Title: Guide to Salsa Music: A Brief History of the Salsa Genre - 2021 - MasterClass
Headings: Guide to Salsa Music: A Brief History of the Salsa Genre
Guide to Salsa Music: A Brief History of the Salsa Genre
Jump To Section
What Is Salsa Music?
What Are the Origins of Salsa Music?
6 Characteristics of Salsa Music
MasterClass
Suggested for You
14 Classic Salsa Instruments

Content: Salsa owes its roots to several forms of Latin music, but son Cubano is at the core of all salsa music. Precursor: Son Cubano began in the Sierra Maestra of Cuba's Oriente Province, spawning from folkloric musical styles including cumbia, rhumba, changüí, nengón, kiribá, and regina. By the early 1900s, son Cubano found its way to Havana, and from there it would spread throughout the North American and South American continents. Emergence: By the mid-twentieth century, prominent bandleaders, songwriters, and performers like Tito Puente, Frank Grillo (better known as Machito), Héctor Lavoe, Johnny Pacheco, Ray Barretto, and the Cuban-born Celia Cruz developed the genre that would become salsa music America's popular culture. Popularity: Throughout the 1960s Pacheco's Fania Records (and the Fania All-Stars) released many of the top salsa recordings; the record label became a touchstone in the history of salsa. The style reached its zenith in the 1970s, when salsa spread from New York back to the Caribbean and Latin America.