Salsa music "Salsa" means 'sauce' in the Spanish language, and carries connotations of the spiciness common in Latin and Caribbean cuisine. In the 20th century, "salsa" acquired a musical meaning in both English and Spanish. In this sense "salsa" has been described as a word with "vivid associations". Cubans and Puerto Ricans in New York have used the term analogously to swing or soul music. In this usage "salsa" connotes a frenzied, "hot" and wild musical experience that draws upon or reflects elements of Latin culture, regardless of the style. Various music writers and historians have traced the use of "salsa" to
Salsa music en la cara, nunca en el corazón'—in his final masterpiece before leaving Cuba, "Diós sabe"). Prior to D'León's performance, Cuban musicians had for the most part, rejected salsa, considering it bad imitation Cuban music. Something changed after d'León's performance. By that time, Cuban popular music had moved way beyond the old Cuban templates used in salsa. Cuba's momentary "salsa craze" brought back some of those older templates. For example, Orquesta Ritmo Oriental started using the most common salsa timbale bell and bongo bell combination. That bell arrangement became the standard for timba, which emerged at the end of the 1980s.