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How did New York City help transform Afro-Cuban music into salsa?

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ceramic flute — Latin American music Flute, slip-painted ceramic, Nopiloa, southern Veracruz, Mexico, 300–500 ce; in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 35.56 × 17.15 × 10.80 cm.

New York City served as the essential forge for transforming Afro-Cuban music into salsa. This evolution began in the 1940s when Cuban émigré Machito and his orchestra pioneered a blend of Afro-Cuban styles with jazz and big band arrangements.12

As the genre developed, it moved away from large big-band formats toward smaller ensembles that featured rhythm and horn sections. This transformation was significantly shaped by the contributions of musicians of Puerto Rican heritage, most notably bandleaders Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez, and pianist Eddie Palmieri, who integrated progressive jazz influences into the music. By the 1960s, these collective innovations in New York City had solidified the hybrid musical form that became known as salsa.12