Written from the perspective of salsa musicians,this ethnographic journey into New York salsa of the 1990s, this pioneering study examines how musicians navigated their everyday lives, grappling with the intercultural tensions and commercial pressures that were so pronounced on the salsa scene. Author Chris Washburne examines the organizational structures, recording processes, rehearsing, and gigging of salsa bands, paying particular attention to how bands created a sense of community, privileged "the people" over artistic and commercial concerns, and incited cultural pride during performance events. He considers how violence, the illicit drug trade, and issues of gender informed sound structure, salsa aesthetics, and performance practice. He concludes the book with a discussion of salsa style in the 1990s, emphasizing how certain structural principles involved in music making (e.g., clave) and the intercultural dynamics of Puerto Rico and New York informed performance practice.