Salsa is party time music in PR.
I was never much of a fan of listening to salsa on the radio because of the tinny speakers on radios the timbales came across way too much out of proportion.
As far as listening to it at home, I had better stuff to LISTEN to.

But as for ambiance at a social gathering, a way to get things going, and dancing, nothing beats salsa.
X-mas in PR is a 2 1/2 week affair where everything stops functioning on the 20th and does not resurrect until after the 6th of January. Salsa is always on the background.

Even if you do not go to the party, the party sometimes comes to you. There is a local X-Mas custom called "asalto" (roughly translated as mugging) in which as a party dies down, usually 2-3am, everybody decides to go to somebody else's house. That person was not at the party, andhe/she may have been at another party or just home resting. The whole point is to wake them up. There's always at least a guitar and a Guiro, by definition a few drunks, and the group sings at the person's doorstep and bang on the door until the host opens up. He/she is expected to feed and provide more alcohol or coffee depending on the overall mood to the revelers.

I always enjoyed it and if you have not had an asalto in a few years you begin to wonder if your friends really feel close to you. My best memories of X-mas in PR are mostly tied to asaltos.

Last edited by Chévere (2013-12-29 07:48:54)