The history of "Salsa" dance is peppered with hearsay and contradiction. However, few would disagree that the music and dance forms originate largely in Cuban Son. In the 1970s, adoption of the term "Salsa" reduced the linguistic and cultural barriers to mainstream adoption of Latin music and dance. The modernization of the Mambo in the 1950s, itself based on Cuban Son, was influential in shaping what would become salsa. The three-step base of Cuban Son provides the basis of the modern salsa dance. Salsa is one of the main dances in both Cuba and Puerto Rico and is known worldwide.
Salsa
Salsa is a dance for Salsa music created by Spanish-speaking people from the Caribbean. Salsa dancing mixes African and European dance influences through the music and dance fusions that are the roots of Salsa: Son, Guaguancó, Rumba, Boogaloo, Pachanga, Guaracha, Plena, Bomba. Salsa is normally a partner dance, although there are recognized solo forms, line dancing (suelta), and Rueda de Casino where groups of couples exchange partners in a circle. Salsa can be improvised or performed with a set routine.