Salsa Music

Viva la musica! The intoxicating rhythm and enchanting piano montunos, spiced with blaring trumpets and voices singing words many fans can’t even understand is simply irresistible to many people, some of whom are even inspired to undertake the long, demanding task of learning how to dance to it.

Indeed, one might argue that salsa dancers are never really good until they embrace musicality, learning to connect to the music. But the ultimate step is embracing the lyrics, which may talk about a lot more than romantic love.

Before you continue reading about salsa music, why not get your bearings by listening to some? The table on the right features links to a variety of salsa music, just to give you an idea of what salsa is all about. If you aren’t crazy about any of these songs, don’t despair; there are lots more to explore. At the same time, your tastes will likely change as you become more familiar with salsa.

If you want to learn about the origins of salsa or the definition of the word salsa, please see the first article in this series, Salsa!

What Is Salsa Music?

Of course, we know that salsa is essentially a form of Latin dance music, but how does it differ from other Latin dance music? According to Wikipedia (Salsa music),

Does that sound a little vague and confusing? In fact, there is no precise definition for salsa.

And, to be perfectly honest, most salsa fans don’t spend a lot of time analyzing it. After you’ve spent some time listening or dancing to Latin music, you’ll instinctively feel the difference between salsa, merengue, bachata and other Latin music genres - even though many of them can be called salsa in the broadest sense of the word.

Structure & Rhythm

Aside from its complex rhythm, a salsa song is often very much like a pop song, with one or two verses followed by a chorus section. The chorus is the higher energy portion of the song, called the “mambo section.”

Vocalists sing the verses, then engage in coro-pregón (“call and response”) during the chorus section, with the lead singer often improvising to tell a story. This call and response routine recalls the African tribal practice of using calls and responses to communicate over great distances.

The horns play melodies and often play a repeating phrase called a mona during the mambo section.

According to Wikipedia,

Note: Dance instructors may count the “six count” as 1 2 3 and, 5 6 7 and, rather than 1 2 3 and, 4 5 6 and. However, the latter is useful in that the odd numbers all correspond to one foot, the even numbers to the other foot.

Dancers refer to two consecutive measures as a “basic,” as they require two measures to dance a basic sequence of six steps (three steps and a pause in each measure).

Rhythm

According to Jake’s Salsa Rhythm and Patterns Tutorial,

This basic rhythm is called tumbao.

Clave Rhythm - Salsa’s Hearbeat

All salsa music and dance is governed by clave (CLAW.vay) rhythm, even if the clave - a small wooden percussion instrument - itself isn’t present. In other words, the clave rhythm can be played on instruments other than the clave.

The most common clave rhythm in salsa is the son clave, which is eight beats long and can be played either in 2–3 or 3–2 style. Other instruments often use the clave rhythm as a foundation for their own musical phrases, which typically emphasize the differences of the two halves of the eight-beat clave rhythm.

Wanna hear what that sounds like? Visit Stephen Phillips’ Salsa Rhythm page and scroll down to clave.

Instruments

Instruments help define salsa. In Salsa Music (National Geographic), Rebeca Mauleon writes,

To help put salsa instruments in perspective, let’s take a short trip back in time. According to Salsa (Music of Puerto Rico),

Rodríguez’ innovations included adding a cowbell and conga to the rhythm section, expanding the role of the tres as a solo instrument and introducing a montuno (typically played on a piano) section for melodic solos. His style became known as “son montuno” and formed the basis of the mambo craze, which influenced Latin popular music in New York City long after the 1940s.

Wait a minute...timbales, cowbell, tres, montuno...are you confused yet?

OK, to make it simple, let’s divide salsa instruments into two main categories - percussion (including the clave) and everything else.

Of course, the instruments used in salsa music vary depending upon the specific genre or style and the geographic influence. However, the basic salsa setup includes a brass section, piano, bass and the all-important percussion section. According to Salsa (Music of Puerto Rico),

Let’s take a closer look at some of the new instruments we’ve learned about - and a few more.

Percussion

The photo above features congas in the background, with a bongo at middle left. The metallic instrument in the lower left corner is a cowbell. The rattle-like instruments are maracas, lying on top of a güiro. The box-like instrument is a cahon.
Courtesy Simon Webster

Before we continue, let me recommend an awesome resource for familiarizing yourself with salsa percussion instruments: the Salsa Beat Machine. Another wonderful resource is Stephen Phillips’ article Salsa Rhythm, which features an interactive rhythm player at the bottom of the page.

A salsa band typically has four primary percussion instruments. The first is the humble clave. People who know nothing about salsa might not even notice the clave, yet the clave rhythm is the foundation of salsa music. I like to think of it as salsa’s heartbeat.

Ironically, the clave rhythm can be played on other instruments, making the clave optional.

That leaves the Big Three - conga(s), bongo and timbale. They play different rhythms that merge into the complex rhythm that makes salsa so intoxicating and confusing for beginners at the same time.

In addition, there are several relatively minor hand-held percussion instruments typically played by vocalists that may be used. These include the maracas, shekere and güiro.

Clave

Like so many Latin music genres, salsa revolves around percussion, and its heartbeat is the simplest of instruments - the lowly clave, little more than a piece of wood. Make that two pieces of wood, as it takes two claves to make music.

I already introduced the clave under Rhythm, but let’s take a closer look at it.

The clave makes a distinct - sometimes almost bell-like - sound, but it’s relatively quiet and can be hard to hear. Nevertheless, learning to pick out the clave from a riot of percussion instruments is a key part of a salsa dancer’s training.

Salsa songs typically feature complex African percussion based around one of four types of simple clave rhythms (though the clave may be temporarily silenced at certain moments). The main rhythm variations are 3-2 clave and 2-3 clave - and this isn’t just salsa trivia; the clave rhythm changes in some songs, throwing dancers off-beat.

According to Wikipedia, “Every instrument in a Salsa band is either playing with the clave (generally: congas, timbales, piano, tres guitar, bongos, claves [instrument], strings) or playing independent of the clave rhythm (generally: bass, maracas, güiro, cowbell).” Though melodic components can play in sync with the clave or not, playing to the wrong type of clave rhythm is taboo.

Check out a brief clave lesson from BerkleeShares.com.

Conga

Another percussion instrument dancers learn to pay attention to is the conga, an instrument that originated in Africa. According to Percussion: Congas (Salsa & Merengue), the conga “provides the backbone of the rhythm section, in a way that tastefully underpins the montuno and bassline.”

Congas are usually played in sets of two to four, with each drum often varying in size. They are played with the fingers, palms and heels of the hands. The basic salsa conga rhythm is called a tumbaó.

Top: L/R = Left or Right hand; H/T/S/O = Heel, Tip, Slap, Open (from Salsa Rhythm)
Bottom: + = low-pitched cowbell strikes; * = high-pitched cowbell strikes

The conga plays a rhythm that emphasizes even-numbered beats, including “boom-boom” open tones on beats 4 and 4½ and again on beats 8 and 8½ and a “slap” on beats 2 and 6. According to Jake’s Salsa Rhythm and Patterns Tutorial (which includes an audio sample),

See the video Afro Cuban Conga Rhythms (BerkleeShares.com).

Bongo

A bongo (see a sample rhythm) is a pair of unequal sized small drums joined together. Higher-pitched than the conga, the bongo is often used as a solo instrument.

According to Jake’s Salsa Rhythm and Patterns Tutorial,

Bongo players may double on other percussion instruments, such as the cowbell, particularly when the rhythmic intensity and volume increase. As explained in Percussion: Bongó (Salsa & Merengue),

Timbales

In Salsa Music (National Geographic), Rebeca Mauleon states that one of the four main factors that make salsa a unique genre is “the important role of the Cuban timbales in the ensemble.” According to Percussion: Timbales (Salsa & Merengue),

Somewhat similar to snare drums, timbales are shallow, single-headed tuneable drums with metal casing, invented in Cuba. They are usually played in pairs, with each drum differing in pitch.

Salsa drum sets typically consist of a pair of timbales, two cow bells, one or two cymbals and possibly a wood block

According to Jake’s Salsa Rhythm and Patterns Tutorial,

More Percussion Instruments

The clave can be thought of as salsa’s heartbeat, with the conga, bongo and timbales providing most of the overlapping complex rhythms. However, there are still other percussion instruments that are sometimes used in salsa. Most of them are relatively small hand-held instruments, more similar to the clave than to the conga, bongo or timbales. These instruments are often played by vocalists, similar to claves.

The article Percussion: Hand (Salsa & Merengue) states,

According to this article, the most important hand percussion instruments in salsa are the maraca, güiro and clave. It also mentions shakers, the shekere, the metal güira, tambourines and cow bells. (Are you lost yet?)

The maracas and shekere are similar in the the manner in which they’re played and the sound they make. Usually played in pairs, maracas are typically gourd or coconut shells filled with seeds or dried beans. The shekere (spelled chekeré in Cuba) is a West African instrument consisting of a dried gourd covered with a net into which beads have been woven.

The güiro is a hollow, open-ended gourd with notches cut in one side. A wooden stick is rubbed over the notches to produce a ratchet-like sound.

Another salsa percussion instrument is the familiar cow bell (or cowbell), which is usually played with a stick. According to Salsa Rhythm (Stephen Phillips), “The cow bell (or ‘campana’ or ‘bongo bell’) is played by the bongo player during the louder parts of salsa music (the ‘montuno’ or ‘mambo’ sections).”

Jake’s Salsa Rhythm and Patterns Tutorial elaborates,

Non-Percussion Instruments

Brass Instruments

In salsa, the most important brass instruments by far are the trombone and trumpet.

Trombone

According to Rebeca Mauleon (Salsa Music, National Geographic), one of the four main factors that make salsa a unique genre is an increased use of trombones. The point is driven home in Salsa music (Wikipedia):

A fabulous source of information is A brief history of the Latin trombone (Luis Tamargo, Latin Beat Magazine, March 1998).

A series of U.S. based Latin trombonists (mostly of Puerto Rican origin) have had a major impact on the development of Latin jazz and tropical dance music since the 1960s. In fact, a man often considered one of salsa’s founders is trombonist and composer Willie Colón. Colón even claims to hold the “all time record for sales in the Salsa genre, [having] created 40 productions that have sold more than thirty million records worldwide.”

One of my favorite salsa songs - recorded by a Seattle-based Brazilian band, Sambatuque, on their album Brazilian Songbird - is “Tanta Saudade,” which features a wild trombone solo. Some of Joe Bataan’s songs feature powerful trombone passages, notably “Muñeca.”

Trumpet

Courtesy ludimation

I LOVE Latin music with trumpets blaring in the background. Not surprisingly, my favorite salsa songs include “Black Mambo” (Angel & the Mambokats) and “Descarga de Hoy” (Cubanismo!). The trumpet solo on Orquesta La Palabara’s version of “Lady” is awesome, too.

As I write this, I’m listening to some dazzling jazz trumpet (and trombone) on a song I recently discovered, “Homenaje a Mario Martíz” by the renowned Puerto Rican band La Sonora Ponceña.

Reed Instruments

Though not as common in salsa as the trumpet or trombone, the saxophone and flute both make some powerful contributions.

My favorite section of Cubanismo’s “Descarga de Hoy” - one of my favorite salsa songs - features a saxophone. I also love the flute mixed in with the violin in the background of Orquesta La Palabra’s version of “Lady” just before the trumpet solo near the end.

Don’t forget that Fania Records was co-founded by a Dominican flutist and band-leader named Johnny Pacheco.

Strings

Stringed instruments commonly used in salsa include the guitar, Latin American variations of the guitar (e.g. the tres and cuatro), bass and violin.

None of these are frequently used as a solo instrument.

Guitars

According to Rhythm: Guitar / Tres (Salsa & Merengue),

The sound of guitars in Cuban music tends to be bright and mandolin-like. Some describe the tres’ sound as metallic.

“The first salsa album where the tres is used in all its possibilities” is Homenage a Arsenio, recorded a couple months after the death of the master.

Bass

Some salsa bands use upright acoustic basses, while others use electric basses. However, they have the same function. In Rhythm: Bass (Salsa & Merengue), we read,

The bass plays the upbeat between the musician’s count 2 and 3 (labeled 5 in the image below) plus the fourth beat in every measure (labeled 8 and 1). According to Jake’s Salsa Rhythm and Patterns Tutorial, “The bass tumbao is actually a subset of the clave itself. . . . This [the rhythm illustrated below] is like repeating the last two notes of the 3 side of the clave continuously.” (See the link above for an audio sample.)

* = piano key strikes
5 = 5th of a chord; 8 = high octave of chord; 1 = low octave of chord

Violin

According to Melodics: Violin (Salsa & Merengue),

Popular salsa and timba bands that feature violins include Orquesta Aragón, Orquesta Broadway, Africando and Los Van Van.

Piano

According to Rhythm: Piano (Salsa & Merengue),

This melodic piano rhythm so characteristic of salsa is called montuno.

One of salsa’s most famous pianists is Larry Harlow, of Fania All-Star fame. Harlow also helped modernize salsa by introducing the electric piano. Another keyboard giant is Eddie Palmieri, who has been variously described as a Latin jazz artist and a salsa artist.

Marimba, Vibraphone, Xylophone

Cal Tjader and Grupo Latin Vibe are defined by their use of “vibes,” according to one salsa fan. However, the most famous salsa song making use of this family of instruments is probably Tito Puente’s classic “Hong Kong Mambo,” in which Puente plays vibraphone.

As I write this, I’m listening to Héctor Lavoe’s hauntingly beautiful “El Cantante,” which appears to feature a marimba or vibraphone in the background.

Lyricism

Many salseros in the U.S. and other non-Latin countries are oblivious to salsa lyrics, as songs are usually sung in Spanish, with vocalists expected to improvise during verses and instrumental solos. What they’re missing is all over the map.

According to Wikipedia, “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.”

Since salsa is primarily dance music, the lyrics can be very simple. Modern pop-salsa is often romántica or more sexually explicit erótica. In The Death of Salsa, Abel Delgado writes, “Modern commercial salsa is about love, love and more love until you either give in and sway along moronically or your ears bleed or you don’t listen.”

Though that might be an extreme attitude, he’s not alone. Check out the video Politics of Rhythm.

Even if you like romantic salsa - and there are many representative songs that I love - it’s well worth exploring classic salsa and salsa dura. Amazingly, many salseros seem unaware of the very existence of anything other than salsa romantica.

Political Salsa

As a long-time political activist and a fan of Latin America’s left-wing revolution, I have a special interest in “political salsa.” But when I posted a question about salsa songs that are political in nature on Salsa Forums, I was ridiculed for asking such a stupid question. Then my thread was deleted, because political discussions aren’t allowed there.

This is yet another example of weird salsa. In fact, many salsa songs have political themes, sometimes with radical lyrics. Latin percussionist José Clausell writes that Latin jazz pianist and salsa pioneer Eddie Palmieri’s “compositions, Justicia, La Libertad Logico and Vamonos Pal Monte, were compelling anthems of consciousness that moved a generation. He put it on the line, point blank, at a time when it was artistic suicide to do so...”

“El Numero Seis” is a song about waiting for a subway train; “Where the Hell is number six?” says Panamanian salsa singer Rubén Blades while reminiscing about it.

Blades later started writing lyrics with political and social content, striking a Latin American nerve with his album Siembra, which has been called the “Sgt. Pepper of salsa.” The inspiration for the biggest hit on the album, “Pedro Navaja,” is “Mack the Knife.” Blades’ remake tells the story of a barrio hoodlum who stabs a woman on the street, but is shot by her as she dies. Says Blades, “The bully got bullied,” adding that that’s what was happening at all levels of society. In other words, Blades was writing about what is now commonly referred to as blowback.

Many salsa songs use a nationalist theme, centered on a sense of pride in Black Latino identity. Such songs may be in Spanish, English or a mixture of the two called Spanglish.

Music author Isabelle Leymarie notes that salsa performers often incorporate machoistic bravado (guapería) in their lyrics, in a manner reminiscent of calypso and samba. She ascribes this to the performers’ need to compensate for their “humble backgrounds.”

Leymarie claims that salsa is “essentially virile, an affirmation of the Latin man’s pride and identity.” Further evidence of this machismo can be seen in the manly taunts and challenges (desafio) that are also a part of traditional salsa.

Styles & Trends

This is as good a place as any to mention some of the most important styles of salsa music, particularly classic salsa, salsa dura and salsa romántica. We’ll also mention mambo, timba and salsaton, which aren’t exactly salsa - but people who are new to Latin music may not be able to tell them apart.

Classic vs Romantic Salsa

Formed in New York City in the late 1960s, the Fania record label was the “Motown” of salsa. Over time, nearly every significant salsa artist signed on with Fania, which became a virtual monopoly. The music recorded by Fania is the original classic salsa music, to which other salsa styles are compared.

The term salsa dura (“hard salsa”) is applied to salsa music that retains the characteristics of classic salsa. Salsa gorda (“fat salsa”) is synonymous with salsa dura.

The Spanish Harlem Orchestra has perfected the big band sound of the Fania years, while groups like Grupo Niche make Colombia the salsa dura capital of the world.

The most significant departure from classic salsa is known as Salsa romántica (romantic salsa). A nice description is offered in Battle of the Salsa Styles (About.com):

Versatile Cuban musician Rodolfo Foster - better known as La Palabra - is credited with inventing romantic salsa. (He originally called it Ballada en Salsa). In 1983, his LA-based band, Orquesta, Versalles released a salsafied version of Lionel Richie’s hit, “Lady,” which became an international hit.

Eventually, Palabra formed a new band, Orquesta La Palabra, which was invited to perform at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, including “I’m Going to Shenzhen.”

While Colombia tied its star to salsa dura, Puerto Rico is more closely associated with salsa romantica.

But even the salsa romantica fad is beginning to wear thin, as some romantic salsa artists have begun to rediscover classic salsa. For example, Marc Anthony combines both styles in his album Libre.

Battle of the Salsa Styles lists albums representing classic salsa, salsa dura and salsa romantica, with links to audio samples.

Salsa or Not?

Mambo, timba and salsaton can all be loosely classified with salsa, though there are distinct differences.

Mambo is the most confusing for me, partly because there are apparently two different genres of music and dance called mambo (though one is pretty much defunct, I think).

Note that some salsa songs feature passages where the music becomes a little more intense. These episodes of wilder music are often described as mambo.

With that in mind, I like the definition of modern mambo offered in Different Types of Latin Music (Salsa Musicality):

The article also mentions an older mambo style and includes audio samples of both styles.

Timba is a Cuban genre of music sometimes called Cuban salsa music (salsa cubana), though it developed independently in Cuba. Nevertheless, timba was influenced in part by salsa and is quite similar. Like salsa, it also has a very strong socio-political heritage.

Salsaton is simply a fusion of salsa and reggaeton, as explored by India and Andy Montañez on their albums Soy Diferente and Salsa Con Reggaeton, both released in 2006. (Montañez’ song En Mi Puertorro instantly became one of my favorite “salsa” songs, even before someone told me it’s an example of salsaton.)

In summary, no one knows exactly where salsa is going, but it’s certainly still evolving, even as it faces competition from newer Latin dances, such as bachata and zouk. At the moment, salsa is thriving in all its energetic diversity.

People & Songs

I wanted to create two separate sections, one focusing on famous salsa singers and musicians, the other on popular salsa songs and albums. However, I found it very hard to separate the people from their music. Let me give you an example.

Latin Music, USA’s salsa listening page lists four songs - “Mi Gente” (Héctor Lavoe), “Pedro Navaja” (Rubén Blades), “Rebelión” (Joe Arroyo) and “Vivir Lo Nuestro” (La India and Marc Anthony). In Rebelión, Arroyo, a native of Colombia, sings about a slave who defends his wife from their master’s abuse. Slavery, of course, is a very powerful issue intertwined with the roots of salsa.

Inspired by “Mack the Knife,” “Pedro Navaja” describes another sort of rebellion; a man murders a prostitute, but she kills him in return as she’s dying. The song appeared on the album Siembra (1978), which quickly became the best-selling salsa album of all time (though it now ranks second or third). Ironically, the album marked the death of salsa’s golden age. According to the article Entertainment Industry,

But this story doesn’t end there, for Panamanian Rubén Blades and Puerto Rican Héctor Lavoe - both of whom were Fania All-Stars - are connected by yet another very powerful song, one which also embraces Marc Anthony - “El Cantante.”

Latin Music, USA says of “Mi Gente,” “This anthemic song by Lavoe, the Fania All-Stars’ most famous salsero (Salsa singer), captures the street party atmosphere of Salsa’s heyday in 1970s New York.” Written for Lavoe by Blades, “El Cantante” would become Lavoe’s signature song.

After Lavoe’s tragic life was cut short by AIDS, Marc Anthony - whose hit “Vivir Lo Nuestro” helped launch the salsa romántica movement - played Lavoe in the movie El Cantante. Anthony’s wife, Jennifer Lopez, played Lavoe’s wife in the movie.

Wow! Between slavery, imperialism, poverty and AIDS, there are a lot of powerful stories in just the five songs I’ve mentioned so far.

If it sounds like I’m about to launch into another sermon, I am. Salsa is about more than recreational dancing and cheap thrills. Notice, I didn’t say there’s anything wrong with dancing or sexy dance partners. All I’m saying is that there’s a deeper, symbolic meaning that’s largely been lost.

So, by all means, search for songs with groovy rhythm and romantic lyrics. But pause now and then to listen to the “intelligent” music Rubén Blades and others have long championed. This is soul music for the world - and some of it is powerful dance music to boot. If you’ve never cried over salsa, then you aren’t listening to the music.

People

OK, I have to bite the bullet and list some people here. Tito Puente and Celia Cruz are widely regarded as the king and queen of salsa, even though Puente famously despised the name salsa.

Next to Puente and Cruz, the most celebrated salsa artists are the Fania All-Stars - who included Tito Puente and Celia Cruz. I attempted to list each member of the Fania All-Stars in the table below, relying primarily on Wikipedia’s Fania Records artists page.

A few notes...Julio Betancourt and Ismael Quintana aren’t listed on that page. I’m not sure if Jorge Santana - Carlos Santana’s younger brother - signed on with Fania Records. However, he performed with the Fania All-Stars as a special guest at a concert in Madison Square Gardens in 1974. Roberto Blades is Rubén Blades’ younger brother.

Note that many of the people listed below were born in Puerto Rico, though some of them became U.S. citizens. I believe every individual born in the U.S. is Newyoricun - born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents - except Joe Bataan, who’s Filipino-American, and perhaps Louis Ramirez.

Every name in the table below is linked to an article on this site (SeaLatin) or a Wikipedia page ^(W). Many of the artists have their own websites; I simply haven’t had time to track all of them down yet.

Contemporary Artists

Next, I’ll list some of the more important contemporary salsa stars. (Of course, some of the Fania All-Stars are still performing.)

Marc Anthony and La India are credited with helping popularize salsa romantica through songs like “Vivir Lo Nuestro.” They also belong to a group - including Brenda K. Starr, Son By Four, Victor Manuelle and Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan - who have become crossover stars with Latin-tinged hits sung in English.

Soaring high on hits like “Lady,” La Palabra’s group, Orquesta La Palabra, was invited to perform at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. (The mayor of Shenzhen specifically requested the song “I’m Going to Shenzhen.”

Joe Arroyo and his band (La Verdad) popularized Colombian salsa beginning in the 1980s. The trend was continued by bands like Sonora Carruseles, with groups like Orquesta Guayacan and Grupo Niche further prompting the city of Cali to call itself the “salsa capital of the world.” Colombian singer Carlos Vives created his own style that fuses salsa with vallenato and rock.

Since the mid-1990s, the super-group Africando has served as a meeting ground for New York musicians and leading African singers, such as Bambino Diabate, Ricardo Lemvo, Ismael Lo and Salif Keita.

Most Popular Salsa Songs

Of course, it’s impossible to designate the 100 best salsa songs of all time, but some songs are obviously more popular than others. The table below features just a sampling of the lists floating around on the Internet. You can also get tips from online forums, like Salsa Forums’ Salsa Music forum.

You can learn about some of the most famous salsa songs - including Aicha, Bilongo (aka Mandinga), El Cantante, Maria Lionza, Plastico and Siembra - in SeaLatin’s Music section.

Salsafied Songs

Popular non-Latin songs are sometimes transformed into salsa songs. In plain English, they’re salsafied. The original English words may be retained, replaced by Spanish lyrics, or a combination of the two.

One of my favorites is Orquesta la Palabra’s version of Lionel Richie Don Omars’ hit, Lady. Other personal favorites include the Pink Panther theme (La Pantera Mambo), the theme from Shaft (performed by Joe Bataan), What You Won’t Do for Love and Take Five (Tito Puente’s version rocks!). OK, so Take Five is Latin jazz, not salsa; I simply couldn’t resist including it. :)

And check out these salsa versions of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean and the Beatles’ Can’t Buy Me Love. In fact, there are at least two a lbums devoted to Latinized Beatles songs - RMM Tropical Tribute to the Beatles and A Latin Music Tribute to the Beatles.

Edie The Salsa Freak has a beautiful instrumental version of Sting’s hit Fragile. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the name of the artist, and I haven’t been able to find it online; there are simply too many salsa versions of Fragile (or Fragilidad) to wade through.

Note that the popularity of salsafied songs varies among salseros. Some dancers hate them, while others love them - or some of them; some salsafied songs are so bad it seems that no one likes them.

Club Scene

In the U.S., salsa clubs generally play a variety of Latin music, predominantly salsa but with a little merengue, cumbia, cha-cha-chá or bachata. Some clubs also play reggaeton, due to its popularity with youth.

The exact combination of music varies, of course. For example, clubs may have special bachata nights where they play more bachata than salsa. Clubs also offer different kinds of salsa, some advertising Cuban salsa, timba or classic salsa.

The music is further distinguished by the DJ’s that crank it out. Some dancers have favorite DJ’s, just as they have favorite clubs. DJ’s can also vary their music, catering to beginning dancers early in the night, then playing music for more advanced dancers as the night wears on.

By the way, DJ’s - some of whom may also be salsa instructors - are usually known by their last name, preceded by “DJ.” For example, a DJ named Samuel Alvarado might be called DJ Alvarado.

Clubs may have live bands, or a combination of live bands and DJ’s. Note that salsa bands often run on Latin time. If a club advertises a series of events starting at 9 p.m., the band might not start until 10 p.m. or later.

Every club and DJ has their own rules, but most DJ’s probably appreciate patrons who take an interest in their music. They might appreciate hearing a request for a particular song, even if they’re unable to oblige.

Song identification is another function DJ’s perform. If you hear a song that’s so intoxicating you just have to add it to your collection, just ask the DJ for the name of the song and the artist or album.

Salsa Facts & Trivia

Songs & Singers

Salsa Royalty

• Celia Cruz is the undisputed “Queen of Salsa.”
• Luis Enrique and Marc Anthony have both been called the “Prince of Salsa.”
• La Palabra is known as the “Godfather of Romantic Salsa,” a style he is credited with creating.

Who R U?

• La India’s real name is Linda Viera Caballero. Her nickname, India, was coined by her grandmother because of her fine dark features and long, straight black hair.
• La India was given her second nickname, “Princess of Salsa,” by Celia Cruz, the “Queen of Salsa.”
• Marc Anthony’s real name is Marco Antonio Muñiz.
• La Palabra’s real name is Rodolfo M. Foster.
• Victor Manuelle’s real name is Victor Manuelle.

Signature Songs & Anthems

• “Mi Gente,” performed by Héctor Lavoe, has been described as an anthem of Hispanic pride or Latin identity.
• “El Cantante” was Héctor Lavoe’s signature song.
• Celiz Cruz’ signature song was “La Vida Es Un Carnaval” (“Life is a Carnival”).
• Victor Manuelle performed “La Vida Es Un Carnaval” for Celia Cruz, with full orchestra, at a televized tribute concert for her, the last one at which she ever performed on stage. A few months later, he sang an a cappella version of the song at her funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York in July 2003.

El Cantante (“The Singer”)

• Rubén Blades wrote the song “El Cantante” and gave it to Héctor Lavoe.
• Marc Anthony played Héctor Lavoe in the movie El Cantante (2007).
• Marc Anthony’s wife, Jennifer Lopez, played Héctor Lavoe’s wife in the movie El Cantante.
• Victor Manuelle played Rubén Blades in the movie El Cantante.

Marc & J.Lo

• There are salsa dancers and salsa musicians, but relatively few people do both. Jennifer Lopez is a celebrated dancer, singer and actress. No wonder she’s the highest paid Latin actress in Hollywood history.
• Jennifer Lopez’s debut album (which reached the top ten of the Billboard 2000) was titled On the 6, a reference to the subway line she used to take growing up in Castle Hill. Rubén Blades wrote a song about the same subway, “Numero Seis.”
• Marc Anthony was initially reluctant to become a salsa musician and declined an offer to make a salsa album when asked by Ralph Mercado, president of RMM Records. While riding in a taxi, Anthony heard Juan Gabriel’s hit song, “Hasta Que Te Conocí.” He asked Mercado if he could record it in salsa.
• Marc Anthony was the first solo salsa act to ever sell out Madison Square Garden.
• Together, Marc Anthony (over 30 million) and Jennifer Lopez (over 25 million) have sold over 55 million albums worldwide. (However, their songs aren’t all salsa.)

Around the World

• Orquesta La Palabra was invited to perform during the opening ceremonies at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, including “I’m Going to Shenzhen” (specifically requested by the mayor of Shenzhen).
• “Aïcha” - an Arabic female name - is the name of a French song written by the singer songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman. The song was first performed by an Algerian singer named Khaled before Africando - a group combining musicians from Africa and New York City - transformed it into a salsa hit.

Buying Salsa Music

So where does one buy salsa music? The answer is all over the map.

Some of the more popular songs can be obtained from familiar sources, such as iTunes or Amazon.com. Others can lead salsa addicts on a wild goose chase.

Many songs mentioned on the SeaLatin website are linked to Amazon.com. However, the table on the right lists more resources. Descarga and Prodland are the only ones listed that do not sell MP3 downloads.

For more details, see the discussion List of Legal Online Music Stores, Salsa Forums.

References