Salsa is an organic fusion of Caribbean music, such as Cuban Son, along with American Jazz, both having strong roots in their African heritage. Although there are contradicting stories as to the exact moment the term "salsa" was first used in the 1970s, it is an American born music and dance, grown largely from the Caribbean community in the New York area. Salsa was a natural evolution of Mambo, which had become popular in the '50s. As salsa developed on the East Coast, mostly within the dynamic mix of the Cuban and Puerto Rican communites, it also gained more popularity with non-Latinos in the US, finally crossing-over to mainstream pop-culture.
Since salsa has had decades of growth throughout the world, there are now distinct types of salsa dance, which are known for their different styles, and are even danced on different beats of the music. For example, LA or "Hollywood" style salsa is known for its acrobatics and flashy showmanship, and is danced on the "1". In contrast, New York style is known for it's precision, intricacy, and smoothness, and is danced on the "2" beat. Of course, there are several other styles, which are also constantly evolving, the most well-known being Cuban and Puerto Rican.
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