It’s a Sunday night at Aba House, an open-air bar in Lomé, the capital of Togo. Stylish young men and women dressed in modern African attire fill the dance floor as the bass guitarist picks up the tempo. Powerful! Soulful!

The lyrics are in Mina, a local language spoken in southern Togo and parts of neighboring Benin, but the music is unmistakably Afro-Cuban, a globally recognized genre.

The weather is cool, the air filled with a misty marine breeze blowing in from the roaring Atlantic Ocean.

Across the street, bystanders admire the colorful dresses, polished dance moves, and watch as patrons nibble on finger foods while sipping beer, whiskey, or soft drinks.

A few minutes earlier, the band had played a lively reggae tune and a highlife rendition of a Christian hymn, but it was the sound of the Afro-Cuban rumba that truly got people spinning, swaying, and shaking their hips on the now-crowded dance floor.

“This is my father’s bar, and we play here every Sunday night,” said George Lassey, the bandleader, to Africa Renewal. “We play all kinds of music: reggae, gospel, salsa, and more.”

However, Mr. Lassey notes that salsa is “by far the most requested during our live performances.”

Salsa music has remained popular in West Africa since it was introduced to the region in the 1950s, reportedly by sailors.

From Lomé to Bamako in Mali, Conakry in Guinea, Cotonou in Benin, and Dakar in Senegal, live bands have gained international fame playing catchy Cuban dance tunes.

Among the well-known bands incorporating the Cuban style are Orchestra Baobab and Le Super Étoile de Dakar—the latter famous for mbalax and Latin-influenced dance music, through which Senegalese superstar Youssou N’Dour—also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador—rose to fame. Others include the Rail Band of Bamako and Orchestre Poly-Rythmo of Cotonou.

African-flavored salsa

In early 2010, some of Africa’s most renowned salsa vocalists joined forces with New York-based musicians to form Africando, a group that successfully brought African-flavored salsa to the global music scene.

Having grown up in Benin, Angélique Kidjo—now an internationally acclaimed artist and also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador—has always felt a deep connection to salsa.

“As I was listening to Celia, I could hear Africa,” recalls Ms. Kidjo, referring to Celia Cruz, often called the “Queen of Salsa.”