Salsa Music Isn’t Dead: Here Are 15 Hidden Gems Keeping the Tropical Genre Alive

This duo became famous at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil when their song “Ras Tas Tas” became the anthem of the Colombian national team. “Ras Tas Tas” is surely the biggest hit of Salsa Choke, a fusion of salsa and urban music, and a subgenre that was born on the Pacific Coast of Colombia at the end of the ’90s and that later arrived in Cali, also known as “The World Capital of Salsa.” Cali also shaped the music of salsa legends Hector Lavoe and Alfredito de la Fe, to name a few. Cali Flow Latino recently recorded with Grammy-winning Peruvian producer Tony Succar. — CARLOS PASSAGE

Hailing from San Francisco, Calif., Carlos Xavier is a Nicaraguan-American artist who’s helping push forward the new generation of salsa acts. If his debut studio album Lucha Contra El Tiempo and his 2019 set Vive Todo Ahora are any indication, Xavier isn’t afraid to lace his passion for salsa music with other styles that have influenced him, such as R&B, hip-hop, and romantic ballads. Xavier is currently making the rounds with his single “Bailo, Vivo, y Gozo,” on which he teamed up with fellow Nicaraguan salsa icon, Luis Enrique.

Alicea is charming, charismatic and quite the eye candy. After kicking off his career singing urban music, the Puerto Rican singer-songwriter and instrumentalist found is sound and color in the tropical realm. His strong vocals give life to lyrics about love, personal stories, and his Boricua roots, backed by captivating salsa fusions that include merengue ripiao, bolero, and bachata. His debut album Yo arrived earlier this year and has already placed three songs in the Billboard Tropical Airplay chart. This year, he also signed an exclusive booking agreement with Loud and Live.

Darcourt’s passion for music began as early as when she was eight years old, and since, has climbed the ranks in the salsa scene of her native Peru. In 2018, she launched her debut studio album Esa Soy Yo, produced by Puerto Rican hitmaker Master Chris, and her latest set, Empezando Otra Vez, was nominated for best tropical album at the 2023 Premios Juventud. Darcourt has collaborated with renowned salsa acts such as La India, Tito Nieves, and N’Klabe, and is working on her next album alongside fellow Peruvian producer and artist Tony Succar.

Known as “The Queen of the Timbales,” Timbal is a Tampa-based artist who was part of the Canela women’s orchestra and now enjoys her career as a solo artist. This year she released her fifth single “La Reina del Timbal” with Bobby Cruz and recently released “La Danza del Mono,” an explosive cover of the classic Peruvian cumbia, full of trombones, trumpets and a lot of timpani. Elisabeth is an enthusiast of “old-school salsa brava,” frenetic dance, and percussion. Legendary figures like Sheila E have been part of her inspiration on the instrument. — C.P.

Born in Mexico, D.F., raised in San Luis Potosí, and residing in Miami, Fla., Rodriguez takes pride in calling himself “El Salsero Mexicano” (The Mexican Salsa Act). His strong vocals took him to the semi-finals on Telemundo’s reality show La Voz in 2020, where he was on Carlos Vives’ team. Since finding the spotlight, he’s released an EP of his own salsa gems and became vocalist of the popular Los Adolescentes Orquestra.

Moly’s origins in salsa music trace back to when he was a child and formed part of the renowned children’s salsa group Salserín. The Venezuelan artist and producer has worked with artists such as Mike Bahía, Chino y Nacho, Luis Enrique, and earlier this year, even teamed up with Hoobastank to release a Latin salsa version of their ’00s hit power ballad “The Reason.” This year, Moly also released his promising album Metamorfosis, his fourth studio set following A Mi Manera (2011), Compass (2015) and 13 (2019).

A Berklee College of Music alum, and once a backing vocalist during two of Romeo Santos’ international tours, Figueroa officially signed to Marc Anthony’s entertainment company Magnus Media and later joined the Sony Music Latin roster in 2019, after going viral with his piano cover of Anthony’s “Flor Palida.” Since, the Philadelphia-born Puerto Rican artist has been unstoppable, earning eight titles on the Billboard Tropical Airplay chart — including his latest single “Bandido,” which reached No. 1 earlier this month.

Vázquez has always been surrounded by music. At only five years old, he was lead singer of Los Bravitos de la Plena, a Puerto Rican children music group that was founded by Vázquez’s father, who is also a musician. In 2021, he dropped his debut album Comienzos, home to the urban-infused salsa track “Tu Fan,” which scored Vazquez his first No. 1 on the Tropical Airplay chart — and made a then-15-year-old Vázquez the youngest soloist to arrive at the summit since the chart began in October 1994.

Rivera joined the new wave of salsa acts in 2022 with the launch of his debut single “En Sintonia.” Since, his tracks “Tocando Fondo,” “Quiero Pasarla Contigo,” “Regrésame Mi Corazón” and latest single, “Supelman,” have all followed his motto of “celebrating love” and keeping romantic salsa alive. Moa is the son of famed salsa artist Jerry Rivera, who has been his biggest inspiration and mentor.

Nesty’s music career kicked off in the Latin urban realm, but as of 2021, the Cuban artist has taken a new direction, forming part of the “salsa fresh” movement. Incorporating salsa roots with urban rhythms, Nesty (real name: Ernesto Alejandro Galguera) has gained social virality with his modern salsa twists on popular reggaetón tracks such as Maluma’s “Hawái” and Karol G’s “Gatubela.” The Cuban artist has collaborated with renowned Cuban acts Leoni Torres, Randy Malcom and Alexander Delgado.

Before kicking off his solo career in 2019, rising Cuban act Nieto formed part of the famed Cuban group La Charanga Habanera. A well-studied opera singer, Nieto uses his power vocals to now bring to life his urban-salsa vision. He’s already collaborated with Ivy Queen, R.K.M. & Ken-Y, Lenier and Arthur Hanlon, to name a few artists. According to his description on his social media platforms, Nieto is “a dad in love with my princess and a fan of good lyrics and sitting at the piano to write songs.”

Under the direction of Monica Castro, this 15-women collective is bringing “Salsa de Golpe” — a style that since the dawn of salsa music in the ’60s has never totally gone away — back to the forefront of the Colombian salsa scene. After the successful phenomenon of “Salsa de Alcoba” and “Salsa Romántica” of the ’80s and ’90s, there is an enthusiastic legion of new listeners enthralled by the origins of salsa, the “old-school” type that does not seem to die, and acts like Son Mujeres Orquesta are leading the way. They recently toured Mexico and are now preparing the release of a new album. — C.P.

Peruvian-born, Miami-raised Succar is a force to be reckoned with: He’s an artist, musician, producer, composer and arranger, and a two-time Latin Gramm winner who also happens to have his own record label, Unity Entertainment. Throughout his career, he’s collaborated with artists such as Tito Nieves, La India, Jon Secada, Obie Bermudez and Cimafunk, but his best collaborator has nonetheless been his talented mother, Mimy Succar. In fact, the mother-son duo dropped their album Mimy & Tony, home to 11 songs that showcase their salsa mastery.

Plasencia was first a circus dancer, and took part in many reality shows in her native Peru, such as Bienvenida La Tarde, Esto Es Guerra and El Gran Show, before establishing herself as one of the most popular salsa acts of today. The beautiful and sensual Peruvian artist has released two albums — Y De Pronto, Tú y Yo (2017) and Live Show (2021) — and has been taken under the wing of award-winning producer Sergio George as her career mentor.