Not everyone knows that a dance that characterizes Latin America so much was born in the United States, but the origin of salsa as a musical manifestation is closely linked to immigration. In the 60s, the spanish Harlem New York was the scene of an enriching cultural diversity, which led to the fusion of Afro-Caribbean rhythms such as cha-chachá, mambo and Cuban son; with other musical styles existing in the United States such as jazz, funk and soul music. The result was music of contagious joy, to the sound of trombones and trumpets, which invites enjoyment and movement, and whose lyrics have the added bonus of serving as a source of learning. A genre that is still alive in the Big Apple, where the greatest exponent of salsa today was born: Marc Anthony (of Puerto Rican parents).
It is here, in the cradle of salsa, where many of the best dance academies, the most respected teachers and the most anticipated concerts are still found. Another good part is in Cali, Colombia, considered the world capital of salsa.
At first, salsa had a fate similar to tango or jazz, and was considered a music of the marginal classes, but it soon spread to other neighborhoods, the rest of the country and then outside the US borders. The documentary short film Our latin thing (Our Latin Thing), directed by the American Leon Gast, includes filming of the night in which salsa as a genre is considered to have been born: August 16, 1971 at the Cheetah Club in Midtown Manhattan.
It was at an evening where the Fania All-Stars orchestra was playing, with Johnny Pacheco as artistic director, bringing together the best Latin musicians of the time. Figures such as Celia Cruz, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, Rubén Blades and Eddie Palmieri passed through there, all now becoming legends. From then on, salsa, a term coined to describe the fusion of Afro-Caribbean musical genres, became a phenomenon.
Two years later, the Fania All-Stars attracted 40,000 people to a salsa concert at Yankee Stadium and one of the most notorious promoters of the time, Izzy Sanabria, even compared them to the Beatles. Throughout the 70s, more orchestras emerged and Tito Puente became one of the greatest exponents of the genre. Puente, who was a timbale virtuoso and winner of five Grammys, left a legacy of 198 albums throughout his 54-year musical career and represented Latin music around the world, key to the spread of salsa.
More than half a century after the birth of the musical genre that for Celia Cruz was her flag and sign of identity, in New York you can still enjoy some of those stars, who are still alive. Rubén Blades sings this Friday at Radio City Hall and Eddie Palmieri gave two concerts in May at the iconic Blue Note. Willie Colon is headlining the New York Salsa Festival, in which other figures such as Oscar d’León will sing, and which will take place this Saturday at the Barclays Center stadium, the headquarters of the Brooklyn Nets (with capacity for 19,000 spectators). ).
The city also offers endless options to dance what are already salsero hymns such as Yesterday’s newspaper, Llorarás or Pedro Navaja, from clubs with Latin music like Copacabana, or venues with live music where you can take salsa classes before each concert, like Club Cache, La iguana or SOB’s. At the end of summer, from August 29 to September 2, one of the most anticipated annual events for salseros takes place: the International Salsa Congress in New York, which has been in existence for twenty years. A calendar for the entire year because, for many, salsa is almost a way of life.
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