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Bruno Mars is showing off his salsa skills! The singer, real name Peter Gene Hernandez recently showed off his conga skills while jamming with Paak and La Verdad during the SelvaRey Pina Colada Party, to the late Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco’s iconic song “Quimbara.” The Instagram account for International Salsa Museum shared an amazing video of his impressive percussion skills.
The Instagram account for the queen of Latin music showed support in the comments of the video, with clapping emojis, a heart, and a hands-up emoji in celebration.
Bruno’s father is Puerto Rican, which is making him half Boricua. While Cruz was Cuban America, Puerto Rico has a rich history when it comes to Bomba, Plena, and Salsa. If you visit Puerto Rico, you will see murals and artwork honoring Cruz all around the city streets.
Cruz and Pacheco’s Quimbara is from the album Celia & Johnny, which was released in 1974. She passed away at the age of 77 in 2003, and the Dominican musical passed away last year in 2021 at the age of 85.
Salsa translates to “sauce” and was popularized in New York City during the 1960s by Cuban and Puerto Rican musicians. The base is Cuban son montuno, which was formed by a mixture of African rhythms mixed with the metric style of Spanish music. The queen of salsa was known for embracing her Afro-Latina roots. Mars has also been very vocal when it comes to African influence in music.
In 2017 Mars told Latina magazine he attributes every musical genre in America to Black culture, and Latin genres to Africa, saying even “salsa music stems back to the Motherland.” “When you say ‘black music’, understand that you are talking about rock, jazz, R&B, reggae, funk, doo-wop, hip-hop, and Motown. Black people created it all...So, in my world, black music means everything. It’s what gives America its swag,” he told the outlet.