Your Favorite Salsa Music Poll

Follow up to an old thread, this time with a poll.
http://www.salsaforums.com/showthread.php?t=53&highlight=salsa+music

I like them all... to me it's more about individual songs I like, which come from all sorts of genres. And when I'm dancing, I prefer having all sorts of different types of music. I like variety.

I voted:
Dance: Classic Salsa, Timba, Salsa Dura
Listen: Classic Salsa, Timba

These are my favorites, but it is rare that I'll sit out any salsa if I really want to dance. As to listening: I get to choose so I can be picky.

I'm looking for a thread that lists everyone's specific salsa songs and haven't found that on SF -- surely one must exist?

I've picked up some excellent new music from the "what are you listening to" thread, but would like to see a collection of faves to peruse.

Why Salsa dura means contemporary?

Variety! Of good stuff, that is. One style events/DJs get progressively less inspiring, even when they play good stuff.

I was under the impression that Salsa Dura is 70's which Is also known as Gorda! Am I missing something?

TwoCentsTipper said:

I was under the impression that Salsa Dura is 70's which Is also known as Gorda! Am I missing something?

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The term 'Salsa Dura' applies to the sound (arrangments/swing) of the music. You have Salsa Clasica, which is Salsa Dura Clasica and/or from 1960/70s to mid 1980s or you have modern Salsa Dura which is the hard salsa that came afterwards.

Of course, there is the music from the 1950s and before (Mambo, etc.). However, if the rhythm is strong and danceable, then you can still call it Salsa Dura.

Of course, there school of thoughts out there that differentiate Salsa Dura from the Salsa Clasica (1970s,etc.). However, I don't agree with this view. If it is primarily dance oriented salsa and not 'soft' or 'Salsa Romantica', which was a later development, then it is Hard Salsa - Salsa Dura. You can subtitle it by adding 'Clasica', 'Cubana', 'Moderna', Colombiana, etc. but it is still hard salsa.

I tracked down several online lists of favorite salsa songs - the Top 100, Top 50, etc. I think I found five or six lists, with a total of 500-1,000 songs. I put them into a spreadsheet, with the idea of learning which ones were REALLY hot - i.e., which ones were featured on the most lists.

The results blew me away. The lists might as well have come from different planets. There were a few songs that were featured on two or more lists, but not many.

My personal favorites for listening to...

Right now, Plastico is probably #1. For some reason, I never get tired of that song. I also love Siembra and Maria Lionza. Siembra ranks with Hasta Siempra Comandante and Guantanamera (not salsa) as my favorite inspirational Latin song, while the story behind Maria Lionza is intriguing; I wrote an article about it on my website.

I also wrote an article about Bilongo (aka Mandinga), which is another pretty amazing song.

Of course, El Cantante is so loaded with history it's a virtual soap opera. My favorite version by far is the one with Don Omar. Another Hector Lavoe song I like is El Todopoderoso.

I think someone on this forum introduced me to Campanero, which became an instant fave. I love the video, too.

Sambatuque, a Seattle-based Brazilian band, recorded a medley titled "Cheguei Meu Povo/Tanta Saudade." The second song is salsa, and it's one of my faves. It's really different; I call it Brazilian salsa. I'd love to see a performing group choreograph something nice to that song.

I introduced it on this forum, and everyone seemed to think it was a big yawn - some said it would never be popular in clubs because it isn't mainstream. Whatever. (It's now available on iTunes if anyone wants to check it out.)

One of my favorite salsa romantica songs is La Palabra's version of Lady. Vivir Lo Nuestro is another fave.

My favorite high-energy salsa song is Descarga de Hoy (Cubanismo!), though I recently discovered another favorite, Sonido Bestial (which sometimes sounds borderline insane to me). Another high-energy song I love is Muneca (Joe Bataan). He sounds like a pretty interesting character. One of his daughters was a member of the Pussycat Dolls, who recorded a version of Sway that I really like, though it isn't really that Latin.

Another song I really like is La Cura (Frankie Ruiz). It sounds very simple and somehow soothing when I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by the louder, more complex songs. There's another song that's really laid back but with a melody that really grabs a hold of me. A salsa instructor gave it to me, but he didn't know the name of the artist.

Other favorites include Aicha, En Mi Puertorro, Black Mambo, Pueblo Latino (Spanish Harlem Orchestra), Bin Bin (Bio Ritmo; one of my favorite salsa videos)...

Autumn Leaves (Francisco Aguabella) is perhaps my favorite salsafied song. There must be a thousand salsafied versions of Fragile (many of them called Fragilidad). I have several good ones, but my favorite is an instrumental version Edie The Salsa Freak plays in her classes. I've never been able to track the artist down.

Another favorite is Y Yo Va Pa' Shenzhen (Orquesta La Palabra), though it's actually cha-cha-cha. (I like the instrumental and rap versions both.)

Thanks very much for sharing that, SB. I will get to work on exploring them.

DJ Ara said:

The term 'Salsa Dura' applies to the sound (arrangments/swing) of the music. You have Salsa Clasica, which is Salsa Dura Clasica and/or from 1960/70s to mid 1980s or you have modern Salsa Dura which is the hard salsa that came afterwards.

Of course, there is the music from the 1950s and before (Mambo, etc.). However, if the rhythm is strong and danceable, then you can still call it Salsa Dura.

Of course, there school of thoughts out there that differentiate Salsa Dura from the Salsa Clasica (1970s,etc.). However, I don't agree with this view. If it is primarily dance oriented salsa and not 'soft' or 'Salsa Romantica', which was a later development, then it is Hard Salsa - Salsa Dura. You can subtitle it by adding 'Clasica', 'Cubana', 'Moderna', Colombiana, etc. but it is still hard salsa.

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Thank for the inshight DA! I still have a long way to go

TwoCentsTipper said:

Thank for the inshight DA! I still have a long way to go

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Hey, that was just my two cents.