What are salsa dura, salsa monga, etc.?

Salsa dura is the "hardcore" style salsa from the 70s in New York and some Puerto Rican music as well. There aren't too many bands that still do salsa dura today and they are basically all found in New York /PR.

Salsa monga is a derogatory term used by salsa dura fan when they refer to for salsa romantica, which developed in the 80s and is basically pop ballads set to a salsa beat. Lyrics tend to just be along the lines of "oh baby I love you" or "Oh baby why did you leave me", i.e. not very deep and meaningful, not much to do with the idea of reflecting what is happening in the streets, as the lyrics of salsa dura did. Also musically it is a light weight but easily consumable style, which is why it tends to be popular. It doesn't place many demands on the ear of the listener.

You have listed several groups from Colombia and to be honest I don't know how many New Yorkers would consider them to be salsa dura, but I guess I would place them there for the most part although Grupo Niche does have some very sappy salsa romantica songs as well.

El gran combo would be selected as salsa dura I think as would the singers on the Fania label, La Sonorora Ponceña, and more recently Spanish Harlem Orquesta.

Here is some salsa dura by El Gran Combo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq3t3GLMwJU

Salsa monga is stuff like Jerry Rivera, Victor Manuelle, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Frankie Ruiz, Marc Anthony.

Here is an example of salsa romantica by Jerry Rivera

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLdzRwhRfEA

Cuban style salsa differs yet again from the salsa of New York/Puerto Rico/Colombia. The Cubans have been fairly cut off from the rest of the salsa market since the US embargo started in 1962 and they developed their music in a different direction. Cuban salsa has a strong funk element as well as using a drum set like rock/pop music in addition to the regular Latin percussion of congas and timbales.

Cuban salsa is also very hardcore but not in the way meant by salsa dura fans. It has more complex rhythms and mixes the influences of funk/pop/jazz with influences from afro-cuban music styles that date back to the 1800s such as rumba and afro-cuban religious music. This style of salsa is sometimes called Timba. You will hera lots of hot piano riffs and percussion breakdowns in Timba.

Here is NG La Bnada the originla Timba bandin a concert circa 1992. The song starts with afro-cuban rumba and then goes into a greta funk groove with hrns and a piano hook tha sticks in your mind

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8db5lBtkF3s

You can hear how much this differs from the salsa from other countries.

Issac Degaldo, who you mention, comes from Cuba and while he was in Cuba he was a member of NG la Banda, the group credited with developing timba. He later had his own group which was also a great example of timba. Since moving to the United States he has opted for a more salsa romantica style.

Here is Issac doing Timba

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaX_OYHsUoo

Here is Issac doing salsa romantica

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvqmDZ5kWiI

You mention Pupy but I don't know what Pupy you mean. There is a group called Pupy y Los Que Son Son which is a timba group from Cuba. Other important Timba groups include Los Van Van, la Charanga Habanera, Manolito y Su Trabuco, Elio Revé y Su Charangón, Paulito FG, Manolín "el médico de la salsa", Bamboleo, Azúcar Negra.

Here is Pupy y los que son son from Cuba

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnITDpBnQQU