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Salsa Celtica's remarkable success story began in 1995 in the bars and clubs of Scotlands Edinburgh and Glasgow. They were an immediate hit with the locals and the newly arrived Hispanic community. After recording their debut album 'Monstruos y Demonios' (Monsters and Demons), Salsa Celtica took their music around the village halls of Scotland, from Skye to Mull, Iona to Barra, Lewis to Orkney, and everywhere in between. After this they saved up their pennies and headed off to Cuba to hang out with salsa groups, including Son14 and Sonora La Calle, and to generally soak up Afro-Cuban sounds in Havana and Santiago de Cuba. Swapping whisky for rum they were asked to join in at musical / religious "bembe" gatherings and were invited to worship the Afro Cuban "orichas". After acquiring new tastes and skills they returned to Scotland to sign to Scottish label Greentrax and to release two albums The Great Scottish Latin Adventure and El Agua De La Vida, which reached number 5 on the World Music Chart of Europe, reached number 24 in the end of year round-up 2003 World Music Chart for Europe and was also their first album released in the US on Compass Records.
Following on from a sensational breakthrough in 2003, 2004 saw the band take their unique fusion of Latin and Celtic sounds on tour in England for the first time. In support of the tour, Salsa Celtica re-released the album El Agua De La Vida. The album gained a prestigious Top Of The World recommendation in the UK's foremost World Music magazine Songlines. Salsa Celtica had established themselves as an important force in World Music in the UK and beyond, winning new fans and reaching a new level of profile and critical acclaim.
In 2005 tours of the UK and Canada followed as well as one off shows in Germany, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Scotland and more. In June the band travelled to London to film two scenes for the movie Driving Lessons, starring Julie Walters and Rupert Grint. Then in the Autumn the band went back into the studio to record a new album, after a three year break, bringing in Calum Malcolm as producer and including a collaboration with folk diva Eliza Carthy.
On March 6th 2006 Salsa Celtica's fourth studio album, El Camino (The Road), was released. The album is available from the band's website at www.salsaceltica.com
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