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Final Reflection

How has your viewpoint/perspective changed from before the course to now about Salsa? My perspective of Salsa has changed drastically over the course of the class. When I signed up for the class all I knew about Salsa was that it was a type of dance with Latin origins. Through the class, I learned about the history, techniques, struggles, and essence of Salsa. I see now that it has had a tremendous impact on the world through community building, representation, voice, and energy. What are your 3 key takeaways from learning about Salsa? My main takeaways from this course are: 1. Even something as simple as music and dance can have a large impact on a population and society. 2. Music, particularly Salsa, is alive, everchanging, and special. 3. Salsa is a community experience that anyone can and should participate in if given the opportunity. What does it mean to live life with a "salsa" mindset/frame/lens, and what does this "salsa" mindset offer us? For me, a salsa m...
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Week 7: Bachata Power and Changing of Guard

 Learning about bachata was very interesting. I found this discussion about whether bachateros were born or made to be the most curious thing. It showed the difference between bachateros that had no music education and those that had a lot but could still not truly feel bachata. I also found the history of bachata to be somewhat different from other styles we have learned about. Most importantly the idea that bachata was considered to be the "black sheep" of the Dominican musical family. Also worth noting was that people could relate to bachata because it rose out of misery. I found it interesting that it has developed into a very romantic musical style from this. I like that even though bachata has been modernized it still holds a strong Dominican identity. I also liked how there is liberty in the fourth step of bachata and how it allows people the ability to express themselves in different ways. Also interesting was the stated dress of those dancing bachata, it was very fin...
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Week 5: Eddie Torres and Modern Salsa/Mambo

 In the late 1970s salsa truly came into being. Emerging from the Latin hustle and salsa music, people, including, Eddie Torres began to give dance classes. There was some pushback from hustlers about salsa dancers changing their dance, but it gave rise to something greater. Eddie more so taught mambo classes throughout the period of the Latin hustle and together it helped form what we now consider salsa. Eddie did this by recruiting people in New York to learn to dance and he even had help from Tito Puente who produced a lot of Latin music. The drive that it required to continue his dance group inspires me. They truly changed what salsa was to the public. As I listened to the many videos and songs, I also felt inspired to move and then talked with a friend about her experience with a salsa club and dancing. 
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Week 3: The Palladium: (Mid Century) Birth of Mambo

During the 1950s mambo became very popular in New York. This music came from Cuba and Africa and contains the elements found in other styles of salsa. I found it important that Cuban slaves were allowed to keep their drums (compared to US slaves who were not). This allowed them to play their music and dance and continue their African traditions. They took this wild and intense music and added news and current events which allowed for a type of community sense not really found anywhere else. When this music and dance was brought to the US it brought in crowds from every nationality and culture. However, due to the extreme discrimination that existed at the time, most people knew only the Hollywood version of mambo and never learned the true face of the music. Those that did participate were able to dance like there was no tomorrow. The music just makes you want to move.
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