Salsa
Salsa is not easily defined. Salsa is a mixture of many Latin
and Afro-Caribbean dances. Each played a critical role in its evolution.
Salsa is similar 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 is quite different from those of Mambo.
Mambo moves generally forward and backward, whereas, Salsa has
more of a side to side feel.
We must
give credit to Cuba for the origin and ancestry of creation,
nonetheless,
it is not only Cuban.
Contra-Danze (Country Dance)
of England/France, later called Danzón, was brought by the
French who fled from Haiti, and began to mix itself with Rhumbas
of African origin (Guaguanco, Colombia, Yambú). Add Són
of the Cuban people, which was a mixture of the Spanish troubadour
(sonero) and the African drumbeats and flavora and a partner dance,
flowered to the beat of the clave.
This syncretism also occurred in smaller degrees and with variations
in other countries like the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Puerto
Rico, among others. Bands of these countries took their music to
Mexico City in the era of the famous films of that country (Perez
Prado, most famous...). Shortly after, a similar movement to New
York occurred. In these two cities, more promotion and syncretism
occurred and more commercial music was generated because there
was more investment. New York created the term "Salsa",
but it did not create the dance. The term became popular as nickname
to refer to a variety of different music, from several countries
of Hispanic influence: Rhumba, Són Montuno, Guaracha, Mambo,
Cha cha cha, Danzón, Són, Guaguanco, Cubop, Guajira,
Charanga, Cumbia, Plena, Bomba, Festejo, Merengue, among others.
Many of these have maintained their individuality and many were
mixed creating "Salsa".
If you
are listening to today's Salsa, you are going to find the base
of són, and you are going to hear Cumbia, as well as,
Guaracha. You will hear many of the old styles somewhere within
the modern beats. Salsa varies from site to site and city to city.
In New York, for example, new instrumentalization and extra percussion
were added to some Colombian songs so that New Yorkers - that dance
mambo "on the two" - can feel comfortable dancing to
the rhythm and beat of the song, because the original arrangement
is not one they easily recognize. This is called "finishing," to
enter the local market. This "finish" does not occur
because the Colombian does not play Salsa, but it does not play
to the rhythm of the Puerto Rican/Post-Cuban Salsa. I say Post-Cuban,
because the music of Cuba has evolved towards another new and equally
flavorful sound.
Similar to a tree, Salsa has many roots and many branches, but
one trunk that unites us all. The important thing is that Salsa
is played throughout the Hispanic world and has received influences
of many places within it. It is of all of us and it is a sample
of our flexibility and evolution.
Love,
Peace, & Cross-Body
Leads…
