In the last 3 decades the music and theater group Samba Salad has been outstanding in its role as creative pioneer in the area of children’s music in Holland. Multicultural performers, under the artistic direction of Herman Link and Rita Iny, Samba Salad has created new body of children’s music with original compositions and song lyrics featuring a border crossing mix of music style. The music is primarily acoustic. Melody structures and rhythm, with surprisingly modern stylistic fusions: flamenco, salsa, samba, tango, calypso, jazz, Arabic African and pop music styles are to be found in the Samba Salad “Playground Band” performance.

Samba Salad concert and theater productions are characterized by actual poetic themes brought with a strong dose of humor which aids in making music understandable and attractive to the young listener, extending the borders of the musical level of the child without making music  “childish”. Sparkling (frequently exotic) acoustic music and ditto instruments performed  ‘live’ by multi cultural, multi talented, professional musicians. The result is entertaining, revealing and ‘adult friendly’.

This melting pot of music is supported by the work of modern children book writers Sjoerd Kuyper and Theo Olthuis (since 1999), theater directors Daniël Rovai (France) and Hans Langeree, music arrangers and composers Gerardo Rosales (Venezuela) and recently for the flamenco music theater production Flamenkita, Arturo Ramón en Edsart Udo de Haes (Spain) creating a strikingly innovative repertoire. The song lyrics with interpretations in English and Dutch are also performed in a variety of original root languages; English, Spanish, Portuguese, Ghanese, or Swahili. 

Samba Salad has developed music projects together with Unicef, the Metropole orchestra, TROS radio, Music Center Vredenburg, the Dutch Broadcasting Music Center , Vacation Work Foundation Utrecht, Thieme Meulenhoff and The House of Books publishers, Nederland Foundation for the Child with a Handicap as well as various other arts and educational  institutions.

Aside from the theatre performances and concerts, Samba Salad has produced a series of 15 cd albums as well as six children's books, inspired by their shows for young children and well known by teachers in primary school education:

 

-a music book with CD based on the group's Brazilian and Caribbean style children's songs for the primary school “I wish I was in Trinidad”,

-a short story song book, based on acts and songs from the shows “Singing on my two wheeler”

-3  picture books with cd and song lyrics “Singing on the back seat” part 1,  2 & 3

-Flamenkita – a flamenco fable, book with beautiful colored illustrations and sound track of the theater performance, original flamenco for kids. Also, DVD of the program.

During 2008 Samba Salad performed her 4000ste show and received her first golden record and won the RABO bank Cultuur price for best performing Artist.

Samba Salad has recently collaborated with the international record label Putumayo World Music and is featured on the Putumayo Kids CD “Animal Playground”. “Animal Playground” has enjoyed distribution in over 100 countries including Canada and the USA.