San Miguel ''Salsa y Sabor'' schedule, June 30, 2006, Short History of Salsa

The musical genre known as Salsa has its roots in Puerto Rican and Cuban music, especially in the Cuban son. Musically speaking, salsa is a group of Latin rhythmic styles that contain the Clave beat, the five-note, syncopated rhythm of African origin.

Although there are many African Clave patterns, the most popular in what is called Salsa today is the son Clave.

Salsa music is a synthesis of European and African musical influences.The European influence came mainly from the melodies and harmony of the Andalucia region of Spain, whereas the African contribution to salsa is mainly from the western coast of Africa, where the slave trade was most prevalent.

It was in Cuba that the Contra-Danze (Country Dance) of England and France, later called danzón, which was brought by the French who fled from Haiti, began to mix with rhumbas of African origin (Guaguanco, Colombia and Yambú). Rhythms of Cuban són became integrated, which was a mixture of the Spanish troubadour (sonero) and African drumbeats and flavors.

The first well-known recorded use of the word salsa was in 1937 in the Cuban composer Ignacio Piñeras’s classic Son “Échale Salsasita” (“spice it up a little"), which was a popular success.

About the Instructors

The instructors and dance companies invited to participate in “Salsa y Sabor” are among the best-known and most highly regarded, and highly awarded, salsa dancers in Mexico.

Salsa con Clave Dance Company

Víctor Burgos and Gabriela Bernal are the directors of Salsa con Clave, based in Mexico DF. They are considered the couple most representative of Mexico on an international level. In 2005, they represented their country in more than 35 international dance competitions and gatherings. They have brought home more than six first-place prizes from these competitions. They are the primary promoters of salsa in Mexico and organized the World Congress of Salsa Acapulco in 2005 and 2006.

Salsabor Dance Company

Carlos Carmono is the director of the “Salsabor” company, founded in 1999. He was a pioneer in bringing “line” salsa dancing to Mexico, and in bringing the salsa style of dancing to the Federal District. Carmono is the current national salsa champion, receiving that honor at the 2005 World Congress of Salsa in Acapulco. He has studied the various dance styles with many masters of the genre, and Carmono was one of the first internationally recognized Salsa dancers from Mexico.

Jazzy Dance Company

Azucena Pérez and Carlos León are the directors of the Jazzy Dance Company and are three-time winners of the Texas Salsa Open (they are the reigning champions). The April 20 issue of ¡Ahora sí! Magazine featured an interview with Pérez, and the couple appeared on Mexico’s most popular talk show, El Show de Christina, on May 10, 2006, in an episode titled “Vamos a Bailar.” The pair are World Salsa Championship finalists, and they have created their own teaching system, called “Salsa Grooves.”

Other National and International Dancers include Rumba Azteca (Guanajuato), Hidrosalsa (Aguascalientes), More Salsa (Michoacán), San Miguel Salsa y Sabor, Roberto and Trish (San Miguel de Allende), Son Mon-tuno (Guanajuato), Salsabrosos (Querétaro), Azul y Oro (UNAM), Ritmo y Meneo (Celaya), Colin Khoury D.C. (San Diego, California) and Carlos Vargas (Oaxaca)

Salsa Fiesta!

Friday, July 7
7pm Registration
8pm Intermediate Bachata class with Enrique Briones; intermediate salsa class with Roberto Camarillo “Hidrosalsa”
9pm Open dancing; DJ
10:30pm Dance exhibition. Open dancing continues following the exhibition.

Saturday, July 8
12pm Dance workshops with professional instructors begin
12pm Intermediate-level Cha-cha-cha on 2 with Victor y Gaby, “Salsa con Clave”
1pm Intermediate-advanced salsa on 1 with Carlos Carmona, “Salsabor”
2pm Couples salsa and body movement with musical accents, by Azucena and Carlos, “Jazzy Dance Company”
3pm Advanced salsa by Victor and Gaby
8pm Intermediate salsa classes with Juan Pedro, “Rumba Azteca,” begin. Cumbia guarachera by the “Ritmo y Meneo” academy from Celaya.
9pm Open dancing; DJ
10:30 Dance exhibitions by professional instructors. Open dancing continues following the exhibition.

Cost
100 pesos each night, or 2-day pass for 350 pesos, which includes workshop fees
Workshops: 90 pesos each
Tickets are available at the La Carpa office, upstairs between Café del Jardín and the photo shop in Portal Allende, from 10am to 2pm. Tickets are also available at La Carpa from Patty between 10am and 6pm.