Sign the Curaçao Salsa Tour 2000 guestbook! click here

Click Here for Images of Day 1 Set 1 Set 2 Set 3

"Curaçao Salsa Tour Welcome Party"
All local and international Salseros have the chance to meet each other at the "Hato Caves". During this party the "Curaçao Salsa Tour" organization will honor "Edie, The Salsa FREAK" of Salsaweb.com for her outstanding efforts to unite the Salseros of the world. During the event you can take a break and make a tour through the impressive Hato Caves. Live music by the local band "Arnell y su Orquesta" and a demonstration of Curaçao’s finest salsa dancers, "Salsation".
Price: $15

Workshops
Workshops start August 2nd.

Edie's Daily Report

I prepared for Curacao’s warm tropical climate with nothing but shorts and tank tops.  Little did I realize that the airplane trip getting there was far from tropical. 

I FROZE MY BUTT OFF IN THE AIRPLANE.

When you come here, you’ve got to remember that the airplane can highly air-conditioned at times, and can be very cold, especially when you’re trying to get some sleep!  It’s best to bring a light sweater just for the airplane trip to the Caribbean.  Don’t depend on the blankets either, because sometimes THEY RUN OUT! 

The captain of the plane told us there was a brand new “rookie” pilot on board who had just completed his studies, and had just landed his first plane with American Airlines.  The tradition for this new rookie’s first landing was for all the ladies on board to put on heavy lipstick and kiss the new pilot on their way out.  The guys were just supposed to bash him with a pillow. 

Well, keeping with tradition, I grabbed my lipstick, smeared a ton on, and proceeded to walk down the isle of the plane.  I looked around for someone in uniform that looked like a “rookie”.  I had no clue who it was, much less what to look for!  Would he be young?  Older?  Hhhhmmmm… So I asked.  The first crewman told me it was he.  So I kissed him on the cheek, making sure to smear a lot of lipstick on him.  Then he laughed, and said he was just joking, it wasn’t him after all.  The next guy told me it was really him, so I kissed him on the cheek.  He laughed and told me it wasn’t him either.  Then, I saw an entire line of crewmen waiting for me to “guess” who it was.  “YEA RIGHT.”  I said.  So who is it… REALLY?  Finally, one of them fessed up, and told me it was him.  I didn’t believe him.  By now, I was running out of lipstick! None the less, one more time, I gave the supposed “rookie” a big ‘ole kiss on the cheek, and I said, “That’s it.  I’m not kissing anymore of you guys - sorry!” 

When I walked down the stairs of the plane, I immediately felt the soft humid and warm tropical breeze.  My whole body tingled as I began warming up to this incredible climate.  I soaked the air in peacefully into my lungs.  The smell of the ocean in the distance was incredible.  As I was walking, I looked toward the airport and noticed a cameraman with a huge television camera filming all the people as they walked from the airplane outside into the terminal.  I was wondering what was going on, and who it was they were filming.  I looked behind me and around, gave him a curious look, and just continued walking toward the terminal. 

When I got inside the terminal, I left for the bathroom to freshen up a bit.  When I came out of the bathroom, there was that same cameraman again, this time, pointing his big camera at “me”.  I looked behind me, and to both sides, and there was nobody there.  I realized that “I” was the one he was filming and gave a shy, but embarrassed smile. 

I immediately saw Ash from Atlanta, who is originally from Curacao, and Muriel Horvers, our World Correspondent for Salsaweb, Curacao.  I gave them both the traditional 3-kiss greeting, right, left, right, and immediately felt right at home.  It’s such a wonderful feeling to see friends at the airport waiting there, ready to greet you.  It always brings a beautiful warm smile to everyone. 

“Edie!! Where were you!! We thought you missed your flight!!  We were completely stressing out!!” asked Muriel.  “I was in the bathroom!”  Little did I realize how important it was for me to be in that plane until I saw the cameramen, the reporters, and a big white stretch limousine waiting outside the terminal.  I was in  shock.  They planned this so perfectly, but for things to run smoothly, I had to be on that plane! 

Inside the terminal Curacao Salsa Tour banners and posters were hung up EVERYWHERE. 

I’m really not used to getting all this attention.  I felt humbled, and really didn’t know what to say.  All I could do was thank God at that moment. 

I was interviewed for Channel 11 News with Steven Walroud.  There, I saw Burton, his girlfriend Suhail, and was immediately whisked off in the beautiful white stretch limousine, to the elegant Sheraton Hotel with Muriel and my dance partner Jerry Bakhchyan.  The ride in that limo was to DIE FOR!!!  We all felt so “important”… like movie stars or something!  I was just taking it all in.  Trust me, I’m not used to this type of treatment.  I felt like Royalty! 

We got to the hotel, and I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was.  The Sheraton Curacao is like a Paradise.  It has a beautiful lobby and restaurant outside – no walls!  Three swimming pools, a gym, a workout facility, canopy huts for laying in the sun, snorkel and diving shop… Jacuzzi… EVERYTHING that a luxury resort could boast!  They put me in a Suite.  When I walked inside, there was a little gift for me from the Managing Director, Rold Sprecher.  I couldn’t believe how incredible the view was… the turquoise blue of the ocean, the three swimming pools below, the white sand… it was like I died and went to heaven!  The view and the room was so spectacular, I started to get emotional about the whole moment.  This time, I got on my knees, and thanked God.
 

That night we went to the island kick-off party at the Hato Caves.  The band Arnell y su Orchesta played… THEY WERE AWESOME!!  They could rival any band in Los Angeles or New York!  DJ Sabor Latino played some awesome SLAMMING hard-core Salsa as well. 

There, I met Mr. Cong who is the Minister of Tourism for Curacao, Mr. Godfried, and Mr. Dino Daal, of the Curacao Tourism Development Bureau (CTDB), and Mr. Wiel from CTDB New York.  They are all sponsors of the event, and responsible for my trip out here. 

That did it.  I couldn’t hold back the tears. They were swelling up from my stomach and heading toward my throat. 

They then asked me to say a few words to the audience. 

“Great. I’m going to cry.”  I thought to myself.   Now the tears were in my throat, heading up through my neck.  Trying to get through the first sentence was tough. 

I never realized it would become this massive, and influence so many people's lives for the better.  I got a little choked up over that one.  A tear finally struck my eye.  Muriel helped me finish my sentence, as I regained composure at the microphone. I’ve given countless speeches in the past, but never have I gotten so emotional like this one.  I ended with my favorite quote from George Bernard Shaw, “People blame circumstances for where they are, I don’t believe in circumstances.  The people who get on and succeed in this world, are the people who go out and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.” 

The audience loved the quote.

Afterward, we all started dancing, and having a blast!  Dance shows by the Curacao group, “Salsation” were the highlight of the evening.  They are FABULOUS!  We were dancing on a cobblestone and cement floor that was far from smooth.  I couldn’t put my regular dance shoes on.  But you think that stopped Salsation?  These guys did moves tricks, and acrobatics that not even top teams in Los Angeles or New York would attempt on a regular wooden dance floor!  It was unbelievable!   You can really tell the amount of practice they put in. 

I was very, very impressed with them.  They could rival ANY dance team in the world at this point.  They are that good. 

Our first tour started that night.  It was a tour of the Hato Caves, which was only yards away from the party.  You walk in, and think that you’re on a different planet!  The inside of the cave is truly remarkable – just like those you read about in National Geographic – complete with bats, rain water ponds, crystals and everything! 

News
We are having a BLAST!!