He was a classically trained clarinet player who came to New York City from Cuba in 1930 partly to get away from the unfair treatment he believed he received as a dark skinned Cubano, but mostly because he had fallen in love with jazz music.
Who is Mario Bauzá?
100
This dancehall on 53rd Street and Broadway in New York City, which became famous for its excellent Latin music from 1948 until it closed in 1966.
What is the Palladium Ballroom?
100
By the 1960s, New York City was home to over 500,000
Latinos, mostly Puerto Ricans who called their East Harlem neighborhood this.
What is El Barrio?
100
He was Fania’s co-founder and musical director. In the
early 1960s, inspired by Cuban music, he led his own group featuring flute and violins.
Who is Johnny Pacheco?
100
This young man moved to New York from Panama in 1974, leaving behind a career as an attorney, to become a musician at Fania Records. His first job was in the mailroom at the record company.
Who is Reuben Blades?
200
In 1931, El Manisero (The Peanut Vendor) was a surprise smash hit from Cuba that launched this dance craze of the 1930s
What is the Rumba?
200
Machito and his Afro-Cubans, Tito Rodriguez and Tito Puente became known by this name because of their popularity at the Palladium.
Who are The Big Three?
200
This music was a fusion of traditional Latin rhythms with R&B and rock-and-roll.
What is Latin Boogaloo?
200
He took the image of the gangster and exploited it to promote his music and develop a new identity for Latin music in New York City.
Who is Willie Colon?
200
When Fidel Castro assumed control of Cuba in 1959, this Cuban singer and her husband, Pedro Knight, refused to return to their homeland and became citizens of the United States. She was renowned internationally as the "Queen of Salsa" as well as "La Guarachera de Cuba."
Who is Celia Cruz?
300
Although his given name was Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo de Ayala, he was better known by this name
What is Machito?
300
Eventually, Dámaso Pérez Prado’s hit, “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White” helped transition the mambo dance craze into this new easier dance.
What is the Cha-Cha-Chá?
300
His 1963 hit rendition of "Watermelon Man" (which was composed by the jazz pianist, Herbie Hancock) was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.
Who is Mongo Santamaria?
300
Colón decided that he would record a Christmas album in this style to pay tribute to his growing sense of Puerto Rican pride.
What is jibaro?
300
This hit salsa song was composed by Reuben Blades and tells a story tinged with the sadness of a singer.
What is "El Cantante?"
400
He was the first American jazz musician to champion Afro-Cuban music in the United States.
Who is Dizzy Gillespie?
400
A cultural influence keeping Latin music in the mainstream was this situation comedy television program, featuring Cuban-born American musician, bandleader and actor, Desi Arnaz.
What is I Love Lucy?
400
This song, recorded by Cheo Feliciano & Fania All Stars, was about a Taíno cacica (chieftess), who lived during the time of Christopher Columbus
What is Anacaona?
400
By 1967, Willie Colon's musical style moved away from Latin Boogaloo toward a more Latin sound that played to the strengths of this singer, a Puerto Rican who had moved to New York only a few years earlier
Who is Hector Lavoe?
400
This Act of Congress granted U.S. Citizenship to the people of Puerto Rico in 1917.
What is The Jones-Shafroth Act of 1917 (or the Jones Act of Puerto Rico or the Jones Law of Puerto Rico)?
500
This dance grew out of the danzón, which is a dance form descended from European social dances, popular in Cuba.
What is the mambo?
500
The Afro-Cubans combined Cuban music with orchestrations derived from this style of jazz.
What is Big Band (swing)?
500
This was a name New York born Puerto Ricans would come to be known by during the 1960s in East Harlem.
Who are Nuyoricans?
500
The Film, “Our Latin Thing” promoted salsa. It gave a glimpse into the lives of Nuyoricans, propelled by the performance at this former roller-skating rink in midtown Manhattan.
What is the Cheetah Club?
500
The song, “Mack the Knife” (from ‘The Threepenny Opera’ by Kurt Weil) inspired Blades to write the song. It is a salsa song written and performed by Rubén Blades from the 1978 album (CD) Siembra.