group “Afro-Cubans.” Their band was one of the first to blend powerful Afro-Cuban rythms with jazz improvisation.

The 1950s marked one of the most creative periods for jazz and Latin music. With the rise of Fidel Castro, Cubans began to leave their country, fearing that they would soon be unable to do so freely. The New York music scene was certainly fueled by this initial migration, however, the subsequent shortage of musicians and music in Cuba would be felt a decade later.

In the mid 1960s, the U.S. Latin music scene underwent a major crisis. The complexity of the “salsa pot” made the commercialisation of Latin music difficult. In addition, the Cuban Revolution halted the movement of musicians and music from Cuba. Meanwhile, in New York, the pachanga trend — the 1960s successor of the chachachá and one of the precursors of salsa — started to wane. Although played by great bands, the pachanga seemed inadaptable to the new music scene, which throbbed to the sounds of The Beatles and the furious rhythm’n’blues, renovated and made more attractive and sensual by Motown commercial soul music.

To offset the crisis, Latin music fused with rhythm’n’blues to produce a new genre called the boogaloo — represented in Pete Rodriguez’s hit, “I Like It Like That.” From then on, a great number of small groups pushed the boogaloo fever with variants such as the shing-a-ling and the afroloo, which ruled Latin music until the beginning of the 1970s, when it handed its reign over to salsa, for which it had paved the way. La Fania records, then regarded as the Latin Motown, was founded by Johnny Pacheco in 1964 and was key in revitalising Latin music. The “All-Stars” were Fania Records’ house band and were comprised of the label’s bandleaders: Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Hector Lavoe, and Willie Colon, to name a few. The history of “La Fania All-Stars” represents the rise and promulgation of salsa as a marketing tag for Latin music — a new concept which would explode in the 1970s.

The Dance
Salsa is played in a common 4/4 time, which means four beats to each bar — much like rock’n’roll. However, because musicians take on cooperative roles, the best way to feel the rhythm of salsa is by listening to the music as a whole, instead of listening to each instrument individually. Because salsa music is such a rich conglomerate of rhythms, it comes as no surprise that each individual will hear, feel, and interpret salsa in different ways.

That said, people tend to discuss four major categories of salsa dance:

L.A. Style salsa fuses traditional salsa with jazz, hip-hop, ballroom, swing, and ballet. On the dance floor an L.A. Style salsa dancer is eye catching and flashy. Like all things from the region of Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Southern California, it’s all about speed, power, and making the impossible look easy!

New York Style salsa evolved from the great New York Mambo. A New York Style salsa dancer is smooth. Control, style, and technique are emphasised. New York Style salsa dancers never look rushed and they perform amazing turn combinations with crisp, clean execution.

Cuban Style salsa — also known as “Casino” — is truer to the dance’s folkloric Afro-Cuban roots than the L.A. or New York Styles. It is characterised by male dominance. The Cuban basic step, often referred to as “guapea,” is a distinct push-pull motion in which the man and woman push off each other from an open break. The steps are similar to Merengue in that both dances emphasise hip movement.

Colombian Style salsa evolved from the north coast region of Colombia and is very much based on Cumbia. Often referred to as “street-style,” Cumbia is actually a different style of tropical music than salsa. Cumbia is characterised by a back-step basic and is danced in a circular pattern with a wind-up motion before executing each turn. If you travel abroad in Latin America and dance with someone at a Latin nightclub, chances are you’ll be dancing Cumbia steps to salsa music!

The Vancouver Salsa Scene
In recent years, salsa dancing has undergone tremendous growth in Vancouver, fueled primarily by the intensity of the L.A. and Seattle scenes - but not limited to L.A. Style salsa only! Every style of Latin Dance is being danced here: from N.Y., through Cuban, to Colombian style salsa, Bachata, Merengue, Reggeaton and Cha-cha, you name it. We are in that respect a highly-receptive, non-judgemental, and open-minded scene!