History of Salsa

 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...

 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.