By Raphael Gonzalez, Waipio
Latin Music and Dance has been in the US since the latter part of the nineteenth century. Of course just as show business. And it came in pretty solid in the twentieth century to be danced by the locals. In the late 40's it had Rumba, Samba and Tango in very heavy. In the 50's, a hybrid of the old fast Rumba and Swing, the Mambo became the most esteemed Latin dance in the US. It had the seductive qualities of all the popular Latin dances, and it began with the break of the rock step on the second beat of the phrase, which was easy enough when the accent was on the second beat.
But it required some dance talent to perform when the accent in the US was on the first beat. Many learned to break on the one. The phrase, "Mambo on the 2" arose to clarify the music. The mambo’s rhythmic originality reflected the influence of swing and jazz on the music and dance of native Cubans. The freshness of the mambo rhythm emerged as a platform for artistic creativity in American and Latin music and it became a television showcase for rock and its teenage fans. The new LP record format made rock music cheap and plentiful.
With TVs in every home, teenage baby boomers had easy access to their own music and dance, and for the first time, youth dictated American taste. These established the Rumba solid in most dancer's repertoire and allowed the introduction of complete new creation by the American Teachers, the Bolero. This fit in very nicely with the slower playing of the bolero music. The same identical music a little faster was danced in Rumba. The results are that Rumba is danced by everyone, and few dance Bolero and usually omitted in most dance functions
Latin Music and Dance has been in the US since the latter part of the nineteenth century. Of course just as show business. And it came in pretty solid in the twentieth century to be danced by the locals. In the late 40's it had Rumba, Samba and Tango in very heavy. In the 50's, a hybrid of the old fast Rumba and Swing, the Mambo became the most esteemed Latin dance in the US. It had the seductive qualities of all the popular Latin dances, and it began with the break of the rock step on the second beat of the phrase, which was easy enough when the accent was on the second beat.
"Social Dancers know that dancing is the world’s second most popular indoor sport."
But it required some dance talent to perform when the accent in the US was on the first beat. Many learned to break on the one. The phrase, "Mambo on the 2" arose to clarify the music. The mambo’s rhythmic originality reflected the influence of swing and jazz on the music and dance of native Cubans. The freshness of the mambo rhythm emerged as a platform for artistic creativity in American and Latin music and it became a television showcase for rock and its teenage fans. The new LP record format made rock music cheap and plentiful.
"Que Rico El Mambo" por Perez Prado.
With TVs in every home, teenage baby boomers had easy access to their own music and dance, and for the first time, youth dictated American taste. These established the Rumba solid in most dancer's repertoire and allowed the introduction of complete new creation by the American Teachers, the Bolero. This fit in very nicely with the slower playing of the bolero music. The same identical music a little faster was danced in Rumba. The results are that Rumba is danced by everyone, and few dance Bolero and usually omitted in most dance functions
"Could be all lies and jest, still, a person hears what they want to hear,
disregarding the rest and arguing with a fool proves there are two."
disregarding the rest and arguing with a fool proves there are two."
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