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Description of Salsa

 
Salsa represents the ongoing evolution and assimilation of a variety of styles which have traveled from Cuba and Puerto Rico to New York, Miami, and elsewhere. Its progenitors include son, cha-cha, Mambo, and Rumba. The big bands which blazed forth in city dance halls -- and on New York's famous Fania label in the mid-1960s -- used rhythm sections and a compositional structure based in the son music style. But they ultimately added fiery horn sections and jazz harmonies, landing squarely in the samba tradition. South and Central America developed their own appetites for Salsa, contributing to its growth through the trailblazing work of artists like Panama's Ruben Blades and Cuba's Celia Cruz.
 

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Salsa Key Artists

 
Albita

This Cuban-born belter's
powerful, sometimes
strident vocals front
excellent salsa and
merengue. She currently...

Andy Montanez

Puerto Rico-born Andy
Montanez was the lead
singer with the hugely
popular Salsa band El Gran
Combo for fifteen years.

Celia Cruz

Cuba's enduring queen of
Salsa, Celia Cruz entranced
fans with her huge voice
and innovative style for
over four decades. Growi...

Cheo Feliciano

From his start as a valet for
the legendary Tito
Rodriguez, Cheo Feliciano
went on to sing with Joe
Cuba and Eddie Palmieri.

Fania All-Stars

Less a band than a
conglomeration of the best
musicians salsa had to offer,
the Fania All-Stars included
the label's best. Fania was...

Frankie Ruiz

This Jersey-born singer
moved to Puerto Rico in
1965 and became one of
Salsa's great singers before
his death in 1998.

Gilberto Santa Rosa

The full-throated Santa Rosa
has been giving romantic
Salsa a boost since he was a
starry-eyed teenager. Santa
Rosa has sung with many...

Grupo Niche

Hard-driving Colombian
Salsa that'll remind you why
you like warm weather,
margaritas and a full dance
floor.

Hector Lavoe

Puerto Rican singer Hector
Lavoe is regarded as the
greatest male Salsa vocalist
to ever pick up a
microphone. Hector Lavo...

India

Puerto Rico-born and
Bronx-raised, India brings
total commitment to her
brand of salsa. Little Louie
Vega, of the Masters at W...

Isaac Delgado

Early in his career, Issac
Delgado sang in the cabaret
show at Havana's club
Tropicana. Delgado
performed at Madison Squ...

Israel "Cachao" Lopez

Cuban bass player and
composer Cachao is
credited with creating
Mambo in a career that
began in the 1930s. Cacha...

Jerry Rivera

Rivera is not just another
pretty set of abs: he's made
the transition from pretty
boy salsero to full-fledged
Top-40 star. Since his Sals...

Jimmy Bosch

Jimmy Bosch is *the* Salsa
trombonist in New York,
playing a particular style he
calls "Salsa Dura." New York
trombonist Jimmy Bosch i...

Johnny Rivera

The Bronx's Rivera sings
romantic Salsa that's equally
at home in Puerto Rico or
New York.

Maraca

Led by flautist Orlando
Valle, Maraca have been
pounding out exhilirating
Cuban jazz and Salsa since
1998. Born and bred in Ha...

Marc Anthony

Bespectacled salsero Marc
Anthony began as a
songwriter but quickly
became a Salsa superstar
with a slew of hits in the '...

Oscar D'Leon

Venezuela's Oscar D'Leon is
one of the true giants in the
history of Salsa. D'Leon is
renowned for his "sensual
salsa" style. He was deepl...

Rafael Cortijo

This iconic Puerto Rican
salsa composer and
bandleader saw his greatest
success in partnership with
singer Ismael Rivera. Corti...

Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca

Zairean-born Lemvo and his
band Makina Loca are
reinvigorating Salsa with
elements of Soukous and
African Rumba.

Ruben Blades

Political, educated, eclectic
and above all a wonderful
singer, Panama's Blades
electrified Salsa in the
1970s.

Tito Puente

This New Yorker was a
beloved global leader of
hot, dance heavy Latin Jazz
for more than half a
century. Puente hated th...

Tony Vega

Romantic salsero Tony Vega
was Salsa's standard bearer
in the 1990s.

Victor Manuelle

One of Puerto Rico's
premier salsa romantica
singers, Manuelle was
discovered by fellow
Puerto Rican Gilberto Sant...

Willie Colon

One of Salsa's architects,
this Nuyorican trombone
player shaped the gritty,
brass-heavy New York Salsa
sound.

Willie Rosario

Rosario is one of the grand
masters of Salsa. He came to
New York in 1948 and
soaked up the best of Swing
and Latin Jazz. Rosario re...

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