Salsa music is Cuban, Puerto Rican and Colombian popular dance music. The term “salsa” was initially promoted and marketed in New York City during the 1970s. Salsa comprises various musical genres including the Cuban son montuno, guaracha, chachachá, mambo, and to a certain extent bolero. Salsa is the product of genres such as the Puerto Rican bomba and plena. In some cases, the term is also used to describe Dominican merengue, and the Colombian cumbia. Latin jazz, which was also developed in New York City, has had a significant influence on salsa arrangers, piano guajeos, and instrumental soloists. Salsa is primarily Cuban son, itself a fusion of Spanish canción and guitar and Afro-Cuban percussion, merged with North American music styles such as jazz. Salsa also occasionally incorporates elements of rock, R&B, and funk. All of these non-Cuban elements are grafted onto the basic Cuban son montuno template when performed within the context of salsa. The first salsa bands were predominantly “Nuyorican” (New Yorkers of Puerto Rican descent) or Puerto Ricans migrated to New York. The music eventually spread throughout Colombia and the rest of the Americas. Ultimately, it became a global phenomenon. Some of the founding salsa artists were Johnny Pacheco (the creator of the Fania All-Stars), Ray Barretto, Willie Colón, Larry Harlow, Roberto Roena, Bobby Valentín, Eddie Palmieri, and Héctor Lavoe.
