Here we take a look at the different types or styles of salsa musics mentioned in the video! Please keep in mind, that all of these terms are always subject to the context and people will use them in different ways, which is completely normal. These musics could also be described with other terms, and with more detailed names as well!

Importantly, the dances are also not "confined" to any single type of salsa music, even if many dancers have their favorite way of dancing to certain kind of salsa music!

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From 1970's all the way today, USA and Puerto Rico have had a major impact on the world of salsa music! Here are a couple of music examples of the types of salsa we discussed in the video: classic salsa, salsa dura and salsa romántica, also known as "pop salsa". The last one defies any strict definitions, but if the sounds feel "pop-like" in general, it most likely falls into this category.

Depending on the groove in any specific song, these types of salsa are often danced on1, classic mambo on2 or modern mambo on2. Cuban salsa dancers might find dancing contratiempo to be a good option for many songs!

Classic salsa

Salsa dura

Salsa romántica ("pop salsa")

Colombia is one of the big salsa countries, and the music has a very wide reach! Here we had the two dance styles: cali-style salsa and salsa choke.

Salsa caleña / Cali salsa

Salsa choke

Due to the musical developments in Cuba, here we had a lot of different musical terms, from modernized son to songo, timba and salsatón/timbatón! Remember again, that extremely fitting examples of a musical idea are rare, and most music lives somewhere between these musical archetypes. That's why I personally use the term Cuban salsa a lot, as it includes the possibility for all of the Cuban popular dance musics one could maybe dance salsa to.

In the YouTube video, we discussed the dance terms contratiempo, casino and salsa cubana in relation to these musics, but especially the modernized son types of songs can easily be danced on2 as well!

Modernized son

Songo

Timba

Salsatón / timbatón