Surprisingly, salsa dip was created as early as 1571 which is long before this genre was created, although it does lend its name to the perfect representation of a genre. According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office's website, "The genre had roots in colonial Cuba and mid-20th-century New York. Then, in the late 1960s, as Latin music became ever more popular among New York audiences, Pacheco and his business partner selected the word “salsa” as the genre's convenient, memorable, marketable identifier. The name became part of a much larger strategy that transformed salsa into a national and then international phenomenon." Johnny Pacheco is the man and the musician that brilliantly came up with the phrasing for this genre. Pacheco was born in the Dominican Republic in 1935 and migrated with his family to the United States in 1946.
Essentially salsa music is descended from both son cubano and Afro-Cuban music. According to Masterclass.com, there are six characteristics of salsa music.
1.Bell patterns that percussionists play on handheld son clave and rumba claves. 2.Afro-Cuban rhythms that include timbales, conga drums, and bongos.
3.Ostinato patterns like guajeos (brass), moñas, (brass) or montunos (pianos).
4.Bass tumbaos which is clave neutral with a 2:3 bell pattern or 3:2 bell pattern.
5.Spanish lyrics that are known as soneros.
6.Influence from Latin American styles like merengue, rumba, and Brazilian samba to name a few.
There are many different styles of salsa, some of the more popular rhythms include mambo, cha-cha-cha, and rumba. Mambo rhythm is a 6/8 rhythm, one song you might know with mambo rhythm would be "Mambo No. 5" by Lou Bega. The Cha-Cha-Cha rhythm is a 3/4 rhythm, it is often used in upbeat and danceable songs. A good example of cha-cha-cha would be "Smooth" by Santana . Rumba is a 2/4 rhythm thats normally slower than mambo and cha-cha-cha, mostly used in a romantic or sensual way. An example of rumba rhythm would be "Casi un Bolero" by Ricky Martin. While my example songs are in English, they are songs that the majority of people know, it gave me a better auditory example to follow.
I think that salsa music is set apart from other music because it is so versatile. There is no one sound that qualifies as salsa music. I think that the genre as a whole just brings a complete dancing vibe wether that be fast, smooth, and snappy or slow, sensual, and effortless. Either way, I have always seen super flawless salsa dances and it makes me wish that I had the time and patience to learn how to do it. It's amazing to think that a genre of music that began as a Cuban titled genre essentially melded into a Cuban/African/American/Caribbean genre. One of my sources said that it is an "ever-evolving genre" and I think they are absolutely right. I will say that when I hear salsa music, my mind always goes straight to Latin American music, but I have since learned, it is much more than that
References
Hello Holly,
ReplyDeleteI think that you have a great blog post that is beautifully explained. I also love the title! it is so cute a catchy. I am amazed to learn that the salsa dip was created as early as 1571. I learned that Salsa originated in the United States. It is stated that obviously, it has Latin roots it was very popular in New York. I also found that salsa dancing is good for you. The fast-paced song can get your BPM up to 150-220 which could burn hundreds of calories per hour. Thank you for sharing!
references:
Young, T., & Jain, S. (2023, June 27). 7 facts you didn’t know about salsa dancing: Salsa dance facts. Salsa Vida. https://www.salsavida.com/articles/salsa-dancing-facts/#:~:text=6)%20There%20are%20Different%20Styles%20of%20Salsa%20Music&text=Some%20of%20the%20different%20salsa,pop%20salsa%2C%20and%20salsa%20choke.
Deletehttps://www.salsavida.com/articles/salsa-dancing-facts/#:~:text=6)%20There%20are%20Different%20Styles%20of%20Salsa%20Music&text=Some%20of%20the%20different%20salsa,pop%20salsa%2C%20and%20salsa%20choke.
Hey Holly, I also wrote my post on salsa music. I find it very interesting. I love how you talked equally about the dance itself and the music behind it. Salsa is an everlasting music, and they always come up with more songs for the dance. I have always wanted to learn salsa step by step to learn the footwork. Great job, and you put a great video along with it.
ReplyDeleteThis was a good read and very interesting. I saw salsa dancing when I was in Europe, and it was cool to see. I like the history you included. I do know a few of those songs. I would also like to learn it as well, but I would assume it would take a lot of time and effort to get the mechanics of it down.
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