Salsa

Salsa originated in the 1900s in Cuba, where rhythms from the two main existing styles of music in the region (Cuban Son and Afro-Cuban rumba) were combined to create a new dance. This new rhythm was combined with American jazz and taken to New York by Cuban musicians.

Salsa is an amalgamation of Cuban dances that were popular in the ballrooms and nightclubs of Havana by the end of the 1950s (e.g. "casino", mambo and pachanga), as well as American jazz dances. It was primarily developed by Puerto Ricans living in New York (Nuyoricans) in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The term was originally used to describe the lively and upbeat nature of New York Puerto Rican music, but it eventually became identifiable as a distinct genre. Salsa is most easily defined by its rhythm, based on the Latin beat called the clave.