MONDAY
It was an early start, leaving at 5:30 am, after Simon (Taylor) had been dropped off at our house. Got to Heathrow in good time, parked, caught the bus to the terminal and checked in.
Had (overpriced) breakfast at the airport, waited around then boarded our plane!!
Landed at Newark Airport at about 1:30pm local time, did the long immigration queue, then caught the coach to Manhattan.
We'd arranged to stay in an apartment in Soho, so got there and had to have a few drinks in the nearby Cafe Noir while we waited for our contact to meet us with the keys. It was eight flights of stairs up to the 4th floor, which was a killer on our first day, but got easier as the week went on.
For our first night in NY, we decided to make a return visit to Salsa Con Mambo at Session 73, where Grupo Latin Vibe were playing. We got there quite late and just caught their second set. A few other UK people were in the house including Moe Flex, and Vicki, Julia and Claire from the Midlands.
Salsa-Central got a shoutout from our friend DJ Babaloo, who runs this night.
We decided to get the subway home, but it took so long that we gave up half way and jumped in a cab.
TUESDAY
Woke up early as a result of construction work on a hotel opposite, and the lack of curtains in the apartment (!!). Mel and I headed up to B&H to get Mel her a zoom lens, while Simon did a little exploration of the local area. After B&H, we browsed a few more shops and I got myself a new After Effects book, then headed up to El Barrio for some CD shopping from El Barrio Music.
It was great to see Frankie and Rey again after so long - Lou doesn't work there anymore since moving to Philly. Bought a few CD's then headed into the Bronx, so Mel could get her hair cut (No danger of missing a flight, so we were fine). Caught the wrong subway, so had to walk a few blocks through the South Bronx to get to the other line (getting a Coconut Ice on the way), then headed up to Gun Hill Road where Mel's cousin Lauren met us from the train.
While Mel was getting her hair done, Lauren and I headed up the road to get some food. It wasn't the greatest area in the Bronx, so I was getting a few stares, but the food was worth it!! Barbecue Chicken, Fried Chicken, Snapper, Rice & Peas!! Nice!!
That night I was due to DJ at one of the official Congress launch parties, at Sabor Salsa Tuesdays at Iguana (240 W54th St), run by Marlon Int'l and friends. Got there about an hour before my set, so went to get a drink from the bar... I didn't have my Id with me so ended up getting a bit of verbal from the woman behind the bar who was trying to get us chucked out.
We managed to sort it out with the manager of the venue, and I soon started my set. I was DJ'ing alongsode Antonio 'La Conga' (who runs the La Vieja Guardia Socials in NY) and a DJ from paris. My set went down really well and I was getting great feedback for days following!! Not a bad debut!!
WEDNESDAY
Mel discovered a little scratch on her new lens... cue panic and worry! So, the three of us headed over to B&H determined to get it replaced. Queued up in the returns line and eventually got served by a guy who'd been quite abrupt with previous customers. I pulled out the lens and told him 'the lens we bought yesterday has a scratch on it' in a manner which suggested I wasn't to be trifled with! 'So why don't you wipe it off' was his reply, pulling out a microfibre cloth and briskly removing the mark. He chuckled, I felt a little silly, so we went for breakfast across the road.
We walked from there up to Times Square in wonderful weather, then across to the Hilton as Simon wanted to see the congress venue. We went inside and up to the main area, but that wasn't enough for Simon, he wanted to go into the ballroom himself, where we were promptly stopped by staff who were setting up for an event to be held there the night before the congress... a 2,500 capacity room was being used to host dinner for 29 people, they told us!!
Leaving there, we headed into Central Park, walked round there for a bit then headed back towards the apartment.
On t he dinner itinerary tonight was a visit to 'Lombardi's' in little Italy, NY's first Pizzeria. Had dinner, then on the way back spotted 'Rice To Riches' a rice pudding shop with the funniest window signs ever!!! Stopped in Yellow Rat Bastard on the way back to the apt for a few new T-shirts then home.
Tonight was the official 'Meet and Greet' pre-congress party with free buffet and bar. Nice! We got there right at the start to make the most of it, and Simon took part in Baila Society's class .
A lot of the artists were in attendance and Jimmy Bosch also turned up, so I ended up having a brief chat with him. I also got a lot of great feedback while there about my set at Iguana the previous night, which is always nice!!
We left in the early hours, had a brief chat with El Malo and Osmar Perrones outside, the got the subway home (all the way this time)
THURSDAY
In an effort to actually do some sightseeing, we decided to go to the American Museum Of Natural History, grabbing breakfast on the way. This is the museum that's featured in the 'Night At The Museum' films, and you're greeted by two large dinosaurs upon entering the main foyer. The whole place is enormous, and more than you can see in just one trip, but we saw quite a bit, including 'Dum Dum' from the film. We then went to Chinatown for dinner before going back to the apartment.
Today was registration for the Congress, so after going through all the getting ready shenanigans (inevitable when I was sharing with these two!!), we caught the Subway to the Hilton and got our wristbands. Then, we all fancied a bite to eat so made a nearby diner stay open an extra half hour so we could eat.
Back to the Congress. I was due to DJ at the congress, but didn't know when, and couldn't find Ray who was in charge of the DJ scheduling, so went to film Cubanoson , who were on stage at the time. At the end of the song, Mel tapped me on the shoulder;
Mel: "I just soke with Ray, you're on in this room (the main room), after the band"
Me: "When do the band finish"
Mel: "In 45 minutes"
Normally, that would've been fine, except that my CD's were in the apartment.... a 20 minute cab ride away!! Cue a manic couple of cab rides staight out of a film, and I got back to the congress with 10 minutes to spare. Nice!! I went on at midnight, once the band had finished, and was on for over an hour. Very nervous to begin with, but I loved every minute of it... a real buzz!! Feedback was great too, with a number of people coming over!!
TO BE CONTINUED...
Mel & Emil had been booked to teach at the Liverpool Salsa Festival, so we decided to head up to Salsology on the Friday night and stay over.
So, Mel, Emil and I left just after 7pm and made our way up the M6.
Traffic was good and we got to the Etap in Manchester, allowing plenty of time to get ready before we made the short drive over to Prestwich.
Got to the Longfield Suite, home of Salsology, and set our CD stall up just before the end of the classes.
The night was good, and Emil didn't get much of a break from dancing all night! Salsology performed their new show at around midnight, which is definitely one of my favourites now! We stayed until the end of the night, dropped by the 24 hour Tesco, and went back to the hotel feeling completely shattered!!
Struggled to wake up on the Saturday, missed breakfast, then eventually drove over to liverpool in time for Mel and Emil's midday class teaching styling for leaders & followers. Following that, they taught a Bachata class as cover, after which the late night seemed to be catching up with them a little. No time for rest, though, as an hour later they had to cover another class, this time Cha Cha. All the classes were busy, but the partioning of the hall caused a slight problem when it came to playing the music for each class - cue attempted battles of volume, with an increasingly stressed Mike Parr keeping everything in check.
Once the final class was finished, we collected orders and headed to Ragga's, a West indian takeaway about 5 minutes drive from the venue.
Got back to the venue and started on the food. Angel Ortiz and his colleague weren't around to get theirs so we ate that too (sorry, but it was good!)
We didn't have a hotel room, so hadn't planned on staying for the evening party but changed our mind and had to pop round to Guys hotel and borrow the bathroom so we could all get changed.
The evening ball was busy, and a lot of people there had made a good effort to dress up for the occasion. The shows were delayed a little, but eventually went ahead to a very busy room! Dancing resumed just after 11pm, and we hung out for a while. Sizzla and Simon Taylor had turned up for the evening and were doing the DD (you'll have to ask them about that!), and we eventually left shortly after midnight.
Thursday
We had a workshop arranged with Joel and Ana Masacote from Boston, USA, so I left work early as Joel and Ana's train was due in at 4:40pm. Met them at the train station and we drove round to Bushwackers, not the Australian chain, but a nice place near where Mel works. We met her, then went in and got a table. Ate there and chatted about future plans, then went home to get changed.
Got to the Custard Factory Dance Studio, where the workshop was to be held, just before 8pm. There was a decent turnout, but studio based Salsa classes always seem difficult to run in Birmingham. Everyone who attended, though, really enjoyed it!
Once that was finished, we headed to Jongleurs to finish the evening off, aided by a few Rum and Cokes for our guests!
Friday
Mel cooked breakfast for Joel and Ana, before we dropped them at New St Station for their train back to London, then popped back home to get packed before heading to East Midlands Airport for our flight to Belfast - Mel had been booked for a weekend of workshops and Private lessons, and I was due to DJ on the Saturday night.
We got picked up at the other end by David Hynes (Nusalsa), and stopped at the local Chinese takeaway on the way back to his place. Had our food, a quick drink and got changed before we went to the nearby Fitness First gym for Mels first workshop of the weekend.
Once that was done, we briefly went back to David's, freshened up, then headed into the city centre to meet up with some friends for a few drinks.
Mel and I left before midnight (the previous nights antics catching up with us). David let us drive his car back, so Mel got into the drivers seat of his Astra VXR, switched on the Sport button, and promptly wheelspun away with him watching!!!
Saturday
Woke up late, and David dropped Mel and I at a place where we could get breakfast while he went and set up the venue to be used for the workshops. We ate, then I decided that we could walk, in the rain, to the venue. 10 minutes later and we were lost so David came and found us and drove us to the venue.
Spent the afternoon doing the workshops (I also spent a little time working on a couple of Salsa remixes and edits that I'm doing at the moment), then a few of us went for dinner at a local Italian - great food there!!!
Popped back to Davids to get changed then left for La Tasca. Got to the Odyssey complex, and they'd had a horse show on that day so parking was very limited. After queueing for a short while, we managed to get a spot in the main car park and carried the equipment across and up to la Tasca. Set up, had a drink, and left a playlist on for the first half an hour wheil people arrived.
Then, it was time for me to take control for the next 3 hours or so. The night rocked (of course!!!), and I got a few compliments on my set, which always tops a night off nicely.
Sunday
Woke up with a slight hangover and we went for breakfast with David, then it was time for me to be dropped to the airport. We were both due to fly back on the Monday morning, but I had a job interview first thing so had booked myself a flight for the Sunday afternoon.
I left Mel with the first of her Private lessons that afternoon and headed to Belfast International airport, and home. Looking forward to going back there as we always have a great time in Belfast!
