Boogaloo (bugalú)

Boogaloo was the sound of a new generation talking back. By the mid-1960s, U.S.-raised Puerto Rican youth in East Harlem heard the old Cuban forms as their...

Boogaloo was the sound of a new generation talking back. By the mid-1960s, U.S.-raised Puerto Rican youth in East Harlem heard the old Cuban forms as their parents' music, so they fused son montuno and mambo with soul, R&B and doo-wop, often singing in English. Joe Cuba's crew put the soul in it, Pete Rodríguez's "I Like It Like That" made it a radio hit, and Johnny Colón's "Boogaloo Blues" caught Puerto Rican kids coming of age in the city. It burned bright for a few years, then faded — historians blame a mix of generational change, market consolidation and the rise of salsa as a brand, with the exact story still disputed.

Era

Boogaloo & Pachanga

Traits

Nuyorican fusion of son montuno/mambo with African-American R&B, soul, and doo-wop, often with English lyrics. Crossovers: Mongo's 'Watermelon Man' (1963), Barretto's 'El Watusi' (1962); biggest hit Joe Cuba's 'Bang Bang' (1966).