Document Produced and written for the Latin Crew by El Brujo Salsero “The Salsa Wizard”, Edited by Amos De Roover. This document is for reference purpose only, please do not copy edit without express permission from the Latin Crew. Click here for the Do's and Don't in Salsa Classes and Clubs.
HISTORY OF SALSA
Most music and dance which comes from a single line of evolution tends to be pure and beautiful, but of limited appeal to a few enthusiasts (who listens to Japanese folk music outside Japan?).
The most vigorous and exciting forms tend to occur when different musical forms mix, for example The Police became massively popular blending reggae (Afro- Caribbean) and rock (American) with a British Post-punk/ New Wave sensibility.
The Afro-Cuban blend which led to salsa music and dance resulted from colonisation of the New World with emigration of European aristocrats and peasants and the mass crime of importing African slaves. There are four main roots of salsa: - Son, Rumba , Danzón and Jazz, each of which is itself a mix of traditions.
The extraordinary longevity of Cuban musicians such as Compay Segundo , Israel ‘Cachao’ Lopez and Rubén Gonzalez who started playing in the late 1920s means that musical historians have had first-hand accounts of how the forms evolved.
The question of ‘who invented the Mambo?’ is more or less settled as the evolutionary result of a rivalry between three bands. Latin musicians were and are uninhibited about borrowing ideas from other musicians and developing them.
For example Mexican Carlos Santana’s hit “Oye Como Va” is a Cha-cha-chá written by Puerto Rican Tito Puente, who got the montuno and tumbao (melodic motif and rhythm) from ‘Chanchullo’ popularised by Cuban pianist Rubén Gonzalez , derived from a folk song.
African Roots of Salsa. Click here
American Jazz Orchestration. Click here
Salsa: The Dance. Click here
Composed and written by Latin Crews El Brujo Salsero “The Salsa Wizard” - Duncan Fitton.
History of salsa
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