Salsa music is a popular dance music genre that initially arose in New York City during the 1960s. Salsa is the product of various Cuban musical genres including the Afro-Cuban son montuno, guaracha, cha cha chá, mambo, and Puerto Rican plena and bomba. Latin jazz has had a significant influence on salsa arrangers, piano guajeos, and instrumental soloists.
Andrés Montañez Rodríguez, better known as Andy Montañez, is an Puerto Rican singer and songwriter.
Boogaloo or bugalú is a genre of Latin music and dance which was popular in the United States in the 1960s. Boogaloo originated in New York City mainly among teenage Hispanic and Latino Americans. The style was a fusion of popular African American rhythm and blues (R&B) and soul music with mambo and son montuno, with songs in both English and Spanish. The American Bandstand television program introduced the dance and the music to the mainstream American audience. Pete Rodríguez's "I Like It like That" was a famous boogaloo song.
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, commonly known as El Gran Combo, is a Puerto Rican salsa orchestra based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, it is often considered Puerto Rico's most successful musical group. The group received the moniker La Universidad de la Salsa in Colombia, due to the sheer number of famous salsa musicians and singers who developed their careers with it, who started with the group, or who were occasionally backed up by the band and La India.
Ray Barretto was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican ancestry. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Latin jazz. His first hit, "El Watusi", was recorded by his Charanga Moderna in 1962, becoming the most successful pachanga song in the United States. In the late 1960s, Barretto became one of the leading exponents of boogaloo and what would later be known as salsa. Nonetheless, many of Barretto's recordings would remain rooted in more traditional genres such as son cubano. A master of the descarga, Barretto was a long-time member of the Fania All-Stars. His success continued into the 1970s with songs such as "Cocinando" and "Indestructible." His last album for Fania Records, Soy dichoso, was released in 1990. He then formed the New World Spirit jazz ensemble and continued to tour and record until his death in 2006.
Bobby Cruz, is a salsa singer and religious minister. He was part of the duo Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz. Both Cruz and Ray became religious ministers and as such founded over 70 Christian churches during the time they retired from popular music, which lasted about 16 years.
Ricardo "Richie" Ray is a Nuyorican virtuoso pianist, singer, music arranger, composer and religious minister known for his success beginning in 1965 as part of the duo Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz. He is known as "El Embajador del Piano".
Héctor Eduardo Reglero Montaner, better known as Ricardo Montaner, is an Argentine-Venezuelan singer and songwriter. Since starting his career in the late 1970s, he has already released more than 24 albums, and many successful singles. He has sold an estimated sales of 22 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists.
Carlos Manuel "Charlie" Palmieri was a renowned bandleader and musical director of salsa music. He was known as the "Giant of the Keyboards".
Roberto "Bobby" Valentín, is a musician and salsa bandleader. He is known as "El Rey del Bajo".
Johnny Pacheco is a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, producer, and bandleader of Salsa music. He is one of the most influential figures in Latin music, best known for being the creator of the Fania All-Stars and Fania Records, and for coining the term "Salsa" to denote the genre.
Melina Almodóvar, also known as La Muñeca de la Salsa and La Chica Del Bling, is a Puerto Rican salsa singer, songwriter, dancer, and entertainer. Known for her high-energy performances and salsa dancing skills, she combines old-school salsa moves with contemporary styles of dancing and singing. She is also credited with establishing the first successful salsa orchestra in the Southern United States, Orquesta Caliente.
Víctor "Papo" Román is a Puerto Rican musician most known for being the percussionist of the Rock en Español band Fiel a la Vega.
The Lebrón Brothers are a musical family born in Puerto Rico and raised in Brooklyn, New York. The brothers are Pablo, Jose, Angel, Carlos and Frankie. They provide the vocals and rhythm section of the band. Members of the original band were Gabe Gil - alto sax, Tito Ocasio - Timbales, Hector Lebron - Congas, Eddie DeCupe - Trumpet, Elliot Rivera, vocals, Felix Rivera, trumpet. Frankie LeBron later replaced Frankie Rodriguez who replaced his cousin Hector LeBron on congas.
Jimmy Sabater was an American musician of Puerto Rican ancestry. A three-time winner of the ACE Awards, he was a singer and timbales player. He gained international fame thanks to his work with the Joe Cuba Sextet in the 1960s and '70s, and later became the lead singer of various groups including Charlie Palmieri's Combo Gigante. His son, Jimmy Sabater Jr., is a trumpeter and bandleader.
Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz are an American musical duo consisting of Ricardo "Richie" Ray and Roberto "Bobby" Cruz. The duo was formed in 1963 and rose to fame in the mid-1960s. They are one of the most famous interpreters of 'salsa brava' music.
Jala Jala y Boogaloo is an album released by the salsa music duet Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz. Released in 1967, the album is influenced not only by Latin rhythms such as the Puerto Rican Jala Jala, but also by beat music.
El Bestial Sonido de Ricardo Ray y Bobby Cruz is an album released in 1971 by the salsa music duet Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz. Released at the height of their popularity, the album inaugurated a new era in salsa with the inauguration of a new Fania Records subsidiary: Vaya Records. The album, notable for the inclusion of new elements into salsa such as classical music, was an international success, and its title track Sonido Bestial became one of salsa's most popular songs. The album consecrated Richie Ray as a prodigious pianist, capable of playing a fusion of several rhythms and styles.
Ray Lugo & The Boogaloo Destroyers is an American music group from New York City, performing in the genre of 1960s Latin Soul and Boogaloo, the music style that meshed Afro-Cuban rhythms with American R&B stylings and emerged from New York's Spanish Harlem, serving as the precursor to Salsa music.
Harvey Averne has been described as "one of several prominent Jewish Americans in New York's bustling Latin music scene."
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