Salsa Criticism at the Turn of the Century: Identity Politics and Authenticity

Abstract

Turning the table on the critics, a salsa musician writes about the writings on music, becoming a critic himself during the process. Having played in at least one of the famous salsa bands mentioned in each of the books he considers, the musician sets out with the presumption that the critics will have nothing new to tell him. Picking his way along the printed pages, he discovers answers to some of the questions that plagued him during salsa's golden age, as well as newly significant aspects of a musical style that has lasted long enough to be heard by the children of its original audience. Some mysteries remain, however; the critics cannot agree on who plays this music authentically, who knows how to listen to it, and why. In the end, it may turn out that the music will create its own listeners: the interbred offspring of salsa's varied listeners who are as difficult to categorize as the music.

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