In the late sixties and early seventies, artists such as Joe Cuba, Willie Colón, Rubén Blades, Ricardo Ray and Eddie Palmieri started to accept the rather commercial term »Salsa« in order to describe their music concept. Many still do not - like Tito Puente (»Salsa means sauce but everyone likes calling the mambo by that name«).
Those of us who discovered Salsa only recently might be surprised by the fact that Salsa used to be a deeply committed genre with a strong social and political interest. In fact, the lyrics of most Salsa hits today are dominated by schmaltzy love themes. Willie Colón and Rubén Blades are two of the few artists who still write critical songs. The topics they used to write in the beginning mainly dealt with problems the people of the barrios all over Latin America had to cope with: social struggle, discrimination, financial needs and dreariness. »Pedro Navaja« is one of the most famous examples, and although it became a hit already in 1978, it can still be considered a type of Latin hymn, and almost every Latino (and even some European Salseros) know it by heart. So it is not surprising at all that many lovers of this »good old salsa« treat the most recent productions with contempt. The culmination of this development towards kitschy lyrics and simple arrangements is called »Salsa Romántica« and »Salsa Erótica«. Still, more down-to-earth sounds like »Salsa Gorda«, »Salsa Dura«, Pachanga and Son are quite popular on the dance floors as well. However, any kind of Salsa can be fun, especially while dancing - and this is the most important part of it, isn't it?
People do not only dance Salsa all over the world, they also »make« it. There used to be a well known Japanese Salsa orqchestra (»Orquesta de la Luz«), »Salsamania« plays Mambo in Finland (»Ritmo Polar!«), and »Salsa Celtica« are very successful with their eccentric mixture of Salsa and Celtic-Scotch sounds. There are various national Salsa bands in almost all other countries and the number is continually increasing. Most Salsa productions, though, are from New York, Miami and Latin America. The term Salsa is a rather general expression in Europe. It contains different musical genres and dances, for instance Guaguanco, Son, Pachanga, Cumbia and Vallenato. Although Merengue is considered an independent dance, there is hardly any Salsa club in which the Merengue is completely excluded. Besides, the Bachata, which also originates from the Dominican Republic, has become more and more popular during the recent years.
In the end, Sasa is not something which has to be understood, most of all it has to be felt. I cannot fully transmit this with my text. So just dive into the next good Salsa club - and then it feels like being on vacation!