Salsa romántica
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Salsa Romántica is a soft form of salsa music that emerged between the mid-
1980s and early 1990s in New York City and Puerto Rico. It has been the most
commercially successful form of salsa in the last 20 years, despite criticism that it
is a pale imitation of "real" salsa, often called "salsa dura."
Contents
1Description and origins
2Criticism
3The form today
4Salsa erótica
5References
Description and origins[edit]
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Salsa Romántica is a slower, lighter sounding type of salsa music that La Palabra,
a Cuban musician, introduced in the mid-1980s. Salsa romántica arose at a time
when classic, big-band salsa, popularized by Fania Records was taking an
astounding measure on the Latin record charts, owing to the merengue boom and
the rise of Latin pop. Salsa romantica is distinct from other salsa music styles
because it uses a softer/quieter sounding orchestral sounds, ballads set to a
slowed down salsa rhythm, and romantic lyrics (1). Because of the softer orchestra
and leisurely rhythm, some have nicknamed this genre "limp salsa" (2). It has been
the most commercially successful form of salsa in the last 20 years in Latin
American countries, and is most popularly played in fancier dance clubs as well as
radio stations (3). The best known early salsa romantica artists include: Eddie
Santiago, Frankie Ruiz, Lalo Rodríguez and Luis Enrique. More famous modern
artists are Gilberto Santa Rosa, Marc Anthony, La India and Tito Nieves.
Criticism[edit]
Salsa romántica was heavily influenced by the balada style (or, pop style) of salsa,
and is widely criticized by dancers due to the simple compositional style of both
types.[1] Traditional salsas give more improvisational ability to the musicians and
dancers involved.
Though it bears the moniker of a salsa, salsa romántica is considered by most to
be inauthentic to the true spirit and style of salsa music. In Cuba, some critics refer
to it as the “white” style to differentiate between salsa romántica and traditional
salsa.[2]
[3]
Critics have also focused on the fact that "true salsa" involved qualified
musicianship alongside the intricate composition, while salsa romántica was too
lyrically syrupy and musically systematic. Some say that one of the reasons salsa
romántica even came about was due to the cocaine cartel's affinity for it. The
cocaine cartels began to affect the tone of salsa during the 1980s, and live salsa
became much more prevalent in luxury nightclubs. Dancing was still encouraged,
but researchers claim that the dancing of this time period began to dwindle
creatively and became much less interesting to watch. Salsa contests also began
to disappear due to the lack of inspired dancers and interesting music. Though
many critique this style, it was incredibly popular during this time and played on
most popular radio stations.
Critics of salsa romántica, especially in the late 1980s and early 1990s, called it a
commercialized, watered-down form of Latin pop, in which formulaic, sentimental
love ballads were simply put to an Afro-Cuban beat—leaving no room for classic
salsa's brilliant musical improvisation, or for classic salsa lyrics that tell stories of
daily life or provide social and political commentary. [4] The marketing of salsa
romántica singers has often been based more on their youthful sex appeal than on
the quality of their music. For these reasons, the form sometimes has been derided
as salsa monga (limp or flaccid salsa), as opposed to salsa gorda or salsa dura (fat
or hard salsa).
The form today[edit]
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The strict lines between salsa romántica and classic salsa have been blurring in
recent years. Several performers have succeeded in blending elements of salsa
romántica and more hard-driving, traditional salsa, including La India, Tito
Rojas, Eddie Santiago, Anthony Cruz, Gilberto Santa Rosa, and Víctor Manuelle.
Jerry Rivera was the first salsero to go triple platinum with his record "Cuenta
Conmigo" ("Count on Me") which was all salsa romantica.
La India, Luis Enrique, Giro Lopez, Marc Anthony and Víctor Manuelle are the
best-known performers of salsa romántica today. However, Marc Anthony
surpasses his colleagues not only in fame, but in sales as well, being the highest
selling salsa artist of the past two decades.[5] By blending elements of pop into his
songs - as well as making pop versions of his salsa songs - Anthony has been able
to establish a loyal fan base of Hispanics of all nationalities, as well as broaden his
audience to non-Spanish speaking individuals. Young salseros gravitating to the
form include Tito Rojas, Anthony Cruz, Frankie Negrón, Kevin Ceballo, Charlie
Cruz, and Jay Lozada.
Omar Alfanno is probably the most prolific songwriter in the salsa romántica genre
he was hand held into the business by Salsa Dura songwriter Johnny Ortiz. Other
notable composers include Palmer Hernandez and Jorge Luis Piloto. Antonio
"Tony" Moreno, Chino Rodriguez, Sergio George and Julio "Gunda" Merced are
some of the most notable producers in the salsa romántica genre.
Despite having many prominent artists and a large fan base, Salsa Romàntica is
considered, by older salsa musicians and fans, to be a sad imitation of classic
salsa - salsa monga or "limp salsa".[5] This is partially due to the fact that this form
of salsa talks less about political strife and working-class concerns, and more
about non-offensive things such as love and parties.
Salsa erótica[edit]
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Salsa erótica (or "erotic salsa") was a short-lived offshoot of salsa romántica in the
late 1980s, in which a few performers branched off into explicitly sexual lyrics. The
most popular salsa erótica recordings are probably "Ven, Devórame Otra
Vez" ("Come, Devour Me Again") by Lalo Rodríguez, in which the singer is
imploring his woman for another session of sex; and "Desnúdate, Mujer" ("Get
Naked, Woman") by Frankie Ruiz, and "La Cita" ("The Date") by Galy Galiano.
