Big Blog 1: Salsa

    Salsa is best described as a Latin American dance music genre. While it is described vaguely as Latin American music, its roots are believed to come from several places. Most heavily influenced by Cuban music culture, when inspecting the music you can see pieces of Cuban, Peurto Rican, and African styles. Most salsa songs are a combination of different elements of things like guaracha, a Cuban music genre with rapid temp, or bomba and plena, Puerto Rican dance music. Salsa is very heavily influenced by Cuban culture and music. The first “self-identified” salsa bands were predominantly Cuban and Puerto Rican. For the most part the bands started to arise in New York in the 1970’s.  

The origin of the name salsa is frequently argued over as it is not certain where it came from. There are many theories and ideas but no one is for sure, and everyone thinks they are right. One theory of the origin of the name was from Ignacio Piñeiro’s song Échale salsita in 1930. Another idea was in the mid 1940’s when the group Conjunto Los Salseros arose. On the other hand, Puerto Rican musician Izzy Sanabria claims he was the first to use the word salsa to denote the genre. First use of the word “salsa” to describe the genre really is unknown. Here is the song Échale salsita by Ignacio Piñeiro.

The start of the salsa genre is just as argued over as the origin of its name. One thought is that salsa is a newer version of older more traditional Afro-Cuban style; therefore meaning the birthplace must be Cuba. I would agree with this thought because of how similar salsa music is to traditional African music patterns and the heavy influence of Cuban culture. However, many believe that salsa’s actual birthplace would technically be New York since that is where the first of the bands claiming to be salsa arose from. 

The typical instruments used in salsa music are bongos, which are small hand-drums of Cuban origin, guitars, a tres, which is basically a guitar with six strings but separated into three sections also of Cuban origin, sometimes a piano, or timbales and congas which are both types of drums. Another common instrument is the maraca or some kind of shaker. A trumpet is also sometimes used in salsa music. These are not the only instruments used in salsa and certainly are not all used in every song but these are the most commonly used instruments in the salsa genre. 

 

Like I said before, salsa music is heavily influenced by Cuban music culture. It is very similar to the Cuban music genre called son. The instruments and the singers often use the  call-and-response patterns of traditional African music and then go into the chorus. Most salsa songs follow the basic popular Cuban son montuno model. It is based on a clave rhythm and composed of a verse section which is followed by a call and response chorus known as the montuno. The specific kind of call and response is called “coro-pregón.” The verses can be long or short or expanded which just depends on the song/song-writer. However, once the montuno begins in a song, it usually continues until the end of the song. Typically, in upbeat songs, the tempo will gradually increase during the montuno to build excitement. If the montuno is divided into sections they are called mambo, diablo, moña, and especial respectfully. The basic clave rhythm found in salsa goes like 1-2-3, 1-2. However, to say that salsa is just one rhythm or one set of instruments would not always be true. The tempo generally is fast, and the music has an exciting energy. There are many types of salsa, such as salsa dura (hard salsa) and salsa romantica (romantic salsa), and others as well. The first song is an example of salsa romantica, and the second song is an example of salsa dura. 

In terms of lyrics, there is not really a common theme. Salsa lyrics range from just simple dance songs, to sentimental romantic songs, to more radical subject matter, to even religious songs. Additionally, most salsa songs are sung in Spanish obviously. 

Interestingly enough, salsa music is very popular in sub-Saharan Africa. I think that this is because of the similarity between salsa and traditional African music in their rhythms and patterns. It was familiar to them but different and exotic enough to be interested in more. Popular Cuban music, specifically salsa and even more specifically the salsa that came out of New York, played a major role in the development of many genres of African music. 

Some popular artists that I personally love that have had some salsa hits are Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, and Marc Anthony. One of the songs I added above as an example of salsa dura was a song by Marc Anthony. The next two songs I am adding are two very popular songs that are considered to be salsa by Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. 

Works Cited

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.

Muscato, Christopher. “Salsa Music: History & Instruments.” Study.com, https://study.com/academy/lesson/salsa-music-history-instruments.html.

“Salsa Music Artists.” AllMusic, https://www.allmusic.com/subgenre/salsa-ma0000002840/artists.

“Salsa.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/art/salsa- music.