Salsa Articles

Salsa is feeling. Salsa is fun. Salsa is life!

During the last years a real salsa-wave swapped from the two Americas over Europe, starting in Spain and now reaching the most northern parts. Even among the so called stiff germans there are more 'Salsa-Aficionados', here in Aachen we also like to use the word 'Salsaholics'.

For those who've seen 'Dirty Dancing' the music and dance might seem quite similar to mambo. That's not pure coincidence: Salsa (spanish, meaning 'sauce') was created in the USA out of different latin rhythms and dances - including mambo.

The many latinos living in the states, especially those of caribbean origin (Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela etc.), mixed sounds and dances of their countries and added some new elements, creating a really tasty new 'sauce'. Salsa is a very vivid kind of music, there are people who specialize on the classic style of salsa, others create new sounds like salsa rap or techno merengue (à la Proyecto Uno).

El Barrio, New York's latin quarter, is said to be the birthplace of salsa. From there artists like Tito Puente and Celia Cruz started the world wide triumph of latin music - and also opened many doors for salsa. In the late sixties and early seventies artists as Joe Cuba, Willie Colón, Rubén Blades, Ricardo Ray and Eddie Palmieri began to accept the commercial term salsa to describe their musical concept. Many still don't do - like Tito Puente ("Salsa means sauce but everyone likes calling mambo by that name").

Those of us who became salsa-fans during the last years might be surprised to hear that salsa originally quite ambitious in social and political interests - regarding that today's salsa is dominated by schmaltzy love themes. Willie Colón and Rubén Blades are two of the few artists who still write ambitious lyrics for their songs. In the beginning years salsa lyrics mainly were about the problems that moved the people living in the Barrios all over Latin America, like social struggle, discrimination, financial needs and dreariness. So it's no wonder that many lovers of this 'good old salsa' look down on most recent productions with despise. A peak on in this development to ever sweeter song and simpler arrangements is called Salsa Romantica and Salsa Erotica. But nevertheless this kind of salsa can also be fun, especially while dancing - and that's what most of us are looking for, isn't it?

Today salsa isn't only danced all over the world - it's also made in many different countries. For example there's a really famous salsa orchestra from Japan (Orquestra de la Luz) and we also have quite a lot of salsa bands here in Germany (Conexion Latina, Salsa Picante, Ritmo y Clave, Salsa Caliente; just to mention a few). Conexion Latina's CDs are even available at Descarga, New York! Most of todays salsa comes from New York, Miami and Latin America

Here in Germany the term salsa is mostly used in a quite general way for different styles and dances like cumbia and vallenato. Even though merengue is not included to this generalization, I've never seen a place where they dance salsa but no merengue. Sometimes they throw in some 'fashion dances' like Meneíto or Macarena.

After all I have to admit, that salsa can't really be explained, it has to be felt. Although I try to help everyone interested to learn a bit about salsa, I can't give you that feeling via internet. You'll have to go to a good salsa disco ('salsoteca') - and suddenly you feel like on a holiday trip!

Klaus Reiter

Is Salsa World's Savior?

By Mariel Garza

Saturday, February 07, 2004 -

Forget diversity training and cultural sensitivity seminars. I have the ultimate solution to all our social ills.

It's a simple thing, one that brings together people of all backgrounds in a place where they are judged not by how they hold themselves, but how well they let go. Where, for a few hours, racial divisions, the rigid rules of social interaction and political correctness are all suspended.

It's called salsa, and it could just save the world.

The music and dance style of the same name that has been gaining steady popularity in Los Angeles, salsa is a flashier version of the mambo, the mid-20th century Latin dance craze that calls to mind Ricky Ricardo and pre-Castro Cuba. And on any given night across greater L.A., thousands of people are crowding dance floors in some of the most unlikely places: a Studio City lodge, a Santa Monica pub, a tiny Hollywood restaurant.

Los Angeles' Western location makes it an odd choice as a mecca for the newest generation of salsa, a movement born out of Afro-Caribbean music in cities like Havana, San Juan, Miami and New York City. Los Angeles' Latino population and culture has been shaped largely by Mexican influences, which are known more for a polka beat than a Caribbean one.

But that's exactly what this city has become in just a few years. Odder still, its genesis can be traced to the San Fernando Valley's own old boys' club icon, the Sportsmen's Lodge, and the determination of a former New Yorker, Albert Torres, now Los Angeles' pre-eminent salsa event producer.

Ten years ago, Los Angeles wasn't even a blip on the worldwide salsa radar. Salsa meant chunky tomato stuff in a bowl for the chips.

"Is there anything drier than a desert?" Torres jokes. "L.A. was known as a place where, to New York musicians, that's where you go when there's nothing else left."

But Torres and others kept plugging away, talking big-name salsa bands from the East Coast and Cuba or Puerto Rico to come to play at the main salsa venue, the Sportsmen's Lodge. Sometimes, the only stop that these groups would make on the West Coast would be in Studio City.

These days, the West Coast is the oasis. Every night across the Los Angeles region, salsa clubs are packed. A new club opened in Alhambra in January and was full immediately. Torres is putting together events these days and doesn't have to hope for a few hundred dancers, but that he can accommodate a few thousand.

You know a trend has arrived when celebrities and politicians want in. John Kerry's people called Torres last week to see whether the Democratic presidential front-runner could speak to the thousands at the next Salsa Congress in May. Whoopie Goldberg, who's said to be playing the late Queen of Salsa in the biopic about Celia Cruz, has called as well.

There's a reason behind the exploding popularity of salsa. And with all due respect to the work Torres has done, I believe it has much to do with what's missing in the lives of people living in a city built on separation.

There are few places in our society where people can touch each other legally, and without reproach or paying a fee. Even modern dance tends to be individuals gyrating around, but never quite touching one another. Salsa allows an easy, and socially acceptable intimacy that few of us get outside of our primary relationships.

There are also few places where sex roles are clearly defined -- men lead, women twirl. It's great that women are able to do whatever they want in this world, from running for office to playing professional sports. But sometimes even the most high-powered executive just wants to put on a cute dress, some strappy shoes, and be a girl.

Obesity is a growing problem in the United States, enough so that governments are launching "wars" against fat. Well, salsa dancing is a workout, especially for the women who are spun relentlessly around the dance floor without falling down.

But the most socially important aspect of the salsa dance is this: Nowhere else in this city can you find the regular and easy co-mingling of people from all backgrounds. Where a lawyer and a busboy become equals in step with a song. This is not a Latino-only endeavor. The salsa nights are a sea of brown, white, black, yellow. Salsa crosses cultural, economic and age boundaries. And no one thinks twice about it.

Salsa alone might not be able to save the world. But it's a heck of a lot more fun than a cultural sensitivity training seminar.

Mariel Garza is an editorial writer and columnist for the Los Angeles Daily News.

Fania recordings

re-mastered from original recordings

The history of Fania is synonymous with the history of the music we now know as salsa. To talk about Fania is to talk about the birth, and subsequent explosion, of salsa music worldwide. What's more, it is synonymous with the biggest names in the world of salsa and the salsa of yesteryear whose musical legacy lives on through recordings now considered great classics in the genre.

Fania was founded in 1964 by Italian-American lawyer Jerry Masucci and multi-talented musician Johnny Pacheco. Pacheco had already achieved artistic recognition and his production-Cañonazo-was his first album under the Fania label, achieving great success for the record company. Masucci himself negotiated the contracts with the various musicians and bands to bring them to the label. At first, due to economic limitations at the time, these new artists were mostly young musicians from The Bronx and Puerto Rico-precisely the key to Fania's success. Masucci supervised everything that happened in the company including the contracting of new talent like Ruben Blades and Joe Bataan, as well such well-established artists as Celia Cruz and Ray Barretto. Among the first renowned musicians to join Fania was Willie Colón, who at 16, would become the label's top seller. At that time, Colón was an avid trumpet player. Together with the voice of Hector Lavoe, they revolutionized the sound of Latin music including the introduction of Puerto Rican folkloric music into salsa with cuatro virtuoso master Yomo Toro who collaborated in Colón/Lavoe sessions.

During those first few years, Fania also signed the talented musicians Bobby Valentín and Larry Harlow. As their fame grew, they were later joined by well-established artists like Mongo Santamaria, Joe Bataan, Ray Barretto, Cheo Feliciano, Joe Cuba, and famous bands of the time like Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound, Richy Ray and Bobby Cruz. The Fania Label continued signing young bands from the Latino barrios as well as Cuban veteran singers, so that by the early 1970s, it had brought on board numerous famous stars now considered salsa legends. In the end, Fania's great success was due, in most part, to the signing of new talent, the development of their potential, as well as the ability to recognize the direction the music was taking at the time and having the artists contribute to that vision. Perhaps more importantly, however, was the unprecedented level of promotion and marketing Fania gave Latin music-something never attempted in Latin music to such a great scale.

Once Fania became a profitable and recognizable label with bands like Willie Colón, Larry Harlow, and Ray Barretto soaring up the music charts in New York and bands like Roberto Roena and Bobby Valentín doing the same in Puerto Rico, the Fania All Stars concept was born. It consisted of the label's bands leaders, musicians, and vocalists; the joining together of individual accomplished artists and musicians under one mega band-The Fania All Stars-which was an unprecedented concept in Latin music. On August 26, 1971, over 5,000 fans filled the Cheetah Ballroom to see the most popular salsa concert of all time. This presentation resulted in a movie "Our Latin Thing" as well volumes 1 and 2 of Fania All Stars Live at the Cheetah. This event was not only a success for the Fania label, but the birth of a musical legend and the explosion of salsa music. Two years later, in August 1973, Fania gathered all of its artists again in another legendary

concert at Yankee Stadium. Over 44,000 fans showed up for this historic night where such new voices as Adalberto Santiago and Andy Montañez (then with El Gran Combo) were heard. By this time, the Fania label had become the most recognized label in Latin music. What's more, with the purchase of the Tico-Alegre record label, it added acclaimed stars like Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, La Lupe, Eddie Palmieri, and many others, to its already strong list of musicians. In August 1974, the Fania All Stars kicked off their Latin American tour with its debut in Puerto Rico opening the Roberto Clemente Coliseum where Celia Cruz made her official debut with the Fania All Stars. The result of both concerts was the movie "Salsa" and four albums: Live At Yankee Stadium volumes 1 and 2, Latin Soul Rock, and the movie soundtrack.

The Fania label successively continued promoting its artists with concerts around the world, conquering the planet with this new rhythm called salsa, and achieving international fame. Fania then became the most recognized Latin record label in the world and a major force in establishing salsa music as a powerful form of music. Although its individual artists reached great heights, it was the musical genre of salsa that helped Fania make its musical, social, and cultural impact on the world. It is impossible to talk about the history of salsa without talking about "La Fania" and the prominent role it had on putting salsa music on the map. In 2005, Emusica acquired the assets of Fania and is now embarking on a major re-launch program which involves improvements in sound quality, packaging and price. The landmark Fania classics that defined the history of Latin music, have entered a new phase of their musical legacy.

Student to Student

Earn Money While You're Making Friends

By Laura Higgins Florand

In the Transitions Abroad I wrote about the wonderful experience of learning dance around the world. If you are interested in dance, you might be ready to pursue this exceptional means of making contact with the local culture while you make a little money at the same time. Teaching dance can be a convenient supplement to your income. Although this article is specific to dance, as it is based on my experience, many of the ideas can be applied to other sports and skills (music lessons, for example). I know of a woman who moved to the Bahamas two years ago and is making a living as an aerobics and yoga instructor. An inspiration to us all!

Teaching a class or two a week can easily bring in the equivalent of a few hundred dollars a month. Since you are often paid in cash you usually won't need a work visa. Perhaps more importantly, this physical sharing of culture usually leads to a friendly and relaxed rapport between instructor and classmates, making it easy to form friendships.

First some general advice based upon my own experience:

It makes sense to go to Spain to study flamenco, but it will take you at least 10 years of intense study to get away with teaching it there. You would do better to spend your time there, training intensively and then teach classes once you are back in your home town.

Creating a niche is often easier than competing for an already established one. In large cities there always seems to be room for one more, but a small town might have room for only one or two Middle Eastern dance teachers. Again, perhaps you would do better to take lessons from these better-qualified teachers and pass on what you learn from them later, when you are living somewhere else. Try your best not to feed into any rivalry. If you can make friends with local dance teachers, they can help you.

Fair or not, "native" dance teachers have the edge. So while swing or salsa might seem ordinary where you live now, people where you're going might love to study these dances with you.

My own dance teaching experience is in Europe and European-influenced parts of the world. Other regions can be much more conservative. Before you start teaching Tahitian dance in a small town in Yemen, consider whether this will earn you a reputation that could be uncomfortable.

How to Get Started

Contact all the local dance studios, gyms, and arts centres or the local equivalents and compare times and offers. Some studios pay only an hourly rate (which may be fine, if you expect very few students); others offer a percentage of student fees; others ask you to pay a set rate for renting the studio space but any fees you can bring in are yours. The times available will affect how much money you earn (the best start time is generally about a half hour after most people get off work).

• Think creatively in terms of venues for your classes. Schools and student residences often let their space be used for classes when they don't need it, and many are actually eager to offer this type of extracurricular activity. I've taught classes in a university residence in Paris, where I was given the space for free, and I've attended classes taught in restaurants on nights when the restaurant was closed. But if it's not a dance studio, it's up to you to talk them into it and to publicize your course.

• Print up flyers and business cards and post them or pass them out every chance you get, even in unlikely places. Obvious places include gyms, dance clubs, arts and sports centers, universities, artsy cafés.

• Keep alert for events or restaurants at which you can perform. Even if you perform for free, as is often the case at small festivals, it's your best means of advertising. Restaurants should pay you a set fee as well as allow you to keep all tips, but that depends on your negotiation skills. Remember that just because a restaurant already has dancers every weekend doesn't mean it might not need more.

• Don't forget other dance teachers as a resource. People who study one dance are likely to be interested in others. Many Tahitian dance students have been referred to me by Middle Eastern dance teachers who know me because I have taken their classes.

• Send press releases to the local newspapers, which often are hungry for colorful local interest pieces. And make sure to include some eye-catching photos.

Finally, do not count on dance instruction as your only source of income. How much you will earn is hard to predict. Above all, you're doing it because you love it and love meeting new people in the culture in which you have chosen to live and explore.

LAURA HIGGINS FLORAND trained in Tahitian and Hawaiian dance while a Fulbright scholar in French Polynesia. She has taught these dance forms in Spain, France, and the U.S. She now teaches French at Duke Univ. but continues to give classes in Polynesian dance as well.

SALSA SYLLABUS

The following course descriptions should help you to know which course to take and what to expect,

Beginner Salsa: In Beginners salsa we bring you to a level where you know enough to enjoy a dance socially. One of our main aims is for you to have a good feel for the timing. Dance to the music!!! Another important aspect is the leading and following. In the beginner course you will learn the basic forward and back, side basic, behind basic, and some simple turns (e.g. forward turn). You will also be introduced to the Cross Body Lead step which is an important building block for later moves.

Intermediate Salsa: Now you're moving beyond the basic moves and putting together your own combinations, of exciting stylish moves to make you popular on the dance floor. We have two intermediate levels. Intermediate 1 consolidates what you have learnt in beginners and moves on to various cross body turn patterns and other moves, many of which are building blocks for later more complex moves. Intermediate 2 continues with further turn patterns and some longer combinations. Style and technique are very important in these levels, in order to build a good foundation, so we include a lot of subtle tips which. The actual moves we teach are not an end in themselves. They are more of a vehicle for teaching you the techniques and building blocks for you to become a creative and spontaneous dancer yourself. For this reason and for the sake of variety we often vary the actual moves taught in a particular course.

Advanced Salsa: Amaze your fellow salsa dancers with these exciting, complex, flashy moves from around the world plus some amazing moves of our own. Learn advanced styling tips and techniques from some of Australia's best. Please note that this level is not simply a 6 week course but is ongoing. We have so many moves, tips and information that you could continue coming as long as you like and still keep learning. Our instructors are also continually learning and updating their own dancing skills which means that we are continually bringing fresh new content to the classes.

Rueda: For those who haven't tried Rueda yet, we urge you to come and see how it can take your salsa to a new level. Rueda is a form of salsa where two or more couples form a circle and dance synchronized known moves in response to a caller. It's a lot of fun and a great way to improve your salsa. It is important to book your place for each course so that we can allocate the best resources to help you get the most out of the course. If there are not enough bookings for a particular level, then the course will be delayed for another 6 weeks.

Shines: We include a number of shines throughout the courses, particularly in the warmups for intermediate and advanced. What are shines? Shines are steps you can do on your own, to spice up your dancing - without holding your partner. Primarily footwork-based these steps are often used by advanced salsa dancers both socially and when performing. Some of them (e.g. Suzi-Q) are building blocks for partner moves.

A DESCRIPTION OF SALSA:

In the Latin dance family, the word Salsa means sauce, denoting a "hot" flavor, and is best distinguished from other Latin music styles by defining it as the New York sound developed by Puerto Rican musicians in New York. The dance structure is largely associated with mambo type patterns and has a particular feeling that is associated mainly with the Clave and the Montuno.

A HISTORY OF SALSA:

It is not only Cuban; nevertheless we must give credit to Cuba for the origin and ancestry of creation. It is here where Contra-Danze (Country Dance) of England/France, later called Danzón, which was brought by the French who fled from Haiti, begins to mix itself with Rhumbas of African origin (Guaguanco, Colombia, Yambú). Add Són of the Cuban people, which was a mixture of the Spanish troubadour (sonero) and the African drumbeats and flavora and a partner dance flowered to the beat of the clave.

This syncretism also occurred in smaller degrees and with variations in other countries like the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Puerto Rico, among others. Bands of these countries took their music to Mexico City in the era of the famous films of that country (Perez Prado, most famous...). Shortly after, a similar movement to New York occurred. In these two cities, more promotion and syncretism occurred and more commercial music was generated because there was more investment. New York created the term "Salsa", but it did not create the dance. The term became popular as nickname to refer to a variety of different music, from several countries of Hispanic influence: Rhumba, Són Montuno, Guaracha, Mambo, Cha cha cha, Danzón, Són, Guguanco, Cubop, Guajira, Charanga, Cumbia, Plena, Bomba, Festejo, Merengue, among others. Many of these have maintained their individuality and many were mixed creating "Salsa".

If you are listening to today's Salsa, you are going to find the base of són, and you are going to hear Cumbia, and you are going to hear Guaracha. You will also hear some old Merengue, built-in the rhythm of different songs. You will hear many of the old styles somewhere within the modern beats. Salsa varies from site to site. In New York, for example, new instrumentalization and extra percussion were added to some Colombian songs so that New Yorkers - that dance mambo "on the two" - can feel comfortable dancing to the rhythm and beat of the song, because the original arrangement is not one they easily recognize. This is called "finishing," to enter the local market. This "finish" does not occur because the Colombian does not play Salsa, but it does not play to the rhythm of the Puerto Rican/Post-Cuban Salsa. I say Post-Cuban, because the music of Cuba has evolved towards another new and equally flavorful sound.

Then, as a tree, Salsa has many roots and many branches, but one trunk that unites us all. The important thing is that Salsa is played throughout the Hispanic world and has received influences of many places within it. It is of all of us and it is a sample of our flexibility and evolution. If you think that a single place can take the credit for the existence of Salsa, you are wrong. And if you think that one style of dance is better, imagine that the best dancer of a style, without his partner, goes to dance with whomever he can find, in a club where a different style predominates. He wouldn't look as good as the locals. Each dancer is accustomed to dance his/her own style. None is better, only different. ¡¡¡Viva la variedad, ¡¡¡Viva la Salsa!!!

History of Salsa

Salsa is not easily defined. Who invented salsa? The Cubans, Puerto Ricans? Salsa is a distillation of many Latin and Afro-Caribbean dances. Each played a large part in its evolution.

Salsa is similar to Mambo in that both have a pattern of six steps danced over eight counts of music. The dances share many of the same moves. In Salsa, turns have become an important feature, so the overall look and feel are quite different form those of Mambo. Mambo moves generally forward and backward, whereas, Salsa has more of a side to side feel.

A look at the origin of Salsa

By: Jaime Andrés Pretell

Jazz Oral Interview of ISRAEL LÓPEZ "CACHAO": (Link is dead? http://www.picadillo.com/picadillo/figueroa/cachao.html)

Highlights by FRANK M. FIGUEROA
The interviewer asked Cachao what he thought about salsa music and performers who called themselves salseros. His answer, which is typical of most of the "old guard" musicians, was a total repudiation of the term. As far as he is concerned it is all Cuban music and salsa is a term that has more relation to the kitchen than to music. He jokingly said that there should be a law against anybody calling himself a salsero.

WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED SALSA?

Have you ever wondered what does the word "Salsa" mean and where did it come from? Renowned Latin music historian Max Salazar has written one of the most concise and comprehensive chronicles about the evolution of the word "Salsa." This article in its entirety was first published in the November 1991 issue of Latin Beat Magazine.

SALSA ORIGINS

By Max Salazar

The popular usage of the word "salsa" for danceable Latin music began in 1933 when Cuban song composer Ignacio Piñerio wrote the song Échale Salsita. According to the late Alfredo Valdés Sr. whom I interviewed in 1974, he said "On July 6, 1933, I married Anita Purmuy, guitarist for the all-female band La Anacaona. I didn't have a honeymoon because hours later I was on a boat with Nacional (Septeto) headed toward Miami…then on to the Chicago World's Fair. On the train I rehearsed Ignacio's new work Échale Salsita. He got the idea after tasting food which lacked the Cuban spices. It was a protest against tasteless food.

During the late 30's while the Hispanic community was sprouting in Spanish Harlem, Gabriel Oller, proprietor of Tatay's Spanish Music Center on the corner of 110^th Street and 5^th Avenue remembers shouts of "échale pique, caliéntalo, menealo que se empelota…" used to describe the thrilling Afro-Cuban dance rhythms of rumbas and guarachas. Salsa remained dormant until 1962 when Secco Records released Joe Cuba's Stepping Out LP. In Jimmy Sabater's tune Salsa y Bembé, vocalist Cheo Feliciano wants his main squeeze to add salsa to the bembé (dance) when she dances. The lyrics suggest that there is a request for the dancer to liven up or spice up her performance. "When I wrote this tune," said Sabater, "I was labeling the music as salsa…you know exciting. When musicians were asked to spice up the music there were shouts of "guataca". When the band executed the mambo part, I heard shouts of "wapachosa". These were labels which never caught on. My use of salsa was to describe the music, not the food."

A year later Alegre Records released Charlie Palmieri's charanga LP Salsa Na Ma. In the Henry Alvarez tune Salsa Na Ma, the chorus of Victor Velasquez and Willie Torres suggest that when they dance with their partners it is Salsa na ma…Que cosa rica (a joy)." However, Al Santiago's liner notes described the music as salsa when he wrote "La Duboney (Palmieri's band) is a musical aggregation that functions as an individual unit and possesses that all important 'sauce' necessary for satisfying the most demanding of musical tastes. It is for this reason that this LP album offering is titled Salsa Na Ma.

On November 20, 1964, the Cal Tjader Quintet plus 5 had just finished recording a long version of Guachi Guaro, another version of Tjader's first hit recording in 1954, Wachi Wara. After hearing it back, Tjader was unsatisfied, it lacked something, but he did not know what. Creed Taylor, producer of the album (which had no title at that moment) suggested a shorter version and a new title in that Guachi Guaro would be difficult to pronounce and it meant nothing. Tjader invited Willie Bobo to dub the jawbone (quijada). While doing so, his inspirations of Sabor, Sabor, Salsa Ahi Na Ma,not only satisfied Tjader, but gave Tjader the idea for the album's name Soul Sauce (Salsa del Alma). Bobo explained to Tjader that this track and the others: Pantano, Maramoor, Tanya and Leyte, were fiery, exciting like a well seasoned sauce. Thus the album Soul Sauce exhibits a fork on a plate of red beans and chili alongside an opened bottle of Tabasco sauce with a label on it, Cal Tjader Soul Sauce. This is the third time music is described as salsa and the Mexican Tjader fans of San Francisco began using the word to describe Tjader's brand of music. It spread to Los Angeles and other cities and its way east via the Spanish, rhythm and blues and jazz programs across the United States which helped Cal Tjader sell 150,000 albums. Prior to this, Latin music had never been aired over stations with different music formats.

In 1965 while the west coast Mexican population was using salsa for uptempo Latin music, the Afro-American population of New York started another trend. What was salsa on the west coast was a-zoo-ka in New York City. "Please, Eddie (Palmieri), sweeten it…give it a little sugar," a request to spice up the music with a unique Palmieri montuno. Palmieri composed and recorded the blockbuster Azucar but the word never caught on outside of New York. Four years later, Carlos Santana's Oye Como Va attracted youths of all ethnic backgrounds to his music, and conga drums were sold like never before across the United States.

On August 26, 1971, the Fania artists congregated at El Cheetah nightclub in midtown Manhattan for a concert and dance which resulted in the movie "Our Latin Thing." In the movie, salsa is never mentioned. The movie premiered July 19, 1972 at the Line 2 theatre at 48^th and 7^th Avenue, NYC. It received favorable reviews from the Daily News and the New York Times. But nowhere in the review was salsa mentioned. In the 1972 Mexicana LP Rey Roig Aqui Llegó, vocalist Julian Llano's lyrics were about the sauce for his attractive female neighbor in the bomba-son Triago Salsa.

In January 1973, Peter Rios gave artist/illustrator Izzy Sanabria the right to use the Latin New York magazine title which Rios owned in 1967-68. LNY issue number four dated April 16, 1973 had an ad for Alegre LP cover of Roberto Angelero's Guaya Salsa. In issue number five, May 28, 1973, there are photo ads of the Mexicana LP's Salsa Hits from Orq Power and Tempo 70, and Louie Colon's United Artists Mas Salsa que Pescao. In the issue number eight, Sept/Oct 1973, there are photo ads of "Cheetah, Home of the Salsa" and Vicentico Valdés new Tico label release Amor con Salsa. In issue number nine, November 1973, there is a photo ad of vocalist Roberto Torres' Mexicana LP, El Castigador is the New Salsa Sensation Roberto Torres. There is also an illustration of Izzy Sanabria in a cartoon form with an announcement" a new Salsa music TV show on WXTU channel 41, premiering Saturday, November 17,1973 at 6:30 pm." In the same issue is a photo ad of the DJ Polito Vega which reads "100% Salsa WBNX Mon-Fri 7:30 to 9:30 p.m." In issue number 12, February, 1974, there is a full page ad of the Latin Music Festival Musical number five, with the names Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto, Johnny Pacheco, Tipica 73, Machito Orquestra and the Apollo Sound. Not once was salsa mentioned.

In March, 1974, Mexicana Records released Rey Roig's LP Otra Vez in which Julian Llano sings Pescao en Salsa. During the same month, Fania Records released Larry Harlow's Salsa, recorded November 26 and 27, 1973. This album placed Harlow among the top five most popular bandleaders and the LP enjoyed enormous sales. After this, mostly every recording of Afro-Cuban rhythms and anything that was exciting in Latin music was labeled salsa and the anglo market which had abandoned the music went the cha cha cha followed the mambo popularity in 1956, came back into the fold. In Billboard's magazine June 12, 1976 issue dedicated to Latin music, there was a 24 page supplement magazine called "Salsa Explosion."…

If what is written here is accepted as its best evidence, then it appears that Jimmy Sabater coined the word salsa to mean uptempo Latin music. Cal Tjader's Soul Sauce and Santana's Oye Como Va gave the salsa movement thrust and its beginning was with the Mexicans in San Francisco. But it did not become popular usage until after Latin New York magazine used it over and over in its ads and stories and the Fania All Stars used it to describe its music outside New York. After that kid kicked the can in the opening scene of the movie Our Latin Thing and the wow wow synthesizer of Luis Cruz Jr. to Ray Barretto's Cocinando Suave began to sound and raise goose bumps on flesh, did the Salsa explosion detonate. The mushroom cloud fallout has been felt around the world.

History of Merengue

The Merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic and, to some extent, its island-sharing neighbour, Haiti. Merengue has existed since the early years of the Dominican Republic, around the time of the Spanish-American War (1898).

There are many versions and interpretations of the origins of Merengue. Two of the more popular explanations of its origins are the following: one, is that the dance originated with slaves who were chained together and, of necessity, were forced to drag one leg as they cut sugar to the beat of drums. The second version claims that a great hero was wounded in the leg during one of the many revolutions in the Dominican Republic. A party of villagers welcomed him home with a victory celebration and, out of sympathy, everyone dancing felt obliged to limp and drag one foot.

Like most modern music, Merengue is written in 4/4 time (4 beats to a bar of music, and therefore four dance steps to a bar of music). In Merengue you move on every beat.

Merengue is very popular throughout the Caribbean and South America, and is one of the standard Latin American/Caribbean dances. Merengue is essentially a "fun" dance that is easy to learn and is ideally suited to the small, crowded dance floor.

Merengue

by Lori Heikkila

The Merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic, and also to some extent, of Haiti, the neighbour sharing the island.

There are two popular versions of the of the origin of the Dominican national dance, the Merengue. One story alleges the dance originated with slaves who were chained together and, of necessity, were forced to drag one leg as they cut sugar to the beat of drums. The second story alleges that a great hero was wounded in the leg during one of the many revolutions in the Dominican Republic. A party of villagers welcomed him home with a victory celebration and, out of sympathy, everyone dancing felt obliged to limp and drag one foot.

Merengue has existed since the early years of the Dominican Republic (in Haiti, a similar dance is called the Meringue). It is possible the dance took its name from the confection made of sugar and egg whites because of the light and frothy character of the dance or because of its short, precise rhythms.

By the middle of the nineteenth century, the Merengue was very popular in the Dominican Republic. Not only is it used on every dancing occasion in the Republic, but it is very popular throughout the Caribbean and South American, and is one of the standard Latin American dances.

There is a lot of variety in Merengue music. Tempos vary a great deal and the Dominicans enjoy a sharp quickening in pace towards the latter part of the dance. The most favored routine at the clubs and restaurants that run a dance floor is a slow Bolero, breaking into a Merengue, which becomes akin to a bright, fast Jive in its closing stages. The ballroom Merengue is slower and has a modified hip action.

The Merengue was introduced in the United States in the New York area. However, it did not become well known until several years later.

Ideally suited to the small, crowded dance floors, it is a dance that is easy to learn and essentially a "fun" dance.

Origins of Merengue

by Carmen Vazquez

The origin of this dance, according to the Dominicans themselves, from a program shown on TV "SANTO DOMINGO INVITA".

Merengue is a combination of two dances, the African and the French Minuet, from the late 1700's - early 1800's. The black slaves saw the ballroom dances in the Big Houses and when they had their own festivities started mimicking the "masters' dances". But the Europeans dances were not fun, they were very boring and staid, so over time, the slaves added a special upbeat (provided by the drums), this was a slight skip or a hop.

The original Merengue was not danced by individual couples, but was a circle dance, each man and woman faced each other and holding hands - at arm's length. They did not hold each other closely and the original movements of this dance were only the shaking of the shoulders and swift movement of the feet. There was no blatant movement of the hips like there is today, as native African dances do not move the hips. In fact, African dances, as well as other Indigenous dances throughout the world, consist of complicated steps and arm movements. Tribal dancing does not have "primitive" sexual shaking of the hips, this is only done in Hollywood movies.

So, the origin of the Merengue is very similar to that of the "Cake Walk" dance of the American South.

The state of salsa music and dance!
By Christina Colon
Those of us growing up during the salsa era of the 1960's and 1970's can remember a time of unparalleled mass appeal in LATIN U.S.A., and especially in New York City! "Salsa" was a new word used to describe the further development of a type of music, which by many "old timers" is still being referred to as the "mambo". Outside of the Latin world the "mambo" was associated with what people watched and listened to during the hilarious episodes being shown on TV, called "I Love Lucy". The beloved Ricky Ricardo and his orchestra was perhaps the Ambassador or precursor to introducing mainstream U.S.A. to a taste of the "mambo".

Even today, when describing what salsa music sounds like to the mainstream world, some people can only associate what you are talking about if terms, such as a further development "Ricky Ricardo music" or "Cuban Buena Vista Social Club music" are used. In spite of claiming that "the salsa craze is sweeping the U.S.A.", some people think salsa is, and I quote, "Mexican Tejano type music"! Mention Hector Lavoe, or El Gran Combo to mainstream America? Forgeddaboutit! Tito Puente or Celia Cruz? Maybe!

One thing that has taken place, which is totally different from the 1960's and the 1970's, is that salsa has experienced a massive appeal and popularity outside of the Latin world. Instead of a huge confinement among Latin people and Latin places, such as in New York City, the U.S. North-East Coast, Florida, and of course Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, the sparks began to spread like fireworks all over the globe. The secret weapon used to create that appeal? Salsa dancing!

This beautiful form of dancing is often thought of, and especially among females, as being such "a sexy, sensual, romantic, gracious and smooth dance". Many dance instructors would explain it this way: "We listen to the clave (beat) of salsa music to dance the mambo!"

The dance, in turn, has developed into a multitude of styles. "Ballroom style" salsa dance, known as "On-1" was developed in California. "On-2" style is another form, very popular on the East Coast. Some even still master the art of "old time mambo dancing", the way it was done in old Cuba from the 1930's, or even during the New York 1950's Palladium era. The latter is a slower but distinctly gracious foot/body movement of the dance. Just watch the first Cachao documentary "Como Su Ritmo No hay Dos" and witness actor Robert Duval demonstrate some basic old time mambo steps.

Ask a casual not-into-modern-artsy-style New York Puerto Rican, or ask a native Puerto Rican who simply "dances salsa" which style he dances. The answer is often "what do you mean about style, I just dance", while displaying those very Bronx originated NuYorican "side-to side like style dance movements". One friend of mine from Puerto Rico, who's an outstanding dancer here in New York claims that his style is dancing on-3! Regardless of dance style, they are all based on the basic beat of salsa. The difference lies in how you prefer to execute the foot/body movement to that clave. The difference is that some prefer to execute the first foot step on the first, second, or third beat of the clave, etc.

For salsa fans not into dance, the music is simply riveting, funky, rhythmic, cosmopolitan, cool, and everything else above. They snap their fingers, tap their toe, and they get into the Latin Caribbean groove big time! Salsa venues, clubs, festivals and congresses are popping up everywhere. Salsa music can be heard in public places and driving cars from California to Japan to Europe to New York and everywhere else.

Eddie Palmieri, the megastar of Latin Jazz, has capitalized on the salsa craze by turning his Latin Jazz music into salsa by making Latin Jazz danceable! Just listen to recent CD's like Masterpiece and Perfecta II! Spanish Harlem Orchestra has turned old time 1960's and 1970's salsa smash hit tunes into a remix of modern day marvels.

Okay, with all these wonderful claims that the salsa craze is sweeping the world, how can anyone question whether salsa is dying or not?

Salsarican.com has interviewed hundreds of people to get feedback on the verdict of their first one to two dance lessons of salsa. We are also looking at other factors which may influence why salsa can't gain the popularity of i.e. hip hop music in today's world.

It seems as more people who investigate salsa dancing for the first time who don't take it any further sometimes feel turned off by what they perceive as a complexity surrounding the learning process. While some pick up the pace immediately, lots of people stop after one or two attempts. The main reason for this, based on people's most commonly expressed concern, were that the lesson progressed too quick in a very short time. The beginner simply felt lost after barely starting.

Those who kept going and took their skills to the next level most often continued with lesson after lesson until getting good or better. Just a thought, but could it be that some dance instructors allow the beginner to advance into the next step before the bare bone basic clave has been repeatedly practiced and mastered? Also, if the basic lesson was taught at a very slow pace, would more people permanently get hooked on salsa dancing? Or, would going really slow on the basic lesson turn the ones who quickly adapt away from salsa?

Those not into the dance aspect of salsa are often hard core salsa music fans only. Just visit the NuYorican Poets Café in New York City during a live event night. There you can witness how the audience simply soaks up the clave by listening to the groovy beat! Another aspect of salsa music fans are from the Latin jazz audience, and naturally so. The Afro-Caribbean origin shines through in Latin jazz as well as in salsa. Or, at your next salsa event, take a moment to observe those who don't dance. Do they enjoy going to a salsa event if they don't dance? Heck yeah, you'd better believe it, they're in heaven! If you don't dance, my advice to you would be: Give salsa a chance and listen to the exotic beat!

Some people say they don't get into salsa because of its predominantly Spanish language lyrics. But, you don't have to understand a word Spanish to listen to salsa. Allow the energy and excitement of the music itself to make you fall in love!

On the issue of younger generations, many factors influence the impact of salsa. Peer pressure to listen to what the other kids listen to (i.e. hip hop), cultural backgrounds (i.e. a person's own cultural background music), lack of widespread exposure to salsa, and other things are stumbling blocks to "new recruits".

But, is salsa dying? No way! Salsa music and dance is growing by the leaps and bounds worldwide. If you don't believe me, just check out the next salsa venue in your area! If you're already into salsa, please become an ambassador and help spread the word through encouragement and motivation to experience the experience!

This is the Wikipedia entry for Salsa Dancing.

It is the most factual and accurate definition of Salsa as it's known today.

This will provide you with a factual knowledge of what salsa is all about.

The articles below give you an idea of what it's like to be a part of the world of Salsa. It shows us the human factor of the dance.

Salsa Etiquette in Brisbane

1. Never walk through a dance floor. Murder is on the minds of those people you plough past.

2. Avoid dancing bigger than the space you're in. Men, keep your eyes open. Ladies keep your back-steps small.

3. Respect peoples dance space. Especially when you first walk on the floor to start dancing. A square space of 1.5 metres is ample.

4. Always apologise when you stand on someone. You may wonder why we even needed to write that.

5. Ladies, ask Men to dance

6. Men, ask Ladies to dance

7. You should never have to sit down the whole night unless you are injured or dead.

8. Don't get cut when the person you're asking says "no" to a dance

9. Never say no to anyone who asks for a dance unless you're injured or dead!

10. Constantly ask the DJ to play Salsa when he hits his 2nd Merengue / Cumbia song

11. SMILE!!! Why are you dancing if not for enjoyment?

12. Look at the person you're dancing with. (Look at their eyes guys ;o)

Is Salsa worse than cocaine?

Why do I hear so many people site the similarities between the two? "Salsa is my drug". "I needed my Salsa fix for the week". "I can't get enough of it". "I almost lost my job". "I can't stop". "I've never spent so much money on dance outfits and shoes in my life". "My friends and family don't understand". "Everyone thinks I've lost it". "I can't convince any of my friends to come!"

What IS IT about THIS MUSIC?

Yes, my friends, there is definitely a trend going on here, and I've decided to document it. Just what is it about the rhythm of Salsa that gets under one's skin, and becomes part of our body, mind, and soul? Why does it sizzle in our veins when we hear it? Is it the pulse? Is it the congas? Is it the passion? It can't be the lyrics, because some of us don't understand Spanish...

...and it STILL INFECTS US.

The feeling that the sound of Salsa brings is something deeper, more like something ancient, a distant past that is remembered, but never before experienced - until the music is heard. The rhythm pulls out something inside of us that cannot be described. The music itself is magical, and sweeps you away into a hypnotic state of mind - not unlike that of a deep sleep or incredible high...

I can admit, I don't do drugs, I don't smoke, I don't drink. I just Salsa, which to me, is probably a bigger addiction than all three combined!

This is a very clever and perhaps an accurate illustration of a dancer's journey through Salsa. Thank you to Edie the Salsa Freak @ www.dancefreak.com for providing this brilliant graph and supporting paragraphs. Please go and check out her site. She is in my opinion the Matriarch of Salsa the world over. Everyone can learn much from her.

Enough of the serious stuff for a while, The following articles are from the most hilarious Salsa website in the world: SalsaMafia.com

I chose these articles because they are real things that we in Brisbane can relate to and have a laugh about even though we are so many miles away from England and Brussels.

Bear in mind that the SalsaMafia team have either written these articles themselves or these have been taken from their web-chat forum that encourages people to get those irksome issues off their chest.

(An ultra-mild language warning, and a poor spelling warning is attached to these articles)

Salsa DJs

The job of a Salsa DJ has to be the easiest in the world. You put on a Salsa track. You play it until it finishes. You put on the next track. Done. Dusted. You don't mix. You don't talk. Maybe once in a while you put on a Merengue or a Bachata - but only once in a while.

You most definitely never play anything that's pop .. and when I say pop I include all the R&B, Hip-Hop and other genre-ifications coined to allow one lot of 12 year old pop fans to feel superior to another.

"Playing pop?", I hear you say, "At a Salsa event?! The very idea ..!". But I promise you, it happens. In Italy, in fact, the problem has reached plague-like proportions: not only do you get all the regular Latin crud - Merengue, Bachata, Cha-Cha etc - and lashings of it, but they also spend half the night playing YMCA and other rather dodgy disco favourites - though to be fair, last time I was there that did provide the rather entertaining spectacle of the guy immediately dubbed The Dyslexic Dancer on account of his complete inability to spell "YMCA".

Actually, thinking about it, a similar thing happened last time I went to a Salsa party at the Tudor Rose in London: around 2:30, for no discernable reason, they suddenly started playing Rap, R&B and other bilge doubtless eminently suited to a 12-year-old-pop-fan party, but quite unsuited to an event clearly advertised as a "Salsa Party". Why they chose to do this remains one of life's great mysteries. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think, when I pay for a "Salsa Party" it is not completely unreasonable to expect them to play, well, Salsa rather than a selection of favourites from last night's school dance. And to add insult to injury, it went on for the entire last half hour of an event that was already finishing at some absurdly early time like 3am. I mean: shirley a refund is in order?

New York, New York ..

Some of us were bitching about this bane of the Salsa scene recently with Nelson Flores.

"So Nelson" we asked, "what's it like in New York? What pile of fetid dog droppings do they inflict on the Salsa dancing public every 20 seconds in the Big A? Come, do tell: what is it Salsa DJs actually play in NY Salsa clubs?"

"Err .. Salsa" (sorry, I'm bad at accents: you'll have to use your imagination here. Think Queens .. as in the New York district, not the Her Maj's patois, of course)

"Yeah, OK, every 5th track if you're lucky, but what about the rest of the time?"

"Well .. nothing. They're like Salsa clubs, they play like .. Salsa."

"What?" naturally, we are somewhat skeptical, "No Merengue, no Bachata, no Zouk?"

"No"

"No?!" we are astounded, "None at all?"

"No. Just Salsa, Salsa then a bit more Salsa."

"Just Salsa, Salsa then a bit more Salsa?" we gape, shock clearly affecting our faculties.

"Different sorts of Salsa. But, yeah, just .. Salsa." he shrugs.

A momentary pause as we stand, blinking at this dazzling prospect.

"Just Salsa?" we ask in awe-hushed tones, unable to believe the evidence of our own ears.

"Just Salsa."

Words fail us. Tears spring to eyes, lumps to throats. We contemplate this idyl, so often dreamed of, but never truly believed in: a Salsa venue where they just .. play .. Salsa!

"Errr .. Nelson," we murmur through hope-strangled larynxes, ".. does anybody in New York dance on 1 ..?"

DJ Disclaimer

But what is this? Could I have wronged DJs everywhere? DJ Rod "El Moreno de Salsa" writes:

I know and feel your pain. [Good start - Ed] .

I often get approached while I'm deejaying and they ask "When is the next Merengue?" [.. just ignore them! - Ed]. In Hawaii not everybody knows how to dance Salsa, so for those who aren't confident or comfortable asking a guy/girl to dance, they often feel left out, this is why I throw in a Merengue or Bachata here and there (no Zouk) [.. well, something at least - Ed].

My usual ratio is 4 or 5 Salsa's to every 2 or 3 Merengue/Bachata [.. I hope you lean more toward the 5 Salsa / 2 sh*te than 4 Salsa / 3 sh*te - Ed].

Well, I'm happy to announce, that for the first time in a long while, we'll be having a Salsa ONLY night beginning tonight. It's a dream come true and I hope it does well [.. it is indeed a salseros dream come true: would that more venues would follow your sterling example - Ed],

While I'm on the subject of music I just want to add one of my nags as a DJ: I'll be at the booth slamming some serious Salsa, feeling the music, watching the dancers, when out of some dark corner of the club appears some person and asks "Can you play something other than Latin, like R&B or Hip-Hop?" [The swine! - Ed], to which I graciously reply "...um...no: this is a LATIN NIGHT, if you want something else, come back another night."

Well said, that man! Would that the DJs everywhere - and particularly in London and Italy - could learn from you .. In fact, DJs, a mantra for you: on those occasions when you are faced by a punter demanding Merengue, Bachata, R&B, Hip Hop, Rap or any other teenybopper trash (in fact anything that's not Salsa): just say "NO!"

You know it makes sense ..

Brit Pop

Had a little feedback from a number of London types on the playing of juvenile junk at Salsa events. All are somewhat perplexed at this frankly incomprehensible phenomenon, but all, strangely, hazard the same guess as to why? It can only be, they conjecture, that all this R&B, Hip Hop etc is played because the organisers see that there are lots of black people at the event.

Rather curious reasoning, really, given that, if I were black, I think I would find the assumption that I must prefer a load of pre-pubescent pap to the music I'd actually paid to hear, well, let's just say, more than a tad condescending ..

But what other reason can there possibly be?

Is it perchance for any non-Salsa punters who have accidentally strayed in to the house? Well, admittedly, they have been spectacularly unlucky in their choice of venue, given that there must be 100 places playing exactly their sort of thing for every one that plays Salsa, but a reason for playing their music? I think not. Shirley everyone would be happier if they were just to toddle off to another venue rather than have their rather dubious tastes inflicted on a majority who not only clearly prefer, but have also paid to hear, Salsa.

Who Needs Mambo When You Have R&B?

Oh no! Not again!

The B*tch Central forum has recently been blessed with some well-meaning folk who have argued that what Salsa really needs is a whole lot less Salsa and a whole lot more R&B. This, they assure us, will make Salsa more accessible: give it a bit of that mass market appeal. They believe the great unwashed are frankly a bit too thick and a bit too tasteless to get them thar jungle ridimz in your "Salsa". What they need is a little R&B: it's got a much clearer beat.

Which is true. But then, so does a road drill. Coincidentally, a road drill also has as much "Sabor" as R&B, too.

Our friends point out that R&B is 4/4 and - get this - Salsa is also 4/4. They're the same! Let's all dance Salsa moves to R&B: they fit! And of course, they do fit. Kinda. Thing is, R&B has a rock solid, mechanical, unwavering, unmitigating 4/4. Salsa don't. Salsa's all about clavé and syncopation and it's this playing around with the rhythms that gives Salsa it's feel, it's life, it's "Sabor". Yes, you can dance Salsa steps to R&B, but it's like dancing to a dirge ..

.. and it's real hard to feel festive at a funeral.

But what about playing tracks people already know to help them "adjust" to Salsa? No problem: there are heaps of Salsa versions of non-Salsa tracks that get played already - actually, the vast majority of Salsa tracks started out as something else, but I'm talking about English language tracks that the MTV viewer would know, like that Michael Jackson re-mix or the Salsa version of Bill Withers' and Grover Washington's Just the Two of US or last year's Lady .. With all these options, why would you want to play straight R&B?

Variety, they claim. The variety would make "people happier".

Now let's pause a moment, take a look at this. We have a bunch of people who have chosen not to go to an R&B club. Nor an old skool night. Not even a pub expensively made over to look exactly unlike any pub ever seen in Ireland. No, these people have avoided all other temptations and not just chosen, but paid cold hard cash to go to a Salsa club.

And therefore they want to hear R&B ..?

Lets say you go to a soccer match. You pay a small fortune for your ticket and a slightly larger fortune for a replica shirt. You walk 5 miles from the car park and queue 20 minutes in the rain. You get into the ground and buy a program that costs more than an illuminated manuscript and a lard burger so pricey it would embarrass a 3 star Michelin restaurant. Finally, you get to your cripplingly uncomfortable seat (clearly, these soccer types assume, if you're not actually playing, you don't need legs) and the match kicks off.

Five minutes in, what you really, really want to see is the latest multi million dollar signing pick up the ball and start to play a little rugby?

Actually, if it means David Beckham disappearing under a ruck ..

But my point is this: people go to Salsa clubs to dance Salsa to Salsa music. You play R&B and pretty soon all you have are the people who really wanted to go to an R&B club in the first place and a dance that's just Ceroc with steps. Of course, if that's what you want, fine, but do you have to call it Salsa? Kinda gives the rest of us a really bad name.

I'll leave you with one final, uplifting thought: that image of David Beckham being stampeded by a load of very large blokes in studded boots ..

Def - sorry, "DEAF" - DJs

earing loss is to a DJ what soiled underwear is to an Iraqi policeman: an occupational hazard. Those years of long, loud nights of road drill R&B or sewing machine Salsa have to take their toll. It's one of those Body-Saving-Itself things: desensitise the hearing or permanently part with sanity.

Arguably, many DJ's hearing holds out that touch too long .. but that's another story.

This story is that of the ringing in the ears that accompanies all of us for hours after we leave a club. Generally, this passes some time the following morning (trust me here: you miss it coz you're normal and sleep till noon while I'm dating a morning person), but try a few nights out and the ringing starts lasting further into the following day. In time you get Tinititus Take Over: last night's ringing going on so long, you don't hear today's kick in.

Welcome to the world of the club DJ.

Irritating, innit? And something the Salsero should bear in mind when going off on yet another one about a DJ's musical preferences: one cannot expect a nuanced ear for clavé changes when anything short our of Iraqi lawman's car bomb comes through as a muffled thud.

But musical preference is not my gripe with our aurally challenged CD spinners: my problem is in fact also their problem - yes, I can do selfless, too. I speak only of the volume: we don't need it SO FRICKIN' LOUD!

Every time I go to a club, I curse myself for not bringing ear plugs. If I don't spend the first few song with my fingers in my ears - which makes leading pretty tricky - I'm quite literally in pain. But here's the strange thing: with my fingers in my ears, I actually hear the music better. No, really. It's because - and here's irritation for you - the sound systems aren't actually up to the volumes our poor deaf DJs try to crank out of them. What they produce is that Rock-Shatteringly-Loud-But-Sounds-Like-It's-Playing-Through-A-Pillow effect so universally popular in London Salsa venues.

And then there's the affect on conversation. Y'all remember conversation, right? Well, there was a time when you could go to a dance venue and hold one. Using words, not mime. No longer. Ringside at a Salsa club's all Marcel Marceau to a Mambo beat. Which really doesn't aid communication: you try "No, I'm not going to the congress: I can't face the Butlin's rooms again". Trapped-in-a-Glass-Box just doesn't cut it.

I also have an admission for those who credit me with being Salsa's Fount-Of-All-Unfounded-Rumour. While flattered, I'm forced to admit that the credit's not all mine, there are also the Mambo-Bellows - think Chinese Whispers, only louder:

There you have it: cranking up the volume pains punters, deafens DJs, muffles music, kills conversation and ruins reputations. I know that in a regular club, the distortion from playing music filling-looseningly loud can only improve it, but the thing is, Salsa actually has some musical merit - and most of us would like the chance to appreciate it. We're no longer My-Ears-Are-Bleeding-This-Must-Be-Good teenagers. So my message is simple:

DJ, please turn it down.

No! No! Not, "DJ, please play Motown":

DJ, PLEASE TURN IT DOWN!

Do I Need A Partner? - Tips for Shy Women

By Steve Hill

This is one of the most common questions that I hear from newcomers. All regulars know that the answer is an emphatic NO!!

You can go on your own! One of the reasons for Salsa's popularity is men and women can do this without worry. It's much less partner-oriented than other types of dancing. Many women find it difficult to ask men to dance. Whilst I have no sympathy

for this socially-retarded behaviour (there, that should stir things up!), I have these tips for those wanting to enjoy a level of dancing activity that could only be described as promiscuous! If you're too shy to ask:

1) Do the lesson.

2) Chat to your fellow students. They will ask you to dance when the conversation moves from mortgage rates and the weather.

3) Stand by the dance floor, on your own, sway with the music and smile!

4) Never refuse a dance - if exhausted, arrange to do it later. Refuseniks are as popular as a sausage roll at a Bar Mitzvah and are soon boycotted!

5) Ask guys who've already asked you to dance earlier.

6) If anyone is too gropey (very rare), just walk away from them mid-song. It's their problem and they should sort it out.

- Steve Hill

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Would You Like To Dance? - Tips for Shy Men

By Steve Hill

This is that daunting question. You have paid your five quid, you can count to four and you have danced with 15 fellow students without their suffering a broken toe or nausea. Now the class has ended and it's a jungle out there!!

As I reflected last week, the question "Would you like to dance?" is seen by a majority of women as one that men should ask. And, as it is men who are expected to lead the dance, it is very daunting to go from attending lessons to being confident enough to ask a stranger.

Here are some tips and observations to ease this transformation:

1) Do the lessons and learn it. If not satisfied try other teachers and see which one suits you.

2) Chat to your fellow students. They are probably as nervous as you, and will almost certainly dance with you later on.

3) If you are asking an experienced dancer, explain that you are a beginner. Some will turn their noses up - they will die bitter, sad and friendless. The majority will be sympathetic and give you tips as you dance.

4) Always thank your partner for the dance, even if it was grim.

5) If you see two or more women together, ask "Would either of you like to dance?". If the dance is not a complete disaster, you are almost certain to get a dance with the remaining friend's.

6) Don't grope. Any downward sliding of your right hand from your partner's back is likely to result in ostracism and purgatory!

7) You're refused! The nightmare scenario! You should not feel that this is your fault. Turning down a civil request to dance is plain rudeness. Some answers are common and can be countered with a little encouragement or gentle humour:

a) "I'm only a beginner" - reply with "Weren't we all!"

b) "I'm not very good" - reply with "I'm not enquiring about you morals!"

c) "No" - reply with "Which leg is broken?" or "Is it my shirt/flares/after shave?" Remember that you're the one who's making the effort here and summoning up all the courage. Occasionally I've been so irritated with a haughty refusal that I've answered back with "Why are you here then?" or "I'm sorry - this is a dance club - the Library's round the corner!". I'll leave this kind of response up to your judgment.

Above all, if you smile, are well-mannered and clean, most women will tolerate a lack of dancing prowess, and if you're a keen student and enjoy a variety of dance partners, your transformation from Salsa virgin to Juan Travolta will be rapid!

- Steve Hill

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"Teaching & Salsa" by Loo Yeo

Salsa in its elemental form is danced to four beats using three steps, each one beat long. The remaining beat can either be tagged onto the end of the preceding step (resulting in a quick-quick-slow count), or can contain an adorning movement, called a highlight. Steps can be travelling or on the spot; a bit like groovy walking three paces at a time with a pause thrown in. Walk like that to time and you're dancing salsa.

Its very simplicity underlies its extreme flexibility; the sheer amount of personal choice. Just as you can walk in any direction you choose, so you can dance salsa on the spot, in straight lines, or in turning paces. The remaining beat can be highlighted with a tap, kick or pause. Note: A step is when you put your foot down and move your weight onto it (foot placement with weight transfer), a tap is when you put your foot down but don't move your weight onto it (foot placement without weight). In many Latin countries, couples even choose which beat they would like to dance on, and it need not necessarily be the first beat.

All this might sound like rhythmic anarchy and it would be, were it not for one vital constraint. Salsa music and its progenitors has always been music for dancing. Its cooperative heritage has engendered a belief, in Latin America at least, that everyone else has an equal right to enjoyment on the dance floor. This alone prevents outbreaks of destructive mayhem. Instead this attitude (especially towards one's partner) welds the forces of spontaneity, individuality and musicality together to form the atmosphere that Latin music is renowned for.

Just as the music has maintained its vitality by absorbing other influences, so has the dance. Apart from other Latin dances like the merengue and cumbia (which the term salsa sometimes encompasses), salsa bears some marked similarities with lindy-hop, swing and hustle. It has even proved capable of absorbing elements of ballroom Latin dance and Argentine tango. Quite astounding.

Flavours of Salsa

The way salsa is danced varies significantly depending where you're from and how you've learnt it. In the main, Salseros from different backgrounds can still dance with each other, at least at a basic level. British salsa is primarily anchored around the back basic, turns are executed on the second beat after a "wind-up" movement on beat one and are biased anticlockwise. North American salsa is built around the Latin basic and many early combinations contain turns to the right. Salsa from the Caribbean and Latin America is presented more commonly as a walk, resulting in a much more circular in movement and the turns being slower. Within this are the main stereotypes of the Cuban and Colombian style, that is having an action that digs deeper into the floor or one that travels lighter above it respectively.

Before we lose our sense of perspective, these generalizations are mean to demonstrate the richness of the dance, not to typecast. Bear in mind that individual styles also vary within regions, so adopting a "definitive" style of salsa and trying to squeeze your students into it would be an amusingly futile gesture.

The problem with learning

People born and raised in a Latin American culture acquire salsa in a passive learning process; through constant immersion. It is my opinion that they come to understand the dance differently: as a series of walks instead of individual moves.

For those who are not fortunate enough to have this opportunity (like myself), we have to learn it instead. As mentioned before, early learning tends to occur best in a structure. To this end you will often find salsa being taught as a series of steps and moves because it is more meaningful to the student. But at some point, a different teaching angle should be used to offer the student an opportunity to look at the dance through a native dancer's eyes, thereby offering the student the best of both worlds. Often the final process is not carried out, either because its importance is overlooked, or because it is easier for the teacher to carry on in the old manner regardless.

A little comment about leading and following

Social dancing in couples is mainly a phenomenon of Western European culture. By social dance I mean one that has structure but is not executed in the form of routines i.e. basic rules which once understood allows two individuals to dance together and flexibly determine their choreography, even if they had never met before. This demands that each move element of the dance possess a unique identifying start signal. Initiation of the signal and compliance with it results in the coordinated execution of the move element by both partners.

When a couple takes to the dance floor, both partners cannot initiate at the same time, neither can they both comply. Therefore one partner initiates and the other complies. This is known as leading and following respectively. Traditionally the lead role has been assumed by men and the following by women, although this has begun to change: where women are forced to lead due to a dearth of men, and because the social roles of both genders are being redefined.

The lead (known as la marca meaning "the mark" in Argentine Tango) for a move can take a variety of forms, usually presenting itself as a change in pressure (increase/decrease) at the points of partner contact, or in the body position of the leader relative to the follower. The most elegant leads are clear and considerate to the follower without being obvious to the casual on-looker. The challenge to the follower, in choosing to comply with the signal, is in finding ways of self-expression whilst dancing within its constraints.

Consequently salsa demands the abilities of lead and follow of its dancers in order for it to be executed on our latter-day club floors in a social context.

Salsa dancing is a dance style associated with the salsa style of music now popular worldwide. Salsa music has its origins sometime in the 1950s to 1970s, with the truly distinct salsa style coming out of New York in the 1970s. The music fuses a number of Cuban styles, particularly the son, but also draws from a number of other Latin American musical styles.

Salsa dancing is done on eight-beat music, with dancers moving on three beats, pausing for one beat, dancing for three beats, and pausing for one beat. The movement style is left-right-left-pause, then right-left-right-pause. During the pause in most salsa dancing some sort of flourish is utilized, be it a stomp of the foot, casting out the hand or kicking the lower leg. Salsa dancing is mostly a stationary dance, with little movement around the dance floor. Instead, dancers rely on the subtle movement of their legs and upper bodies to convey the energy of the dance.

In addition to the partnered movements of salsa dancing, dancers may integrate solo breaks known as shines into their routines. These are a way for salsa dancers to take a breather from an exhausting routine, or to gather themselves if their rhythm is broken. Shines involve lots of ornate movements and demonstrations of the body, and are intended as a way for a dancer to show off their full talent. While shines are in theory improvisational, there are many standard shines which dancers learn and can fall back on.

If a dancer begins salsa dancing on the first beat of the phrase (left-right-left-pause), the style is known as on one. If the dancers begin their movement on the second beat of the phrase (pause-left-right-left), the style is known as on two. While proponents of a certain style have reasons for believing one is better than the other, ultimately it comes down to a matter of personal preference.

In addition to the basic stylistic variations of on one and on two, there are a number of major schools of salsa dancing style. The main on one styles are LA style, Colombian style and Cuban style. The main on two styles are ballroom mamba, en clave and palladium two. Eddie Torres style combines the on one and on two styles by using the starting and pausing points of on one style, but having the body switch position where it would normally switch in the on two style.

Salsa dancing is incredibly popular throughout Latin America and the United States, and is gaining popularity in Europe and elsewhere. Many clubs specialize in salsa music and most towns offer classes in salsa dancing. While not the easiest dance form, because of its high tempo, is it not particularly difficult, and dancers of all skill levels should be able to gain proficiency within a matter of months.

What shoes should I wear?
We recommend that you wear shoes that are comfortable and fasten to your foot
NO THONGS, SLIDES OR UGG BOOTS please!
Shoes that you would wear when taking a walk around the block are probably a good idea. Ladies, wear heels if you prefer but only if you feel quite confident of you dancing ability when wearing them. Heels can be difficult for beginners. Those lucky people that have proper dance shoes should wear them.

What clothes are best?
Wear casual clothes that don't get in the way and at the same time don't restrict your movement. Most people usually end up wearing what they wore to work. Some women bring their exercise/gym clothes. Guys, please don't wear singlet shirts because when you get sweaty, this can be unpleasant for the ladies you dance with.

Do I need to know anything before I start a beginners course?
No prior dance experience is needed. We'll show you everything you'd ever need to know from the very beginning. You may have never even seen someone dance before, it doesn't matter. If you can walk, We can teach you.

When can I start?
Take a look at our calendar on the 'Schedule and Pricing' page to see when the next course starts. A free class is held a week before the course begins to give you a chance to try before you buy.

Why should I learn with you?
Simply put, we care. We're obviously not in it for money or we would have gone to "dance-rehab" and used our degrees to get "real jobs" long ago. We are still inspired daily by Salsa, Tango and many other dances but we also really love to see people learn something new. Also teaching people to be future social dancing partners has its benefits.

Do I need a dance partner?
No, but if you girls come in groups of 3 or 4 we may not have enough guys. We will try and match you up with a partner before the course starts.

When can I start going out and using my new dance skills?
There is no better way to increase your level of experience than to go out and try what you've learned in class. Usually after a beginners course, you would have a reasonable ability to dance at a salsa club. Social dancing a great and inexpensive way to practice. This is also the perfect way to test the quality of our teaching. We know of many students who come to class religiously and yet when it comes to going out to dance venues, they get cold feet! It may be daunting for beginners to go out and try this new skill for the first time but we can assure you that it is the best way to fully experience the dance. If you feel shy, you know who we are or at least what we look like, come and ask either me or Alli for a dance. We don't bite and we don't at all mind dancing with anyone who asks. In fact, for us, it would be a real thrill.

I've done some Salsa before, what level should I be?
Well, this all depends on where and when you learned. To be safe try a free class. If it doesn't suit you, our instructors would have seen from your efforts what class you should be in.