Salsa!

Salsa! The most popular of Latin dances, it has become a global phenomenon, helping to promote the music, dance and even a unique salsa culture. But what is it? Even the experts struggle to answer that question.

From nightclubs to the beach, salsa is the world’s favorite Latin dance (Courtesy ArtSalsa.com)

For many, salsa is synonymous with sassy, sensuous and sexy. Others describe it as shallow, superficial and sleazy - and that’s exactly the way some people like it.

Have you ever heard the story about the blind men who encounter their first elephant? One man touches the trunk and describes the creature as a giant snake. Another touches a pillar-like leg and says, “No, it’s more like a tree!”

The elephant, of course, represents salsa - a very diverse and ever evolving music and dance genre (and cultural phenomenon) that means different things to different people. Today’s salsa scene is radically different from the salsa scene of the 1960-70s, and the U.S. salsa scene is radically different from the salsa scene in Cuba or Colombia.

Disclaimer: I’m not a salsa expert...or am I? I have wrestled with salsa dance lessons - in Gothic Seattle, possibly the worst place on the planet to learn how to dance salsa. I’ve never experienced salsa outside Seattle. Nor am I an expert on the music, as I’m far from fluent in Spanish (though salsa inspired me to resume my studies).

Yet it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that something’s missing. Why does no one seem to have any interest in salsa’s roots? Why do salsa fans protect even the sleaziest instructors? What do people mean when they talk about the commercialization of salsa? And if salsa is such a great social activity, why are so many stars “chronically single,” as one online discussion put it? Why do the vast majority of beginning students - perhaps more than 95% - drop out?

I can tell you things few instructors or professional performers can or will tell you, partly because they don’t want to scare potential fans or clients away and partly because they live in a bubble, seemingly disconnected from beginners or the real world. I’m also an expert on political science. So what does that have to do with salsa? If you have to ask, then don’t bother; you’ll probably never get it. And if I sound arrogant...well, arrogance (or attitude) is what the a in salsa stands for. ;)

Seriously, it’s amazingly hard to find useful information about salsa on the Internet; indeed, that very lack of information drove me up a wall and inspired me to create this website.

I’m also serious when I say salsa should be spelled with a capital Z for bizarre. Consider the salsa Yin & Yang chart below.

Then again, what does any of the above matter? Some people turn to salsa as an avenue for meeting new friends, while a few seek a broader cultural experience. Many - perhaps the majority - simply want to get lost on the dance floor, which offers an escape from the drudgery of everyday life. One of my favorite salsa slogans is “Shut up and dance” - a reminder that trying to analyze and actually understand salsa can drive a person insane.

Nevertheless, there are people who like to explore the world around them. Understanding why you enjoy dancing might help you understand yourself. Beginners who are struggling or hopelessly confused or bamboozled might also gain helpful advice from a comprehensive overview of salsa.

Take everything I say with a grain of salt and solicit ideas and opinions from other salseros if you really want to understand salsa, remembering that no one can or will give you a complete, accurate picture of salsa. The only way to really understand it is to take classes and find out what it’s all about for yourself. Even then, you won’t be an expert any more than I am; you’ll just be another salsa addict living in a bubble (like me).

Of course, salsa isn’t just about dance; the foundation is la musica. Most salsa dancers aren’t musicians, and most musicians aren’t dancers, and there are plenty of fans who do neither - they just enjoy listening to salsa music. The good news is that you don’t have to wade through an ocean of BS and expensive private lessons to enjoy the music.

This article offers an overview of salsa. People who want more detailed information can read articles focusing on salsa music, dance or culture, along with related topics explored on the SeaLatin website.

If a picture’s worth a thousand words, a video must be worth at least a couple thousand. So before continuing, why not check out some of the links below, to give yourself a visual and auditory picture of salsa?

And here’s a quick salsa vocabulary primer.

Definition

Most of us know there are two kinds of salsa. There’s the spicy sauce made of tomatoes, onions and hot peppers, and there’s the kind of salsa people listen and dance to.

Merriam-Webster OnLine defines the second kind of salsa as “popular music of Latin American origin that has absorbed characteristics of rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock.”

While that definition is probably true, it’s also pretty lame. It might be better defined as music of primarily Cuban origin that underwent major changes in the U.S. (where it became known as salsa) in the 1960’s and 70’s, then continued to evolve as it spread around the world, splitting into various regional styles.

But that’s just my definition. Various people - and peoples - have used the word salsa to mean very different things.

Some people use salsa as a catch-all term for several Latin music and dance genres. Celia Cruz, renowned as the “Queen of salsa,” once stated, “salsa is Cuban music with another name. It’s mambo, chachachá, rumba, son ... all the Cuban rhythms under one name.” Similarly, world music author Sue Steward described the word salsa as 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.”

According to Wikipedia, “Cuban, Dominican 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, ‘hot’ and wild musical experience that draws upon or reflects elements of Latin culture, regardless of the specific style.” Panamanian salsa singer Rubén Blades once claimed that salsa is merely “a concept,” rather than a definite style or rhythm.

However, the latter definitions probably aren’t familiar to many non-Latinos. History of salsa (MusicaLatina.net) more or less combines Celia Cruz’ definition with the simple definition I offered:

In summary, various Afro-Caribbean musical genres - including salsa, mambo, cha-cha-cha, merengue and bachata - can all be collectively called salsa. However, people who are familiar with the music generally apply the term salsa to salsa/mambo.

Origin of Name

Pinpointing the precise origin of the name salsa is a challenge. About the only thing researchers agree on is that it originated in the latter half of the 20th century (about 1962, according to Merriam-Webster). Of course, the Spanish word salsa (sauce) presumably existed long before that.

Sue Steward has claimed that salsa was originally used in music as a “cry of appreciation for a particularly piquant or flashy solo,” further citing the first use in this manner to Venezuelan radio DJ Phidias Danilo Escalona.

Others have traced the word’s origins back to the early 1930s, when Ignacio Piñeiro composed “Échale Salsita,” a dance song protesting tasteless food. Max Salazar cites this song as the origin of salsa meaning “danceable Latin music.” However, Ed Morales cites the same song with a different interpretation. He says salsa was a cry from Piñeiro to his band, telling them to increase the tempo to “put the dancers into high gear.” According to Morales, Beny Moré shouted salsa during performances later in the 1930s “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.”

In 1962, a Dominican performer named Johnny Pacheco released an album called salsa Na’ Ma, which has been translated as “It just needs a little salsa, or spice.”

Salsa vs Mambo

Brace yourself for more confusion! Like salsa, mambo can mean different things to different people. Moreover, the name mambo has apparently been applied to more than one music/dance genre.

Unless you’re a serious researcher or trivia fan, there are just four things you need to know about mambo:

A bonus for trivia fans: The first known use of the word mambo was in 1948, according to Merriam-Webster. However, it was probably used in Cuba long before that.

In summary, there’s no single, universally accepted definition for the word salsa. Latin dance fans simply understand. If they aren’t dancing cha-cha-chá, rumba, merengue or bachata, they’re probably dancing salsa - or mambo, which is very similar...or both. Got it?

History

So where does salsa - the music and dance - come from?

It began with the European explorers and settlers and African slaves who brought their native music and dance forms with them to Cuba, where they were combined to form a variety of new forms, which would eventually give birth to such familiar genres as rumba, mambo and cha-cha-chá.

Cuban dances were exported to the U.S. and other countries, where they continued to evolve.

The original mambo music was invented in Havana, Cuba in the 1930s when Cuban music was combined with American jazz. The dance was born in the late 1940s and became popular in Mexico and the U.S., particularly New York City, beginning about 1947.

U.S.-Cuban relations were severed by the Cuban Revolution (1953-1959) and the subsequent Cuban embargo. Puerto Ricans (and U.S. citizens of Puerto Rican descent), then began playing a greater role in shaping Latin music.

In the late 1960s and 1970s, Nuyoricans (New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent) became a dominant force on New York City’s Latin music scene. It was during this period that the name salsa was applied to a genre previously called mambo.

So salsa is the daughter of mambo, right? In fact, some sources cite Cuban son as the parent of salsa. In addition, there are apparently two different kinds of mambo, both originating in Cuba and adopted in the U.S.

I think it’s correct to say that son is the ancestor of the most popular form of mambo, which in turn evolved into salsa. So you could say that son is salsa’s grandparent - or you could call it salsa’s parent, if you consider mambo another word for salsa. But don’t quote me in your Salsa PhD, because I’m not entirely certain that this is correct. ;)

Of course, all this salsa trivia is of little interest to most salseros. Some claimed New York City as the birthplace of salsa, while others argued that the Big Apple merely represented but part of an evolutionary continuum. Some Cubans bitterly complained that Americans had stolen their music and merely given it a new name - and some of the biggest names in Latin entertainment, including Tito Puente (a U.S. citizen) more or less agreed.

According to Wikipedia, “The modern dance [Mambo on 2] from New York was popularized in the 70s by Eddie Torres and his contemporaries who were 1st or 2nd generation Puerto Rican immigrants. This style is not danced to Mambo music, for which it is poorly suited, but instead to salsa music.”

This is about the time salsa was born, created primarily by Puerto Rican immigrants in New York City, so we appear to be on the same page - I think.

Salsa Geography

You can find people listening to and dancing salsa just about anywhere the sun shines - and in many places where it doesn’t. Cuba, Puerto Rico and the United States all played major roles in the creation of salsa, though Colombia now claims to be the world’s salsa capital.

In general, salsa is most popular in Latin America, particularly the Caribbean (which includes the coastal regions of Colombia and Venezuela). It has also become very popular in the United States, Europe (including frigid Finland) and Australia. There are also thriving salsa communities in Asia and Africa, including some pretty remote areas.

Cubans appear to be unofficial salsa ambassadors; wherever Cubans congregate, you’re likely to find a salsa scene.

Mamboville vs Hollywood

The United States is somewhat divided by salsa styles, with New York City the capital of On2 salsa and Los Angeles the capital of On1 salsa. In fact, the entire West Coast is generally regarded as On1 territory, though there are plenty of people who dance On2 (or both).

In the U.S., at least, salsa tends to be most popular in large cities with substantial Latino populations; New York City, LA and San Francisco are probably the most notable U.S. salsa centers, along with Miami. Smaller cities may struggle to recruit and train enough dancers to support a salsa scene. Salsa addicts in Seattle, for example, are often drawn to socials as an escape from local clubs, which are often overwhelmed with beginners (and often crappy music).

Though it isn’t popularly associated with salsa, the Dominican Republic is the birthplace of merengue and bachata, genres that are common fixtures in salsa clubs.

Salsa Facts & Trivia

Salsa Capitals

What’s salsa’s birth place, Cuba or New York City? Cubans long claimed that Americans had stolen their music and simply given it a new name. But Cuban music did change as Nuyoricans adopted it as their own and continued experimenting with it. So New York City must be the world’s salsa capital, right?

In fact, Cali, Colombia calls itself the World salsa Capital. In December 2008, local salsa fans began a tradition inspired in part by Rio De Janeiro’s famous Carnival - an annual international salsa festival called La Feria de Cali.

A Brazilian samba school that was invited to perform at the 2009 celebration can be seen at the end of the video Salsodromo Feria de Cali 2009.

Salsa Royalty

Being designated royalty is one of the loftiest achievements a salsa star can aspire to - but it gets confusing. Is the King of Salsa the best singer or the best dancer? And if we’re talking about dance, do we distinguish between various styles? In other words, should we recognize an On1 Salsa King and an On2 Salsa King?

It appears that la musica trumps dance, if Google is an accurate indicator. The most popular Queen of Salsa is the late Celia Cruz, a singer. Several singers and dancers could vie for the title King of Salsa, an honor that might well go to the late Tito Puente, the virtual king of Latin music, period.

For a closer look at all the salsa kings, queens, princes and princesses, see Salsa Music > Royalty and Salsa Dance > Royalty.

Salsa Religion?

The late salsa superstar Hector Lavoe turned to santería - a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin with some Catholic influence - when his life was going downhill. Especially popular in Lavoe’s native Puerto Rico, santería is characterized by animal sacrifice, sacred drumming and communicating with ancestors or deities while in a trance.

But an even more popular cult is a related religion based in Venezuela. The religion takes its name from its primary deity, which is also the name of a hit song by another salsa superstar, Rubén Blades - Maria Lionza. Indeed, thousands of people from around the world make an annual pilgrimage to Venezuela’s Mt. Sorte, Maria Lionza’s legendary home.

This isn’t to say that salsa has been proclaimed the official musical genre of either religion. However, the popularity of both Maria Lionza and salsa in Venezuela, one of the world’s most politicized nations, is an intoxicating combination.

Greatest Salsa Soap Opera

This is no contest; the greatest salsa soap opera revolves around the song “El Cantante,” written by Rubén Blades but given to Hector Lavoe, for whom it became a signature song.

An example of art imitating life, the song mirrored Lavoe’s tragic life. After his death, Lavoe’s story was retold in a movie (El Cantante) starring Marc Anthony as Lavoe and his wife Jennifer Lopez as Lavoe’s wife, with yet another salsa superstar, Victor Manuelle, playing Rubén Blades.

Like all good soap operas, the movie is generally regarded as a flop, similar to a musical Rubén Blades collaborated with Paul Simon on. However, it didn’t slow down Lopez, Anthony, Manuelle (or Blades), and all serious salsa addicts should check out the movie El Cantante.

Most Salsafied Song?

The winner has to be Sting’s “Fragile” (with Spanish/salsafied versions often titled Fragilidad). I LOVE a version Edie The Salsa Freak played in her salsa bootcamp class, but I gave up trying to track down the original - there are simply too many salsafied versions of the song to wade through.

For more salsa Facts & Trivia see Salsa Music > Songs & Singers Trivia and Salsa Dance > Best Dancers.

Links & References

Don’t miss the rest of this series! Take a closer look at Salsa Music, Salsa Dance and Salsa Culture. Below are links to more resources from various websites.