Google Just Dropped a Doodle for Hispanic Heritage Month and It’s All About Salsa Vibes
Google is honoring Hispanic Heritage Month with a featured Google Doodle spotlighting salsa music. Salsa has deep roots in Afro-Cuban traditions from Cuba and Puerto Rico. Over the years, it salsa has evolved into a globally recognized genre. The name “salsa” gained popularity in the 1960s, thanks to musician Johnny Pacheco in New York. The term became a catchall name for various styles of Cuban dance music. Over time, legendary performers like Celia Cruz helped bring salsa’s vibrant Caribbean sound to international audiences.
The new Google Doodle is highlighting salsa music
The new Google Doodle to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month is an homage to one of the most iconic musical genres from Latin America. Deeply rooted in Cuba and Puerto Rico, the Caribbean musical genre is featured through the iconic voices that brought salsa to the world. The music video for the Google Doodle features five songs from the soundtracks of our childhoods. The playlist for the video is “I Like It” by Pete Rodriguez (1967), “Mi Gente” by Héctor Lavoe (1975), “Llorarás” by Oscar de León (1979), “La vida es un carnaval” by Celia Cruz (1998), and “La Noche” by Joe Arroyo (2001).
Jorge Canedo, a creative director, and Xoana Herrera, a designer, worked together with a team of animators to bring the Google Doodle to life. They both spoke with Google and shared what the Google Doodle means to them and why they were so excited to work on the project.
“For me, it represents joy, resilience, and the ability to connect through rhythm and movement,” Herrera told Google. “Growing up surrounded by music and dance, I feel it is something that flows naturally in our veins.”
The dance was a major inspiration for the video
Canedo and Herrera knew that they wanted to bring the feel of salsa to the Google Doodle. Instead of focusing on the music, the two turned their attention to the dance. We know the basic steps to salsa, but the full dance comes with an artistry and fluidity that the music video captures. There is a natural rhythm and pulse to salsa dancing.
“Our main inspiration was the dance itself, the many salsa steps. We watched countless dance videos (and even filmed ourselves dancing!),” Canedo told Google. “Salsa is full of coming together and pulling apart, a push-pull tension that we used as a way to transition from scene to scene.”
The music video is a beautiful and colorful tribute to salsa music. The animated video shows people dancing and playing instruments that woke us up on Saturday mornings when our moms and abuelas would start cleaning. The colors reflect the vibrant Caribbean culture that cultivates the globally beloved musical genre.
Salsa expert Sergio George was tapped to help the other creatives to create the Google Doodle. George was born and raised in New York to Puerto Rican parents. He is a pianist, arranger, and record producer known for his work in the salsa genre. He worked with Tito Nieves on his debut album in the 1980s. That collaboration made George one of the most sought-after salsa producers.
