A Blending of Latin Sound
An article on The New York Times on the Web
By Peter Catapano

     Defining salsa, like defining jazz, can be an elusive task. Like jazz, it has absorbed many influences and evolved over time. And like the terms jazz, funk, or disco, the word salsa, which means sauce in Spanish, is a label. No one is quite sure who "invented" the term -- it is said to have been used to describe "hot" Latin music long before the 70's. But it was the New York-based Fania Records operating in the mid-70's that did the most to generate a worldwide recognition of the music and its new name by aggressively promoting its new stars in markets in and beyond the United States.

     Whatever its success as a marketing tool, salsa was still a label, and to some, a simplification of a diverse tradition. In a sense that is true -- salsa is a product of many Latin styles. Early salsa records might contain any of a dozen unique traditional song forms -- son, rumba, pachanga, bomba, danzon, guaguanco. The label may have obscured the variety of Latin music, but it also made it easy for new listeners to identify, and it helped sell records.

     Although a great number of New York's stars and sidemen in the 70's were Puerto Rican, the basic musical elements of salsa were derived mainly from Cuba. Traditional Cuban styles had been popular favorites in the United States as far back as the 1920's. Johnny Pacheco, a musician, bandleader and salsa pioneer, explained in an interview that while music from Puerto Rico and the Domincan Republic was often heard in New York, Cuban music held a special appeal for musicians and dancers: "It was more intricate to play Cuban music because of the arrangements....The Cuban music was more danceable and more intriguing."

     Cuban song forms such as the son that were a mainstay of the rhumba and mambo eras would also be taken up by younger musicians to form the basis of salsa.

     Despite Cuba's deep influence, salsa was not merely Cuban music dressed up in a new name: It was a product of pan-Latin New York. By 1961, United States-Cuba relations had been severed. New Yorkers no longer had inspirational visits from well-loved Cuban bands like Orquesta Aragon. They were left to develop a music of their own. Consequently, Puerto Rican, Dominican, African and African-American sounds were all thrown into the mix. Up-and-comers like New York-born Puerto Rican Willie Colon challenged the "Cuban orthodoxy" and eagerly wove sounds and rhythms from down the street and across the globe into his arrangements.

     Traditional Latin music also was subject to a distinct New York urbanization. This was no longer music straight from the "old country" -- it was infected with New York energy. Tempos quickened, bands became more aggressive and brassier, lyrical content changed to reflect city life, addressing subjects like inner-city crime and poverty. Enthusiasts of all backgrounds -- Jewish, African-American and Italian among them -- flocked to the music, as fans, dancers, musicians, journalists or industry players.

     During this period, Fania Records, a New York-based label co-founded by musician Johnny Pacheco and his partner Jerry Masucci in 1964, became the engine behind the scene. Fania launched or furthered the musical careers of many of salsa's future stars -- Mr. Pacheco, Hector Lavoe, Roberto Roena, Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez, Larry Harlow, Willie Colon and Ruben Blades among them. Fania was certainly not the only Latin music label in New York in the 70's, but it was dominant. Its matchless roster of musicians and the hard, streetwise music it produced in its heyday inspired an almost cultish loyalty among fans, and helped define New York as salsa's capital. Fania's success was also a source of pride for Latin New Yorkers -- this music, developed and honed in their own neighborhoods, moved quickly from the city's local clubs and studios to stages and airwaves worldwide.

     By the early 80's, it seemed New York's day as salsa's capital had passed. The New York style held little sway in the major United States radio and record-buying markets, a void partly filled by "salsa romantica," which featured mellower rhythms and pop-style lyrics and production values. The oncoming wave of popular Dominican merengue would also take a prominent place in the Latin record industry (it still is a major force in Latin music today). New York-based Latin performers like Marc Anthony and La India were working in newer styles like Latin house and hip-hop in the late 80's; they had little interest in salsa at the time, a music that seemed outdated. 

    Still, the last decade has had its bright spots for classic salsa purists. WSKQ-FM, known as La Mega, the city's popular Spanish language station, now devotes some programming to classic salsa. And non-commercial New York stations, such as WKCR (89.9 FM) and WBAI (99.5 FM) air excellent weekly salsa shows that provide in-depth listening sessions with recordings of some of the world's best Latin groups, past and present.