It is no exaggeration to say that Latin dances are among the most popular of social dances anywhere in the world. They are found everywhere and in all dance venues, from serious concert art dance performances (ballet and modern) to patio parties and clubs all around the world. There is an almost inexhaustible variety of configurations possible on the Latin social dance floor. In their social forms Latin dances are infinitely inclusive; the basic steps take a few lessons to learn and a lifetime to master. Though each Latin dance has its own rhythmic and melodic signature, there is in every one the opportunity of improvisation.
Latin dances are about power and the survival of identity in the harsh realities of immigration and slavery. Randel (2003) emphasizes the role of slavery in the development of traditional Latin music and dance. The importation of slaves from sub-Saharan Africa began in the first years of the Conquest. Today, the author suggests, populations of African descent are most substantial in Brazil, the Caribbean, along the northern coast of South America, in Panama, and in western Colombia (p. 456).
The Latin American and Caribbean regions were the first to be populated by African immigrants. It would be fair to claim that African immigration to the Americas began before European exploration of the region, as Christopher Columbus had African crewmates during his first expedition in 1492. Portugal pioneered the Atlantic slave trade and monopolized it in the mid 1500’s. African slaves by that time had already developed the customs of dancing among themselves.
Portugese had little success in colonizing Brazil, and the main destination of the Atlantic slave trade was the Spanish Caribbean. At first, slaves bound for Spain, Mexico, or Peru passed through Portugal itself en route. During the three centuries between 1519 and 1819, Mexico received 200000 Africans. (culturaldiplomacy)
Argentina and Bolivia brought in about 100000 Africans. Chile imported about 6000, most of whom were utilized in agriculture around Santiago. Import figures to all these areas were low compared with those for Brazil and the West Indies. Between the sixteenth and nineteenth century the number of Africans who reached the Americas is from eight to fifteen million. The cultural collapse was so great, that as early as 1569 the Spanish viceroy of Mexico found it necessary to prohibit the dancing of slaves in Mexico City’s main square anytime except for Sunday afternoons and church holidays. In 1610, a French visitor to Bahia regarded it
“a great pleasure on feast days and Sundays to see the slaves gather, men and women, dancing and enjoying themselves in public in the squares and streets, for on those days they are not subject to their masters” (quoted in Chasteen, p.189)
One also finds mention of dances called calenda, chica, chuchumbre, bamboula, mangana or zarambeque, also believed to have African influence, but these mentions do not get one very far without descriptive content. The earliest reference with important descriptive information is a 1698 French traveler to the Caribbean, Father Jean Batiste Labat, who saw …