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Where salsa comes from

1.Salsa is a family, not one invention

Salsa is not one thing that one person invented. It is a family of dances and music styles. Each style is like a relative. Some are parents, some are cousins. They all come from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and New York City. They mixed together over about 100 years.

When you learn salsa, you are really learning pieces from many older styles. That is why salsa can feel like many things at once: a little bit Cuban, a little bit jazzy, a little bit Puerto Rican.

ListenPedro NavajaWillie Colón & Rubén Blades · 1978A Fania-era New York hit that tells a whole street story over a Cuban son rhythm, jazzy horns and a call-and-response chorus: the family mix in one song.