Salsa

Salsa is a style of dance music mainly influenced by Caribbean traditions and music from Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and other countries such as Colombia and Venezuela, where African cultural syncretism in music and dance blends with European influences and indigenous instruments, along with contributions from the contiguous United States. Because most of the basic musical components predate the labeling of salsa, there have been many controversies regarding its origin. Most songs considered as salsa are primarily based on son montuno and son cubano, with elements of cha-cha-chá, bolero, rumba, mambo, jazz, R&B, bomba, plena, merengue (Pambiche) and pachanga as well as other music styles from Latin American countries traditions. All of these genres and their musical instruments are adapted and fused to accomplish smooth and seamless transitions between them when performed within the context of salsa.