Tito Puente
Tito Puente was a towering figure in mambo, salsa...more »
Wanted by FBI: Willie Colón Album
Armed with trombone and considered dangerous....more »
Dancing in the Catskills
Willie Torres, dancing with partner in the...more »
The Palladium Ballroom
The Palladium Ballroom, at 53rd and Broadway,...more »
B-Girl Dancing
Expressed in break beats, rhymes and dance, hip...more »
Asalto Navideno Vol. 2 Album
Willie Colón's popular 1972 album,...more »
Bang! Bang! Push, Push, Push Album
The sextet of Puerto Rican percussionist Joe...more »
Celia Cruz & Willie Colón: The Winners Album
Collaborations with singers such as Celia Cruz...more »
King of Mambo Album
Born in 1923 to Puerto Rican immigrants in New...more »
Dancing at the Palladium Ballroom
Dance instructors helped cultivate a multi-ethnic...more »
Chano and Dizzy: Cubop
Jazz innovator Dizzy Gillespie loved Cuban...more »
Immigration
Early in the century, Cuban immigrants and...more »
Fearless Four
An old school rap crew from Harlem, New York,...more »
S.S. Puerto Rico Passenger List
Between the 1920s and the 1970s, New York...more »
Pan American Airways Ticket
Pan American World Airways System Passenger...more »
Postcard
Steamship Coamo - Porto Rico Line...more »
Machito
Machito and His Afro-Cubans Band, rocked the...more »
Club Handbill
3 & 1 Club Announces Tito With His Big 14...more »
Handbill
The Mambo Society Social Club proudly presents...more »
Party Invite
A New Year's Eve Party, The Colgate Gardens...more »
Concert and Dance Ticket
A Night at Latin Jazzland Concert & Dance,...more »
Souvenir Picture Folder
Havana Madrid club souvenir photographic print...more »
Boogaloo Dance Poster
The Latin Gate Presents Boogaloo Barn Dance,...more »
Fania All Stars Live Poster
2nd Anniversary Concert "Our Latin Thing...more »
Hip-Hop Concert Poster
Cold Crush Brothers, Cold Crush 4, Grandmaster...more »
La Conga Poster
The Conga Girl Poster...more »
Celia Cruz - Madison Square Garden
A Tribute to Celia Cruz: " Su Vida Musical...more »
Latin Jazz Poster
United Clubs & Fraternities First Annual...more »
Arsenio Rodríguez
An early pioneer of the mambo was the blind tres...more »
Mario Bauzá
In 1941 Mario Bauza left Cab Calloway’s...more »
Mongo Santamaría
Ramón “Mongo” Santamar...more »
Tito Puente
Born in 1923 in New York, Puerto Rican musician...more »
La Lupe
Cuban singer La Lupe achieved international...more »
Tito Rodríguez
Born in Puerto Rico, Tito Rodríguez...more »
Joe Cuba
The sextet of Puerto Rican percussionist Joe...more »
Eddie Palmieri
In the early 1960s Eddie Palmieri’s band,...more »
Pérez Prado
Damaso Perez Prado moved from Cuba to Mexico...more »
Rubén Blades
Panamanian singer Rubén Blades is one of...more »
Celia Cruz
In 1959, the year of Castro’s revolution,...more »
Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe
Collaborations between singers Willie Col...more »
Charlie Chase
The Cold Crush Brothers rapped to the beats of...more »
Joe Bataan
Latin soul pioneer Joe Bataan was born in the...more »
Daddy Yankee
Daddy Yankee—straight out of Puerto Rico...more »
Luny Tunes
Born in the Dominican Republic, Francisco Saldana...more »
Mongo Santamaría's Hands
Born and raised in Havana, Cuba, Ramón...more »
Mongo Santamaría's Poster at the Fillmore
Pérez Prado Poster
International stars like Cuban bandleader P...more »
Ivy Queen
One of only a few female reggaetón stars...more »
Carter de Mongo Santamaría
B-Girl Dancing
Expresado con ritmos, rimas y break dancing, el...more »
Cartel de un Hip Hop Concert
Cold Crush Brothers, Cold Crush 4, Grandmaster...more »
Machito
Machito and His Afro-Cubans Band, estremeci...more »
Celia Cruz y Willie Colón: The Winners Album
Colaboraciones con cantantes como Celia Cruz,...more »
Machito and Graciela
A singer with her brother’s Machito and the...more »
Calle 13
René Pérez Joglar (lead singer,...more »
Johnny Pacheco
Composer, arranger, bandleader, producer, and...more »
Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra, cover of Latin Grammy...more »
Jose Feliciano
Jose Feliciano, Escenas de Amor, 1982; Album...more »

The New York City Story

New York City was the first center of the recording industry in the world, beginning in the 1890s, and the city attracted professional musicians from all over Latin America.

Cuban musical styles like the rumba, mambo and cha cha cha were widely popularized by New York bands and recording labels through the 1950s.

Puerto Ricans also participated in the development of those styles and, by the mid-20th century as their population grew not only in numbers but in the music industry, they fueled the development of salsa music, popularizing it internationally in the 1960s and 1970s. In recent decades, the population of Dominican immigrants rose sharply. Caribbean Latinos, many of whom are of African descent, have also had extensive musical exchange with African Americans in New York.

Interviews & Commentary

And, among all of those things, I often wondered why we came here.
Carmen Void
Migration Part 1
Watch Video »
Jukebox Highlights
New York City