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SAN DIEGO (FOX 5\/KUSI) \u2014 You can feel the excitement building right before a Sabrosas Latin Orchestra show starts.<\/p>\n
This band is the first of its kind in San Diego.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the only San Diego all-female orchestra,\u201d Mariela Contreras said, introducing the band to the crowd.<\/p>\n
These women can take you to the Caribbean with music that speaks to your soul.<\/p>\n
\u201cVamos a Puerto Rico,\u201d Iliana Ortiz sings before starting a song.<\/p>\n
This all-female performance breaks barriers in San Diego.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to hear what an instrument sounds like when it\u2019s being played by a woman, which is no different, right?\u201d Contreras said.<\/p>\n
Through their songs, the musicians give their audience a front-row look into history.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey talk about the history and the things that are happening in Puerto Rico, so by the lyrics, you learn history,\u201d Ortiz said.<\/p>\n
Salsa music originated in New York in the 1960s with influence from Puerto Rican and Cuban cultures after a mass movement of Puerto Ricans migrated to the city in the 1950s.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere [was] not many options besides agriculture, very few jobs, and it was not progressing much on the island,\u201d said Carmen Acevedo, the museum coordinator for the House of Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n
The songs they sing may sound like a celebration, but they carry a deeper meaning.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s loaded in a melody,\u201d Contreras said. \u201cIt\u2019s loaded in a rhythm. It sounds like a very happy song, but in reality, it\u2019s talking about the struggles.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just these songs, it\u2019s also the dances that tell the story of the island.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love the soul that it has,\u201d said Serena Cuevas, the owner of Deseo Studios, a Latin dance group in Chula Vista.<\/p>\n
Each movement calls back to the African roots connected to the Caribbean.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to get them to understand the depth of the music as well as like surface level. Okay, well, what are the moves, but also why are we doing those moves and where do those moves come from?\u201d Cuevas said.<\/p>\n
She says the dance and sound connect Puerto Ricans, no matter where they live.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t go to Puerto Rico all the time,\u201d she said. \u201cI can go once in a while for a vacation, but I still feel very connected.\u201d<\/p>\n
That connection keeps the culture alive across the nation.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if you haven\u2019t been raised on the island, and you see the interaction with your family about it, you inherit that feeling,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The music even captivates musicians like Elizabeth Howard, who never grew up in the culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know how I had never heard that music before,\u201d Howard said. \u201cI felt the music through to my toes, and I didn\u2019t know how to dance it, but my body wanted to move.\u201d<\/p>\n
In recent years, government mismanagement, corruption and natural disasters compounded Puerto Rico\u2019s economic decline, leaving music as one of the main ways for Puerto Ricans to raise awareness about issues on the island.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo sing in salsa, to sing in Spanish is to be seen, and I want to be seen, and I want to represent,\u201d Ortiz said. <\/p>\n
Fueled by that sound, there\u2019s a renewed movement for Puerto Ricans living in the states to reclaim the culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s meant to live on, so people know the history, so people sing the history, so people dance the history,\u201d Contreras said.<\/p>\n
With each performance, these women make sure the rhythm won\u2019t stop here.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy can\u2019t more women be behind music?\u201d Contreras asked.<\/p>\n
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