The Salsa Express has been temporarily halted—it is sitting at the station awaiting its next outing. All the passengers are standing around the platform, tapping their watches. They have places to go, people to meet, rhythms to feel.
So many places, so many dances, so many stops.
Alas. The dance train is grounded.
While it stands in its shed, with everyone anxious about making the next trip, here are five salsa songs from its most popular stops.
La Maquinaria—Julian Formal featuring Los Van Van
The first stop is this sweet number. Julian Formal and Los Van Van made a song with an easy rhythm to pick up and a tempo that anyone—beginner, intermediate, and advanced—can dance to.
Campina—Afro Cuban Jazz Project
This offering from the Afro Cuban Jazz Project was made to be enjoyed often. It is like a mixer: it goes with almost anything—a solo dance session on a balcony, an accompaniment to cooking, or a first dance at a social. If you pour it, it shall be danced to.
Sey—Africando featuring Thione Seck
Africando, the Senegalese salsa outfit, has numerous salsa songs in its discography. Sey, featuring Thione Seck, is one of those songs that your ears pick up and do not drop. Once they have been infected, your waist and feet are goners.
Lady—Orchesta La Palabra
Steering into the salsa romantica tropics, a necessary stop must be made at Orquesta La Palabra’s exquisite Lady. The smooth and sultry sounds of this salsa song demand numerous replays and even more dances. It does not demand too much embellishment, it just does what it does in true salsa style.
La Habana Buena—Palo!
The last stop on the Salsa Express’s journey is Palo!’s live recording ofLa Habana Buena. As one of the biggest contemporary Latin American acts, their performances carry an infectious energy which never ebbs.
This song harkens to that future date when, once more, salseros and salseras shall be able to venture back onto to the dance floors of the world.
What a day that will be.
It could not come quickly enough—everyone is just waiting for the call: All aboard!
