Spicy Salsa
Hi everyone ! I decided for my topic this week I would take y'all through the origin of Salsa and exactly what musical aspects make it up. I actually didn't realize how many different adaptations of Salsa there were until I decided to dig deeper. Although this blog I'm going to go over the basics of its origin, if it had influences, and what are important aspects of Salsa. I hope you all enjoy my entry !!!
Where Did Salsa Come From ?
Many people argue to this day where Salsa comes from, some say from New York or even Cuba. The first popular argument is that it came from Cuba. They claim that it is a newer version of traditional Afro-Cuban, which is a style of Latin jazz that evolved in New York City in the 1940s but originated in Cuba. So they figured the origins would come from Cuba but the other place is New York. They claim if Salsa had a time stamp that it would be in the 1960s in New York and then it developed into Cuban musicians. But most of the articles I have found are claiming that Salsa came from Easter Cuba coming from music elements such as Cuban Son and Afro-Cuban. These influences were combined to make Salsa and soon evolved when migrating to American music. Big influences have been American jazz, and just popular music on the radio. Some famous music of the 50s and 60s were Tito Puente, the King of Mambo and Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa. I also wanted to put this in just because it was interesting to me but two men named Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci were known for creating Fania Records. If you don't know what Fania Records is, it is the most influential record label in Latin history. It even earned the nickname of "Fania Motown '' because of how popular it was in Latin America, and how much success it had on its artist.
Eastern Cuba
Fania Records
What Is Salsa ?
While there are many versions of Salsa most of them have the same lineup when it comes to the instruments, and rhythms. It has a basic rhythm of 1-2-3, 1-2 but the rhythm that helps define Salsa is Montuno and Tumbao rhythm. Montuno rhythm is usually played with the piano, it loops over the 8th count to help one with direction. Listening to the 8th loop one can find the first beat of the music. Next is Tumba rhythm. It is usually played with the conga drums, it is played on the beats 2,3,4,6,7 and 8. They typically use it to learn the dances that follow the songs. The tempo is of course fast, and the music energy is very high up. Next on the list are the instruments involved in Salsa, some are the cowbells, vocals, congas, maracas, and the guiro. The cowbell is on the beats of 1,3,5 and 7. If one can recognize the cowbell it helps them stay on beat with the rhythm. The conga is a narrow, single headed drum that comes in different sizes and shapes. They were originally made from wooden barrels but modern day ones are made from different types of woods or fiberglass. The conga came from when the slaves were brought over to Cuba from Africa in the 17th and 18th century. Once slavery was abolished in 19th century, it spread like wild-fire in Cuba and culture exchange took place. Another thing was the maracas, it is a hand-held percussion instrument made up of dried calabash gourds, or turtle shells. They are filled inside with beans, pebbles, and beads, they're mainly there to keep the beat and play along with the rhythm. Lastly the most important thing is the vocals, when it comes to being a great Salsa singer you have to be able to do three things. They have a unique voice, good improvisation skills and ability to accommodate their voice to any melody. Also being a Sonero is a very huge thing as well, it's where a person can make anything into a stage or the most out of it. Most famous Salsa singers are Benny More, Oscar D'Leon, Ismael Rivera, Celia Cruz and Hector Lavoe. I tagged a link within the names that goes into further explanations on why they are the most top artists in Salsa.
Celia Cruz
Dance in Salsa
When you bring up Salsa you can't not bring up the dance along with it. Salsa is one of the most popular, or even famous Latin dances practiced till this day. There are many Salsa out there like New York Style, Los Angeles Style, Casino Style, Colombian Style, and Ballroom Style. Salsa is not always strictly two dance partners, it can be of other styles that contain a line with distinct males or females that dances alone or facing each other. It got its name soon after Fania Records decided to promote a dance called Salsa. Soon the dance was explained to North America, and Europe, earning the different versions of Salsa. Salsa is also a syncretic dance that typically involves two partners but not always, there are such things as solos/group dances out there. The solos are called "suelta" while the groups are called "Rueda de Casino." The basic movements to Salsa are the three weight changes in each four-beat measure. On the beats that don't contain steps they usually insert a kick, swing, or weight transfer. The upper body has to remain level, meaning your back needs to be straight, and unaffected by the weight changes. Another thing that's important when dancing is the arm placement, the arms of the "leader" are used to communicate with the "follower" on what position they need to be in. An open position is needed for both of the dancers to hold one or both hands for moves that require turns and such. For closed positions, the "leader" puts their right hand on the "follower" back, but the "follower'' puts their hand on the "leader" left shoulders. To also let y'all know how fast these dances are, they are performed at 150bpm to 250bpm while typically dances are performed at 160-220bpm. The second video is where it features the competitions, my favorite are the couple in the white please tell me your favorite in the comments, enjoy !!!!!
“Home.” DanceShoesStore.com, https://www.danceshoesstore.com/About-Salsa-Dance_ep_55-1.html.
“History of Salsa Dance.” Salsa - History of the Salsa Dance, http://www.dancefacts.net/salsa/history-of-salsa/.
MasterClass. “Guide to Maracas: History and Use of Maracas in Music - 2021.” MasterClass, MasterClass, 8 Nov. 2020, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guide-to-maracas#what-are-the-origins-of-maracas.
Stagnaro, Paulo. “A Brief History of the Conga Drums.” Conga Chops, Conga Chops, 12 Feb. 2021, https://www.congachops.com/blog-articles/2021/1/1/a-brief-history-of-the-conga-drums.
MasterClass. “Guide to Salsa Music: A Brief History of the Salsa Genre - 2021.” MasterClass, MasterClass, 9 Nov. 2020, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guide-to-salsa-music#14-classic-salsa-instruments.
Ilich, Tijana. “What Is Salsa Music and What Is Its Origin?” LiveAbout, LiveAbout, 14 Aug. 2018, https://www.liveabout.com/the-history-of-salsa-music-2141563.
The history of salsa is much more widespread than I realized. I like how much detail you went into with the dance salsa too, it is very interesting. The salsa dancers in the first video were so good, especially with all the tricks they did.
ReplyDeleteI love the title! My favorite thing about salsa is the dresses, which isn't the music but I love the dance that goes with it. I liked that I could learn some about the history :) I love latin culture and seeing the influence of it us.
ReplyDeleteHey Bekka, I love that you named your blog spicy salsa. I had no idea the salsa was a gerne created in America. I’ve always thought it was something that was brought to America through migration of cultures. Your blog was really cool and I learned a lot.
ReplyDeleteI loved the title it kind of made me hungry and want to eat some chips and salsa, more importantly you talk about the salsa dance. I had no idea there was so many different type of salsa dances as said in your last paragraph it really is crazy because lets say someone from new york wanted to dance with someone from columbia they would both be doing the salsa dance but not in tune with each other and would be dancing differently.
ReplyDelete