"Salsa was an unmistakable product of the Pan-Caribbean experience: salsa musicians were mostly Puerto Rican, its rhythms were principally Cuban, and its social context was primarily the Latino barrios of New York City." ― Deborah Pacini Hernandez
When temperatures rise on the dance floor, the spicy rhythms of salsa music heat up the atmosphere. Salsa dancing hails from the traditions of multiple cultures and is popular throughout the world. The use of the word salsa originates from a 1933 song by composer Ignacio Pinerio. The title, "Echale Salsita", translates to "spice it up a little."
Salsa dance initially developed into a particular style and comes out of a heritage of Latin dances that dates back into the early 1900s. It is influenced by traditions and dance styles such as mambo, guaguanco and danzon. Brief Salsa dance history is that individuals moved to new places and assimilated into new cultures, where salsa evolved to fresh new styles. There are several different salsa types influenced by cultural mix of the cities that they originated. For example, most famous in North America are New York Salsa (also called dancing 'On 2') and Los Angeles Salsa (known as dance 'On 1’ ). Many dance aficionados really claim as the dance and the term were coined in the Big Apple and that New York style salsa is the first kind of salsa. Other styles include Cuban salsa, Cumbia and Rueda de Casino (learn more about salsa styles here). Other major salsa cities in USA are: Chicago salsa and San Diego salsa, in United Kingdom: London Salsa, in Germany: Berlin Salsa and in Canada: Toronto Salsa.
Salsa dance is famous for its expressive sensual dance moves. When you consider it, salsa dance is really popular in the social dance circles and the most natural type of exercise around. In fact, learning how to dance salsa isn't a backbreaking activity. There's hardly anyone who doesn't like dancing! Salsa dancing is always excellent entertainment. It also helps in building a lot of energy and hence is a good way to start your day. You may learn salsa dancing in the privacy of your house or in a studio, with or without a partner and it is also a fitness program that can readily be integrated into your social life.
There are numerous Salsa Festivals around the world that attract thousand of Salseros every year. These latin festivals feature other popular latin dances such as Bachata, Zouk & Kizomba. Major world cities adopted the concept of Salsa Congress which is a multi-day latin dance festival featuring workshops, social dancing, performances and competitions focusing on Salsa dancing. The format was first pioneered at the Puerto Rico Salsa Congress in 1997.