how old is salsa dancing? When was it first recorded?

Question

At what time did the latin influence begin to emerge in the uk? When was it first dated?

Answer 1

1. There is quite a lot of controversy about:
a) the year salsa began - most claim it was at some stage in the late 1960s;
b) the location where it originated - New York City, and its Puerto Rican community, gets most credit;
c) the origin of the term "salsa" - a Venezuelan radio programme called "Echale Salsa" is one of many suggestions;
d) the adequacy of salsa as a catch-all Latin music term - some say it needs to be broken down into components, such as son montuno, and it does also get misused by some people to include music that never falls within the definition (like Latin jazz and merengue).
All this information can be found on the internet if you choose to search. Any article on the origins of salsa is inadequate, if it does not mention the recording label Fania Records.

2. There is likely to be slightly less disagreement over the Latin music scene in the UK, where Colombians dominate. The Latin scene began in the 1980s, and its adoption by British people was part of the general discovery and interest in world music, at that time. In nearly every case, the webpages below only contain snippets of information on the subject, and it may help to use "Find" to locate them.
(a) BANDS.
(i) The UK's first salsa band was Valdez, founded in the early 1980s by Colombian percussionist Roberto Pla and Stan Rivers. The band was superceded by Sonido de Londres, which recorded two albums. Roberto Pla later went on to found the Latin Ensemble.
(ii) The UK's first all-female salsa band was Candela, fronted by Colombian singer Martha Acosta (nee Salgado). She now is with Manteca.
(b) CLUB DJs.
There are three which could claim to be the first in London. Their music embraces other "tropical music" too (e.g. African and Caribbean)
(i) Dave Hucker
(ii) John Armstrong
(iii) Gerry Lyseight
(c) DANCE TUTORS
Again there were three front-runners for first.
(i) Xiomara (Colombian lady);
(ii) Nelson Batista (Cuban man); and
(iii) Elder Sanchez (Colombian man).
(d) CLUB VENUES
I suggest four possibilities as the first Latin-only club venues in London, with club nights most days of the week:
(i) Salsa!, Charing Cross Road;
(ii) La Finca, Pentonville Road (now called Clockwork);
(iii) Bar Madrid, Winsley Street, off Oxford Street (now called Wax);
(iv) Bar Cuba, Kensington High Street.
I believe that only Salsa! still has regular Latin nights throughout the week, though I am not completely sure about the others.

Answer 2

Salsa music is a fusion of traditional African and Cuban and other Latin-American rhythms that traveled from the islands (Cuba and Puerto Rico) to New York during the migration, somewhere between the 1940s and the 1970s, depending on where one puts the boundary between "real" salsa and its predecessors. There is debate as to whether Salsa originated in Cuba or Puerto Rico. Salsa is one of the main dances in both Cuba and Puerto Rico and is known world-wide. The dance steps currently being danced to salsa music come from the Cuban son, but were influenced by many other Cuban dances such as Mambo, Chá, Guaracha, Changuí, Lukumí, Palo Montel, Rumba, Yambú, Abakuá, Comparsa and some times even Mozambique. It also integrates swing dances. There are no strict rules of how salsa should be danced, although one can distinguish a number of styles, which are discussed below.

Answer 3

History of Salsa. great dance !!!

http://www.centralhome.com/ballroomcountry/salsa.htm