International Salsa Museum preserves Dominican music's impact on NYC

3 months ago 8

NEW YORK (PIX11) -- The rhythms of merengue and bachata come from the Dominican Republic, but salsa also plays a major musical influence in the Caribbean country.

Willy Rodriguez is the co-founder of the Salsa International Museum; he is of Dominican descent.

“Salsa is not just a Dominican thing or Puerto Rican or Cuban thing; it is heard all over the world," Rodriguez said Thursday.

The institution is currently holding an exhibition at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, one of the birthplaces of salsa in New York City.

The International Salsa Museum is a nonprofit organization that aims to preserve salsa music's vibrant and rich history.

“It started in Africa, went through the Caribbean, landed here in New York City. This is where salsa got its boom with the Fania All-Stars got its boom with Johnny Pacheco, Celia Cruz, and Tito Puente," Rodriguez added.

The museum has held pop-up events all around the city and aims to have a permanent home in the Bronx, also known as “El Condado de la Salsa,” where many Puerto Rican musicians popularized the rhythm.