What is Salsa?

By SalsaSteph

Salsa is a generic music term - like jazz or rock - that encompasses a variety of rhythmical styles and musical forms. These include:

Salsa

Mambo

Son

Cha Cha

Guaracha

Guaguanco

Guajira

Bolero

Danzon

Cumbia

Casino Rueda

These days you’ll also hear the terms on1, (salsa), on2 (mambo) and on3 (Cuban salsa).

The literal translation of salsa is “sauce” - a hot spicy sauce that is a common ingredient in many Caribbean dishes to spice up any plain food. The term salsa is relatively new to describe the sound created by instruments of Cuba, Puerto-Rico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, etc. - and are all structured around two wooden sticks struck together called the clave.

So where did this new term come from? Salsa was coined in the 1960s in the Latino community of New York City (mostly from the Puerto-Rican barrios/ghettos.) What we know today as salsa is the work of centuries of musical and sociological development, which all started in Cuba.

Cuba’s traditions are a fusion of European and African cultures. Cuba was colonized by the Spaniards in the 16^th century, who brought over Western African slaves to work the sugar and tobacco plantations. These slaves were able to maintain their religious beliefs and secular traditions in secret societies, re-creating their African instruments with materials found in Cuba. Thus, drumming styles were preserved. Eventually, drums, shakers, bells and clay bottles were added to the European strings, woodwinds, brass, keyboards and percussion instruments, creating a complex and textured music. The roots of rumba, son and danzon rhythms are of particular importance to what we know today as salsa.

Salsa is now played and danced by cultures around the world, especially since the emergence of instructional DVDs, the Internet and the salsa congresses that have sprung up globally since 1998.