Name a form of art and chances are there is a museum dedicated to it in New York City. The newest addition to the list of museums is one dedicated to Salsa music.
Walk down any street in the five boroughs that comprise New York City and you will hear music blaring from stereos, people singing, and bands playing above the ground and below. Among that music is the fast paced sound of Salsa – a Latin music style that originated in Africa. At one time The Bronx was called “El Condado de la Salsa”.
The International Salsa Museum is the first of its kind and promises to be like no other with a recording studio and music programs in its future. The museum says that they will be lively and flexible. Part of their mission is to educate the present while preserving the past.
Currently the Salsa Museum does not have a permanent home but the search is on; but until then the museum hosts large pop-ups. The museum’s founders are eyeing a decommissioned military facility – the Kingsbridge Armory – located in The Bronx for their permanent home.
Board member Janice Torres spoke on the possible location saying, “the legacy of Salsa should be held in the place it was popularized. Having the museum in The Bronx is also about providing access to a community that is often overlooked.
Torres added, “we get to be the ones who help preserve history – meaning Afro-Latinos, meaning people from New York, from The Bronx, from Brooklyn, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic. We get to help preserve our oral histories.” A Puerto Rican who lives in New York, Torres notes that even people who don’t share a common language, speak Salsa.
Speaking on the origins of Salsa, founder Willy Rodriguez said, “the origins of Salsa came from Africa with its unique percussive rhythms and made itw way through the Atlantic, into the Caribbean. From there it became mambo, borracha, guaguanco, son montuno, rumba. And from there, the music was brought to New York by West Indian migrants and revolutionized into the sounds salseros know today. If we don’t preserve this, we’re definitely going to lose the essence of where this music came from; adding that salsa is deeply embedded in our DNA as Latinos and as African Americans.”
After holding their first pop-up last year, The International Salsa Museum will hold its next event on Labor Day weekend.
The museum has joined forces with the NYPD’s youth program to use music in bridging the gap between the police and the community. “It’s not just about salsa music, but how we can impact the community in a way where we empower them to do better,” said Rodriguez.
Feature photo credit: Clase de salsa en Iberoconf 2023 23.jpg