Salsita playlist
About
My Salsita playlist is an attempt to distill down to 20 songs and 1h 45 min the salsa I grew up with.
Playlist
- Sofrito, Mongo Santamaría
- Lluvia con Nieve, Mon Rivera
- Gitana, Willie Colón
- Periódico de Ayer, Héctor Lavoe
- Temperatura, Lebrón Brothers
- Aguanile, Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe
- Merecumbé, Johnny Colón
- Sonido Bestial, Bobby Cruz, Richie Ray
- Buscándote, The Latin Brothers
- Cachondea, Fruko y sus Tesos
- Rebelión, Joe Arroyo, La Verdad
- Murió el sonero, Willie Salcedo
- El Preso, Fruko y sus Tesos
- Buenaventura y Caney, Grupo Niche
- Cali Ají, Grupo Niche
- Cada día que pasa, Guayacán Orquesta
- Gotas de Lluvia, Grupo Niche
- Amores como el nuestro, Jerry Rivera
- Noche de arreboles, Joe Arroyo
- All day today, Los Amigos Invisibles
Rationale
The song sequence aims to satisfy two conflicting goals:
- Group songs by geographic origin (New York and Puerto Rican first; Colombian second).
- Group songs by theme (e.g., political commentary, love songs).
There are a few departures from these constraints. I had to split love songs nto two blocks (#3 to #5; and #16 to #19) and drop a Puerto Rican song at #18, but I’m happy with the results.
We open with the playful and gentle tunes of Sofrito —the song that first opened my mind to the beauty of Latin American music— before moving into Puerto Rican and New York legends like Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe, and Richie Ray. From there, we shift South to Colombian bands and artists like Niche, Guayacán, Fruko y sus Tesos. Finally, we wrap up with a calypso.
Opening with Sofrito and closing with calypso honors the bridges salsa music built to many other music genres. I considered closing instead with a classic Juan Luis Guerra bachata (Bachata en Fukuoka or Woman del Callao), but trimming this to 20 songs was tough and All Day Today felt like a bolder choice.
Related
- Dancing: Two worlds: Two activities that share the same label, “dancing”, are actually very different. How I feel, as a Colombian, about dancing salsa in Zürich.