Cuban Miami Style Salsa
This is the most easiest of the Salsa styles and is ideal when dancing within limited floor space. Formed using a more "back and side" foot structure, the man shows off his partner by dancing around them whilst leading an array of turns. Due to the simple foot patterns, ladies rarely need know what is coming next as the "push, pull" technique adopted by the man as well as his positioning, will guarantee that his partner knows what's coming next.
Los Angeles Salsa
L. A. style Salsa is based on Mambo, which has a different structure to the classic Cuban-Miami style and features many forward and back and cross-body moves. L. A. Salsa would be deemed by many as the more stylish and elegant of the salsa styles although still adopts a "quick, quick, slow" rhythm and is almost always danced on beat 1.
Colombian
This is a compact style of Salsa where the man remains relatively static and features spins rather than turns for the girl. Pachanga focuses on some impressive and intricate footwork fun . A "trotting" rhythm instantly identifies the classic Colombian style of Cumbia. Colombian Salsa is less jazzy and new dancers often find it easier to dance to the melodic music.
New York
The New York style of Salsa is based on Mambo which has a different dance and musical structure. The feel too is different as the dancers break on beat 2 rather than beat 1.
Merengue
The Merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic, and also to some extent, of Haiti, the neighbour sharing the island.
There are two popular versions of the of the origin of the Dominican national dance, the Merengue . One story alleges the dance originated with slaves who were chained together and, of necessity, were forced to drag one leg as they cut sugar to the beat of drums. The second story alleges that a great hero was wounded in the leg during one of the many revolutions in the Dominican Republic. A party of villagers welcomed him home with a victory celebration and, out of sympathy, everyone dancing felt obliged to limp and drag one foot.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, the Merengue was very popular in the Dominican Republic. Not only is it used on every dancing occasion in the Republic, but it is very popular throughout the Caribbean and South American, and is one of the standard Latin American dances.
There is a lot of variety in Merengue music. Tempos vary a great deal and the Dominicans enjoy a sharp quickening in pace towards the latter part of the dance. The most favored routine at the clubs and restaurants that run a dance floor is a slow Bolero, breaking into a Merengue, which becomes akin to a bright, fast Jive in its closing stages. The ballroom Merengue is slower and has a modified hip action.
The Merengue was introduced in the United States in the New York area. However, it did not become well known until several years later.
Ideally suited to the small, crowded dance floors, it is a dance that is easy to learn and essentially a "fun" dance.
Rumba
Rumba is really a solo dance, with much of the rhythm from Africa. The music was liked by Hollywood in the 30's and suited the musicals that were big at the time. However, they in fact used a dance called SON, but called it Rhumba, and made it into a square shape - hence Square Rhumba.
This continued for a number of years, and in the 40's another style started to develop, using slower music. It wasn't until the 50's that the "battle" between the 2 dances was won by what we now call International Rumba. Square Rumba is still danced in America, but mainly International.
Over the years the dance develped further, with the Competitors asking for slower, more sensual music, since all the other Latin American dances were fast. So now a days the music is more Bolero, and the dance more balletic.
This makesa strong contrast to Samba, Jive, Paso Doble and Cha Cha Cha - the other Latin American competition dances.
So Rumba is a dance of love, it is NOT sexy, it's sensual. It has many slow lines, so lots of balance and control. The hip action is very delayed and with lots of pressure into the floor.
Samba is sexy, Cha Cha Cha is cheeky, Paso is serious, and Jive is fun!
History of Salsa Music
It is not only Cuban; nevertheless we must give credit to Cuba for the origin and ancestry of creation. It is here where Contra-Danze (Country Dance) of England/France, later called Danzón, which was brought by the French who fled from Haiti, begins to mix itself with Rhumbas of African origin (Guaguanco, Colombia, Yambú). Add Són of the Cuban people, which was a mixture of the Spanish troubadour (sonero) and the African drumbeats and flavora and a partner dance flowered to the beat of the clave.
This syncretism also occurred in smaller degrees and with variations in other countries like the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Puerto Rico, among others. Bands of these countries took their music to Mexico City in the era of the famous films of that country (Perez Prado, most famous...). Shortly after, a similar movement to New York occurred. In these two cities, more promotion and syncretism occurred and more commercial music was generated because there was more investment. New York created the term "Salsa", but it did not create the dance. The term became popular as nickname to refer to a variety of different music, from several countries of Hispanic influence: Rhumba, Són Montuno, Guaracha, Mambo, Cha cha cha, Danzón, Són, Guguanco, Cubop, Guajira, Charanga, Cumbia, Plena, Bomba, Festejo, Merengue, among others. Many of these have maintained their individuality and many were mixed creating "Salsa".
New York City , 1963. A new generation of Nu Yoricans (NYC's Puerto Rican community) pioneered the boogaloo and Latin sounds that would become salsa, and Fania Records opened its doors.
The mass migration of Hispanics from Puerto Rico and Cuba into New York's poorer ghettos during the '50s gave rise to a generation who mixed salsa, mambo and pachanga with the beat of boogaloo and R & B.
The history of Fania Record is synonymous with the history of the music we now know as salsa. To talk about Fania is to talk about the birth, and subsequent explosion, of salsa music worldwide. What's more, it is synonymous with the biggest names in the world of salsa and the salsa of yesteryear whose musical legacy lives on through recordings now considered great classics in the genre.
Fania Records was founded in 1964 by Italian-American lawyer, Jerry Masucci and, multi-talented musician Johnny Pacheco. Pacheco had already achieved artistic recognition and his production—Cañonazo—was his first album under the Fania label, achieving great success for the record company. Masucci himself negotiated the contracts with the various musicians and bands to bring them to the label. At first, due to economic limitations at the time, these new artists were mostly young musicians from The Bronx and Puerto Rico—precisely the key to Fania's success. Masucci supervised everything that happened in the company including the contracting of new talent like Ruben Blades and Joe Bataan, as well such well-established artists as Celia Cruz and Ray Barretto.
Among the first renowned musicians to join Fania was Willie Colón, who at 16 would become the label's top seller. At that time, Colón was an avid trumpet player. Together with the voice of Hector Lavoe, they revolutionized the sound of Latin music including the introduction of Puerto Rican folkloric music into salsa with cuatro virtuoso master Yomo Toro who collaborated in Colón/Lavoe sessions.
During those first few years, Fania also signed the talented musicians Bobby Valentín and Larry Harlow. As their fame grew, they were later joined by well-established artists like Mongo Santamaria, Joe Bataan, Ray Barretto, Cheo Feliciano, Joe Cuba, and famous bands of the time like Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound, Richy Ray and Bobby Cruz.
Ray Barreto
Joe Bataan
Celia Cruz
Ruben Blades
