L.A. Salsa Journal

Rueda in the Park in the Paper

2008-06-20T01:36:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have read my older posts know that I already did a little bit of coverage on the casino rueda salsa group called Rueda in the Park. I did a slide show of the Santa Clarita/Newhall chapter, which meets the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the months and teaches the fun Cuban style of salsa, rueda.

Well, I took it step further. Here is an ARTICLE I wrote profiling the Newhall chapter and telling the story of how it sprouted out of the original Griffith Park group. It came out in The Signal, the Santa Clarita newspaper I where I am interning/freelancing.

Stay tuned. More insight into the world of casino rueda is coming very soon...

2008 L.A. Salsa Congress

2008-06-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

This weekend marked the 10th annual Los Angeles Salsa Congress. For those of you who don't know what that means, let me translate--4 days of nonstop salsa.

The event is held at the Radisson Hotel near LAX and consists of classes by professionals during the day, salsa music and dancing by the pool in the afternoon, performances at night and live music and dancing until 4 in the morning.

It's an entire weekend of being surrounded by people with the same crazed salsa obsession. You're sure to find people randomly dancing in the lobby, the parking lot, maybe even the bathroom.

Besides the great shared salsa vibe, a large part of the appeal is that you get to dance with people form all over the world. According to the L.A. Congress coordinator and a well-known L.A. salsa promoter, Albert Torres, teams from 47 different countries participated in this year's Congress.

I went to Congress Friday night and heard Cheo Feliciano and the New Swing Sextet perform live. I danced with people from Montreal, Mexico City and probably a lot of other countries I would have known about had I asked each person I encountered.

It's a great way to step out of your usual salsa circle, but you have to make sure you do just that. Since the event is held in L.A., it's still easy to get trapped in your usual routine, dancing with people you recognize from Steven's Steakhouse, the Granada, the Mayan or wherever you dance. If you dance a lot in L.A., you'll probably see a lot of familiar faces.

But for those of you going tonight and next year, here's my advice--take advantage of the diversity and dance with someone you don't know. Salsa with someone from Japan or Argentina or Puerto Rico. I'm sure it's not something you get to do every time you throw on your dance shoes.

Salsa Invasion of the So Cal College Campus

2008-04-29T00:12:00.000-07:00

Well, the time has come... I finally finished my final project on college salsa clubs for my online journalism class. There's a lot of info on campus salsa, along with photos, videos and even a map with a bunch of campuses that have clubs.
Enjoy!
http://selva.jessica.googlepages.com/

A look at campus salsa

2008-04-13T18:22:00.001-07:00

Most of what I know about salsa, I learned in college--at UC Riverside. I remember how, as a freshman, I was captivated by a group of 8 or 9 people dancing for a crowd of new students. The dancers were trading off partners, smiling and shaking their hips to a lively Latin beat.

In that moment, I was sold. I joined the Salsa Club of UCR, where I learned to social dance, perform and compete. I became plugged into a community of salsa-lovers, students and non-students alike.

But my little Riverside salsa enclave was not the only one. We were one of many college groups building their own salsa community and even extending beyond the campus scene.

Right now, they are college groups all over Southern California, in L.A., Riverside, Irvine, Long Beach, Pasadena, and so on. While some started earlier, such as in the mid-90s, many began just within the past 5 to 8 years.

For my final class project for this blog and for my online journalism class, I would like to do closer look into the emergence of So Cal salsa college groups. I want to look at what got these groups rolling and how they're helping build the L.A. and So Cal salsa scene.

My plan is to interview as many salsa college groups as possible, as well as some professional instructors and and club-owners who have worked with them. I will most-likely include some video clips and/or slide shows of some of the groups. I would also like to implement a google map showing locations of campuses that have salsa clubs.

So, that is what's coming. Keep an eye open for it. It should be up in three weeks!

Wikipedia's Fania Records Entry

2008-03-30T17:18:00.001-07:00

In an attempt to experiment with the Wikipedia editing world, I have added a tidbit of information to an entry on Fania Records.

For those of you who don't know, Fania is sort of the Motown of salsa music. Over past four decades, it has recorded some of salsa's most legendary artists, such as Celia Cruz, Hector Lavoe, Willie Colon, Ray Barretto, etc.

What I did was add a sentence in the second paragraph about what got the label going. I wrote the following: "The label started out a small venture, but it gained popularity after the success of its first official record, Pacheco's 'Cañonazo,' which led to the expansion of its talent base."

("Pacheco" is a reference to salsa artist and Fania co-founder Johnny Pacheco mentioned in the previous paragraph.)

I got the information from the Fania's official website in the "About" section. I made sure to footnote the line I added and include a link to the source in the Reference section.

I wrote that it started out as a "small venture" because the website talks about how Fania used to sell merchandise out of the trunks of cars in New York City in its early years. I would have added that into my edit because it's interesting since Fania has so much clout now, but it would have taken away from the overall flow of the entry. It would have taken too long to get to the most important information in the next paragraph, which is about the emergence of the big salsa stars.

I also broke up the first paragraph so it wouldn't be so long.

This is what it looked like after I made my edits. And this is what it looked like before.

West Coast + East Coast = Salsa Rivalry?

2008-03-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

What's better, salsa or mambo? West Coast salsa or East Coast salsa? Salsa On 1 or Salsa On 2?

These questions use different terminology, but they all boil down to the same thing--a toss-up between the two major forms of salsa in the U.S.

It can get confusing since the two forms have so many different names. Here's the breakdown... Salsa On 1 is known as West Coast style salsa and is the main one danced in L.A.

On the other end of the spectrum, there's salsa On 2, or "mambo," which is the main one danced on the East Coast, particularly New York.

What's the Difference?

Mostly it has to do with where they break forward and backward in the music. On 1 dancers break on 1 and 5, while On 2 dancers break on 2 and 6. Here's how they look different...

On 1:

On 2:

Also, if you observe some On 1 and On 2 dancers, you'll see that the movement is different. From my observations, mambo dancers almost seem a little more subtle. They tend to glide and move more with the undertones of the rhythm.

Salsa On 1 seems to be more aggressive in its movements and more outright, which sort of goes along with the whole idea of L.A.-style salsa, which is all about the showy tricks and dips. (Check out my first blog entry for more info on L.A.-salsa style.)

The Roots of Division:

According to Enio Cordoba, owner of The Granada and Let’s Dance L.A. in Alhambra and a former international dance competitor, music has had a major influence on the differences of the styles.

While Cordoba said salsa came from Afro-Cuban roots mixed with European influence, it has evolved, leading to different styles after the incorporation of new elements over the years.

“The music that plays in New York is much more Latin jazz,” Cordoba said. “The music that plays in L.A. is a mix of the Cuban and the Columbian and the Puerto Rican because we get a little of everything. In the music that plays here won’t play in New York, and vice versa.”

That, Cordoba said, has led to the different styles. He said some other differences are that mambo dancers dance to a song's rhythm, while On 1 salsa dancers dance more to the tempo, or the audibly obvious beat of the music. He called this dancing to the "pulse" or "swing" of the music.

While some claim their salsa has the most sabor, Cordoba said it's all subjective. He said the best dancers are those who learn various styles, and those who learn to follow the music instead of salsa politics.

"If you’re a good dancer, you just go with the flow,” Cordoba said. “Everyone’s always trying to say, ‘My style’s better.’ People learn one way and they’re told that’s the right way to do it, and it is—in that part of town to that kind of music, dancing with that crowd… There isn’t one way.”

However, that still doesn’t stop some people from claiming salsa superiority. And that brings me to the question of: How much of that really resides in the L.A. salsa sphere? And what is that makes people choose one over the other? This led me to do some investigating out in the dance field…

What the Dancers Said...

First, I asked On 1 dancers why they like it better. Dancer Gio Galarza responded and dance instructor Rodrigo Guzman :

Okay, so they like the fast-paced, flashy feel of On 1. How about the On 2 dancers? A performer on the dance team Mambo Inc. Max Noxon, and a mambo instructor Katrina Jaffe responded:

But what about those On 2 dancers? It must be tough being in the minority.

And now for the final questions... How much of a rivalry is there between the dancers in L.A.? How brutal is it really? According to these dancers, there's some friction, but not enough to take the fun out of salsa dancing.

Even between the coasts, these dancers added that there's still respect between two groups. Katrina Jaffe said people on the West Coast can appreciate a good mambo dancer when they see one and vice versa.

Well, that's a relief! It looks like there's room after all for diversity on the L.A. salsa scene.

Mambo Inc. dancers Max Noxon and Rina Takahashi, dancing On 2:

My Salsaless blog entry...

2008-02-24T10:16:00.000-08:00

I tried to looking up the top ten political campaign contributors among dancers and dance instructors in Los Angeles, but there were just too many for the Congressional Quarterly Moneyline database to process.

So... instead, I'm just going to tell you about the top ten contributors for the area I live in, which is known as both Winnteka and Canoga Park. (I know, we're taking a momentary break from salsa... just bear with me.)

The database shows that there were only nine political contributors in this area. The top two contributors soared above the others in donations amounts: dialogic researcher Eric Tannenbaum gave $1,650, and Freestar Media and LLC movie producer Douglas L. Celements gave $1,500. The rest of the contributions $500 or less.

Here's a look at the list:

1. Eric Tannenbaum, dialogic researcher
Total: $1,600 ($1,100 to DNC, $500 to Hillary Clinton on )
2. Douglas L. Clements, Freestar Media, LLC movie producer
Total: $1,500 (Ron Paul)
3. Edna S. Sacks, retired
Total: $500 (Hillary Clinton)
4. Tracy Lynch Britton, CBS/Paramount director
Total: $250 (Hillary Clinton)
5. Aaron Lea, J Paul Getty Trust, security operati
Total: $250 (MoveOn.org)
6. Chris Daly, Window Shading Technologies Inc./SA
Total: $250 (Fred Thompson)
7. Jennifer R. Blaker, St. Vincent Medical Center, executive
Total: $250 (Rudy Giuliani)
8. Booker White, BTW Productions Inc., musician
Total: $200 (Democratic Senatorial Campaign)
9. Deven Nemer, KD Investment Management/real estate
Total: $200 (Ron Paul)

Overall, Ron Paul racked up the most money in this area with $1,750 and Hillary Clinton came in second with $1,250. The supporters were pretty split between the Democratic and Republican parties (5-4 respectively).

Well, that's a look at the Winnetkan/Conaga Parkan financial support in politics! Hope you learned something.

It Takes Two...

2008-02-19T17:58:00.001-08:00

You know how they say it takes two to tango? Well, it also takes two to salsa. That means each dancer has to do his or her part in order to create a pleasant and successful dance experience.

I visited the Josie Neglia Dance Academy in Los Angeles this weekend and spoke with salsa instructor William Carpenter. He's only 19, but he's been teaching for four-and-a-half years and dancing for six. He has also participated in the World Salsa Championships.

I asked him what it is exactly that makes a good leader and a good follower. This is what he said:

You can salsa in the park?

2008-02-10T19:48:00.001-08:00

About 12 people met at Newhall Park in the city of Newhall near Santa Clarita this morning. That's right, these dancers got right out there in the open to learn and dance a type of salsa called casino rueda.

(Rueda means "wheel" in Spanish, which describes why they dance and rotate in a circle.... They switch partners. Just think of it like a salsa square dance.)

Anyways, they're part of this group called Rueda in the Park. R.I.T.P. meets at Newhall Park every first and third Sunday of the month.

The group is about a year and two months old. It's a tangent of the original group, which meets at Griffith Park every second and fourth Sunday. There's also a group that meets in Bellflower. So, wherever you're at in L.A. County, you're not too far away from one.
Here's a glimpse at what I saw today...

Soaking in the Salsa at Studio City Club

2008-02-05T02:04:00.001-08:00

I sat at a little round table the other night and watched a crowd of about 50 people salsa dance. I was at the Rumba Room at University City Walk, the club just upstairs from that fountain that all the kids like to play in.

It's the club with the bright neon lights--I think they're pink and blue--tracing two dancers in flickering movement that catch your eye as you walk past it.

It's free salsa dancing every Sunday night.

The whole crowd in front of me was moving, but my eyes settled on one couple. The two danced in a dimly-lit, plush-red room to the sound of lively brass horns, congas and a steady clave beat. Actually, it looked more like they were gliding.

No, they were not gliding the way ice skaters or waltz dancers glide. These dancers’ bodies moved to a fast rhythm. Their hips shook, their shoulders rolled and swayed, their feet made quick patterns on the ground and occasionally tapped out a few musical accents.

But like I said, their bodies were also gliding. They were gliding the way a weak magnet does when you slide across a refrigerator door. They glided forward and backwards. They glided toward, away from and across each other and their feet slid over the hardwood floor. Their steps never coming too high off the ground. Each move seemed smooth, subtle, an afterthought.

The dancers looked like they were in their early 20-somethings, and they were dressed in subtly trendy salsa fashion. The guy wore a plain white T-shirt, loose blue-jeans—slightly sagged—with a silver, metal-studded belt and black-and-white sneakers.

Doesn’t sound very salsa-like, I know, but it was the black, felt fedora hat with a dark red ribbon that marked him a visible salsero.

(I tried wearing a light grayish-green fedora hat of my own while dancing once, but it’s a lot harder for women. My hat kept flying off whenever I’d do a double or triple turn.)

The guy’s tall, slender female partner wore all black—a snug black tank, straight-leg black jeans, black high heels. Her straight, dark hair was just past shoulder-length. It fanned out when she turned—one, two, three times in row in just a couple of seconds.

The rest of the dance floor was filled with other dancers. They couples on the floor moved around each other like clockwork. They made all their ins and outs and flashy spins and still avoided collision with those around them.

The room had a Spanish feel to it. The red walls were lightly sponge-painted over with black paint. They glowed with an occasional lamp here and there. Long red drapes took up the corner and the area around the stage. The floor and dancers were sprinkled with specks of light that rotated over them from a disco ball.

Beyond the couples and on the stage, a full salsa band played—keyboard, congas, base, trumpet and shakers. One of the main singers was a short, heavy-set man who looked hike he was in his 50s. His black hair was combed back.

Later on, the girl in black danced with someone else, another young woman. She led her new partner, taking the role of the male dancer. Her lead was perfect. She turned the other female in a series of quick spins, and pulled her across her own body to the other side of her. There was that glide again. This was when I became a little bit jealous. The girl was amazing.

Alex Da Silva--A few words on L.A. Salsa Style

2008-01-28T11:40:00.000-08:00

I interviewed Alex Da Silva at the Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio in North Hollywood where he teaches and asked him a few questions about L.A.’s salsa culture. He should know quite a few things about it. He is one of the main people credited for creating the “L.A. Salsa Style” that so many Angeleno salseros and salseras dance today.

Da Silva is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He came to the United States about 20 years ago and has been teaching and choreographing salsa since then. He started in San Francisco and then moved on to Los Angeles.

A 2002 and 2005 World Salsa Champion, Da Silva also instructs and choreographs for celebrities and production companies. If you don’t dance salsa, you might recognize him as one of the choreographers from the television show, “So You Think You Can Dance.”

He currently teaches five nights a week at various clubs and dance studios in the L.A. area. Here’s what he has to say about salsa in L.A. and beyond.

Q: What exactly is “L.A. Style Salsa,” and how is different from other types of salsa dancing?

A: In L.A., the correct way is dancing On 1⁽¹⁾. We do a lot of cross-body leads and tricks, a lot of patterns that when people from other countries say “L.A. Style,” it’s like Hollywood style with all the tricks.

It’s called West Coast style. You could see the difference if you see somebody from New York and see somebody from here.

*(1): “On 1” refers to West Coast style salsa dancing. In this style, leaders step forward on the 1-count and step back on the back on the 5-count.

“On 2” refers to East Coast style salsa, where the leader first steps back on the 2-count and then forward on the 6-count.

Q: What have you specifically contributed to developing the L.A. Salsa Style?

A: Before, I used to live in San Francisco and I was the only one doing the tricks, because I used to do capoiera⁽²⁾. One of my first teachers, he was Chinese and he was a West Coast swing dancer, and he did a lot of tricks, so he did all these flips and neck-drops and the stuff that people had never seen in salsa.

When I first started doing salsa, I was just doing it regular, and I was like, “Man, I could put a little bit of capoiera into salsa, a little bit of swing into salsa,” and I had the best partners at the time. One of my partners was a ballerina, the other was contortionist, another one was a swing dancer, so we mixed.

And then when I was coming to L.A. at that time, I was winning every competition you could think of because the people here, they were only doing [things] like dips. No tricks.

I think if I was living in San Francisco, it would have been called “San Francisco Style.” I’m one of the first guys that brought all the tricks to L.A. because I used to do swing also. That’s why people call it L.A. Style and a lot of people say I’m one of the first guys that brought L.A. Style to L.A.

*(2): Capoiera is a Brazilian martial art and a form of dance. Dancers usually spar against each other to live music, using moves such as kicks, cartwheels and ground-sweeps and turning them into a dance.

Q: How would you say the L.A. salsa culture has developed over the years?

A: In L.A., there used to be four major groups. These people started traveling and they all moved, so some of the best salsa dancers at one point are from L.A. and they travel everywhere, all over the world, and they put L.A. on the map.

There are a lot of people that have been traveling everywhere, so L.A. is very strong. When they go to another country and they do all these flips and stuff and put it into to salsa, [people are] amazed.

There are enough teachers for everyone [in L.A.] because there are at least 100 teachers now. If you go to Steven’s Steakhouse [also an L.A. club], everyone has a card. My gardener has a card that says he teaches salsa.

Q: Do you think more people are learning salsa today? Is it becoming a trend?

A: Yeah, salsa gets bigger every year. I mean, there’s salsa in Afghanistan. My friends are in the war and they risk their lives once a month to go to a salsa club just because they need to have it. There’s salsa in India, there’s salsa in Japan… In every country, you can go dance salsa.

Q: New York is seen as the place where the salsa culture began. What about L.A.? How does it fare on the worldwide map of salsa?

A: In L.A. there’s bigger clubs than [in] New York. I’ve been to New York a long time ago, and I was there last year. New York is not the same. It’s more like they have socials. They don’t have clubs like L.A. The Mayan is a huge club [in L.A.].

New York is the happening place because on Monday night you could go see Tito Puente, on a Tuesday night you’d go see Celia Cruz… every night of the week, you can go see somebody famous. Here, we only have local bands.

And also, in New York, there’s a lot of Puerto Ricans, in which they sleep salsa, they wake up salsa, they eat salsa. Every day, you listen to salsa music at the liquor store. They were just born with it.

Before, Puerto Ricans, the Columbians and the Cubans were the best in salsa, but now, salsa went to a different level. You don’t have to be Puerto Rican, Columbian or Cuban to be the best in salsa.

One of the best guys is in Australia. He’s an awesome dancer and he’s not even Latin. Another guy, he’s half-black, half-Korean, and he lives in San Francisco. There’s so many great dancers out there that aren’t even Latino. So, that’s how big salsa is now.

Q: What is the most important thing a person needs to know to become a good salsa dancer?

A: If you have a good basic, then everything else is going to fall into place. If your basic sucks, it doesn’t matter if you know a hundred patterns, you’re gonna suck.

But if you have a good basic, a cross-body lead, spot-turn, just know your basics... you’ve got to learn how to do a single turn and a double turn before you start doing triples and quadruples.

Here, before, people in L.A. would learn the basic and then they wanted to learn how to do a flip. So, you’ve got to learn the basics first.

For more information on Alex Da Silva, go to www.alexdasilva.com.

Salsa Links

2008-01-20T17:58:00.000-08:00

Want to find out more about salsa on the Web? here are some of my recommendations:

www.salsa-in-cuba.com

Salsa-in-Cuba.com is a comprehensive website that educates its readers on the ins-and-outs of salsa culture. On this website, readers can learn what the term “salsa” means, as well as about its history, music and dance culture. While the site is titled “Salsa-in-Cuba,” it addresses salsa in its popularization throughout the United States and its origins from other countries and cultures. The website is even available to be read in eight different languages.

One thing that stands out about this site is that it is very thorough and clear in its explanations of the cultural roots of salsa. Its entries are rich in salsa terminology and explanation of that terminology. The website even provides a salsa glossary for those who are unfamiliar with the jargon. It’s a great contextual website for those who want to learn more about salsa, whether they want to find out about the most popular salsa artists are or about how to do the basic steps.

www.salsamagazine.com

Salsa Magazine is published by Izzy Sanabria, the man commonly referred to as “Mr. Salsa,” particularly for popularizing the term “salsa” in reference to New York’s Latin music during the 1970s. Sanabria was the official emcee for the Fania All-Stars, traveling with the salsa group to perform in countries all over the world. He was also host of New York’s television show “Salsa,” which helped him nationalize (and even internationalize) the term. Sanabria is also a graphic designer, writer, actor, dancer and stand-up comedian.

Sanabria uses the magazine to give a historical account of salsa music’s beginnings, as well as commentary its cultural roots. In doing so, he addresses the conflicting viewpoints of how it began, or even what it means. As someone who experienced the outbreak of what he calls the “1970s Salsa Explosion” firsthand, Sanabria discusses the evolution of the Afro-Cuban rhythms into a new form of urban Latin music that took hold in the United States, starting in New York. That said, Salsa Magazine highlights the cultural conflicts that have occurred in the name of “salsa.”

www.salsaweb.com/la

SalsaWeb.com’s, which proclaims itself as the “The World’s Largest Online Salsa Magazine,” is an online hub of salsa pop culture, and it is geared towards salsa dancers. The Los Angeles City Salsa Guide obviously only focuses on L.A., listing its salsa clubs, instructors, bands, dance teams, DJs, etc. However, the main site allows readers to look up salsa clubs and other information for regions all over the world. The site also provides interviews with professional dancers and musicians and updates on world-wide salsa conferences. While it seems to be more of a salsa fan site than a major journalistic endeavor, SalsaWeb.com is a site for dancers who want to stay plugged in on the international salsa scene on a national and international scale.