Puerto Rican Salsa
Located in 2 routes
The Puerto Rican school of salsa, which absorbed the Cuban-derived clave engine and infused it with the island's own bomba and plena rhythms, jíbaro melody and a polished, powerhouse orchestral sound. Big bands deploy tight trumpet-and-trombone sections, sparkling piano montunos and disciplined coros over a hard-swinging percussion pocket, often with festive, party-anthem energy or romantic sweep. Vocals prize the great sonero tradition of witty, agile improvisation, and arrangements are crisp and dance-ready. From El Gran Combo's decades of hits to the romántica stars, it is a cornerstone of the genre.
History
Salsa on the island grew from the 1950s combos of Rafael Cortijo and Ismael Rivera, who brought bomba and plena into modern dance bands, and crystallized when El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico formed in 1962 to become 'La Universidad de la Salsa.' Ponce's Sonora Ponceña, Bobby Valentín, Roberto Roena and Willie Rosario built a robust island industry through the 1970s, feeding and rivaling New York's Fania, while Ismael Rivera reigned as a sonero legend. From the late 1980s Puerto Rico led the romántica and moderna waves through Gilberto Santa Rosa, Víctor Manuelle and others, and the island remains one of salsa's two great creative capitals.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Un Verano en Nueva York(1979) — El Gran Combo de Puerto RicoSpotifyYouTube
- Brujería — El Gran Combo de Puerto RicoSpotifyYouTube
- Fuego en el 23(1969) — Sonora PonceñaSpotifyYouTube
- El Nazareno(1974) — Ismael RiveraSpotifyYouTube
- Tú Loco Loco y Yo Tranquilo(1974) — Roberto RoenaSpotifyYouTube
- Que Alguien Me Diga(1997) — Gilberto Santa RosaSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- César Miguel Rondón, The Book of Salsa (2008)
- Juan Flores, From Bomba to Hip-Hop (2000)
- Frances Aparicio, Listening to Salsa (1998)