Chazro is correct re the saxophone/trumpet “speed” issue. The comment about the mouthpiece/reed interface is only partly correct. However, talk to a trumpet player, particularly one who usually plays high section parts, and the stories about “chop problems” due to the incredible amount of stress that playing the trumpet in that range (and any range) puts on the face and lip muscles, not to mention the stress on the physical breathing apparatus due to all the resistance/back pressure will be endless. Additionally, all this has little to do with the mechanics of playing fast. The saxophone lends itself much more to fast playing for various reasons.
From a historical perspective, the choice of trumpet for the “Latin sound” goes back centuries and all the way back to Spain, Mexico and then the Caribbean. The saxophone is a relatively recent American creation and a sound that is not in the genetic fiber of Latin Music which came to it much more recently (for obvious reasons). Re the “speed” issue, it is very commonly used in the Dominican “Merengue” style playing precisely “very fast, repetitive rhythmic figures."
