Salsa is unquestionably the sound of the island. You hear it on the radio and on the beach, in cafés and live in the best hotels. This upbeat and very danceable Latin sound is set to complex African rhythms and has a strong foundation in jazz. Developed in the nightclubs of New York in the 1940s, and made most popular by the late Tito Puente, salsa is experiencing a surge of renewed popularity on the island. Though it's hard to find salsa played live anywhere but in the best nightclubs these days, every town seems to have a spot where locals - young and old alike - gather to listen and dance to the likes of Celia Cruz and Afro-Cuban All-Stars.

The folk music and dance tradition called bomba still has a presence in Puerto Rico. Much like Cuban rumba, it is based on intricate West African percussion. The drummer's objective is usually to provoke a response from a dancer, which incites a sort of competition, with musician and dancer performing in response to the other's lead. Plena is often performed along with bomba , although the two folk music styles have very different roots. Plena is believed to derive from Taíno and Spanish traditions and involves a ten-string guitar, called a cuatro , and a hollowed gourd, like a maraca, called a guiro . Interestingly, plena was once a means of reporting the news; singers effectively recited the day's events.