Any DJs include SALSA in their Sets these days?
batmon
27,574 Posts
Im just wondering. It used to work for me due to the LES Boriquas back when i gigged. Does it still get kids moving? Anything can work when done right. There were times when I could play Salsa(just a little) and it had the same reaction as Dancehall Reggae. 
Comments
depends on the gig, but almost always. salsa is a highly evolved genus- generations of weak rhythms fell victim to the fittest with the singular purpose of making people dance.
doing a weekly latin night has definitely changed my whole perspective.
and then there was merengue!
That's my next question. I never played Merengue, but back in the day i went to couple of Salsa/Merengue parties at Bronx Community College and the Merengue sets were killin it. Im wondering why it never joined Salsa @ the "mainstream" club/lounge selections?
FEELING THIS. Ha!
As far as merengue goes - its depends on your crowd. A lot of gringos don't know how to dance to it so they're intimidated by merengue. If you have crowd of Latinos you better have a few merengue tracks in your bag or you'll catch hell.
Merengue and Soca can often require a very specific crowd, sometimes hard to dance to, can sometimes sound "annoying" to an audience, etc.
True. Merengue....Uptown Dominicans. Soca Brooklyn....Trinis. Its a shame though cause theyve both been around for a minute. But unlike Reggae & Salsa there are no "crossover" stars & songs for Disconnec-Teds to reference.
A bartender was telling me that his pops grew up in Brooklyn and was a big time mambo and merengue man back in the 50s NYC Latin heyday. When they took him to a salsa club in LA, 25 year old latin honeys were fighting over his 73 year old father cuz he danced so nice!
YES
DJs WHO DON'T DANCE: TAKE NOTE PLAESE
if you cant at least attempt to dance to latin music (i hate bachata so, minus that) you dont dance.
and if you dont dance, dont come to a party im spinning.
James Brown - Please Please Please from HELL.
Duly noted, Marcossa, duly noted. Have been considering lessons for a long time now. Should finally commit already.
I'd like to know, how many DJs out (t)here DO DANCE?
" Brian and I are taking Salsa lessons. And we cant wait for that Salsa band to play at Jeremy's wedding so we can strut our stuff!"
Maybe I should go old school, consider yoga lessons and bust those moves at a wedding.
haha... Im just joking but iknow a nd handful of friends whom have adopted Salsa lessons and they speak of it like Pilates n shit. Do U.
Salsa Dancing Lessons = The Old Salsa
I mean, this phenom has been around for ages. It might even be bigger than folls taking swing lessons.
have to disagree here. you think you don't know those crossover jams, but then when you hear em, everybody is singing along.
on the merengue tip
Suavemente by Elvis Crespo
El Tiburon by Proyecto Uno
Guallando by Fulanito
Culito by Aguakate
y mas... when you hear em you'll know
some crossover soca jams too.
believe it or not, this stuff has been getting more hype from the hipster hollertron set lately. There's some real joints there as well.
Nookie got the shine from M.I.A. using the beat.
I might know those joints but does my mom? I'm talmbout POP crossover not just local club hits.
Sean Paul Level shit.
I don't know about your mom, but those were mega huge hits in PR, I can only imagine they got heavy radio play in the latin stations here too.
Hipster parties jamming to Elvis Crespo?! Now that is some shit!
Suavemente =
POP not popular.
Local Bodega experience bro. You'd have to be deaf not to have heard some of these joints if you live uptown.
Cmon now. I'm talkin Entertainment tonight interviews. Would you equate a MEGA classic w/ Latin POP like Vida Loca?
examples pleez
well, I was actually talkin more about the soca stuff, which often clocks in at around the same tempo as b-more jawns- 130 - 140
but yeah, try mixing any one of the aforementioned merengue bombs outta Temperature by Sean P and see what happens.
even better, drop coolie rhythm sean p into culo remix into merengue bomb.
boricuas and dominicans will always be in the crowd somewhere.
Ricky Martin is just a latin artist making American pop music, most of that song is in English as is Shakira's stuff, I wouldn't call them latin pop. When was the last time a song in a foreign language made it to ET anyway?
HEY MACARENA.....