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Reggaetón and Salsa: Brothers or Distant Cousins? |
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Written by Leda DeRosa
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 The history of struggle and life and the barrio is a shared history of both reggaetón and salsa. There is more in common than you might think.
Edgar Borges dedicates his book on salsa "to all of the barrios of Latino America, in my way of understanding things, they are the inspiration of salsa. En our barrios you can sincerely share two necessary feelings, happiness and sadness." Daddy Yankee, icon of reggaetón, similarly remarks, "I am from the barrio, but from a fine barrio, like my people. People that fight, people that feel. I am not from a barrio that lacks destiny. No, I am from a barrio but a fine barrio." They both speak full of orgullo of the barrios in which their respective music was born. They both pay tribute to the emotional dichotomy of the barrios, of despair and hope, and of the struggle that binds both inexorably together. They speak the rhythms of el barrio with parentage from the Caribbean islands. Both have been dismissed by the mainstream as vulgar, crude, and aggressive. Both reggaetón and salsa have emerged as the voice of the barrio, the former taking the place the other walked away from.
In many cases, commentary on either genre can easily be applied to both. They become somewhat interchangeable as their paths converge, run parallel, and simultaneously approach and depart from each other. Even though some like to dismiss salsa as their parents' music, it began in the same place as reggaetón and hip-hop. It has been criticized as música de monos and “a black thing.” In Willie Colón's Calle Luna, Calle Sol, he warns, "Listen Mister, if you value your life stay out of trouble or you’ll lose it (your life)." How different is that from modern day lyrics from anyone in the reggaetón or hip-hop genres? Salsa musicians were stereotyped as black, drug addicted, and poor.
Like salsa, reggaetón is produced in urban areas and caseríos (slums) as an expression of social discontent and may be seen as a vehicle for change. Reggaetón has come to be used by the Puerto Rican government to educate about things such as fire safety. Like salsa, reggaetón speaks directly to the barrio and is used to foster a certain sense of community. It serves as the outspoken voice of the poor, downtrodden, and unhappy youth that are stuck in the never-ending cycle of poverty in the projects.
The parallels between reggaetón and salsa are important to recognize. They both serve simultaneously as community, political, and cultural expressions. The initial community that bore both is one that is known in any part of the world, and is characterized by inattention to laws, by poverty and by struggle. They both served as a gateway into a community that is often dismissed and debased by middle and upper class peoples. They have incited much heated debate on their lyrics, subjects, and even their existence. But without question t it is the unique reality of their origins that both gives birth to and raises their art forms. The values expressed in both styles are often contradictory, as are those of the artists who create them. Both make use of street slang and imagery that may be extraordinary to an outsider but commonplace to those living in these finest of barrios.
Check out the video of Willie Colón playing Calle Luna, Calle Sol. Also recommended is Ivy Queen's tribute to Colón, where she sings this signature hit.
Resources:
Leda DeRosa. "Reggaeton and Salsa: Brothers or Distant Cousins?" December 2006 
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