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They brought records back."įORDHAM: "Merchant sailors brought LPs home, too." Salsa was popular across Colombia and beyond but really caught on in Cali.įORDHAM: "And there was a third way the records got over here - through the drug trade."įORDHAM: "Many of the people who went to New York in the '60s and '70s were involved in the drug trade." As they got rich, they brought back records to play at their parties. But it got to Colombia pretty quick."įORDHAM: "Colombians traveled to the U.S. He explains that, in fact, salsa doesn't come from Cali - doesn't come from Colombia at all.įORDHAM: "After the Second World War," he explains, "Puerto Ricans flooded into New York, concentrating in the South Bronx." Groups of predominantly Puerto Rican musicians stirred their island's sounds into the Cuban rhythms and jazz already thrumming through the city.įORDHAM: In the '70s, the music morphed into the genre known as salsa.įORDHAM: "And so," Professor Ulloa tells me, "the music isn't original. One friend told me if you don't dance, you don't date.įORDHAM: It's so much a part of the culture here that the University of Cali has an anthropologist specializing in salsa on its faculty, Alejandro Ulloa. Salsa is everywhere - homes, clubs, impromptu weeknight parties and liquor stores. Salsa is a tradition for Cali.įORDHAM: And it's true. And it's like a generation of the same music, of the same tradition. VARELA: Your parents - they play the music their parents play to them. Varela says salsa isn't just in her blood it's in everyone's here. It's in the center of Cali.įORDHAM: We're also actually in Jairo Varela Square and next to a vast sculpture that spells the band's name and plays their music. VARELA: I work as a director of the Jairo Varela Museum. You live it every day.įORDHAM: Cristina Varela is a musician and daughter of Jairo Varela, the late leader of the band Grupo Niche. You go to the streets, and there's salsa. They call it the capital of salsa.ĬRISTINA VARELA: They call it that because we live salsa every day.
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But sometimes, digging around in a tradition's history reveals tangled roots, as Alice Fordham found in the Colombian city of Cali.ĪLICE FORDHAM, BYLINE: Cali is an enchanting place circled by verdant mountains, dotted with palm trees and famed for its love of salsa music and dance. If you’re looking to take a salsa classes in Raleigh, we offer private classes and group dance classes for all skill levels.The point of a tradition is that it's been around a while. In addition to being an effective and fun form of cardio, the movements being concentrated in the lower body make it a great workout for your hips, legs, and glutes. This leads to the swinging hip movements salsa in known for. 4.) Salsa is All in the Lower Bodyĭuring the entire dance, the upper body is level, all movement takes place in your lower body. Others say it’s because the dance’s movements are hot and spicy, like salsa. The dance was named after the style of music but no one quite knows why it was named “salsa.” Some suggest the name comes from the food since it has elements from many cultures much like salsa has many ingredients. 3.) The Origin of the Name “Salsa” is a Mystery Because of this, there are several styles of salsa, including Cuban, Miami style, Afro-Latino, and Colombian salsa. Salsa dancing is a mixture of several Latin dances, including tango, mambo, and flamenco, with each region adding its own flavor to the dance. In the 1970s, salsa dancing got a big boost in popularity from Cuban & Puerto Rican musicians in New York, where it spread to the rest of the US. While salsa music had been popular since the 1910s, the dance didn’t come about until the 1920s. Here are five things you probably didn’t know about salsa dancing: 1.) Salsa Originated in the 1920s in Eastern Cuba From salsa dancing competitions to salsa festivals and salsa classes in dance studios like Fred Astaire of Raleigh, we think it’s safe to say salsa isn’t going anywhere anytime soon!ĭespite it being so popular, most people don’t know a lot about it. Salsa dancing has been around for nearly 100 years and today it’s enjoyed by people around the world.