The History of Salsa by Laura Goodwin-Freeman
Salsa is not easily defined. Who invented salsa? The Cubans, Puerto Ricans? Salsa is actually a distillation of many Latin and Afro-Caribbean dances. Each played a large part in its evolution.
The History of what is called Salsa was the result of a musical evolution of various types of Latin rhythms. During the war in Cuba in 1898 US Soldiers got a taste for Cuban music. Later, during Prohibition in the USA, Americans went to Cuba where drinking alcohol was legal and they became infected with the Latin rhythms. Because of the social and political pressures and restraints enforced in Cuba and Puerto Rico, many people emigrated and fled into exile to New York and various other cities of the U.S.A. It was these people who grew up in the Spanish Harlem of New York in the 30's that cooked up this special recipe called 'Salsa' together with other musicians from the Caribbean.
Salsa has been through some years of instability. The 70's witnessed a Salsa boom but in the 80's the "romantic" and "erotic" Salsa became popular, generally with simple lyrics and poor orchestral arrangements. The 'Salsa Romantica' movement irratated the salseros (tradition salsa followers) but interested a new audience and their records sold well accross the world.
The 1990'ssaw Salsa music reaching the youth of the Americas and other countries across the world, but only because of its diversification in styles, from the traditional Mambo of the 30's to the New York Salsa style of the 70's and 80's.
If you are listening to today's Salsa, you are going to find the base of Són, Cumbia, Guaracha, and old Merengue, built-in to the rhythm of different songs. Salsa varies from country to country, site to site. In New York, for example, new instrumentalization and extra percussion were added to some Colombian songs so that New Yorkers - that danced mambo "on the two" - could feel comfortable dancing to the rhythm and beat of the song, because the original arrangement was not one they easily recognized.
Salsa can be likened to Mambo in that both have a pattern of six steps danced over eight counts of music. The dances share many of the same moves. In Salsa, turns have become an important feature, so the overall look and feel are quite different from those of Mambo. Mambo moves generally forward and backward, whereas, Salsa has more of a side to side feel.
Whilst Salsa dance and music can not be undeniably traced at each defining interval because of the amalgamation of such a variety of dances and musical genres, its origins are latin with the main movements being seen in Mexico City and New York during the 30's. It is always evolving and will undoubtedly continue to do so indefinitely with current trends being linked to R&B and Hip Hop musical influences. Who knows where the music and movement of Salsa will be directed to in the future?