I am by no means a dancer. Swing, jazz or Lindy hop are not something that I would listen to. The 1970s and the 1980s are the years when my parents were growing up and that mentality and culture that they were exposed to interests me the least in all pages of history. Yet, that does not stop me from appreciating the work that some talented individuals have done to benefit entire communities.  I have never had the chance to learn about dance as a movement that made someone lives better and unified a particular people so I found this exhibition very interesting.

Viewing the Rhythm & Power: Salsa in New York exhibition was something that made me more open to those styles of Music that I may not personally enjoy. It helps me see why other people may enjoy it and how much of a positive effect it can have on people’s lives. This exhibition curated by Derrick Leon Washington (“a dance anthropologist” something that I wasn’t sure existed before) gave me a sense of where salsa came from as well as the types of dances that were refused into salsa such as swing, jazz, and Lindy hop.  The floor of the exhibition had a map of a sort with a center in New York and Latin American and African countries surrounding it shows a combination of cultures. It showed the idea that they’re all bringing a different type end style of music and dance, all coming together here in New York City during mid 1970s.

The exhibition shows that this community gained some power and recognition due to salsa. They received a Grammy award, something that is still admired and respected today.  And right now, there are Latin Grammys specifically for Latin music.  This was a time when an idea that was on the fridges suddenly became a part of mainstream culture. I learned that the popularity of salsa owes a lot to Fania Records by the King of Latin music, Tito Puente in the 70s who received this Latin Grammy that we got to see.  There’s a lot of other items that we were exposed to suggest the record labels and outfits of Celia Cruz and Willie Cologne, incredibly famous Latin musicians in the US who started in this community, with their music spreading out in NYC. We got to talk about Willy Cologne’s wanted poster by the FBI as a cover of his album. Willie Cologne thus represented the members of Latin community that were wanted by the FBI constantly under suspicion or under arrest. He’s putting himself in their shoes and also showing solidarity.

I’ve never heard of any of these cultural Icons before.  It was also the first time I’ve heard of Black Panthers who were seen as a violent group at the time while they were actually helping out their communities.  I was surprised to learn that they were the ones that started free breakfast programs at schools in the city.  They believed in separatism, stating that their community takes care of themselves because the rest of the city isn’t going to take care of them. The 70s was a time of economic collapse in New York City but the community organizations we’re all about trying to get together dancing as they’re trying to rebuild. These Salsa dance gatherings gave the communities enthusiasm and unity and that is beautiful regardless of whether one enjoys Salsa or not.

Something else that I really enjoyed was this stairwell which seems to describe New York City just as it is.