Ramses' Story...

Hi Edie,

First of all, thank you very much for your Internet articles. They
are a great contribution to the fascinating world of Salsa. We, all
the Internet Salseros, love you very much for your enlightenment.

I had always been marveled at the beauty of Salsa dancing. I
think it is the most sensual dance of all, even more so than the
Tango. Watching girls dancing Salsa, moving their Latin hips
makes me go crazy too. That is my opinion. I can remember the
thrill of watching people dance Salsa, as far back as when I was
a little kid. I came from Cuba when I was 8 years old. We
migrated to New Jersey and for an entire decade I lost my
association to Hispanic music and dancing. I only knew a little
Salsa and I could hardly defend myself.

I always liked Salsa especially when it is danced well. Until
recently I had only known a few steps by watching others. The
only thing I did was Enchufes, going round and round. My cousin
Kiki was so good but the son-of-a-gun never showed me his
moves. He learned from clubbing Thursday to Sunday at a little
club in Union City, New Jersey called Studio 45. That was back in
the late 80’s. But now I live in Hialeah, FL – close to Miami.

I would only listen American music until the past couple of
years. I’ve been listening to a lot of Salsa. It is the biggest trend
down here now, in Miami. Especially since so much older Cuban
music is being sold. Stuff like old Charangas and really good
genuine Descargas of really old Cuban musicians. That kind of
music just makes you want to get up and dance!
Those old musicians really knew how to jam. They didn’t have
any electric drum machines then. Those old improvising
“Guaguanceros” beat the hide with their bare fingers until their
skins came off.

I’ve been married for 4 years and my Nicaraguan wife loves
Salsa. She loves dancing period… I’m 28 and she’s 24. She was
a Flamenco dancer in the past. She thought that if you are
Cuban then Salsa should come as natural. Well, that always
bothered me because I sucked at dancing Salsa. I always wished
I could dance like my cousin Kiki. He looked so good when he
danced and he always taught all his girlfriends quickly.

About 5 months ago I saw a couple dance at a party. They were
so good! People made a circle every time they got up to dance.
They even looked better than Kiki and his girlfriends. My wife
and I immediately asked them how long they’ve been dancing
and to our surprise this is what they said: “We’ve been dancing
only for about a year and we learned in a school here in Hialeah
called Salsa Express”. We took down the information and went to
check out the school.

We were welcomed by a group of about 50 people in a Banquet
Hall. The first class was free and we liked it. We got to learn the
very basic steps. But these steps even a 4-year-old could learn.
So we went the following week and began dancing Rueda/Casino
with a group. We were both a little nervous at the beginning,
having to dance with so many strangers. But week after week we
all got to know each other and became friends. Now we know all
the instructors by name and even a few partners. There’s a lot of
hand shaking and guys & girls kissing, when we all meet every
week and that feels warm and friendly.

My wife and I love the classes. We get to learn Salsa, we get a
good moderate workout and we have fun and make friends. It
has brought us closer together. It is a great therapy. For one
hour a day, twice a week, we can forget about everything by
expressing ourselves in such a lovely way dancing Salsa. We
soon found out that we were more talented than we thought
and moved up the levels quickly. But I think that happened
because we were permanent partners and also because we
practice at home some times.

We began in early July and now by late October we are doing
great. We like Rueda/Casino very much and we enjoy
participating in a group dance. It is great for the ego. But we
like dancing by ourselves a lot more. We mix almost all the
Rueda/Casino combinations that we’ve learned so far and it
looks and feels really good when dancing alone.

While we dated we hardly ever went to Latin clubs and now we
are picking it up and it is marvelous. The instructors at the
school told us that the best clubs to go to near Miami were “Club
Mystique” and “Star Fish” in Miami Beach. We have not been to
Club Mystique yet but we did go to Star Fish. My school meets
there on Friday’s but we went on a Saturday for the first
time. It was great! There was a live band playing Charangas and
they sounded awesome. It is nothing like the electronic,
synthetic, artificial sound of the music on the radio. This stuff
sounded authentic. I felt nostalgic and I remembered the
comments my grandpa made about his long nights of dancing to
famous bands in the great dance halls of Havana.
Star Fish is a nice little club in Miami Beach. It is very exclusive.
They almost did not want to let us in. They kept saying, “It’s a
private party tonight”. But when we mentioned that we belonged
to the “Salsa Express” dancing school then they immediately
smiled and let us in. I like that because then that leaves out all
the people that just come in to stand there. Also I don’t like to
go to clubs where people come in dressed like punks with holes
in their jeans. That’s one of the little things I like about the
aspect of us Salseros – we know how to dress and keep
traditions.
Okay? There were two other schools in there: Salsa Connection
and Salsa Lovers. And they were forming a lot of good Ruedas. It
was lovely and the atmosphere was great – mostly a college
crowd. Everybody danced so well.
By this time we were in Intermediate Level 2 and we went at it
for the first time. We started dancing. My wife was stiff and
nervous. I had taken a couple of beers so I didn’t really care.
One thing the instructors told us was to forget about the crowd
because they will not pay detailed attention to what you are
doing anyway; as long as you go with the flow it’s all right. Well,
we started dancing and performed all the steps and missed a
few and struggled. We stopped after 2 dances. My wife was a
little upset because I was not leading her very well. She is very
impatient some times.

She was shy to start dancing again but I got firm and insisted
that we keep practicing. We tried a second and third time and
we began to dance a lot better. I was leading much better and it
all seemed a lot easier. We were taking short steps and narrow
turns. But by the night’s end we were jamming, taking wider
turns and elongated more confident steps. It was wonderful. We
did all the moves that we had learned so far: Balsero,
Evelyn, Kentucky, Flamenco, Dedo por Abajo, Montana, Juana La
Cubana. We even got to see some people from our own dancing
school there. It was an unforgettable moment.

We are now in Advanced Level 1 and it is magnificent. We are
doing much more complicated moves and the older moves are
coming by nature. It’s like when you get a brand new TV and
you don’t know how to use the remote control without looking at
it, then after a few months you can manipulate it without staring
down. I hope I can change channels with my toe by the
middle of next year, if you know what I mean.

Last Friday 10/29/99 we went to a Halloween party that the
school gave at the "My Dreams Banquet Hall" in Hialeah (by the
way, that is where the classes are, in case anybody is
interested). It was awesome. We will never forget that night.
Almost everybody was dressed up in costumes and we knew
everybody there. It was a good atmosphere. Well this is where
this story gets good because now is when I am going to explain
how I finally got to impress my wife and myself as a Salsero.
After I had a few beers I insisted that we dance. My wife didn’t
want to because she was embarrassed that the other people
might look at us and speculate but I didn’t care. After drinking a
couple of beers I can loosen up and dance much better – I don’t
know why. A lot of people were dancing and I felt good.

We started dancing and I was leading very well. I could not
believe that I was leading that well, even better than when we
had gone to Star Fish. Maybe it was because I was close to my
instructors and I wanted to make them feel proud of myself. But
mostly I think it was because it was a good day and I was
happy. I did so well that, check this out: The main instructor
came out of nowhere and tapped me in the back twice. Another
instructor yelled “Estan acabando!” Another one saw us walking
beside the dance floor and stood stiff and gave me a military
salute as if saying, “You did very well”. But most of all, my wife
is finally respecting me as a Salsero because now I am good at it
or at least a lot better. She is very thrilled that we can dance
Salsa so well now and I am happy.

We are going to continue dancing Salsa for a long time because
we love it. It is the music of our ancestors, it sounds great, it is
fun, it is sensual, it is difficult and people admire that. Salsa is
one of the best forms to express our Hispanic heritage and to be
a voice for our people. Salsa has so much meaning to us. I have
not seen my cousin Kiki since before we started the dancing
school but the next time we bump ourselves at a family party,
he is in for a shock. He is going to be stun when he sees
us dancing. I even think that I am starting to look better than
him when I dance. Kiki watch out!

Ramses Soto-Navarro (El Pillo)
Salsero from Hialeah, FL
ramsestecno@hotmail.com