History of Canasta
Canasta comes from Montevideo, Uruguay; it is usually dated to 1939, though some sources give a later year. It came to New York in 1949.
Montevideo, Uruguay
According to the usual account, canasta was devised in 1939 in Montevideo, Uruguay, by the lawyer Segundo Santos and the architect Alberto Serrato, who were bridge partners; some sources give a later date in the 1940s. They wanted a quick game that was as engaging as bridge. In the 1940s it spread across South America.
To the United States
Josefina Artayeta de Viel brought the game to New York in 1949. In the 1950s Canasta became a craze in the United States; interest fell in the 1960s, but there are still clubs and leagues. From the United States it came to Great Britain and continental Europe.
The name
"Canasta" is Spanish for basket. The name probably comes from the tray or basket that held the stock in the middle of the table. Santos and Serrato never secured any rights to the game, so they earned nothing from its later success.