Music of Puerto Rico centers. After the island was taken over by Spain, the music and dance of Puerto Rico consisted of a combination of the harmonious musical styles that are borrowed from Spanish, African, and other European cultures, creating Puerto Rico's signature style of Latin dance. Salsa is a Spanish word that means sauce. It refers to the mixture of different rhythms composed of different Latin, African and Caribbean dances. Salsa is said to be first created around the 1960s and became popular to the non-Latino world drastically. The salsa dance is similar to the mambo dance. Salsa dancing is structured in six
Salsa music Cubans arrived in New York, they all said 'Yuk! This is old music.' The music and the feelings and arrangements [haven't] changed." In fundamental ways, salsa is the preservation of the late 1950s Cuban sound. The influx of Cuban musicians had more of an impact on jazz than salsa. After the boatlift though, there was obviously more awareness of the modern Cuban styles. Tito Puente recorded the Irakere composition "Bacalao con pan" (1980), and Rubén Blades covered Los Van Van's "Muevete" (1985). The bands Batacumbele and Zaperoko of Puerto Rico fully embraced songo. Led by Angel "Cachete" Maldonado and featuring