ALEX DA SILVA TRIAL SENTENCE 2012 — Today, the Alex Da Silva trial story that has captured the attention of the worldwide Salsa community finally culminated as the long-awaited sentencing hearing finally took place.Alex Da Silva, 43, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of one count of rape and one count of assault with intent to commit rape. Two remaining charges were dismissed during the trial in 2011, as the jury deadlocked on them. — All alleged victims were his former students. Additionally, Alex Da Silva was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life. Given time served since his initial arrest in 2009, his sentencing is probably worth 7 years, of which he has to serve a minimum of 80% according to California law. Some even believe that even less time will be served given the overcrowding of California prisons.Judge Kennedy, who sentenced Alex…

NEW YEAR 2012 SALSA — Many people try to do something fun and go to clubs on New Year's eve. There are so many dull and boring activities out there, such as the drop of the ball in New York, boring shows on TV, or going to lame events or clubs where people just sit around, sip on a few drinks, take a few bites, and count backwards from 10 at midnight. Uh...Boring!But for those of us who love Salsa dancing and can dance efficiently (yes, that plays a role in having fun with Salsa), we have something that almost nobody out there understands. We want to tell the world about it and why they should all come dance with us, but many will be the ones who will still spend the night all bored and maybe be in bed by 10 PM, in the worst cases.   Our way of…

Our SalsaHook.com Corresponent, Marcel Demallo, is at the 2011 WLDC and is reporting on the event, day by day. Thank you, Marcel, for your kind contributions to SalsaHook.com with this reporting and information.WORLD LATIN DANCE CUP 2011, THURSDAY — The second day of the 2011 World Latin Dance Cup was well underway yesterday with more competitors going against each other with their talent and skills. The day was a bit busier than Wednesday night, the nightly salsa social had plenty more attendees and it went until 3 am in the morning! Surely, a salsa dancer's dream come true! The music being played by the DJs is also splendid! The range of Latin Dance competitions that were held on Thursday at the 2011 World Latin Dance Cup, goes as follows: 

- Cha Cha Cha Division- Bachata Division- The Amateur/Professional Division- Over 65 Division- Junior Division Division- Team Amateur Division- Professional On1…

ALEX DA SILVA SENTENCE — Former "So You Think You Can Dance" choreographer and worldwide renowned Salsa dancer, choreographer, and performer, Alex Da Silva, has been through a painful life struggle that has made 'web' headlines and kept a lot of people in suspense about what will happen next. Since his first arrest on accussations of rape, what happens to Alex next has been a developing story that seems to have no end, even though we all know its culmination will come at some point. It was incredible how long it took for him to go on trial, while he could not meet bail and had to stay behind bars until the courts allowed time for his trial to commence. In time, he was given a date for the trial to commence, but it was postponed, and postponed again, and again. And now that the trial has finally passed and on…

SALSA CONGRESSES ARE DYING! — If you are reading this, you are probably wondering: "let's see what this guy has to say about this." Perhaps you are one of those people killing the congresses, or perhaps you are one of those people who are hoping that the truth gets out and maybe those killing the congresses will change their ways for the sake and love of salsa. I have a friend from the UK who tells me that the top things that you want to find at Salsa congresses are the: 1) pool parties, 2) good DJs (or bands...which in his opinion are not really necessary), and 3) top teachers. Admittedly, he also tells me that what is killing congresses is pretty much one thing: TOO MANY SHOWS!!!!!!!!!!!The funny thing is, this goes precisely along the concensus amongst all my salsa friends in Los Angeles and anywhere else. So, who is addicted…

LA'S TOP MALE SOLO SALSA COMPETITION — On Sunday, December 4th, 2011, those willing to compete against each other in order to prove that they are the Top Male Salsa Dancer in Los Angeles, went head to head at Steven's Steak House in the now highly acclaimed: Steven's Steak House LA's Top Male Solo Salsa Competition.And then, after the winners were announced on both categories, pro and semi-pro, salsa dancers all over began voicing their deep displeasure with the results all over social networks within the court of public opinion. The problem is that while some understand that the culprits of the wildly disliked results were the judges, some opted to blame the venue and its ownership. You who are doing that got it all wrong. Do not blame the venue and its ownership. All the venue did was put an event together and sought to give out some prize money, while entertaining…

THE WAREHOUSE FRIDAY NIGHTS — Anthony Long, promoter of The Warehouse Friday Salsa Nights in Marina Del Rey, CA, should be thanked by some type of salsa commission in Los Angeles for providing over 3 years now, of such a great salsa dancing venue in the city! Seriously, where else would we go to? Indeed, the Warehouse continues to be a top Salsa dancing spot in Los Angeles that attracts some of the best salsa dancers and the happiest crowd in the city. After months of not being privileged to visit this spot due my recent hiatus from salsa (going out and stuff), I was finally able to go last night and I must say, what an amazing time I time! The music by DJ Charlie is just great (he is still singing on the mic to depressing-this-girl-left-me salsa song lyrics--a must see for all!), the floor isactually longer and wider than…

ALEX DA SILVA VERDICT 2011 — The jury found Alex Da Silva guilty on 2 counts, one of raping a 22-year old woman in August 2002, and another of attempted rape of a 25-year old woman in August 2009. All other chargers were declared as a mistrial by the judge, which included 2 additional rape charges on 2 additional alledged victims. Alex faces up to 14 years in prison and will return to court in November 8. With the 2 years of time served that Alex already put in, and the shortage of jail space and California's financial struggles, sources tell us that Alex Da Silva could quite likely be out between 1 or 2 years. Although others believe he might have to serve up to 85% of his sentence time. The idea of a shorter time in jail (even though already extensive) may come as a true disappointment for so many people…

SALSA WEBSITES LIVING IN THE PAST — Judging from a standpoint of a web developer (salsahook.com was developed by parent company, Makeview.com), it is unthinkable what would make people in the year 2011 feel that adding music to their websites is a good thing. It is not!

For one, it is annoying! Then it takes up time to load, depending on file size and connection speed, and may surprise anyone visiting the site. And finally, wasn't that practice ended in 2004?

Either way, users will choose NOT to visit the site again if they found that it was disturbing, annoying, and imposing. Why would you, a website owner, impose a youtube video or sound clip on users that are visiting your website?

Unfortunately, if you feel the need to be that imposing to "attract" attention to your specials or your musical likes, there is probably something wrong…

ALEX DA SILVA TRIAL 2011 — If anything has been proven by the level of attention that so many people are giving the event of Alex Da Silva's trial and how websites and search engines are flooded with queries regarding the event, is how relevant of an individual Alex was, whether in positive or negative perspectives, to so many people inside and outside the salsa scene.

In an era when celebrity gossip seems to rule media airways everywhere and when people are fascinated by dull and empty reality TV stars who are famous for simply being famous, it seems only appropriate that people are behaving this way.

Some being anxious and hungry to see the latest on Alex Da Silva, savoring the moment when the trial would commence (which started Aug. 24th), and in a frenzy to hear what the verdict will be at the end of it…

RANDY KISH SALSA // SAN DIEGO, CA — Randy Kish is an avid dancer from San Diego, CA, who truly loves salsa dancing and has contributed to the promotion of the genre in many important ways. One of which has been using SalsaHook.com to promote various salsa dancing nights in San Diego, CA and write articles about the scene in the city.

It is very important for us to give recognition to this because not many people ever choose to contribute back to a scene that has given them so much joy and happiness. Most people just like to enjoy and take in as much as they can and not worry about anything else, but some people actually feel the need to give back just as much as they've received in order to demonstrate their appreciation and be an active part of the scene.

Randy Kish willingly…

AFRO CUBAN DANCE CLASS — Kati Hernández is a native of Cuba and an Afro-Cuban Dance Master who teaches different levels of Afro-Cuban dance in Los Angeles. This is a treat for our Los Angeles dance scene and one that, I personally feel, should be taken advantage by all salsa and dance afficionados who wish to improve their control on body mobility, sabor, and style. 

[ AFRO CUBAN DANCE CLASSES: SEE FULL CLASS LISTINGS HERE ]

Kati teaches at Live Arts Los Angeles (LALA) near the area of Echo Park, and at Universal Dance Designs Studio near the Miracle Mile in Los Angeles, CA.

Her classes are taught with LIVE DRUMMING according to Cuban costumes and are a great experience for anyone who has never seen anything like this. I truly recommend you go if you have an interest in Afro-Cuban! 

The reason why I recommend Afro-Cuban to salsa dancers…

ADRIAN & ANITA SALSA — The names Anita Santos Rubin and Adrián Rodríguez might be completely foreign and unknown to, even, 'hardcore' salsa dancers in Los Angeles. But to thousands around the world, mainly in Europe, Australia, and Asia, the names Adrián and Anita are as well-known as Jennifer López and Marc Anthony are to us here in LA (notice I didn't dare compare them to any local salsero couple). 

In LA we fail to realize how much talent is out there and how much more advanced they are in skill, creativity, speed, cleanliness, showmanship, and execution.

LA is said to have been once at the top of the world when it came to Salsa dancing. We had the best of the best right inside our clubs and people would come from all over the world to our LA Salsa Congress to see "us" dance. Now, LA is…

LA CUBAFEST, Cuban Music Festival — When I was a kid (about 11 or so), my dad and one my uncles convinced each other that if they put together an event with punta music from a famous Hondurean group, in this one town where they loved punta, that they could possible triple or quadruple their investment in one single night! So, they did. I had a job that night, as a security guard of some sort... It was exciting! I heard radio commercials on the way to the venue, the stage was ready, the place was huge, and it seemed everyone knew about the event! Around 11 PM or 12 AM, I realized that perhaps the 5 people on the dance floor would be the only ones to ever show up to the concert? It was sad.

The next morning we find out that another town was having another…

JOBY BRAVA SALSA — Many who visit SalsaHook.com tend to realize that I often write about the magnitude of importance and influence that Salsa Brava Dance Company had in the global popularization of the Los Angeles Style of Salsa Dancing. Salsa Brava not only performed and taught worldwide, but they also were the foundation of most of the L.A. professionals who, in part, went on to teach other dancers that also became key players in one way or another, and so forth. It all starts with the Vazquez name. 

Salsa Brava Dance Company officially dissolved on June 1st, 2004, after ten years of success in Salsa dancing. But still to this day, the name of the main female director of the company: "Joby Vazquez", is one that many cannot and do not forget - as she remains an iconic figure in the Los Angeles Salsa Dancing scene (even as…