What would it take for salsa to have a revival?

Offbeat said:
The article is behind the paywall. So I can’t read it.
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I could read it and now figured out why: you have to be logged in into Facebook or Google or whatever, then you can read it (clicking "Maybe later" for the subscribe). So open another tab and log in to your social media account, then it works (but it seems only once, unless you restart browser etc.).
Offbeat said:
Problem I seen often with articles about dancing like tango, salsa, or swing in popular press is that they often disappoint the regulars who pursue them. The authors often are trying to write with masses as the audience. They will quote the performers. This uniformly draws condemnation from the dancers who read the article. Unless author has spent at least 10 years actively dancing in a community, I doubt they can write anything but a more shallow copy. To authors and NYT like editors this is either a human interest story or arts/culture story. It is like they write about a shop based on what’s on its window display, rather than going inside and walking the isles. They will cut out nuances and things that matter to regular dancers because the audience is masses.
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I find the NYT article well written, the author is writing for non-(swing)-dancers mainly, for this audience it is good. It is not published in a WCS magazine. Sure the experts come and say "Oh this is not really correct". If the author would spend weeks longer on writing each article she will get fired from her boss. I need to concentrate to understand the reddit comment, and I dance WCS since a year - most NYT readers would be overwhelmed. Also it is not the author stating WCS has left some swing roots but she cites LaTasha Barnes who claims that - and Barnes will continue claiming that despite the arguments of the reddit guy. Here you go into discussions which will never end, and while people discuss the dance keeps on evolving.
 
MamboJazz said:
The strong side of salsa is the social dancing (including the most clicked videos are from social dance), while all the WCS and BS videos are showing a couple dancing alone. But maybe people also find the thought more appealing to dance in front of spectators and impress them than to dance in a crowd.
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Internet changed how people discover a dance: until ten years ago a friend invited you to join visiting a salsa party, so you got hooked by the party atmosphere, not from the dance moves. Nowadays people discover dances on their smartphone: they can't feel the social atmosphere but must get hooked by spectacular dance moves. Internet culture changed so much how we perceive the world.
 
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MamboJazz said:
Internet changed how people discover a dance: until ten years ago a friend invited you to join visiting a salsa party, so you got hooked by the party atmosphere, not from the dance moves. Nowadays people discover dances on their smartphone: they can't feel the social atmosphere but must get hooked by spectacular dance moves. Internet culture changed so much how we perceive the world.
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I think today as well you are likely to get hooked if you see and experience dancing in person. Places to see it are dwindling at at least in some of the major centers in the USA. Which has to do with the social dancing moving to from commercial establishments like bars and clubs to the studios. You can walk into a bar or a club if you happen to hear music or see dancing. Or if establishment has advertised dancing night. When dancing goes into the studio, only the in-crowd knows it. Any dancing advertised is to those already dancing.

Watching online videos means the impulse factor is missing. We think of doing things when we watch videos. The follow up is weak. YouTube barely promotes dance videos on my feed. And if it does sometimes they are salsa videos.
 
Bad Bunny just dropped some salsa songs. Interesting to see someone so popular dip his toe into salsa, hopefully it leads to more artists delving into the genre?

And Guaynaa too (who I didn't know until @Gaviota posted in the salsa music forum). Wow its cool to see so many non-salsa contemporary artists of different genres getting into salsa! hopefully it leads to more interest.
 
rheemixed said:
Bad Bunny just dropped some salsa songs. Interesting to see someone so popular dip his toe into salsa, hopefully it leads to more artists delving into the genre?
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Interview with Bad Bunny

I haven't watched it all, but some interesting tidbits from around 17:00, e.g. talking about how the salsa tracks were recorded in Puerto Rico with 18-19 year old musicians from escuelas libres de musica.

Around 24:00 he's talking about integrating the traditional instrumental sounds with modern production.
 
rheemixed said:
Bad Bunny just dropped some salsa songs. Interesting to see someone so popular dip his toe into salsa, hopefully it leads to more artists delving into the genre?

And Guaynaa too (who I didn't know until @Gaviota posted in the salsa music forum). Wow its cool to see so many non-salsa contemporary artists of different genres getting into salsa! hopefully it leads to more interest.
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It has an impact, sure: it lead on YT within two days to 5 million views of Bad Bunny's salsa "Baile inolvidable" - I guess many of this rapper's fans will not have listened till the end of the song, but if only 20% do that makes already a million. That will not cause a revival, but anyway some folks may find they like it. I find the second half of the song really beautiful:

 
MamboJazz said:
I find the second half of the song really beautiful:

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One day later having heard it several times it seems obvious: this will be a hit on salsa floors the next months. Comments in the net are very positive, latinos and salseros love it. His mumbling autotune "singing" is unusual but as I read in wikipedia that's his style what he is famous for. It's cool to dance to and I'm rehearsing already to hit the moments when the chorus suddenly starts again. The piano break is excellent, a latino on YT wrote: "un solo de piano en un hit de 2025 !!! Hay esperanza en la humanidad." Salsa DJs will skip the rap intro and start at 1:11. I'm sure to hear it at the upcoming EU festivals.

That said it won't make a salsa revival. Music scenes are so fragmented nowaways, non-latinos will probably never even come to hear the song.
 
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MamboJazz said:
One day later having heard it several times it seems obvious: this will be a hit on salsa floors the next months. Comments in the net are very positive, latinos and salseros love it. His mumbling autotune "singing" is unusual but as I read in wikipedia that's his style what he is famous for. It's cool to dance to and I'm rehearsing already to hit the moments when the chorus suddenly starts again. The piano break is excellent, a latino on YT wrote: "un solo de piano en un hit de 2025 !!! Hay esperanza en la humanidad." Salsa DJs will skip the rap intro and start at 1:11. I'm sure to hear it at the upcoming EU festivals.

That said it won't make a salsa revival. Music scenes are so fragmented nowaways, non-latinos will probably never even come to hear the song.
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I actually would like the song a lot if it wasn't for the mumbly autotune... It works for his other genres but for salsa I am not feeling it personally.

But again I'm very happy that there's mainstream salsa interest. Would be really cool to see more artists jump on the bandwagon.
 
rheemixed said:
I actually would like the song a lot if it wasn't for the mumbly autotune... It works for his other genres but for salsa I am not feeling it personally.
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Yes, the mumbly autotune put me off a bit as well in the beginning - youngsters are used to it, it's fashion since twenty years I think. But repeatedly hearing it I got used to it and maybe finally embracing it will make me young again :-)

His other salsa song "La Mudanza" is great as well (skip rap intro and start at 0:40). Again the piano is excellent and the conga break very surprising. But more difficult to dance to, not for the faint-hearted.
 
opm1s6 said:
It starts with the music. IMO it takes a cultural shift starting with the musicians. Bad Bunny can make this happen. I hate to admit this, but that's what it would take.
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The video is out now for his song - it shows beginner's hell in salsa dance lessons :p
Not sure if it attracts people to salsa dance, but it has somehow more charm than choreographed pro dancing.

 
The Rauw Alejandro album opens up with a sweet bolero


Inspired by Nathy Peluso's album structure, or is it more generally in the air?

The first track there

 
Gaviota said:
The Rauw Alejandro album opens up with a sweet bolero

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Beautiful song, thanks for indicating!

So I need to check his whole album, he also sang Frankie's "Tu con el" on it. It really seems the young latin stars are competing in salsa at the moment. Can be a fashion which can pass by as soon as it came. But it's worth to check it out at the moment - I wouldn't have thought this.
 
MamboJazz said:
The video is out now for his song - it shows beginner's hell in salsa dance lessons :p
Not sure if it attracts people to salsa dance, but it has somehow more charm than choreographed pro dancing.

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God his voice triggers me but it is a good tune. However in what universe are there dance-offs at the end of class?
 
MamboJazz said:
The video is out now for his song - it shows beginner's hell in salsa dance lessons :p
Not sure if it attracts people to salsa dance, but it has somehow more charm than choreographed pro dancing.

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As someone pointed out that was filmed in Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Puerto Rico, the oldest dance studio on the island - therefore the charm of the location. The name sounded in my ear - Juliet McMains described in her book she researched in that studio about the history of PR Salsa talking with the owner in 2007. I very much like the vibe of this video, someone taking his beginner steps (on1).
 
rheemixed said:
II would love for the salsa scene to be able to return to its lofty peak. What would it realistically take for this to happen? Some random ideas on my end:
  • Taylor Swift, Drake, Dua Lipa all announce they've started taking Spanish lessons, and all drop pop salsa-esque singles that hit the top of the billboard.
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Coming back to this starting post from 2023 - so Taylor Swift didn't take spanish lessons but Bad Bunny takes Salsa lessons:

www.yahoo.com

Bad Bunny Learns to Dance Salsa in ‘Baile Inolvidable’ Music Video: Watch

The song is part of Bad Bunny's Debí Tirar Más Fotos, which he released Sunday.
www.yahoo.com www.yahoo.com
 
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