Hola amigos, buenas vibras para todos.
Salsa is that musical genre that I discovered when I was very young, I remember I was about 12 years old, with a very well known group here in my country Venezuela, that group was Los Adolescentes. Every Venezuelan who likes music, but especially salsa, will appreciate how good and extraordinary that group was, so much so that today their music endures and they continue to be a great reference.
But this publication is not about them, today I want to talk a little about the origin of this magnificent genre, where it was born, who were its precursors and of course show you some of those flagship songs that have marked a before and after. There have been countless artists, singers, producers and composers who throughout history have been responsible for putting salsa where it deserves but unfortunately today it seems that there is no place for them.
Pero, que pasa hoy en día con la Salsa? // But, what is happening nowadays with salsa?...
The answer to that question is in the photo. Salsa is that genre that needs to be played by big orchestras because its music is in the blood. And we are not talking about groups of 3-4 people, no, we are talking about at least 20 musicians on stage to do any show and that my dear people represents MONEY, a lot of MONEY.
Nowadays making a record or CD is something that can be perfectly done with a laptop, in a studio with a maximum of 3 people and where the instruments can be perfectly replaced with any specialized program in the hands of a producer and a musician. But making Salsa? - That can not be done artificially, it would not sound good at all, it would be music without soul.
Can you imagine a timbal solo done on a computer? - Yes I can imagine it but it is what I said before, it would be something totally inorganic and meaningless. That is why as I see the world music scene there are less and less Salsa singers or groups and it is because it is becoming more and more expensive to be a Salsa singer. Mobilizing 20 people with their instruments, paying them all for their talents, paying hours in a studio to record a CD with all those musicians is something that is simply less and less viable.
- Historia y nacimiento de la Salsa // The history and birth of salsa.
Salsa is a word that encompasses many things. Basically it is the result of the union of other musical genres such as Cuban Son and Jazz itself. Of course, this is not a single truth because over the years many people and nationalities such as Puerto Rican, Dominican, Colombian and Venezuelan have been adding their respective variants which has led to the Salsa is as universal as it is today.
But it was born specifically in Cuba back in the 16th century when the Spaniards conquered those lands and brought their music along with the African slaves who also brought their musicality and both were mixed to give birth to hundreds of rhythms: Son, chachachá, mambo, guaguancó, guaracha, among others, being the Son the one that represents the solid base of what today is Salsa.
The 60's arrived and with them came an extensive migration of Latinos, mostly from the Caribbean, to the United States but more specifically to New York. Being a place of encounters between so many Latin people, they began to raise their voices through music and it was in those times that New York salsa was born.
It was in 1964 when everything exploded, when Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci, a businessman, decided to found one of the most important record labels in the history of music in general: "Fania Records", which eventually led to the creation of Fania All Star. The main concept was to bring together all those masterful voices on the streets of New York under one label and they succeeded with flying colors.
Artists of the stature of Willie Colon, Hector Lavoe, Ruben Blades, Richie Ray, Bobby Cruz, Ismael Miranda, Larry Harlow, Mongo Santamaria, among many others were some of those who came to belong to such a musical monster. And I say monster because it was with Fania that Salsa began to be known worldwide.
This boom was mostly in the 70's when marketing started to do its job and Fania started touring all over the planet around the 5 continents. Salsa reached Japan and that was not in vain friends, from there came one of the best Salsa orchestras you can hear: La Orquesta de la Luz. To see Japanese people play Salsa SO WELL was something incredible, nowadays I watch their videos and I am still amazed with them.
It was in the 70's when the consolidation of Salsa took place, thanks mostly to Fania, who in that decade released several albums and even a movie called "Our Latin Thing" which was a success. Later in the 70's Fania wanted to make inroads in the American public looking to appear on television, so it was through CBS that they were able to do so.
Already in later decades this Fania movement reached a point of fatigue and was dissolving but the task was done, everyone spoke and knew the Salsa and from there it began to roll alone through all the singers and artists who were in the middle. Singers toured all the countries of Latin America taking Salsa to Venezuela and Colombia being the most important for that development and massification in the 80's and 90's.
That is how the foundations were laid for Salsa to become what it is today. I am still a big fan of the genre despite the fact that nowadays there is not as much Salsa being made as I would like. Marc Anthony, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Victor Manuelle and I'm probably missing another one out there are some of the few that are still at the top making Salsa and that is something to be appreciated.
Algunas canciones más populares entre las cientos que existen, según yo:
Some more popular songs among the hundreds that exist, according to me:
¡Un abrazo a todos, nos escuchamos en la próxima!
Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked this little and very short story.
¡A hug to all of you, we'll hear you in the next one!
Me encanta que surjan iniciativas y propuestas para hablar de y escuchar salsa. Está muy bien resumida la esencia de la salsa y dejaste unos ejemplos extraordinarios.
Lo que no comparto es que se deba tocar exclusivamente en formatos grandes...jejeje. Pero la prueba de ello me la voy a reservar para un post :-D
¡Ojalá se generarn debates y discusiones sobre esta forma musical en Hive!
¡Felicitaciones por esta publicación!
Muchas gracias por las palabras, estimado.
Por acá hay un fanático de los buenos de la Salsa. Quería hacer un resumen del Libro de la Salsa de Cesar Miguel Rondón, no se si lo conoce, pero que va, es muuucha salsa de lo que habría que hablar jaja, por eso me quedé en la Fania!
Y si, ojala se hable más de estos géneros latinos.
Saludos!!!
Sí, claro que lo conozco. Jejeje, eso es muuuucho contenido. Pero no importa, lo bueno es que trajiste el tema y habrá que continuarlo... 😉
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