Latin affinity ......

Of late I have developed a new interest in Latin American music and dance. Jus a few weeks back I got the opportunity to watch this movie which characterizes the male protagonist as an ardent Salsa/Mambo dancer(Havana Nights).

Salsa music is a fusion of traditional African and Cuban and other Latin-American rhythms that traveled from the islands (Cuba and Puerto Rico) to New York during the migration, somewhere between the 1940s and the 1970s, depending on where one puts the boundary between "real" salsa and its predecessors. There is debate as to whether the dance we call Salsa today originated in Cuba or Puerto Rico. Salsa is one of the main dances in both Cuba and Puerto Rico and is known world-wide.

The basic movement occurring in the dance patterns of the various salsa styles is the stepping on the beat of the music. Salsa is best grouped in pairs of 4-beat patterns counted "1-2-3-...-5-6-7-...". The leader starts on count 1 by stepping with the left foot. On count 2 and 3, they step with right and left, respectively. On count 4, the lead pauses or makes an optional tap with the right foot. On counts 5, 6, and 7, they step with right, left, and right, respectively, again followed by a pause on count 8. The follower part is identical, but shifted by 4 beats, so that as the leader's left foot steps forward, the follower's right foot steps back. In most styles, the leader starts with the left foot and the follower starts with the right foot regardless of the pattern about to be danced.

There are various Salsa styles. Cuban Style, Los Angeles Style, New York Style are a few to name (Salsa)