Salsa is the irresistible, passionate dance music of the Spanish-speaking world, the lifeblood of millions of Latin Americans - and American Latins - from the barrios of New York to the mansions of Puerto Rico and the crumbling apartments of Havana. Salsa's songs are the voices of Latin America; they accompany political struggles and domestic love scenes. Salsa is the music of Celia Cruz and Tito Puente, the Queen and King of Salsa, Ray Barretto, linking the night-club and jazz circuits, and Gloria Estefan, the Miami Cuban who brought Salsa to an international audience. This book offers a comprehensive guide to Salsa music, its history, its key figures, and its complex relationship with different countries. From Havana before and after the revolution to Spanish Harlem to Santo Domingo, the home of the merengue and across to the cities of Columbia. Drawing on interviews with musicians and composers, with portraits of star performers and singers as well as sections on Latin beats, a discography and bibliography, this is the complete and up-to-date story of Salsa.