The history of Latin American and Caribbean music and dance is intertwined with the history of the African slave trade.

The European conquerors of North, South and Central America imported slaves from various parts of West Africa to their conquered territory. Many of the rhythms and movements are a combination of European, African and indigenous people who populated the countries and islands that now comprise Latin America and the Caribbean.

Well-known dances such as the mambo, rumba and samba all have roots in Africa.

The mambo originated in Haiti. The word "Mambo" is the name of a Voodoo priestess. The word samba is believed to be derived from zambo, a term for the offspring of a black man and a native Brazilian woman.

Saturday, during the 38th International Cabaret Ball at the William Pitt Union, the group Salsa Ritmo will dance the cumbia. This Colombian dance gets its name from the cumbe, a popular dance from West Africa.

The cumbia began as the local dance music of the black community of the Atlantic coast of Columbia. The dance is said to be the result of a courtship process between black male slaves and the Indian women native to Colombia. The marked limping step represents the chains placed around the slave's left foot.

This dance is very popular in Panama, Venezuela, Peru and it is considered the national dance in Columbia.

The group Brazil Nuts will do the requebra, which means to shake. The requebra is a song that explains to the audience how to shake their body. It had traditional African rhythms with intense, sensual samba melodies. Its quick, sexy moves and rhythmic dances steps are reminiscent of Africa.

The Latin American Cultural Union will do Chacomba -- Festejo Peruano.

Peru's Afro-dances underwent a renaissance in the late 1960s with the formation of the performance group Peru Negro. The ensemble was founded by Ronaldo Campos de la Colina to preserve Peru's African heritage.

The traditional instruments used are a guitar, a wooden box or cajon, a small box or cajito, were originally made of animal skins in Africa, In Peru, wooden boxes and a donkey jawbone or quijada de burro are used. These items were substituted because the Spanish colonizers prohibited the slaves from using drums.

Anyone interested in seeing the dance performances during the 38th Annual International Cabaret Ball can do so at the Kurtzman Room of the William Pitt Union on the University of Pittsburgh campus. The performances start at 7:15 p.m.