Where Did "Salsa" Music Come From? (Part 3)

Where did the name "Salsa" come from and what purpose does it serve? Check out part 3 of this video series to find out?
Note: This video is based on chapter 2 of the book "¡Dale Mambo! A Perspective on Salsa Dancing":
books2read.com...
And for more information on the history and science of Salsa music:
▶The Salsa Guidebook for Piano & Ensemble by Rebeca Mauleón
Paperback - amzn.to/3XbNzDX
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Shaka Brown & partner appear courtesy of Mamboston2.com
Juan Matos & partner also appear courtesy of Mamboston2.com
Note: The information presented in this video series is only my perspective based on research that I've done from various sources. It is based on my personal conclusions and is not intended to be presented as established facts. However, I hope that it makes sense to you.
Affiliate Disclaimer: Some of the product suggestions above contain affiliate links. If you decide to purchase a product through one of them, I receive a small commission at no cost to you.

[@justinocampo8085]

Currently taking a jazz course. For my final paper im writing about the comparison of jazz and salsa, so thank you very much for teaching me about salsa 🙌

[@salsagoals]

@@justinocampo8085 Thanks for commenting! There's so much great information out there on the subject from many excellent sources. This is just my perspective, but I'm glad you liked the videos!

[@mhm8922]

Beautifully done. Thank you so much for this informative video series. It finally all makes sense. 👍🏻 😀

[@salsagoals]

@@mhm8922 Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad that the information made sense!

[@philipjean-jacques5322]

Wonderful presentation. GOD bless you. Amen

[@salsagoals]

@@philipjean-jacques5322 Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the information!

[@kowalio]

Great explainer with nice visuals! Thank you!

[@salsagoals]

Thanks! I'm glad you liked the video!

[@elizabeththatcher1217]

Fascinating. Thank you

[@salsagoals]

Thank you for watching!

[@ramoussou]

Excellent 👌🏽

[@salsagoals]

Thank you so much for your comment! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@truthsaviour8804]

Although many communities contributed to the development of salsa, would you agree that the collaboration between afro cuban and african american jazz musicians laid the foundation from which salsa was born?

[@salsagoals]

Great comment and thanks for mentioning that! I agree 100% that African-American Jazz played a major role in the development of "Salsa" as shown in the video. To the best of my understanding, the main foundation was Afro-Cuban music, especially the "Son-Montuno". However, contemporary Jazz was added to that template thereby making the arrangements, harmonies and melodies more intricate and complex than they had been traditionally. The influence of Jazz is one of the main things that, for me, distinguishes modern "Salsa" from the traditional "Afro-Cuban" styles. In fact Swing-Era Jazz had already been incorporated into the Cuban "Mambo" style of the Palladium Ballroom-era (1940s & 1950s). The collaboration of Afro-Cuban music and African-American Jazz was even more pronounced with "Latin Jazz" (specifically "Afro-Cuban Jazz"), and members of the African-American musical community played a direct role in that collaboration. Afro-Cubans like Machito & Mario Bauzá collaborated with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker among many others. And , even more so than in "Salsa" music, African-American created styles such as Jazz, Funk, and Bebop were used even more extensively in the development of modern Cuban styles such as "Songo" and "Timba".

[@truthsaviour8804]

@@salsagoals Thank you so much for your insight on this issue. I just found it odd that , whenever the origins of salsa is talked about, African American jazz artist are hardly mentioned.

[@salsagoals]

@@truthsaviour8804 Thank you for your comments and you make an excellent point!

[@BoricuaNyc]

@@truthsaviour8804 Rafael Hernandez should be mentioned because he was doing Latin Jazz since 1904 and was recruited in 1917 from the island🏝🇵🇷 to join the Harlemhellfighters Band.

[@BoricuaNyc]

@@salsagoals You should do some research 🧐 on Rafael Hernandez who was a super LEGEND👑. Thanks for the videos.

[@marcoantoniosalazarcampos4112]

SALSA IT'S ONLY CUUUBA !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@comunicacion5165]

Salsa is not Cuban music. It is a mixture of many sounds, including North American jazz music and many other sounds of American big bands.

[@salsagoals]

Thanks for commenting. That is correct and I agree with you that "Salsa" music has many musical elements as this video shows, especially starting at 3:30. However, the main foundation is Cuban, likely the Son-Montuno to be exact. That doesn't mean that it is only Cuban music and nothing else. The point of this video series is that the main foundational elements of "Salsa" are Cuban rhythms. Other musical elements such as North American Jazz, Rock, Pop, and other Afro-Puerto Rican influences were added to enhance and upgrade the music somewhat. But the base was undeniably Afro-Cuban. Those other elements were just upgrading a musical style that already existed. It's like Johnny Pacheco himself said in an interview. "Salsa is and always has been Cuban music" but with a New York twist. Here is that interview: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHach4SOnLKYmNEsi=I8qMg_8sOBkPfAXY Please check out the description of my video for a link to the book "The Salsa Guidebook" by Rebeca Mauleón. This book is just one of many sources that discuss the well-researched origins of "Salsa" music. This video is part 3 of a series, so please be sure to watch all 3 videos completely for the full story. A lot of what you mentioned was already covered in parts 1 and 2.

[@domingoherrera-go5hs]

You made a big disservice to salsa by not mentioning the biggest name in combining all this ingredients together , it was Johny Pacheco (Dominican ) and Jerry massucci who created the term salsa to incorporate all this music into one , Johny was tired of just bugaboo , it was taking me ver all the other rhythms and it was burned as protest because the record companies only wanted to play bugaloos , so this duo created their own record company called dania all stars , bringing artist from every race every Latin country and even American Jewish musicians. Please do your homework

[@salsagoals]

Thank you for your comment! You are absolutely correct in mentioning Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Massucci, the co-founders of Fania Records, for the super-important role that they played in the development of “Salsa” music in the United States, particularly in New York. In fact, I truly believe that, without the late and legendary Johnny Pacheco, “Salsa” music would not be the same as it is today. However, please keep in mind that this video (part 3 of a series) is only designed to be a very basic overview of “Salsa” from a musical standpoint. It is designed to help those who are brand new to the world of “Salsa” so that they can make sense of what it is musically. Then, they can do further research in order to go into even more detail. It’s designed to help them get their “feet wet”, so to speak. Therefore, this video series doesn’t go into detail by naming who did what specifically, only what was done and which musical community took the lead in doing it. Otherwise, it would’ve been a much, much longer video. In fact, the message of this entire video series just elaborates on what Johnny Pacheco himself said in the following video interview: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHach4SOnLKYmNE As the great Johnny Pacheco said in the video, “Salsa is and always has been Cuban music” with a New York influence (such as more aggressive arrangements). Part 1 of my video series simply elaborates a little on those Afro-Cuban rhythms (Son-Montuno, etc.) that make up the foundation of “Salsa” music. Part 2 of the video series explains how a political change transformed the musical environment (which changed who took the lead in developing the music further in the United States). Part 3 (the video that you commented on) builds on that and goes into the upgrades which were made to the music resulting in today’s “Salsa” (that New York influence that Pacheco talked about). Johnny Pacheco and the many other “New York/Puerto Rican/Hispanic” musicians that I referred to (most of whom were Fania artists) didn’t create something new, they merely upgraded something that already existed, namely the Cuban Son-Montuno along with other rhythms. In fact, the information starting at :57 of my video is based on what Johnny Pacheco himself said in the above video interview (starting at :14). When the Fania All-Stars started traveling all over the world, they called the music “Salsa” so as not to confuse non-Spanish speakers with the various names of all the Afro-Caribbean rhythms being played. This is what I spoke about in the video. Also, the terminology of “putting all of the rhythms under one roof” came directly from what Pacheco himself said at :28 of that video interview. I didn’t mention him or anyone else by name, only what they did. I focused on the musical “communities” responsible for developing the music, not specific individuals. That can be saved for those who wish to dive deeper into the subject. For example, in part 1 of the video series, I could have easily mentioned “Arsenio Rodriguez” and his “Son-Montuno”, without which there would be no “Salsa” as we know it because it basically defined the format of the music. I could have mentioned Ignacio Piñeiro or Cachao or many, many others. But this video series is just an overview designed as a basic introduction to the subject for newcomers, not a detailed encyclopedia of all things “Salsa”. Actually, I did briefly mention the Fania All-stars in the following video where I examined the question “Who Came Up with the Name ‘Salsa?” shown here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGPKd5SggcaBY6s And, according to my research, it was actually Izzy Sanabria, graphic designer for Fania Records, who popularized the use of the term “Salsa” to describe and promote the music as a genre. However, as the video shows, there is a long history behind the use of the term “Salsa” when it comes to the music. To the best of my knowledge, Johnny Pacheco did not "create" the term "Salsa", and the word was already being used a lot in relation to the music even before he came along (at least to describe the "sabor" of the music). But, I’m sorry I didn’t mention the Fania All-Stars as frequently as you may have liked. I probably could and should have mentioned them more than I did. That being said, however, this music didn’t start with them. I love the Fania All-Stars and their classic songs, but this music has a history that goes back to before Fania Records (founded in 1964, I believe) came into the picture. And there are songs that approach the signature “Salsa” sound which pre-dated Fania Records, even certain Cuban Son-Montunos from the 1940s and 50s. And when it comes to "Boogaloo", that combination of Chá-Chá-Chá and R&B was just a short-lived fad that some Salsa musicians apparently didn't really like. (Some even said they only played it to keep up with the times). But, again, the roots of "Salsa" pre-date the "Boogaloo" fad (which was during the 1960s). The golden age of Fania Records came after the "Boogaloo"-era was over and made "Salsa" music popular, but the musical style was already in existence.

[@tjarcovanraalte]

​@@salsagoals this has to be the most informative comment on KZbin ever ❤

[@salsagoals]

@@tjarcovanraalte Thank you for your comment. I'm glad you found the information helpful!

[@javiercales5019]

Why would he mention Don Johnny Pacheco, before him you had "Cortijo Y Su Combo" playing what would become Salsa back in the 50's. Then came El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico in the early 60's, just saying. They would blend Puerto Rican Bomba and Plena with Guaracha and other Cuban rhythms.