Cha Cha Cha

Composed by Tito Puente and adapted into Latin rock by Carlos Santana, the ubiquitous "Oye Como Va" may very well be the most famous cha cha cha of all. Here's the original version. Orquesta Aragón's "El Bodeguero" and "Señor Juez" showcase the good-humored sweetness of vintage cha cha cha.

Even though it is a quintessential Cuban format, the cha cha cha was quickly adopted by tropical orchestras all over the Americas, from Venezuela's La Dimensión Latina to New York's Fania All-Stars. In recent years, Colombia's Sonora Carruseles paid tribute to it with an old-fashioned "Cha Cha Con Pachanga" medley.

The cha cha cha leaves plenty of space for spicy instrumental improvisation, which explains why it has been cherished by Latin jazz stars like Pete Escovedo, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Arturo Sandoval. Joe Jackson, Dean Martin and Germany's Señor Coconut use the genre as an excuse for the creation of nostalgic lounge moods.

When violinist Enrique Jorrín watched the dancers in the Havana ballrooms of the '50s, the touch of their feet against the dancefloor sounded like "cha cha cha" to him. Jorrín adapted the early danzón-mambo into a new dance format, and the sinuous cha cha cha was born. From Cuba's own Orquesta Aragón and Beny Moré to New York luminaries Tito Puente and Tito Rodríguez, here's enough fiery numbers to start a cha cha cha party of your own.