Having seen the film "Danzon" recently, i researched this Mexican dance form and I found that some web sites suggest that this dance is the parent of both the Cha-cha and the Mambo. For example, I quote from the web site
http://dance.gmu.edu/Inetpub/wwwroot/docs/jim_rm_html/chachacha.html: "Danzon/Danzoncha/Chachacha
Danzon
Danzon, often heralded as Cuba's first unique dance/music genre, evolved from the contradanza brought to the island by refugees of the Haitian revolution. It was popularized as salon dance music by charanga (flute and violin) orchestras, which evolved in the early 20th century. Danzon is danced in a closed partner position common to European ballroom dances, and follows the rondo (a-b-a-c-a) form of the music, with the "a" section acting as a non-danced paseo sandwiched between danced sections.
A chachacha section was later added to the danzon to meet the demands of the dancing public, hence the danzoncha.
Chachacha
As conjunto-based son gained popularity in Cuba, charanga orchestras responded by adding more Afro-Cubanisms (more percussion, improvisation, faster tempos) to their compositions. The chachacha was created in the early 50s by Enrique Jorrin, a charanga orchestra bandleader, to curry favor with the Cuban dancing public. A popular version of the genesis of chachacha states that the public was already dancing a shuffling triple step on the dance floor (hence the onomatopoeia, chachacha), spawning the creation of a corresponding music idiom."
I do find a discrepency w.r.t. the origin of the danzon, though. Some websites suggest it comes from Haiti, while other suggest the roots to be in European country and folk dances.
