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…

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'S TRIAL — The famous choreographer Alex Da Silva was arrested for accusations of raping 4 women between the ages of 20-26 years of age.

Alex Da Silva´s bail was initially set to 6.2 million dollars, and has gone down to 2 million dollars since. I think that´s an absurd bail being that Alex Da Silva has no criminal record.

Also, Alex has been treated very poorly since he´s been encarcerated. Let´s keep in mind that these are only accusations with no proof of anything. Not one of those 4 women had proof.

Alex Da Silva has been encarcerated almost 2 years with zero evidence of any kind of any alledge rapes. I´m hoping that justice will be done when this is all over with. I hope Alex Da Silva gets to process those 4 women. It´s absurd being in jail for so long with such…

LOS ANGELES, CA — A few years ago, dance teams in Los Angeles seemed to be popping out of nowhere and everyone was a dance professional or director passing out business cards all over the L.A. clubs (not that anything has changed by now), and so the quality of dancing was really deteriorating. Los Angeles dance professionals who had left L.A. for Europe would come back to visit and would be amazed at how low the quality of dancing was in Los Angeles, and how everyone seemed to be learning their dancing from intermediate dancers, promoters who now taught their classes, or even DJs who felt they were good enough to teach as well. So, it was evident in the social environment and on the dance floor when shows were presented that just about anyone was trying to make a buck in the salsa scene (and now, with the economic…

The Floor Improv Night is a live jam session with musicians and dancers of all genres. Carolina Cerisola and Sascha Escandon have successfully created an event night that, as their goal was in creating it, fills a void in Los Angeles, CA. 

September 20, 2010. Over the past weekend, over 2,000 people attended three nights of dance performances at The 4th Annual San Diego Salsa and Bachata Festival.  The shows included a range of performers from North America and Europe, from Amateurs to World Champions, all sharing a desire to express their love for dance through imaginative choreography and high energy music.  Witnessing such an event can inspire a social dancer to improve their skills and can be one of several avenues that lead dancers to team-oriented Salsa.

Fernando Sosa is known worldwide as one of the most achieved and complete dancers in Salsa. Web videos about him or his dance teams collect millions of views by users from all over the world, and his influence can easily be seen on many other dancers around the world. Few people know anything more about him, where he came from, or what his accomplishments entail. This is an attempt at giving a short biography on him for anyone who is interested. 

Fernando Sosa was born on May 19, 1977 in the South American city of Monte Video, Uruguay. During his childhood he frequented an important athletic club in Monte Video where he learned Artistic Gymnastics. At the age of 15, he arrived in Italy and met his great dance teacher (Maestro) Alberto Valdes, who showed him the doors to Cuba in order to deepen his Afro-Cuban dance roots…

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LAS VEGAS, NV — In the recent years, one of the most relevant west coast salsa events to attend and be a part of has been the Las Vegas Salsa Congress, which has become an absolutely do-not-miss event! It's Vegas Baby!! Organized by the popular dance troupe Sin City Salseros, which is led by Nate Strager and Virginia Cano, in association with Albert Torres Prodcutions, the Las Vegas Salsa Congress has reached new heights as they have made a true effort to bring quality acts to their event. 

The Las Vegas Salsa Congress hype began in 2008, when it was announced that Fernando Sosa and his "Tropical Gem" (Italy), the best salsa dance team in the world, would be a part of the lineup of acts presenting in Las Vegas, it became evident that the organizers had a serious approach with…

YOUTUBE.COM — Currently there are hundreds of thousands of Latin dance videos on YouTube (if not millions, who knows), and there is one particular video that seems to continue getting millions of views. Currently at a little above 27.4 million hits, the video featuring two of the best Bachata dancers in the world, Jorge Burgos (a.k.a. "ATACA Jorgie") and Tanja Kensinger (a.k.a. "La Alemana"), seems to overtake all other Latin dance videos ever!

When you watch the video, you realize why it has gotten so many hits. Tanja is simply an exquisite female with an amazing body, great hair, and super-sexy moves. Her dancing is so uniquely refreshing that people continue coming back for more, even when having watched the video dozens of times before. It just seems so right to cotinue enjoying such fresh dancing and great looks. 

In the video, Jorgie and Tanja are dancing to…

The world of Salsa dancing has an ambassador in Fox's world-famous "So You Think You Can Dance" television dance show. Her name is Cristina Santana, age 24, from San Diego, CA, and who was originally born in Mexicali, Mexico. She is one of the 11 contestants (5 girls, 6 guys) in Season 7 of the very popular and highly acclaimed SYTYCD show.

Cristina had, for a while, made her presence felt in Los Angeles and San Diego with her participation in various salsa competitions, performing at popular salsa events, and being a shining star on the social dance floor after each of those performances. Her style is on1, flashy, a bit raw and not so fluid in body movement, but what makes her stand out is her determination and assured drive, her heart, and her charisma. I remember when I first saw her competing at the Top Ladies Salsa Competition in 2008 and…

Alyra Lennox was born on February 1, 1977 in Elverson, Pennsylvania in the United States. When Alyra was five years old her family moved to Florida and she began to study "Danza Duncan" (a style of dance created by Isodora Duncan, recognized for the modern creation of dance). Then, at the age of 10 years old, Alyra once again moves with her family to North Carolina, where she began to take Jazz lessons and after just two years she takes the decision to make an audition to enter a school of art in Los Angeles, California. Quickly admitted on her first attempt, Alyra moves to the city of angels and in the successive three years she studies recitals and dance.

At age 19, Alyra discovered for the first time Latin American music and learned her first salsa steps from Laura Canellias, "La Dama de la Salsa". Alyra passionately continued…

Entrepreneur Gladys Franco is a rising star in salsa dance footwear.

SAN DIEGO, CA - At some point in our lives, we've all thought, “Ugh, who designed this? They obviously didn’t have my tastes in mind.”  Today, we have more avenues to inform our favorite brands what we like, and if they don’t change, we simply go to our next best option.

That is of course, if there is one.

Two years ago a local dancer, just a year into the salsa scene, was unhappy about having to switch from her highly fashionable footwear into her salsa shoes.  “I’m fashion conscious, it was a downer when I went to the club and had to change into shoes that weren’t as fashionable as those I was wearing, but it was the only thing available” explains Glayds Franco, founder of G. Franco Dance Shoes.  In her case, she did something most…

COLOMBIAN SALSA // LA POLLERA COLORADA — Every Friday, the Colombian community in all of Los Angeles says: "A Bailar a La Pollera Colora'!" The night famously promoted by Charlie D' Cali throughout the city of Los Angeles and going on almost 10 years now, has a new home: La Fonda Supper Club on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles. 

La Pollera Colora' has become a Los Angeles tradition because of its joyful celebration ambiance where it is not just about the music, or the dancing, or the special shows that Charlie D' Cali is popular for putting together, but because it is a cultural expression where for one night you can transport yourself to Cali, Colombia and forget about the fact that you are still stuck in L.A. 

The support that this night has received throughout the years has been outstanding. Charlie D' Cali has never given up…