Music / Styles A–Z / The Caribbean and Latin America · 23 of 35
Salsa
Salsa is dance music shaped by Caribbean traditions, above all the Cuban son. Salsa bands formed in New York in the 1970s; bongos, congas and timbales drive it.
- Where and when
- Puerto Rican, Cuban and Dominican New York; 1970s bands
- Tempo
- Typically 160–220 BPM
- Played on
- Bongos, congas, timbales, piano, bass, horns, voice
What it is
Salsa is dance music shaped by Caribbean traditions, above all the Cuban son, with roots also in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Venezuela. La Sonora Habanera's "Salsa" (1957) was the first album to put the word on its cover; self-identified salsa bands formed among Puerto Rican, Cuban and Dominican musicians in New York in the 1970s.
For the producer. Salsa usually runs between 160 and 220 BPM, and the tempo may climb through the montuno to build excitement. The band follows Arsenio Rodríguez's son montuno line-up, with a horn section and congas added, and bongos, congas and timbales as the standard percussion.
The records that made it
From the lesson The Caribbean and Latin America, where the sources are listed · links open a search
- 1964Cañonazo · Fania's first album.
- 1973HommyLarry Harlow · A salsa opera.
- SiembraRubén Blades · Heard everywhere in Cuba in the mid-1980s.
Salsa in this month’s records
New releases the press we read wrote about, tagged salsa on MusicBrainz · updated with every build
No new record in the press we read is tagged salsa this month. The list fills as records come out.