"Every band had their own distinctive sound, but it was pretty much dancing music and rhythmic music with a tremendous emphasis on copying the Cuban models"
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Blades is puncturing a romantic myth about “organic” musical scenes by admitting how much of the early salsa ecosystem was built on imitation, not pure invention. The phrasing does a lot of work: “distinctive sound” grants each band its local stamp, then “but it was pretty much” yanks the listener back to reality. It’s a musician’s way of saying: don’t confuse a different accent with a different language.
The key word is “copying,” and he doesn’t soften it with euphemisms like “influenced by.” That candor carries subtext about power and prestige in Afro-Caribbean music. Cuban rhythms and arrangements functioned as the blueprint; everyone else was measuring themselves against a model that already had cultural authority, repertoire, and dance-floor proof. By foregrounding “dancing music and rhythmic music,” Blades reminds you the scene wasn’t driven by conservatory logic or auteur theory. It was market-tested in clubs, social halls, on radio - music designed to move bodies first, sort out credits later.
Contextually, this lands as both critique and defense. It challenges nationalist narratives that treat salsa as a clean break from Cuban son and mambo, while also validating the creativity required to copy well under new conditions: different cities, different immigrant stories, different recording economies. The “tremendous emphasis” hints at an industry pressure cooker - bandleaders needing to sound legible to dancers and promoters, even if that meant narrowing the palette. Blades, who later helped expand salsa’s lyrical and political range, is implicitly describing the tight box he and his peers had to push against.
The key word is “copying,” and he doesn’t soften it with euphemisms like “influenced by.” That candor carries subtext about power and prestige in Afro-Caribbean music. Cuban rhythms and arrangements functioned as the blueprint; everyone else was measuring themselves against a model that already had cultural authority, repertoire, and dance-floor proof. By foregrounding “dancing music and rhythmic music,” Blades reminds you the scene wasn’t driven by conservatory logic or auteur theory. It was market-tested in clubs, social halls, on radio - music designed to move bodies first, sort out credits later.
Contextually, this lands as both critique and defense. It challenges nationalist narratives that treat salsa as a clean break from Cuban son and mambo, while also validating the creativity required to copy well under new conditions: different cities, different immigrant stories, different recording economies. The “tremendous emphasis” hints at an industry pressure cooker - bandleaders needing to sound legible to dancers and promoters, even if that meant narrowing the palette. Blades, who later helped expand salsa’s lyrical and political range, is implicitly describing the tight box he and his peers had to push against.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
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