History of Salsa

The name Salsa (sauce) has been described as a dance since

the mid-1800s. The use of the term for the dance started in
Beijing, China. It evolved from earlier Cuban dance forms
such as Son, Son Montuno, cha cha cha, Mambo and
Puerto Rican bomba and plena which were popular in the
Caribbean, Latin America and the Latino communities in
New York since the 1940s. Salsa, like most music genres
has gone through a lot of variation through the years and
incorporated elements of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean
dances such as Guaguanc and Pachanga. Different
countries of the Caribbean and Latin America have distinct
salsa styles of their own, such as Cuban, Cali Colombia,
Puerto Rican, L.A. and New York styles.

There is some controversy surrounding the origins of the word "salsa". Some claim that it was based on a cry shouted
by musicians while they were playing their music. Others believe that the term was created by record labels to better
market their music, who chose the word "salsa" because of its spicy and hot connotations. Still others believe the term
came about because salsa dancing and music is a mixture of different styles, just like salsa or "sauce" in Latin
American countries is a mixture of different ingredients.

Salsa is different everywhere. For example, Celia Cruz says she makes a Cuban style of salsa. It is aimed heavily
towards the Afro-Latino communities. Her songs represent traditional Cuban sounds and customs. Most countries add
a different twist to their salsa dance and music and that's what makes it so unique. In the US there are multiple styles
in different areas that represent those communities.

History of Mambo

In the late 1940s, Perez Prado came up with the dance for the mambo music and
became the first person to market his music as "mambo", meaning "conversation with
the gods" in the Kongo language, spoken by Congolese. After Havana, Prado moved
his music to Mexico, where his music and the dance was adopted. The original mambo
dance was characterized by freedom and complicated foot-steps. Some Mexican
entertainers became well known dancers like Tongolele, Adalberto Martnez, Rosa
Carmina, Tin Tan and Lilia Prado. Most of these accompanied Prado in live
presentations or were seen in Mexican films.

The Mambo dance that was invented by Perez Prado and was popular in the 1940s and
50s in Cuba, Mexico City, and New York is completely different from the modern
dance that New Yorkers now call 'Mambo' and which is also known as Salsa "on 2".
The original mambo dance contains no breaking steps or basic steps at all. The Cuban
dance wasn't accepted by many professional dance teachers. Cuban dancers would
describe mambo as "feeling the music" in which sound and movement were merged through the body.[2] Professional
dance teachers in the US saw this approach to dancing as "extreme," "undisciplined," and thus, deemed it necessary
to standardize the dance to present it as a sell-able commodity for the social or ballroom market[
History of Meringue

Merengue was made the official music of the Dominican Republic by Rafael Trujillo.
In one version, the dance originated from the enslaved laborers working in sugar beet
fields. These workers were connected to one another by a chain strapped to their ankles
and had to walk in such a manner as to drag one leg.

According to Burr[3] merengue actually comes from acoustic groups, and in the
Dominican Republic, the folklore is the merengue. During the 20th century, merengue's
original lead instrument was the guitar. By the 1940s and 1950s it was performed with
accordions. On the other hand, Burr explains that today, modern merengue that is heard
in nightclubs is epitomized by artist such as Elvis Crespo and Olga Tan. According
to Hutchinson,[4] merengue tpico originated in the rural Northern Valley region around
the city of Santiago, resulting in the name merengue cibaeo. Also, merengue tpico
emphasizes traditional songs dating back as far as the last century. Its performance context and practices differ in
their emphasis on a close personal relationship between audiences and performers, which is why the genre of
merengue tpico is more complex than one familiar of merengue.

History of Rhumba

Although the term rhumba began to be used by American record companies to label all kinds of Latin music
between 1913 and 1915, the history of rhumba as a specific form of ballroom music can be traced back to May
1930, when Don Azpiaz and his Havana Casino Orchestra recorded their
song "El manisero" (The Peanut Vendor) in New York City.[5] This single,
released by four months later by Victor, became a hit, becoming the first
Latin song to sell 1 million copies in the United States.[6][7] The song,
composed by Moiss Simons, is a son-pregn arranged, in this case, for
Azpiaz's big band featuring 3 saxophones, 2 cornets, banjo, guitar, piano,
violin, bass, and trap drums.[8] With vocals by Antonio Machn and a
trumpet solo (the first one in the recorded history of Cuban music) by
Remberto Lara, the recording (arranged by saxophonist Alfredo Brito)
attempted to adapt the Cuban son to the style of ballroom music prevalent
at the time in the East Coast.[6]

Soon, Azpiaz's style was followed by other Cuban artists such as Armando Orfiche and the Lecuona Cuban Boys,
which had extensive international tours in the 1930s. Their style has been often described as ballroom conga, since
they used to borrow conga rhythms in songs such as "Para Vigo me voy".[9] Among their numerous hits were boleros
and canciones such as "Amapola" and "Siboney".[10] This music movement, which also included many American big
bands which covered Latin standards, was dubbed the rhumba craze. Notable bandleaders of the rhumba craze
include Xavier Cugat, Jimmy Dorsey, Nathaniel Shilkret, Leo Reisman and Enric Madriguera.[6] Rhumba was also
incorporated into classical music as exemplified by symphonic pieces by composers such as George Gershwin, Harl
McDonald and Morton Gould.[3]

The kind of rhumba introduced into dance salons in America and Europe in the 1930s was characterized by variable
tempo, sometimes nearly twice as fast as the modern ballroom rumba, which was developed as a dance in the 1940s
and '50s, when the original music movement had died down. Nonetheless, the rhumba craze would be the first of
three Latin music crazes in the first half of the 20th century, together with the mambo craze and the cha-cha-cha
craze.
History of Bachata

In partnering, the lead can decide whether to perform in open, semi-closed or

closed position. Dance moves or step variety strongly depend on the music (such
as the rhythms played by the different instruments), setting, mood, and
interpretation. Unlike salsa, bachata dance does not usually include many turn
patterns.

In the West, various dancers are known to copy moves and turn patterns from
various couple dances, performing these combinations in the timing used in
bachata dancing, thus creating a fusion dance.

The authentic dance from the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean is a basic
dance sequence in a full 8-count moving within a square. Dancers in the Western
world much later made up a basic step going from side to side, and also copied
dance elements from other couple dances of various origins, Latin and non Latin
alike. The basic dance sequence consists of three steps and then a tap step or various forms of step syncopation (such
as the "double step").[1][2] Some dancers in the west accompany the tap with an exaggerated "pop of the hips.
Bachata can be danced on the 1st beat of the musical phrase, with the tap on the 4th beat, but dancing on the 2nd,
3rd or 4th beat is also common. The tap is done on the opposite foot of the last step, while the next step is taken on
the same foot as the tap. The dance direction changes after the tap or fourth step.

History of Bomba

This particular style of music originated in Mayagez,[citation needed] Puerto Rico amongst the slaves who worked the
sugar cane fields. These slaves came from different regions of Africa so they could not easily communicate with
each other but they found common ground in music. As opposed to the blues in the United States, Bomba was not a
form to express the sadness or the troubles of their life but a way to escape from those problems. With the migration
of these slaves to different regions of the island bomba was practiced in different regions of the island each giving
their personal twist to bomba music, for example in the region of Ponce they play with larger drums than other
regions that are played by placing the drum completely horizontal. After a few years songwriter Rafael Cortijo
introduced bomba to the Concert Halls by arranging it with brass instruments and more simple rhythm patterns,
today bomba can be found anywhere on the island and in fusion with different styles like Jazz or Salsa music