Salsa

Salsa is a Latin musical genre originally derived from the Cuban musical styles of Son cubano and Mambo, primarily developed in New York City during the 1960s. Salsa music emerged from the horn-laden ensembles of "son montuno" music of the 1950s with strong percussive roles, often incorporating congas, timbales and bongos as well as smaller instruments, such as maracas, clave and güiro. Backings are often accompanied by a piano although some earlier bands follow a charanga format that can include string sections and flutes. The Puerto Rican styles of Bomba and Plena also became important to its development. Call-and-response structures (also called "coro-pregón") and jam sessions between instruments are very common features in salsa music. The salsa movement was initially established with the foundation of Fania Records in 1964, then housing important figures like Héctor Lavoe, Larry Harlow and Willie Colón, further established by supergroup Fania All Stars. Salsa musicians often performed at Jazz clubs from New York City, largely involving jam sessions which became a developing point for early Salsa dura music, also becoming an influence to the Latin Jazz scene. In the 1980s salsa would be largely developed within Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela and Panama to a bigger appeal among Latino audiences, with salsa dancing becoming a popular form worldwide. Salsa romántica began as a result of cross-pollination of Pop music overtones in these areas. Timba (aka salsa cubana) also became a widespread genre in post-revolutionary Cuba since the 1990s, further adapting concepts of fusion music since its emergence.