PARADISE IN LATIN AMERICA
Salsa originates from "cuban son" and got mixed with porto rican music arround the 60's in New York. The rythm is really fast but it's has simple patern of 1-2-3, 1-2. This genre is joyful and the dance hectic is usually danced by groups of two. (Christopher Muscato)
Cumbia is the national Colombia Dance. Cumbia is recognizable by it’s various drums and iconic rattled made by the "guache" or maracas. This genre was born from Colombia’s Caribbean coast and it’s a mix of African, European and indigenous music. (Colombia Co)
Bachata originated from Dominican Republic. Jose Manuel Calderon was the first to record a bachata song. The modern version of bachata was set by the group "Aventura" and is more of a slow romantic type of dance where the music sets the mood for a close type of dance. (Incognito Dance)
Originated from Mexico, the music resulted from the cultural and musical blending of indigenous and foreign elements. The instruments that make up the genre are vihuela which is a small, guitar-like instrument with a convex back and five strings, guitarrón which is a large, six-string bass version of the vihuela, harp, and guitarra de golpe which is the original mariachi guitar. (Jonathan D. Clark)
The music originated from Dominican Republic, it’s a combination of two dances, the African and the French Minuet. It is very popular throughout the Caribbean and South America, and is one of the standard Latin American dances. (Carmen Vazquez and Jake Fuller)
This genre was influenced by American Hip-Hop and Jamaican Dancehall but it has its own specific beat and rhythm. The genre first started in Panama. Panamanian artists like Nando Boom and El General gave Jamaican music a new flavour. The genre was later shaped and made known in Puerto Rico where it got its name “reggaeton”. (Rosie Bell)