"Son" means Song this is a genre of music and dance that originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba during the late 19th century. It is a syncretic genre that blends elements of Spanish and African origin. Among its fundamental Hispanic components are the vocal style, lyrical Meter and the primacy of the tres derived from the Spanish Guitar.
The international presence of the son can be traced back to the 1930s when many bands toured Europe and North America, leading to ballroom adaptations of the genre such as the American Rhumba
In the 1960s, New York's music scene prompted the rapid success of Salsa, a combination of son and other Latin American styles primarily recorded by Puerto Rican musicians. While salsa achieved international popularity during the second half of the 20th century, in Cuba son evolved into other styles such as Songo and Timba the latter of which is sometimes known as "Cuban salsa".
