A wide variety of terms exist that name instruments used in Latin music. The bata is an instrument with two drum heads used particularly in Cuba. The campana is a Spanish bell or cow bell attached to the timbales stand or handheld and hit with a wooden stick. It provides a steady rhythm in salsa. Maracas describe a pair of rattles made from gourds filled with pebbles or seeds. They're a well-known Latin instrument in the United States. The guiro is a scraper made from a notched gourd. The musician plays it with a stick, producing a ratchet sound. The singer typically plays both the maracas and guiro.
Terms for dances in Latin music sometimes refer to a very specific dance, or an entire style as well as a musical genre. Salsa, for example, refers to a style of dancing and type of music. El jarabe tapatio, also known as the Mexican hat dance, is a very specific dance performed to a specific song, in this case, the national dance of Mexico. Other dance terms include the maxixe, a Brazilian dance stemming from 20th-century tango, and the merengue, a dance originally from the Dominican Republic dating back to the 19th century that eventually developed a two-four rhythm.
Some Latin music vocabulary refers to song structure, performance or style. The son montuno uses a two-three, or reverse clave, form. It's moderate to slow tempo. It includes a section of music (usually the second part of the song) that includes an improvised section or solo, called the montuno. Toque refers to a standard, rhythmic beat or musical percussion in general. Latin music styles get their rhythm from African religious drumming. Each drumming pattern summoned a specific deity. Latin drummers must know the different standard toques, be able to improvise and support the band or orchestra.
Terms in Latin music that refer to genre typically share a meaning with a dance or instrument, but not always. Well-known styles include salsa, a term dating back to the late 1960s, meaning gravy or sauce. It refers to up-tempo, creative music and dance with a strong funk and swing influence. Mambo originated from an Afro-Cuban style. The big-band style began to influence it heavily in the 1940s and 1950s. This style centered around heavy brass and sax riffs. Mariachi music originated in Mexico, where semi-professional musicians strolled the streets and in public venues, playing for money. They began as a string orchestra and evolved into a trumpet-led group after the 1940s. The term mariachi comes from the French word for marriage, as mariachis played at French weddings during France's occupation of the country.