Fania-Era Salsa

Founded in 1964 by flutist Johnny Pacheco and lawyer Jerry Masucci, Fania Records reorganised New York's scattered Latin scene into one connected world —...

Founded in 1964 by flutist Johnny Pacheco and lawyer Jerry Masucci, Fania Records reorganised New York's scattered Latin scene into one connected world — and assembled the Fania All-Stars as its supergroup. The arc runs from Greenwich Village's Red Garter, to the Cheetah Club on August 26, 1971 (filmed as Our Latin Thing), to Yankee Stadium in 1973 and Zaire in 1974. "Salsa" was a name and a scene more than a new beat — son, guaracha, mambo and jazz organised under one powerful New York machine, a label Tito Puente famously rejected. But Fania neither invented nor owned all of it: Puerto Rico's island orchestras, other New York labels, and audiences and industries across Latin America were active makers too. What Fania changed was scale, integration, image and ownership — turning a citywide sound into a global identity.

Years

1964-1980

In the app

Timeline