Did salsa dancing come from mambo dancing?

Salsa music comes from Mambo and Rumba roots which began in Cuba. That is why many Cubans say Salsa comes from Cuba yet Puerto Ricans claim it as their own. I’m sure the name of the dance comes from its musical roots.

The mambo basic as taught in most salsa classes (left foot goes in front on 1, right foot goes back on 5), is not the same as the mambo dance.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Tap your left foot just ahead of you. Bring it back next to the other. Repeat with the opposite foot. Get a girl to stand opposite and do the same thing, ON THE SAME FOOT - that is, you don’t mirror each other, you copy each other. You can do this step in rueda too - e.g., Sombrero con mambo (see wikibooks).

Now you’re mambo dancing. Or reading. The little I’ve seen of mambo (as danced in Cuba) suggests that it’s mainly a choreographed dance now - maybe it used to be more improvised.

I don’t know why the step taught in salsa classes is called a mambo step. I believe there was some distortion of the words brought about by mambo music being played in New York. I expect wikipedia or something has more information.

Salsa music comes from Mambo and Rumba roots which began in Cuba. That is why many Cubans say Salsa comes from Cuba yet Puerto Ricans claim it as their own. I’m sure the name of the dance comes from its musical roots.