Salsa & the Religious Experience

Religious zealots and conservatives from all over the world condone Salsa Dancing as being ‘the work of the Devil’ because of the sensual and erotic nature of the dance.  In most Islamic countries, law forbids touching between adults of the opposite sexes who are not married to each other. Salsa Dance schools and congresses in these countries say: ‘Yes We CAN Salsa!’

Many Christians are also very reluctant to the idea of having their daughters sweating all night long on Salsa Dance floors while dancing close Bachata, sensual Mambo, and steamy Salsa together with different men. There are even Christian and Muslim Salseros and Salseras doubting if the way they are dancing is the right thing to do in the eyes of God. What all these people forget (or does not know) is that modern Salsa and Mambo dancing also have a religious fundament.

 Salsa, and especially Mambo, is a mix of Western based Latin Dance Styles combined with Afro Cuban religious dance expressions of the Santeria Religion. Santeria, also known as ‘Regla de Ocha’,’ La Regla Lucumi’, or ‘Lukumi’, is Spanish for “The Way of the Saints”. The enslaved Yoruba Africans (present-day Nigeria and its surroundings) syncretized their Orishas (African deities) with the Catholic saints of their Spanish oppressors thus creating a mixed religion. 

The process of combining the already fused Swing Dance (Hustle) and Puerto Rican Mambo (which was in turn transferred to Salsa) with Cuban Folkloric Dance forms happened for different reasons. The Yoruban (ex) slaves of the 18th century found a way to preserve their cultural heritage instead of them adopting Roman Catholicism. However, the Latino and African American ethnic political movements (which started in the States in the late 1970’s) encouraged artists to look for new ways of self-expression outside the accepted forms of “mainstream” culture. 

Both the Cuban dancers travelling between Havana and New York, and the Ocha Houses (Casa de Santos) for rituals and ceremonies of the Santeria Religion, left a huge mark on Mambo dancing. The late Tito Puente once declared how he got the idea of re-introducing the Afro Cuban Mambo dance and music, which were developed by ‘Rumberos’ from Havana (Cuba) between the 1930’s and 50’s, back into the  modern Mambo dance scene. After making the movie ‘The Mambo Kings’ (1998) Tito and a group of other persons thought  it was time to bring Mambo back to its (religious) Cuban origins. Puente himself had been a long time devoted ‘Santero’: the Mambo Rhythm of his song ‘Ran Kan Kan’ is a token for Chango, his personal Eleda’ (guardian).    

The international Italian Salsa Show team Tropical Gem was founded in the year 2000 by the Cuban dancer Rafael  Gonzalez and the Uruguayan Fernando Sosa. In 2002, they decided to introduce a modern version of the (sacred) Afro Cuban dances mixed with Salsa. They called the dance routine ‘Homenaje a Cuba’ (‘Tribute to Cuba’). Tropical Gem was also part of the famous ‘Bacardi Team’ of the world renowned Bacardi Salsa Congress in charge of spreading Salsas dance all over the globe. Soon many Salsa and Mambo Show teams such as Salsa Dance Squad (the Netherlands) were mixing and teaching Salsa/Mambo with Cuban Rumba and Palo. Many Cuban dancers/priests living abroad saw a business opportunity and started to convert hundreds of Salsa and Mambo dancers worldwide. Many became Babaolorishas (‘Fathers of Orisha’) and Iyalorishas (‘Mothers of Orishas’). Some of these ‘junior Ile’s’, also called ‘Santeros(as)’, even become priests of Ifá’s. They get the title ‘Babalawo’ ( ‘Father Who Knows the Secrets’). Women are discriminated in the hierarchical order. Many people knowing so many secrets put the Cuban religious heritage up for grabs.    

The commercialization of the Afro Cuban religion irritates many Cubans living on the island. Others are very happy with the many Westerners (mostly females) for giving money to their children. Salsa and Mambo dancers from the West start their religious Cuban journeys by travelling to Cuba, then live a while with a Cuban family, get smothered in unknown love & good dancing, and finally get to be christened as godfathers or godmothers to the Cuban children and grand children of which they have been appointed as caretakers. This is one of the conditions to become a full pledged Santero(a). 

In 2004, Albert Torres invited a large group of Africans to play and dance at the Los Angeles Salsa Congress. The idea was to introduce the audience to the real roots of Salsa. Nowadays the African and Afro Cuban religious dances have integrated into the commercial and ‘Latin’ Salsa dancing to become (semi) standardized techniques for Body Movements and Expression. Salsa dancers from all the different worldwide religious backgrounds dance together as one.