Music

... the spice of life and nowhere is that more evident than on the island of Puerto Rico. Music is a notable export and arguably the predominant Latin sound heard across the United States and elsewhere. Puerto Ricans also enjoy a variety of music that ranges from Classical, to Folk, to Bomba y Plena, to Salsa.

The current music emanating from Puerto Rico is Salsa, the rhythm of the Caribbean. Its name literally translated "sauce" - as in the sauce that makes parties happen. Salsa is believed to have originated within the confines of New York City's Puerto Rican community. A salaciously danceable beat, its rhythms are a blend of hot, urban, rhythmically sophisticated, and memorizing. Salsa has taken the world by storm and can be heard in the remotest parts of the world; it is a huge hit in Europe and the United States.

Music devotees believe that Salsa originated in New York City night clubs in the years following World War II. The first great Salsa musician was Tito Puente, who, after a stint with the U.S. Navy, studied percussion at New York's Juilliard School of Music.

It has been said that Salsa is the result of Big Band jazz fused with African-Caribbean rhythms. Music aficionados say that Salsa is a combination of fast Latin music influenced by the contributions of other Latin music, i.e., rumba, mambo, cha-cha, guanguanco, and merengue.