Below is a list of 5 of our favorite salsa songs. For each song we have written a short story. What we find important or fun to tell.
1. El Gran Varon – Willie Colon
Willie Colon is one of the absolute greats in the world of Latin music. This is due to the many contributions he has made, among others with FANIA All Stars (from the age of 15). When he was 17 he made his first album (1967). He is a trombonist, but he also sings and produces music.
This song is not only 1 of his greatest hits of all time, it is
One of the greatest hits of all time in Latin music.
That is mainly because of the lyrics. El Gran Varon tells the story of Simon, whose father wants him to follow in his footsteps to become a ‘great varon’ (Great man). But Simon is homosexual and he leaves his family in Puerto Rico to go to the US. His father cannot accept this and disowns him as his son. In the end Simon dies alone in a hospital from HIV complications.
This song is a symbol for the LGBT community. At the time of its release many radio stations banned this song.
2. Llanto de cocodrilo – Ray Barretto
Ray Barretto is no unknown name. If you go looking for salsa vinyl records nowadays, you will come across a lot of his. He is one of the best-known conga players in the history of ‘Latin music’. His songs are often powerful and fast.
Llanto de cocodrilo literally means: crying of a crocodile. This means that someone cries but without feeling, so not out of sadness. In this case it is about a woman who leaves him (the singer).
By the way, this song was danced by Yamulee; one of the most popular show teams in the whole world (they are based in New York). Yamulee became especially known for their fast dance style withlots of spins for the women.
3. Betece – Africando All Stars
We have now been introduced to FANIA ALL STARS, does Africando All Stars sound familiar?
Let’s start with Africando;
It is a project started in 1992 with the goal of having New York salsa musicians work together with vocalists from Senegal. Salsa of course has strong roots in Africa and was made really popular in New York. So this project is also very interesting!
Africando All Stars was formed later, also with musicians from Senegal.
Boncana Magia (arranger at FANIA) was also involved in the early stage, as was Ronnie Baro (Orquesta Broadway). Very interesting!
New Swing Sextet is a real old-school salsa band founded in New York in the ’60s (yes, before the Salsa boom and FANIA).
Betece is a fun song that is easy to follow! (Language: Afrikaans?)
4. Persona Ideal – Adolescent’s Orquesta
Los Adolescentes is a salsa band from Venezuela that has mainly been making Salsa romantica songs since the ’90s. Under the direction of Porfi Baloa (musical director, pianist and producer), Los Adolescentes is one of the best-known salsa groups from South America. Their songs are (almost always) about love and are musical (with lots of breaks), and the singers are the centre of attention (the songs are sung in high notes).
This song is about a couple who love each other, but still have to split up (for unknown reasons). The tempo is fast even though it is a salsa romantica (not usual)
Fun to know: Los Adolescentes will perform live next year in Warsaw at El Sol salsa festival.
5. Salsa caliente en Japon – Orquesta De la Luz
Hot Salsa in Japan.
That is the title of this song. With this song Orquesta De la Luz wants to say that Salsa is also played, danced and loved in Japan. A beautiful and very accurate message, which is why we chose this song for this week.
This group was founded in Tokyo in 1984. But their first album was released in 1990, after which only success followed (While the year before they were still touring NY at their own expense).
Orquesta De la Luz got a lot of attention for their performances in the early ’90s. It was a remarkable sight: A Japanese band that plays salsa just as well as the Latinos themselves. Nora (the lead singer) also immediately stands out with her energy.
In 1995 the band unfortunately split up. Nora continued as a soloist. Fun to know: They also performed in Aruba and Curacao.
