Week 1 Salsa Blog Entry #1

This week I watched several videos introducing me to the concept of salsa. These were the three videos out of the many videos that I had watched, I feel as though these three videos had the biggest impact on my introduction to Salsa. 

Video 1: https://youtu.be/jhjxrcw5XWY

This video is a documentary that explains the roots of salsa, and how salsa grew from a part of Harlem to becoming a staple of expression for Latin Americans. The documentary as well has interviews with the surviving members of that era, and highlights their experiences during the 1970s. The rise of Fania records and the artists who helped shape the sounds of salsa are as well included. 

Video 2: https://youtu.be/Ws67AP-2dEw

This video is a short interview between Lin-Manuel Miranda and an interviewee from Puerto Rican Salsa composer and singer.  I think this video is great for showing the expressiveness of Salsa, and how it brings together many people from the community. 

Video 3: https://youtu.be/AXN-_asIaYs

I feel as if this video might be the most important for those who are just discovering Salsa as I am. Celia Cruz is nothing short of an icon, and her voice is poignant and very beautiful in all the songs she sings. Salsa seems to me to be kind of like Latin country in the way that the music can be very cheery or ironic, but there is always an underlying theme of longing or maybe regret. Celia's voice most certainly carries a lot of emotion, and it can be heard in all of her songs

Extra video: https://youtu.be/S_2Eilj-yzg

This extra video I felt really showed how intimate, and close Salsa dancing can be for two people. 

I want to take a moment and reflect on two key aspects of Salsa its rhythms and the culture around salsa and give my overall opinion. 

1) Salsa Rhythms:

    Salsa Rhythms are expressed in many different instruments, claves, bongo drums, guitars, pianos, trombones, and vocals. The instruments in salsa take from many different cultures, from South Africa, Cuba, and American Latino jazz. This is why salsa has so many different instruments because the influences that it draws upon are so diverse. As stated in the first video, Salsa came from boredom with traditional styles in Latin jazz. This is why the instruments are so unique, and the rhythms are so upbeat. I am including a picture of a clave, since I actually did not know what it was when researching.

    The lyrics that were written by Salsa composers are the cornerstone of salsa. The stories that were usually described by the musicians were personal stories, usually either of love or failure, and they sometimes were political. Often however the lyrics surrounded love, and it's shortcomings. The impact that these stories had on our history was really important, the irony of Salsa allowed people to express themselves and be free in the music and rhythm. As someone who listens to a lot of personal music, I really appreciate the honesty of salsa and how it makes the hardness of love easier to bear. 

2) Culture:

    Salsa was a rebellion against tradition, and this principle is very seen in the way that people dance to salsa. Salsa is a very fluid music genre, and that often lends itself very easily to improvisation. When we dance to salsa, our bodies are very fluid and usually requires a partner to really feel the intimacy of the lyrics and music. So when people perform salsa they perform with a partner, and their bodies flow over each other and they match movements in an intimate dance. The way that salsa is performed is a direct rebellion against tradition, and the idea of having to dance a certain way. Salsa can be performed in any way, and is more about expression than tradition. Which is very political in sense that salsa values the individual, and the individual dancers rather than form. Salsa as well is very bold, and in your face with it's music and dancing and projects the voice of Latin America all across the world. This also means that salsa largely represents Latin America, and the experiences of those who were born in the Latinx world. This is shown in the way that most salsa music is sung in Spanish, however I do not think other cultures are largely excluded from the world of salsa. I think if people who are not apart of the Latinx culture listen to salsa, they can still very much appreciate the expression and music of salsa. I think overall though Salsa majorly represents the Latinx world. The picture I included shows how intimate salsa can become with the two dancers. The two dancers in the picture as well are not in any special salsa clothing showing the expressiveness of salsa.

3) Personal Statement: 

    As someone who has lived in the southwest my entire life, and taking 4 years of Spanish in high school I did have a little understanding of the culture that created salsa. Going into this week I really did not have an understanding of salsa, after watching the videos that were provided by my professor, I now feel as though my understanding of the context of salsa has great improved. I really relate to the self-expression that the music of salsa brings to it's listener. I am someone who loves music, my favorite genre of music is soft-rock and loud music, and for a similar reason. I feel as though rock when done right can be super expressive, and creative just like salsa. I as well relate to how salsa evolved from diverse roots from around the world, because that is similar to rock which broke off from blues/jazz.

Overall my key-take away from the videos, and research that I did this week is that salsa is beautiful. The reason why I think salsa is beautiful is because it is the highest form of expression. Salsa makes emotions so grand, but also so clear. Salsa can have a very distinct form on stage, or just a simple way of expression with people dancing casually in a restaurant. As well the musicians of salsa are not just focused on vocals, but their souls. It is often said that country writers are not good if they do not feel the stories they tell, and I think that is also true for salsa. I will now share a salsa album that was shown the documentary. This album cover is trying to show Willie Colon as a gangster, and I think it's a great example of his individuality.