Underground Salsa Session on Encanto Tropical
- anfijpn
- Jan 1
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 16
PRE-SHOW POST |. AFTER-SHOW POST
In recent years, the term 'underground salsa' has been used to refer to salsa music that was (or is) not well-known to the general public. The wording can also imply in some cases difficult-to-find vintage material.
Among salsa insiders such as DJs and collectors, there is a pantheon of artists, musical groups, and individual songs which exist as 'underground' and are highly prized even when audio fidelity is sometimes far from ideal.
Compare this with the popular and better audio quality of the same period, such as those from Fania Records, as well as the range of contemporary releases from the 1990s onwards.
What explains the huge appeal of underground salsa? What is the context? Here is an idea.
Evidently, commercial success escaped many salsa bands in their prime. But while it is easy to assume that unsatisfactory music quality, poor marketing, or failure to garner special appeal might explain a band’s downfall or lack of popularity, there is one critical point to take note of. Record labels had enormous influence for disseminating their music via radio stations. This was as true in New York as in major Latin American salsa cities such as San Juan, Santo Domingo, Caracas, and Cali, among others. Simply put, not being affiliated with the dominant record labels of the mid-1960s and early 1970s -- such as Tico/Alegre and Fania -- meant little chance of recognition during the salsa boom, at least on a large scale.
The limits of technology, media distribution, and the constraints of the radio-station business model did not help. But soon this would change, as all three of these factors would be radically transformed.
For Episode 48, we tap into some reserves of marginalized and rediscovered salsa bands from the 1960s and 1970s for a loosely defined 'underground 'session.
One idea is that both the influence of the internet and the desire to discover new sounds and lyrics led to a recognition of many of the marginalized orchestras of the 1960s and 1970s. [1]
Mingled with these two points was perhaps even a conscious rejection of the Fania Records universe — a term applied to its immense catalog which, by the 1980s, included most other US salsa labels through a process of acquisition. This catalog was already well-known (and in many cases deservedly acclaimed) in the popular psyche of salsa aficionados. However, it was then promoted anew when the era of salsa romantica started losing its appeal. Although the time seemed opportune for a commercial push to revive interest in the so-called golden age of salsa, commercial expectations were not met.
The revival around the late 1990s and early 2000s was short-lived at best, due to some reluctance among consumers in blindly embracing the old standard. Instead, an emerging interest in alternative sounds from the 1960s and 1970s seems to have emerged. Crucially, the internet would soon grow in use and accessibility, and horizons broadened in tandem with the diminishing influence of record labels, physical media, and radio. The end result was a popular (re)discovery of the sound of those once-marginalized salsa bands. Critical to this push was the rise of salsa dancing and the resulting pressure (or incentive) on DJs to be unique. Rarity became a key variable in DJs' song selection and hence their appeal.
However, this is a general perspective probably limited to the salsa aficionado from outside Colombia, Venezuela, and their neighbouring countries, where a strong awareness of salsa culture and history was in place, meaning that artists would not need to be 'rediscovered'. Rather, there was a seemingly sharp and consistent knowledge of the local salsa music scene among local enthusiasts and collectors alike. In fact, this point is worth mentioning as perhaps playing a key role in the awareness-raising among fellow enthusiasts from outside the region who began making their 'discoveries'.
What kicked off the wave of discovery were at least three influential trends. First, the relative ease in making bootleg CD compilations which were then distributed internationally. Second, the growth of the internet and social media (for example, Facebook and YouTube) in facilitating connections and knowledge sharing. Third, a growing interest among serious DJs and salsa collectors in records, especially ones that were never officially issued in CD format.
One can argue that the interest in discovering vintage salsa as an alternative sound was a positive leap forward in the global salsa community. Suddenly there was a massive amount of salsa songs that many people had not been aware of, and this afforded a great diversity of sound -- not to mention sparks of exclusivity -- in the deejaying or dancing experience, from North America to Europe and to Asia.
Underground salsa is a rabbit hole, for certain, and I have only touched the surface. No doubt there are different levels in this underground, but I maintain a simple approach. This means that the criteria for inclusion in the playlist for Episode 48 are simply the following.
not within the Fania universe or distributed on other major labels
not easily found on digital platforms (at least until recently)
highly coveted as physical media (records) among DJs and collectors
I welcome salsa lovers of all backgrounds and experience to listen to the show (live or on replay) and certainly share their thoughts on the topic or the song selection -- whether in the live chat, the comments below this post, or via email. To be clear, I am not attempting to be an authority. Rather, I am keen to spark some discussion for interest's sake and awareness-raising.
See the broadcast information at the bottom of this page. Tune in on February 13th!
References
Mendevil, Ricardo (n.d.), Underground Salsa. Retrieved January 1, 2025: https://ricardomendivil.com/underground-salsa/
