Pacheco and Charanga: Imitation, Innovation, and Cultural Appropriation in the Tipico Tradition of New York City

This article explores the performance practice and aesthetics of Cuban dance music in the United States in relation to the concept of sabor. This multifaceted term encompasses a range of meanings and includes, among other elements, a dance imperative, melodic call-and-response-style inspiraciones, and a clave feel. A case study of Dominican-born Johnny Pacheco, a charanga flute player and the cocreator of the term salsa, allows for exploration of a specific New York-based sabor as well as consideration of issues such as imitation, innovation, and cultural appropriation in the context of charanga tipica performance in mid-twentieth-century New York. Pacheco's musical contributions, critiqued by Juan Flores as "traditionalist" and by John Storm Roberts as "revivalist," have often been overshadowed by his considerable entrepreneurial activities. Rather than examine his work as a record producer and entrepreneur, this article looks to Pacheco's earlier recordings made as a charanga flute improviser to demonstrate that, pace Roberts and Flores, his improvisational style illustrates a particular New York performance aesthetic rooted in clave aesthetics and the rich musical culture of the Bronx-an aesthetic that is related to, but distinct from, that of earlier Cuban role models.