How, why and when did you get into salsa?
I first got into salsa music rather than the dance. I grew up in a very culturally and ethnically mixed environment and was brought up listening to soul music in the 70’s and 80’s. Soul music then progressed to jazz-funk and that in turn progressed to latin jazz, and at that point music by Eddie Palmieri, Mongo Santamaria and Ray Barretto started crossing over into the latin jazz. It was then that I first got into the salsa music but didn’t know that there was a dance to go with it. Back in the 70’s latin music wasn’t called salsa in the UK.
I discovered the Zouk and Lambada dance scene in 1996, and at Lambada clubs there would always be a certain amount of salsa music played. By the late 90’s my brother Gary was heavily into the salsa scene and worked quite a lot with Robert Charlemagne.
So initially I learnt to dance to lambada, but a year later I went on to try salsa. At the time I preferred the lambada dance although I was a little uninspired by the music, but I absolutely loved the salsa music and it was what I had already been listening to for many years.
Who first taught you to dance salsa?
I didn’t really get taught to dance salsa properly as such, I just started having a go at Lambada clubs and copying what I was seeing out on the dancefloor. Many lovely ladies at the Lambada clubs helped me a lot though. Back then the salsa was Colombian based with not much in the way of turns etc, so it was easier then to pick it up without actually being taught.
I did however take some lessons with proper salsa teachers later on, and some of the people I did lessons with, and was inspired to learn more by, were Robert Charlemagne, Dean Maynard, Cliff who taught Super Mario and used to run the Salsa Palladium, and Ramiro Zapata. I also have to mention my brother Gary, as I’m sure I must have learnt quite a bit from him in the early days too.
Did you have any dance training prior to salsa?
No, only the Lambada which I had already done. I grew up listening to Soul, RnB and Reggae so I felt a natural affinity with the salsa music, and it was easy for me to pick up the rhythms within it.
When and why did you get involved with salsa promotion?
Back when I first got interested in lambada and then the salsa, it was clear that the Salsa scene was growing much and they were some fantastic weekly clubs. But when it came to big events things were a bit different. Generally speaking the big events tended to be a bit chaotic and nothing ever seemed to start on time etc.
The whole salsa scene in the UK actually was very vibrant and exciting but also quite amateurish in its organisation. I decided that I should either put up or shut up, so I made the decision to try my hand at organising and promoting my own salsa events.
My first event was in Croydon in 1999. I actually ended up losing about £2,500 on the event, but it was the best lesson I ever learnt and the rest is history.
Tell me a little about Salsa-UK. How was it set up?
My then partner, Imogen Moore, and I co-founded Salsa-UK because there was a need for well organised salsa events. We are no longer together but without her I would not be where I am now as she encouraged me all the way, and without her I would never have gone ahead and started organising these events. I knew that I didn’t really want to get involved with the teaching side of salsa, so promoting seemed to be the next logical step.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Actually I was initially inspired to do what I do back in 1994 by a guy called Anthony Robbins who is a very famous in the Personal Development Industry. His seminars were very inspirational in many ways and have a lasting impact on me and what was achievable.
As a promoter many people have inspired me along the way. One person that springs to mind though would be Edie the Salsa Freak. She was one of the first ladies to really make it in the salsa world, which is a great achievement considering it is such a male dominated world. We met in the late 90’s and she was a very helpful in the beginning and a great source of inspiration to me.
Cressida Childs also inspired me. I went to my first Pontins Weekender in 1998 at Brean Sands, and it was there that I realised what a huge deal salsa really was, and that it wasn’t just restricted to local events but was in fact huge nationally. Also Anjete who organised the first Holland Congress…I love it and she was so calm about everything.
Of course have to name my good friend Albert Torres too – his first Congress in Los Angeles inspired me to want to do things on a major scale and he has been great role model. And more recently Andy Wood from Como NO! who is one of the biggest producers of LIVE Latin music events in Europe, someone who I have tremendous respect for.
Guys like Elder Sanchez, Ramiro Zapata, Mauricio Reyes, and not forgetting Oxley of London who was the biggest pioneer of salsa in London from 1996-98 (he was such a character) have all influenced me too. I would also like to mention my UK contemporaries like Robert White (Mambo City) and Joe Davids (Latin Collective) who have both had a big influence on the current era of salsa events plus my brother Gary who I learnt a great deal from about the ins and out of the London salsa scene at the time.
Events like Salsa Fusion, Bar Rumba, Villa Stephano and Café Paris in Leicester Square have also been a source of inspiration.
Who do you admire?
Oh, so many people. Lots of people have helped me, and I admire them all, as well as everyone I have met along the way who have achieved anything in the salsa world. I travel a lot around the salsa world now and am very lucky to meet so many different people with different experiences.
Of course I also admire many people outside the salsa world, like Richard Branson, Nelson Mandela, Anthony Robbins and the list goes on!
What’s your favourite track at the moment?
Sonido Vestial – Bobby Cruz + Ritchie Ray
What are your all time favourite tracks?
Again, so many tracks that I love and I love all flavours of Salsa but in general I think my soul belongs with Cuban music. One track that immediately springs to mind though is Chan Chan, any version, including the one by Orishas. I also love anything by Los Van Van, Charanga Habanera, and Pupy.
Other tracks that I love are:-
Pedro Navaja – Ruben Blades
El Titere – Louie Ramirez + Ray de la Paz
Soneros de Bailadores – Pete Rodriguez + Cheo Feliciano
Otra Oportunidad by Jimmy Bosch is another favourite of mine.
What are your favourite albums?
I don’t really have favourite albums as such, because what I listen to very much depends on the mood that I am in at that particular time. I have favourite artists rather than CDs.
What was the last CD you bought?
I don’t really buy that many CDs because I get a lot of music sent to me for promotional reasons.
The last CD that I was given, that I really enjoyed was Los Soneros – Voices of Fania, which was given to me by DJ Lubi.
What music is in your car/cd player/tape player at the moment?
Honestly………it’s not a salsa CD, it’s a CD by Paulo Nintino. I’m not quite sure what type of music it would be classed as, but is modern, contemporary music.
Who are your favourite artists?
I have many favourite artists, but a few would be:-
Los Van Van
Eddie Palmieri
Charanga Habanera
Marc Anthony
Sonora Poncena
El Canario
Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Manolito
Oscar d’Leon
El Gran Combo
All these guys are fantastic live.
If you were not a successful Promoter, what would you be doing instead? Or if you also have a full-time job, what do you do?
That’s a good question! I’m sure I would probably be running my own business, which is what I was doing before I started promoting salsa full-time, and it would most likely be in the property business in one form or another.
Tell me something most people wouldn’t know about you?
Most people probably would not know that I have three daughters, Becky, Lola and Amelie, who take up all of my spare time. They are 17, 6 and 3 years of age.
I am a doting and dedicated father, which would probably surprise most people because I travel around a lot, and spend a lot of time away from home.
What’s your all time favourite salsa club/event that you have played/taught/danced?
My favourite place that I have danced at would be Villa Stephano, not because it was the best venue, because it wasn’t, but more because of its vibe and atmosphere – there was just something very special about the place. It was the hub of the salsa scene back in the 90s, and so many of the people who went there have since gone on to greatly influence the UK salsa scene.
Dave Hucker was the DJ there and he used to play the most outrageous music that no-one would ever play now, but at the time it was great. DJ Julian would go there and watch and listen to Dave play, and he learnt his craft there.
Although many people have tried, no-one has ever been able to replicate the place, the vibe or the atmosphere that they had going on there.
As a promoter, apart from the Congresses, the best of which was probably the 2003 one, I’d say the best venue I’ve organised an event at would be Ministry of Sound. It’s a world famous club and I think we were the first to bring salsa to it. I organised two events there.
Have you had any embarrassing/nightmare-ish moments in salsa?
As a promoter, the most embarrassing and nightmare-ish moments have to be when you have organised an event and no-one turns up or things go wrong. In promoting, the lows can be real lows, but the highs can be meteoric, which makes it all worthwhile.
In the end you just have to accept that sometimes things do just go wrong and you have to deal with it. In the early days though however, I would be counting out everyone that left one of my gigs early, and each time someone did, my heart would sink.
When I was organising my first Congress at Butlins, I spent a year planning it to perfection. When the Congress finally arrived I got up on stage in front of 1200 people to present the first of the shows. With those 1200 people staring up at me and hanging on my every word, my mobile phone went off!!! Stupidly I answered the call – it was Robert White. So I just had to say in front of all those people “Rob, I’ll call you back”. It was very embarrassing.
In dancing I have had loads of embarrassing moments, but one that springs to mind would be when I was dancing with Nicky Lloyd Greame of The Salsaholics. Whenever I dance I sometime get people staring because they want to see ‘IF Paul Young can actually dance’, which always makes me feel very self conscious. On this particular occasion I was trying a little too hard and I put Nicky into a ridiculous spin, and the next thing I know, she had completely disappeared. I looked around me, and then realised that she was lying flat out on the floor!!! I was just a tad embarrassed and serves me right! Sorry Nicky!
What has been your most memorable moment?
Every time I go on stage to present at a Congresses is a memorable moment. Bringing Latin Madness and Spanish Harlem Orchestra to the UK Congress for the very first time was fantastic. As was when I was lucky enough to co promote Latin Splash on Clapham Common with Oscar D’ Leon or Edie Palmieri at the Ocean.
Also, each time I do something for the very first time is also a memorable moment for me and provides me with great satisfaction, like at the Brit Fest in Blackpool or the Turkey SalsaFEST in Istanbul for instance this year in June. WOW that was just GREAT!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
The whole salsa scene now is truly global community and I don’t think the people involved in salsa in the UK fully realise how much we have influenced the scene in Europe and the rest of the world.
I think the people of the UK should feel proud of the huge contribution we’ve made to the overall international salsa scene.
UK Salsa Congress " Europe's Finest" 12 - 14th October 2007
More details at - www.salsa-uk.com
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