Mambo is a term that refers to both a style of music and a dance that originated in Cuba in the 1940s and later became popular in New York City. The word "mambo" means "conversation with the gods" in Kikongo, which is one of the languages spoken by Central African slaves who were brought over to the Caribbean. The original ballroom dance that emerged in Cuba was a syncopated, less rigid form of the danzón, which allowed the dancers to more freely express themselves during the last section, known as the mambo section). The mambo dance that was popular in the 1940s and 1950s in Cuba, Mexico, and New York is completely different from the modern dance that New Yorkers now call "mambo" and which is also known as salsa "on 2").

Mambo music is a genre of Cuban dance music that originated in the late 1930s and was later popularized in the big band style by Pérez Prado). It originated as a syncopated form of the danzón, known as danzón-mambo, with a final, improvised section, which incorporated the guajeos typical of son cubano). These guajeos became the essence of the genre when it was played by big bands, which did not perform the traditional sections of the danzón and instead leaned towards swing and jazz). By the late 1940s and early 1950s, mambo had become a "dance craze" in Mexico and the United States as its associated dance took over the East Coast thanks to Pérez Prado, Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez, and others).

The mambo dance is characterized by forward and backward movements, rock steps, side steps, and occasional points, kicks, and flicks of the feet. The distinctive hip movement is also an important component of the dance, hence the unofficial meaning of the word "mambo" means to "shake it". Mambo is also a category in ballroom dancing.