LOS ANGELES, CA // ALEX DA SILVA - Reports surfacing early February of this year state that Alex Da Silva's court trial preliminary hearings have commenced after more than a year of confinement in the LA County Men's Central Jail. Alex has been unable to meet a 2 million dollar bail (a harsh bail imposed because as a Brazilian national he was considered a 'flight-risk'). His next court date is scheduled for February 25, 2011. 

[ June 23, 2011 UPDATES TO THIS ARTICLE // Alex Da Silva Case Information ]

[ ARTICLE by STACY DA SILVA on SalsaHook.com // Alex Da Silva's Sister ]

Conditions inside the jail are said to be harsh for Da Silva (Booking#:2024149), who in late 2010 was admitted to the Men's Central Jail's medical wing as he suffered from severe dehydration that resulted in kidney stones. Water provisions are…

As a dance community, we ought to pay close attention to the current issue being brought up by the media and so many other outlets, where five young girls ages 7-9 performed an overly sexualized dance routine at the 2010 World of Dance Tour Competition in Pomona, CA. The girls were wearing midriff-baring tops, short skirts and black stockings with a little red bow on them (I've seen those stockings being sold on Hollywood Blvd at stores I won't mention). The dance troupe, called Precision Dance from Orange County, certainly showcased a very well-performed dance routine with outstanding dance technique given the girls' ages, but were some of the moves and certainly the costumes really necessary?

The reason this immediately intrigued me is because it reminded me of a Salsa routine performed on-stage by Alex Da Silva, 40+ years old (choreographer of "So You Think You Can Dance?," who…

"Yo No Se Mañana" has people screaming at Salsa night clubs all over Los Angeles, and I am sure all over the world! 

I happened to be dancing at Stevens Steak House, a local nightclub in Los Angeles, when I heard a tune coming out of the speakers that really made me want to dance! Quickly, I grabbed (asked kindly) a girl who I knew could feel the music the way I did and we headed to the dance floor. As the song progressed my enthusiasm about it grew and I just had to stop dancing to ask the DJ what was the name of the song! The DJ of the night, Martin 'El Travieso', replied: "Beautiful"... My reply to him was: "Yes, I know it's beautiful, but what's the name of the song?" He laughed and replied again: "the name is 'Beautiful'!" 

For more than half a century, the Queen of Salsa carried her title with class and distinction. Her powerful voice and electrifying rhythm garnered more than 100 worldwide recognitions, multiple platinum and gold records, three GRAMMY® awards and four Latin GRAMMY® awards, as well as a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Celia Cruz also received three honorary degrees from the following US universities: Yale, Florida International University, and the University of Miami. 

Her boundless enthusiasm, genuine warmth, and deep-seated humanitarianism made Celia Cruz the music industry’s most accomplished and revered performer … and the world's most notable ambassador of Hispanic culture.

CELIA CRUZ'S LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

Celia was born in the diverse Santos Suárez neighborhood of La Habana, Cuba as Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso on October 21, 1925. She was the second child of…

So, you are ready to buy dance shoes, but you don't know where to go? :) First of all, congratulations, and secondly, we want to help you!

Many times, even people who have been dancing for a while in L.A. do not know where to go to find good salsa dance shoes. Below we have posted a list of the most well-known stores in Los Angeles. We only picked stores that have been known to be around for many years; there may be new stores that are selling dance shoes right now, but we will not post them unless they remain in business for a long time, as dance shoe stores or retailers come and go all the time and we don't want to update this article 10 times in the next year or so. ;-) 

The stores we have picked are not paying for any advertising or…

Frances Nieves was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, and has been living and…

LOS ANGELES, CA — On Sunday, March 28th, 2010, Los Angeles came together at Stevens Steak & Seafood House for an explosive night of Live music and fluid dancing where two bands and two dancing scenes went head to head to defend and represent two different Latin styles of music and dancing: Salsa and Bachata. For a while now, in a city where Salsa has been king (or queen) for decades and its style of dancing, L.A. Style On1, has bee popularized globally throughout the years, Bachata has abruptly stepped in to seemingly take over a big portion of the appreciation and love that dancers, musicians, and djs have to give to the Latin scene. The rivalry between Salsa and Bachata could be felt and the visionary mind of Jim Philipan, owner of Stevens Steak House, conceived the idea that a duel should be arranged to finally prove which scene…

CRISTIAN OVIEDA SALSA — Many years ago, when I first began dancing Salsa and started going to clubs like Rudolpho's, Papaz, the old Conga Room, and the Mayan, I met and became well-acquainted with an extremely good dancer, Cristian Oviedo. At the time, Cristian was and up-and-coming dancer who demonstrated a lot of potential and had won 1st place at the Amateur Division of the Mayan World Salsa Championships in Los Angeles, CA. He was seen by many as a future top Salsa dancer in Los Angeles, and now, many years later, it is clear that he did not disappoint. 

ALEX DA SILVA TRIAL 2011 — Alex Da Silva's trial has been scheduled and further delayed quite a few times now, while he remains imprisoned and unable to meet bail. 

Many family members, starting with Alex's sister Stacy Da Silva, who currently lives in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, have pleaded for support.

While SalsaHook.com only writes about Salsa-related news that may be of interest to our user base, we are not legal experts by any means. Rape cases must be difficult to handle on both sides, unless concise proof exists. So far we understand by those who have shared their knowledge of the case with us that only claims exist and not any type of proof. But being that it was multiple women claiming similar stories, maybe that's why the LA County court system has been able to put Alex through this. 

Once again, we are not…

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…

For those of us who started dancing Salsa a few years before websites like YouTube began bringing global Salsa figures to the convenience of our computer monitors, the nickname of "Super Mario" belonged to a guy who seemed to be a myth in Salsa; someone who was spoken of as living in the UK and having a million moves in his Salsa dancing arsenal. You only knew about him if you were part of the roots of L.A. Style (which I personally wasn't) when Super Mario would visit the U.S. to teach and perform at Congresses and Salsa Festival Events in many cities. Some people even met him at these events and saw him live, and it was only by their accounts that the validity of his existence gained value as word continued to spread that he was actually a real person. :-) 

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…