Salsa

One of America’s historic strengths have been our ability to incorporate aspects from many different cultures to create a stronger whole. Our music, art, literature, language, architecture, food, fashion and more have all benefitted. I have chosen three key principles (to do them all would be a dissertation for me) and combined them with an art focus so as to show the importance and powerful role the arts can have in effective leadership and empowering the body of an organization. Again, in a world that has become increasingly Global, we can no longer deny the presence of ‘the other’ and their importance in our communities. Especially those within and around our faith communities.

Salsa did not come from just one place or person, it is a mix of multiple cultures as well as peoples creativity. When Spain found the Caribbean during the 1400’s, they later brought African slaves also. The merge of such two different musical and dancing styles from the Spanish and African community merged with the native community has given us what we now understand as salsa. The evaluation of salsa that is danced in clubs today has taken many years and been a long

Salsa refers to a fusion of informal dance styles having roots in the Caribbean (especially in Cuba and North America). The dance originated through the mixture of Mambo, Danzón, Guaguancó, Cuban Son, and other typical Cuban dance forms. Salsa is danced to Salsa music. There is a strong African influence in the music as well as the dance.

After signing in, men and women of all ages and ethnicities gathered in the Reeve Ballroom for the annual event, Holidays Around the World, which was hosted by the Multicultural Education Coalition of the University of Wisconsin in Oshkosh. Featuring the group Salsa Manzana and other performers, this festival included multiple cultural presentations through song and dance. First, the UW Oshkosh Taiko Performers presented their traditional ensemble. Taiko is written using the characters for fat and drum and indicated the instruments used in the performance. Wearing traditional, unisexual clothing, the Taiko performers chanted in Japanese while banging on the Taiko drums. With the help of the moderator, the group gave a nearly seamless, synchronized performance with a constant release of energy. Afterwards, Salsa Manzana performed various songs including Sunny Rain, Feliz Navidad, and Jingle Salsa.

The main aspects that have changed: the instrumentation, the style, the tempo, and the dance movements. The time signatures of the two types of cumbias are the start of where the change begins. The basics of Colombian cumbia are described as, “Its essential elements, the tambor drums and enormous gaita flutes, combine to give the music a rolling, infectious 2/4 beat… (Morales 253) .” In Mexico, “the cumbia is a very popular modern dance in 4/4 from Colombia… (Nevin 137)” Jackie Garcia, born in Mexico but raised in the United States, says when listening to the two types she can tell them apart by the speed of the music. “The Colombian cumbia and Mexican cumbia are different because the Colombian cumbia goes a lot faster. It’s marked faster by the tempo compared to the Mexican one (Garcia, Jackie).” Not only has the tempo changed but also the instrumentation which leads to a style variation, from very rhythmically based feel to a lighter, smoother feel. “The Colombian music is heavy on the tambora, a type of drum, while the Mexican style emphasizes trumpets and horns (Wisner 65)” With the style change also brings a difference in dance technique. The Colombian cumbia was heavily influenced by the African and indigenous peoples, giving the dance focus in the hips, with a swaying movement. The Mexican dance may get confused with other genres such as salsa, because the main aspect of the

In an article by Maria Barrios, she expresses the importance and benefits of dancing. She points out that certain types of dance can be a fun total body workout. I definitely agree because of my personal experience with dancing. After an hour long dance class I feel sweaty and tired then a few minutes later I feel energized like I could do it again. Barrios also points out that dance not only benefits your body but also your mentality.

Cumbia music began in the 1930s ,but it took over Colombia’s music scene in the 1950s. At the beginning, cumbia evolved as a folk or a courtship dance amongst African slaves along the Atlantic Caribbean coast of Colombia in rural communities. The dance heavily resembled the shackles around the ankles of slaves. In the past, the music only included a flute and a few percussion instruments like various drums and claves. Despite, not being perceived well by elites, the working class adored cumbia music. In due time, people of all social classes couldn’t resist the melodic sounds of cumbia music once the genre gained more popularity. During the transition from the 60s to the 70s, cumbia became known around the world for its vibrant sound. The pace of this music is fast and danceable, which makes it so well like amongst those who are free spirited. All in all, cumbia music is produced to make people feel good and to celebrate the Colombian

Thanks to this dance I feel more of a connection when I dance with my family and I am more confident and It makes me dance a lot more than I used to. Dancing is huge in my family it makes us (in my opinion) more connected being able to laugh and spend time together just makes a difference. I have a big family +100 cousins and I always feel like I'm close to every single on them because of dancing. This class gave me a better understanding of why my family dances it really gives a connection to everyone who is dancing. Also I think everyone should take a dance class regardless if they need it for their major, I being a chemical engineering student still think it is very relevant to take this class because I think it helps broaden who you interact with

With every type of music there is a type of dance to go with it, like the Tango or the Merengue. Dance and music is a way of celebrating in any culture but is most popular in Latin American Culture. Some of the most successful artists today have Latino heritage, and they infuse their songs with Latin rhythms reflective

Adriana Mejia, a student, says that since she began taking salsa lessons life has changed. She says she feels more positive in their attitude, also has noticed some improvement in their health. "Thanks to salsa dancing makes me feel in very good health," she

Celiz Cruz was a popular salsa singer. Salsa developed in New York City from Cuban songs and rhythms fused with jazz. It became very popular in the 1970s and quickly spread back to Latin America. Salsa uses Cuban percussion and the “son” style of song mixed with the instrumentation and improvisation of the jazz and swing of the 1960s and 1970s. Salsa music generally consists of three sections: son, montuno and chorus. The son is a Cuban song built over clave rhythms. The montuno section is improvisation over an ostinato bass pattern, a practice called “guajeo”. The third section, the chorus, also uses improvisation. These three parts can be played in any order, and transitions between sections are generally marked with signals from the brass

Clementina is a small city in Mexico with faded, white billboards and smoke plumes flurrying in the air like a flock of large black birds. The town is old and dusted, it is like the industrial factories have washed all the color away. There is many businesses in Clementina, but they get minimal customers. One of the Businesses is a small, avocado green shabby building with an old, splintered wooden sign that says:

Music is something that fills most people with joy. The magic that music carries with it is what allows us to enjoy and dance too. Music is the bit that motivates us every day to continue living life with rhythm and flavored. The Caribbean defined taste, rhythm, and passion. Caribbean people are known worldwide for the tropical, for the passion in which, they transmit each time they dance. Latinos are music lovers, lovers of rhythm, lovers of "pachanga". Leon Rose is a London-born Caribbean salsa dancer, instructor, and choreographer who share the same passion and charisma as most Latin people; he is recognized as one of the best salsa dancers in the United Kingdom.

The dance is used to retell stories, illustrate their understandings of man’s relationship to nature, demonstrate their understanding of life in a way that could not be orally or textually passed down as our African ancestors were denied that right. With the dance, a story is always being told. Even if the persons are dancing in the hills of Guantanamo or en el pasillo del Malecón, their bodies are the vessels through which a story is being told—new or passed down. A question of mine that resulted from this observation is how is one able to tap into that essence and understanding? Does commercialized Salsa offer this entry point for dancers who wish to extra-culturally participate and assume this, what I believe to be, intra-cultural

As different groups of people move from one geographic location to another, they bring various aspects of their heritage with them, including the dance forms characteristic of their culture. While in a new location, these cultural aspects can serve to unify people of a common ethnicity, giving them a physical expression of their collective identity. On the other hand, when a minority group of people practices its dance forms in a new geographic location, dominant groups of people often adopt them. Failing to understand the social significance and original meanings of such dances, the majority group appropriates several aspects of the dance forms while changing other aspects in order to make them fit better within its cultural ideologies. In this way, cultural appropriation of dance forms dissolves some of their original cultural meanings, as is exemplified by the transmission of salsa dance from a Latin American social dance to a Western ballroom dance, changing its nature from an expression of cultural unity to an “exotic” experience.