From the editor …

Latin Beat Magazine, Oct, 2002 by Rudy Mangual

The much-talked-about premise in the Latin music industry that salsa music is dead or on a downslide is fortunately an exaggeration. Real salsa music is alive and well and continues to win over new fans daily on a worldwide scale. This social phenomenal that first developed in the multicultural soil of New York City and on the island of Puerto Rico of Afro-Cuban roots, is a way of life for millions of devoted salseros all over the world.

From its official "Salsa Explosion of the '70s" and throughout the past three decades, salsa music has evolved from being an urban representation to being a world favorite music and dance phenomena. In its purest form, expressed by the music of Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe, Larry Harlow, Ray Barretto, El Gran Combo, Johnny Pacheco, Rubén Blades, Willie Rosario and La Sonora Ponceña, "esto es salsa de la bien gordota" (this is real fat salsa), meaning this was salsa music in its ultimate state--as expressed by the words of the late Ismael Rivera "El Sonero Mayor" (the most prolific legendary salsa improviser of all times). Throughout the years, the creative juices of salsa have encountered many different obstacles, many self-induced and others by way of the music industry, which has tried to capitalize on formula bands and artists and the control of the mainstream radio airwaves. These obstacles have all contributed to the dilution of salsa music, creating what we call salsa monga (limp or wimpy salsa), which was the reality of most of the releases by several of the major labels for quite some time. But thanks to the love and commitment of many of the true exponents of this music, the creative juices of salsa are flowing strong once again. A testament to this is the recent return to old-school salsa formats by many of the radio stations in Puerto Rico and the boycotting of merengue music, which had ruled the airwaves on the island for many years. In New York City, local bands are gaining back their old reputation of playing hard-core salsa music (salsa dura); Eddie Palmieri y La Perfecta II, Los Soneros Del Barrio, Josée Alberto "El Canario," The Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Jimmy Bosch and Son Boricua. This was made more difficult in the 1990s by the large infestation of salsa romantica singers that controlled the salsa scene; all molded, manicured and dressed the same. On the West Coast, the absence of tropical music commercial radio has kept the scene and its artists true to its roots throughout the years. Our brothers and sisters in Latin American countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, Perú and Panama have always been lovers of the old-school sounds of salsa music, as demonstrated by the artists Oscar D'Leon, Sonora Carruseles, Grupo Gale and Grupo Niche. There is still a lot of work to be done to bring salsa music back to its rightful place in the industry as well as in our hearts, but by no means is salsa music dead. There is no denying that times are tough throughout the entire music industry. We at Latin Beat Magazine will continue, as always, to support salsa music in every way we can and encourage all of our readers to express their own opinions on this matter back to us. Together we will make a difference.