Race, National, Discourse and Politics in Cuba - Essay Example

It has become more of a symbolic site for unravelling hidden issues, negotiating differences and evaluating the past. In this paper, I will be discussing how salsa is best understood not as a musical piece or phenomenon but as a symbolic site for identity, race and class. In the past, discussions regarding salsa have been primarily concerned with knowing what the term denotes and what domain it encompasses. The following passages will show what the concern was in the past.

The dearth of literature regarding salsa is not so much concerned with the form and style that it contains but is more on its relevance to the formation of national identity, class and race. The salsa genre is very popular music from throughout Latin America and has been taken as a part of a broader construction of Latin identity or ‘Latinidad’.
The discussion so far has involved Latin Americans and one can note that it is more of a political and cultural issue for the. Africans, who are also attributed as major contributors to Salsa, are more concerned with racial issues.

The previous focus of discussion regarding salsa is its exquisiteness and a description of the styles involved. However, as opposed to other music and dance genre, Salsa has become a favourite site for serious social and political discussions. The analysis conducted and its results have indeed unearthed a very interesting cornucopia of ideas that are very remarkable. Salsa is indeed no longer just another form of entertainment or leisure. More importantly, it should be understood as a symbolic site for discussing issues of national identity, race and class. It is through this paradigm that one can indeed recognize the essence of salsa.