The beauty of Salsa – in its History…

Have you ever wondered what "Salsa" means? What is the story behind it? While surely being one of the most attractive and seductive dances, it appears to have a deeper history rooted in multiple cultures and music types.

Salsa has evolved as a distillation of many Latin and Afro-Caribbean dances. While it definitely has more of the Cuban nature in its origins, a large part of the dance originated with influence of european immigrants. The French who fled from Haiti brought the Danzón or the country-dance of England/France to Cuba. This dance began to mix with the African rhumbas such as Guaguanco, Colombia and Yambú. Added to this is the Són of the Cuban people, which was a mixture of the Spanish troubadour and the African drumbeats. This type of syncretism occurred in other places like the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Puerto Rico, albeit not at the same grand level and manner as in Cuba.

Before and around the time of World War II, the music traveled to Mexico City and New York. It was in New York where the term "Salsa" was created. In fact, the use of the word salsa for danceable Latin Music was coined in 1933 when Cuban song composer Ignacio Piñerio wrote the song Échale Salsita. According to the late Alfredo Valdés Sr. the idea occurred to Piñerio after eating food that lacked Cuban spices. According to Valdés, the word served as a type of protest against bland food. It then flourished as a popular nickname for a variety of Hispanic influenced music including the rhumba, Són, Montuno, Guaracha, Mambo, Cha-cha-cha, Merengue, Guajira, Cumbia and others.

The metamorphosis of salsa to what is heard and danced in clubs today has been a long, slow, and varied process. Not one person or place can be attributed as the founder of salsa. Instead, the dance and music has evolved over time through an elaborate syncretism of different sounds, cultures, and meanings. For example, in much of today’s salsa you will hear the base of són and the melodies of Cumbia and Guaracha. You will also hear some old Merengue as well as some old styles mixed with modern beats. Salsa varies from place to place and from one song to the next. The diversity and complexity of the music is what keeps its listeners enticed, as well as delightfully surprised, and its dancers on their toes. This is the beauty of the salsa.

Nisa Asymova

PolSci 2011

Kyrgyzstan