HISTORY OF SALSA

The term "Salsa" is used to describe a style of dancing that originated in Africa. In African dance, the drum is the main instrument. It brings everyone together as a community. However, many other instruments are used such as gourds strung with beads, sticks for percussion, guitars,  clapping, stamping feet, and most of all singing. These all combined together provide rhythmic music for African dance. Dancers move in an expression of their inner feelings, their movements are generally in rhythm to the music. It is the sound of the music, and the rhythms that are played that provide the heartbeat of the dance. The music and dance are considered inseparable, two parts of the same activity.

Salsa is a mixture of dances that include Rumba,Bolero Son Muntono,Merengue Guaracha , Cha Cha Cha, Zouk and many more..The dancer's body is segmented into separate areas of movement, with each area being able to move to different rhythms within the music. These moves are quite complex and difficult to master. Rumba is the most popular of these dances and has retained its' African Origin.

African Dance and Slave Trade

The 1500s saw the beginning of slave labor as Africans were brought to North and South America and the Caribbean. Hundreds of different African dance styles, from various ethnic groups, were merged together, along with styles of European dancing. Because of the importance of dance in the daily life of Africans in their homeland, many Africans that were enslaved continued to use dance as a way to keep their cultural traditions and connect with their home country.

Enslaved Africans that were taken to colonies in South America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal were given much more freedom to carry on their dance traditions than those who were brought to North America. Sadly, many of the North American slave owners prohibited Africans from performing most of their traditional dances.

The importance and spirit of dance were not stopped by these restrictions, however. African slaves found ways to adapt their dancing and continue their traditions in secret. Out of necessity this caused some changes in the dances. For example, since slaves were prohibited from lifting their feet, they created moves that included shuffling the feet and moving the hips and body.

African Dance in North American History

Throughout the eighteenth century there were several dances that dominated on plantations. These dances included:The Ring Dance, also called the Ring Shout,The Juba,The Chica ,The Calenda

The nineteenth century saw the plantation dances move onto the stage as "minstrel shows" ,  became popular. and  performed by both black and white performers

RUMBA

The word Rumba is a generic term, covering a variety of dances (i.e., Son, Danzon, Guagira, Guaracha, Naningo), for a type of Latin American music or dancing. Latin America means The Caribbean and Central America. The exact meaning varies from island to island. The word "rumba" comes from the verb "rumbear" which means going to parties, dancing, and having a good time.

Rumba originated in the Gumba region of West Africa and was transported with the slaves to Latin America. and further developed there. Consequently,  Cuba, Haiti, Santa Domingo, and Guadeloupe still retain origin elements of the dance up to this day. 

The native Rumba folk dance is essentially a sex pantomime danced extremely fast with exaggerated hip movements and with a sensually aggressive attitude on the part of the man and a defensive attitude on the part of the woman. The music is played with a staccato beat in keeping with the vigorous expressive movements of the dancers. Accompanying instruments include the maracas, the claves, the marimbola, and the drums.

As recently as the second world war, the "Son" was the popular dance of middle class Cuba. It is a modified slower and more refined version of the native Rumba. Still slower is the "Danzon", the dance of wealthy Cuban society. Very small steps are taken, with the women producing a very subtle tilting of the hips by alternately bending and straightening the knees.

The American Rumba is a modified version of the "Son". The first serious attempt to introduce the rumba to the United States was by Lew Quinn and Joan Sawyer in 1913. Ten years later band leader Emil Coleman imported some rumba musicians and a pair of rumba dancers to New York. In 1925 Benito Collada opened the Club El Chico in Greenwich Village and found that New Yorkers did not know what Rumba was all about.

Real interest in Latin music began about 1929. In the late 1920's, Xavier Cugat formed an orchestra that specialized in Latin American music. He opened at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles and appeared in early sound movies such as "In Gay Madrid". Later in the 1930's, Cugat played at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. By the end of the decade he was recognized as having the outstanding Latin orchestra of the day.

In 1935, George Raft played the part of a suave dancer in the movie "Rumba", a rather superficial musical in which the hero finally won the heiress (Carol Lombard) through the mutual love of dancing.

In Europe, the introduction of Latin American dancing (Rumba in particular) owed much to the enthusiasm and interpretive ability of Monsieur Pierre (London's leading teacher in this dance form). In the 1930's with his partner, Doris Lavelle, he demonstrated and popularized Latin American dancing in London.

Pierre and Lavelle introduced the true "Cuban Rumba" which was finally established after much argument, as the official recognized version in 1955.

Rumba is the spirit and soul of Latin American music and dance. The fascinating rhythms and bodily expressions make the Rumba one of the most popular ballroom dances.

In Latin America Salsa rapidly developed  in the 1950's and 60's with great artists like Benny More and Cilia Cruz,Sierra Maestro. Wily Cherino, Frankie Ruiz, Los Nemus Del Pacifico and many others. In New York Tito Puento and Eddie Palmieri  took it up another level to Latin Jazz. 

In the United Kingdom Salsa was developed in the late 1980's by Nelson Batista with significant contributions from Elder Sanchez, Homero Gonzales and Robert Charlemagne.

POPULAR MUSICIANS

We now have artists from every part of the globe. Here are some excellent artists that made salsa the beautiful music it is today. Oscar D'leon, Cilia Cruz, Los Van Van,Groupo Niche, Groupo Gale, Africando, Victor Manuelle, DLG, The Latin Brothers,Willy Colon,Cuco Valoy,Jimmy Bosch, Senora Caruseles, Gloria Estafan, Charanga Habanera, Manilito and many more