I got to New York a few days before the Salsa Festival so I could get in a few extra days of dancing before the big event. As always, I became mesmerized by the charm of the city from the very first night. It was Wednesday. I got off the plane, went to my friend Jennifer’s apartment, took a shower, called up my friend Lara, put on my dancing shoes and hit the road. First we went to La Maganette and danced a couple of songs but the night was young and we had other places to check out. We then went to Gonzales y Gonzales and had a great time dancing to Johnny Almendra & Jillian. I left there in just enough time to catch the last few tunes of Conjunto Classico at Cafe Remy. Thursday I was lucky to see Oscar D’Leon at the Latin Quarter and Friday was the amazing El Gran Combo joined by Gilberto Santarosa at Cafe Remy and then off to the Copa for Jerry Galante’s last set. I love New York.

Finally, Saturday, the day of the NY Salsa Festival at the Meadowlands. This incredible concert, produced by Ralph Mercado, featured Marc Anthony, Oscar D’Leon, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, La India, Manny Manuel, Tony Vega, Tito Nieves, Jose Alberto, Cheo Feliciano, Domingo Quinones, Johnny Rivera, Ray Sepulveda, Guianko, Miles Pena, Michael Stuart, Clines, Limi-T-XXI, Corrine, Johnny Almendra & Jillian, Isidro Infante, Jerry Galante, Grupo Heavy, Dave Valentin, Humberto Ramirez, Hilton Ruiz, Giovanni Hidalgo, Yorman, Jesus Enriques, Tres Equis XXX, 302 Get Funky and Cesar Flores. What a line-up! They were all GREAT! THE BEST OF THE BEST!!!

Manny Manuel had jazz dancers on stage. Celines had merengue and cha cha dancers. Cheo Feliciano had excellent “2” dancers con mucho Latino sabor. Michael Stuart had two couples "on 2" as did Jose Alberto. Celia Cruz and India did a duet during which there were three couples "on 2." In other words, all the dancers on stage were “on 2” and they were fabulous.

I interviewed many of the performers. Excerpts from some of these interviews are as follows:

La India, “Salsa is about passion and soul. For me, the clave is the soul of the music.”

Michael Stuart, “There are great dancers everywhere but I think the best are in New York. My advice to anyone wanting to get into this business is don’t do drugs and never ever give up no matter what.”

Oscar D’Leon, “I’ve had many mentors but they certainly include Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and Eddie Palmieri. My sons had no choice but to be in this business. It’s in their blood. The best dancers are in New York but there are people who love to dance all over the world and salsa is growing because of them.” Oscar’s son, German D’Leon, “The place for dancing salsa is here in New York. People dance differently all over the world but the best of the best are in New York.”

Tito Nieves, “Salsa is growing judging by the sale of records all over the map from Australia to Hong Kong to Europe. It’s very exciting how groups like DLG are mixing merengue, salsa and r&b. India and Marc Anthony have the ability to sing in both languages and that is very important to the future of salsa. In LA you have Johnny Polanco. To me Johnny’s the best. I have to be careful when I say that here because there are so many great musicians here today but I think Johnny is the best. He plays old and new stuff. I wish him the best of luck with his new CD. I’m going to check it out on SalsaWeb.”

Tito Puente, “I’m the one who started using dancers on stage. Who else started it? I started it. I used to dance myself. I still dance socially. You eat salsa but you don’t dance to it. It’s a marketable word but it’s still mambo to me.”

Jose Alberto “El Canario,” “My mentors are many but include Beny More, Oscar D’Leon, Machito, Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez - so many great performers. My favorite city to perform in is Buenos Aires because of the late scene. You can go out at midnight and at 9am everyone is still hanging out. I do danceable music, that’s what I do. Dance music.”

Hilton Ruiz, “I got started in this business through the influence of my parents. They used to listen to Eddie Palmieri, Willie Colon, all the greats. We always had music in the home. Latin music, Motown, The Four Seasons. The future of salsa is very bright because it’s exciting music, precision music, the result of team work. It makes people feel good. It just makes you want to jump up and dance. It’s good for the body and it’s good for the mind. Keep enjoying the music. Be healthy. Be happy. Be in love. Keep dancing.”

The most memorable moments of the festival were when Jose Alberto "El Canario" (on air flute) and Dave Valentin (on the real thing) did a dueling flutes rendition of the mambo classic "La Paella" and when India and Celia Cruz performed a duet of "Mar Y Candela." Marc Anthony and Michael Stuart were also very hot. I'm looking forward to next year's festival.

Sunday I went to Orchard Beach where Jerry Galante performed and then was off to Side Street (via subway by myself) to see El Gran Combo. Orchard Beach is quite the summertime scene. Thousands of people line the boardwalk of the beach dancing in their bathing suits, their shorts, whatever. It’s a lot of people having a great time dancing together.

Side Street had a tribute to Luis Maquina, one of the legendary dancers from the Palladium days, before El Gran Combo played. Look for an in-depth interview with Luis Maquina to be posted on SalsaWeb next week. Of course, El Gran Combo was remarkable. They started about midnight and played until 4:30 in the morning non-stop. What an experience that night was - one of the greatest salsa bands in the world and the best of the best dancers in the world. It was pure enjoyment.

The rest of my week went as follows:
Monday, Oscar D’Leon in a spellbinding performance at SOB’s. Tuesday, Alex Diaz at the Copa. Wednesday, Johnny Almendra & Jillian at Gonzales y Gonzales and then Oscar D’Leon one more time at La Vida. Thursday, dance class with Nelson Flores (incredible, incredible, incredible) followed by Isidro Infante at the Latin Quarter. Friday I took a class with Eddie Torres and then went dancing to Ray Sepulveda at the Copa. Saturday, Miles Pena and Pete Conde at the Copa. Sunday, Jimmy Anton’s social dance followed by dancing at El Flamingo and an interview with one of the city’s most well-known DJs, Henry Knowles. Monday, interview and tour of Spanish Harlem with Luis Maquina followed by Eddie Palmieri at SOB’s, where I met the Gypsy Kings having dinner. After hours I went to ReBar for a little reggae. Tuesday, dancing at Bayamo with Nelson Flores. Wednesday, RMM’s Yo Soy Del Son a La Salsa film premiere (see review on SalsaWeb) and after party at the Latin Quarter followed by Erick at Cafe Remy. Thursday, Jose Alberto at the Latin Quarter and, finally, home on Friday.

Sound like a hectic 16 days? Not in NYC. The energy of the city just pulsates through me. I love the rush of NYC. Every night in this city there is an incredible choice of performers to check out. I, of course, was busy trying to see and dance to them all. I had to replace the soles on 2 pairs of dance shoes while in New York. Speaking of dancing, hardly a soul dances on 1 in New York. The trained dancers dance on 2 and the untrained street dancers tend to dance on 3, which feels similar to 1.

So many people dance in New York. They’re elegant. They love to dance. They have soul. New York dancers are all about “feeling.” In fact, I still remember my first class with Eddie Torres when he said, “I can teach a lot of steps, a lot of shines and patterns but I can’t teach feeling. That is something you have to be born with.”

One other thing I have to mention is that men in NY are so chivalrous. They know how to be gentlemen and I LOVE that!

I was only back in LA for two days before I made airline reservations to return to New York for Marc Anthony’s “Farewell to an Idol” concert at Madison Square Garden. This will be my fourth trip to New York within a few months. Great. Now, not only am I a salsa junkie but I am a New York salsa junkie.

TOP