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Interview with Liz Walmsley - Club Candela |
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Written by JoJo
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Tuesday, 22 May 2007 |
How, why and when did you get into salsa?
It was about 15 years ago. I loved the music, although at that time there was much less around than there is now. I still have old tapes/records of Los Van Van, Fania All Stars, Latin Brothers from that time. I was also looking for some kind of dancing that was a partner dance, I think I was a bit bored with doing the same old stuff dancing around on my own.
To cut a long story short, I went to Jasmins in Birmingham, where DJ Zuppe Inglese was running a latin night, and as I walked in I saw Mauricio Reyes and Gladys Delgado dancing salsa and knew straight away that was just what I wanted to do.
Who first taught you to dance salsa?
I tried that night to copy what they were doing and found out where they had classes and started coming to those. Gladys headed off to Latin America for a year shortly after that and Mauricio carried on with the classes. This was right at the beginning of Latin Motion and some of the others who were in those early classes, like Andrea (Stewart), El Hombre Elastico and Maverick (Logan), are still involved and teaching/DJing in the salsa scene today.
Did you have any dance training prior to salsa?
I’ve always loved dancing and did all sorts of dancing when I was a kid but no formal training
Tell me a bit about Club Candela. When, why and how didyou set it up?
We wanted a salsa night a bit closer than Manchester, or Birmingham! Both about 70 odd miles from where we live. By this time I’d been teaching in Oswestry and Shrewsbury for a while so we thought that with people we knew who were into salsa (and hopefully a lot we didn’t know) we’d be able to make a successful night of it. One of the people in the salsa class lived in Shrewsbury and found the first venue, Juan Rey (now living back in Chile) was the DJ and a major moving force behind getting it going.
That was back in 1996. The May Club Candela night this year will be our 11th birthday party. Candela is run by volunteers who want a quality salsa night for themselves as well as for the dancers who come. Hopefully people find it friendly and relaxed too.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
The music is what inspires me, particularly the bass, percussion and piano. I love the fact that everything is rhythm in salsa. It always lifts my heart and makes me want to dance.
Who do you admire?
People with a passion for what they do in the salsa world, be it teaching, DJing or dancing or playing the music.
What’s your favourite track at the moment?
Right now it’s ‘Il Ginecolgo del Ritmo’ by Antonio da Costa.
What are your all time favourite tracks?
There are loads…. ‘Mistica, Cuba 537’ by Orishas, ‘Te Bote’ Paulito y Roldan, ‘Sucesos’ Latin Brothers, ‘Marcando la Distancia’ Manolito, ‘Eres Tu’ Elvis Crespo, ‘Un Monton de Estrellas’ Polo Montañez, ‘Se Fue y Me Dejo’ Ismael Miranda, Andy Montañez & Cheko, ‘Salsa con Candela’ Miguel Yamba to name just a few.
What are your favourite albums?
Orishas, ‘A lo Cubano’ …… Ismael Miranda ‘Edicion Especial’ ……… Johnny Polanco ‘La Amistad’ ……… ‘Salsa.IT Vol 2’ Various ……… Andy Montañez ‘Salsaton’.
What was the last CD you bought?
Salsa.IT Compilation 3, well I hope I’ve bought it. It should be coming from an Italian cd shop if I didn’t make a complete mess of the Italian.
What music is in your car/cd player/tape player at the moment?
Sonora Carruseles ‘Somos los Duros de la Salsa’ & Alex Wilson ‘Inglaterra’.
Who are your favourite artists?
Again, there are so many. It’s one of the things I love about latin music, there’s so much variety. All the bands mentioned above are favourites, also Charlie Cruz, Jerry Rivera, Victor Manuelle on the Romantica front, then there’s Los Soneros del Barrio, Fruko, Grupo Gale, Orch. Tabaco y Ron, Puerto Rican Power, all bands that have produced some great music and people like Ricky Gonzalez, Oscar d’Leon, and Sergio George, who have been behind some wonderful tracks. And I’ll doubtless think of more long after this interview is over.
If you were not a successful Promoter/Teacher/DJ, what would you be doing instead?
I don’t think I spend that much time teaching, and promoting but the having to be here for set dates means I don’t get away as much as I’d like, and then there’s that long list of things that I’d like to learn, enjoy, play with and listen to that I suspect I won’t ever get to the end of.
Tell me something most people wouldn’t know about you?
I’m shy!
What’s your all time favourite salsa club/event that you have played/taught/danced?
I played in a Salsa band for a quite a few years and we had a lottery grant to introduce salsa to Shropshire. We played at 5 venues round Shropshire, each night starting off with a salsa class, then the band, Lost Gringos, and Juan the DJ played for the rest of the night. The final gig of the series was in Oswestry and the place was packed, not only with people from town who’d never seen salsa before but lots of our friends from Birmingham who came to support us and join in the fun. It was a fantastic night, and some people who started salsa that night are still travelling all over the country to dance.
What has been your most memorable moment?
Watching El Gran Combo, at a free concert in a large square in Bilbao, Spain on a very hot night at the end of a week of live Salsa bands - so much music that there wasn’t enough time to see it all. Had some great times at the Antilliaanse Festival in Belgium over the last couple of years but I don’t remember it being quite so hot!
Have you had any embarrassing/nightmare-ish moments in salsa?
A few!, but I’m not dwelling on them…………
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I’m enjoying Salsa Central. Good luck with it all.
www.clubcandela.co.uk
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