Salsacrazy News Network Worldwide Video Podcast

Posted on July 17th, 2008 by Allan Tabilas

Evan Margolin and the SalsaCrazy Staff have combined the best in what Internet video, marketing, and salsa dancing have to offer — The SalsaCrazy News Network Worldwide Video Podcast.  The episodes are 6-10 minute news videos, similar to the idea of a local news segment, with high production value.  Each episode highlights the current salsa events in the U.S. and the world.   Never heard of the Crystal Salsa Party in Poland?  Evan mentioned the party that is located 150m deep in a salt mine.  How about the Croatian Salsa Festival?  Evan has that down too.  For reference, Evan also adds his own insight if he’s previously been to an event. Salsacrazy has so far produced five episodes for their worldwide podcast, and eleven episodes for their Salsa Dancing Bay Area (California) news videocast.   Additionally, each videocast features a website of the week.  Our good friend Anthony Persaud from Addicted2Salsa and Earl Rush from Stuck on Salsa received dap and salsa love from the news podcast.  The videos are that they are completely free, and you can watch or subscribe to them via iTunes or through their RSS feed.

In addition, SalsaCrazy has a great blog that we follow through a RSS reader like Google Reader.   Among their most notable posts were the series of entries on the 2007 World Salsa Championships written by Dakin Ferris.  They were one of the few sites who had neartime results (and video) of each day from the biggest salsa competition in the world (sorta like an Engadget or Gizmodo at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas).  SalsaCrazy also offers a large number of instructional DVDs for salsa, bachata, and other dances (ballroom from DanceCrazy, from beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.  We would be remiss if we didn’t mention their online SalsaBootCamp.com site, as they offer instructional salsa content online too.  Again, their DVDs and online vides have very high production value too.

Tags: , Evan Margolin, SalsaCrazy
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July 4th - Super Salsa Congress Weekend

Posted on July 3rd, 2008 by Allan Tabilas

In the United States, the Fourth of July commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.   For some reason, this July the 4th is also super salsa congress weekend in the U.S., with three large scale salsa events occurring simulataneously. (Update at bottom with the Croatian Summer Salsa Festival)

The 2008 Philadelphia Salsa Congress celebrates its 4th (5th) anniversary at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on 1101 Arch St, Philadelphia.   The event features such artists as Andy Cruz y Los Soneros Del Swing, Henry Herrera, Mas Mambo, Tropical Image, and Son De Cali.  Promoter Willie Torres who is part of the Salsa Seven group behind the World Salsa Championships is also working on an upcoming film called Born to Salsa, the Movie.  For some of the footage from the past two years, please check our 2006 video gallery and 2007 video gallery.  Additionally, competitors can quality for the 2008 World Salsa Championships at the Philly Congress in the on1, on2, cabaret, and team division.   The 2006 qualifying round saw on1/on2 couple Darlin Garcia and Kathleen Eccleston and cabaret couple Victor Colon and Sonya Elmore qualify was the initial spark behind our documentary at the World Salsa Championships, Salsamentary.  Nuevotec’s Harry Sanabria will be on hand for the 2008 congress.

Sin City and salsa come together with the 5th annual Las Vegas Salsa Congress at the Tropicana Casino and Resort.   The festival is organized by the 2006 Mayan World team champions and 2006 World Salsa Championships top 10 finalist Sin City Salseros (Oscar Coronado and Nathan Strager), along with David Nieto, who placed 3rd in the on1 division at the 2008 World Salsa championships.  Headlining the congress is one of the finest dance teams in the world, Tropical Gem from Italy.  Nathan Strager has told us that 2008 will be its largest event yet, with an incredible amount of artists and performers, with strong representation from Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco groups.  Coverage of the event will be provided by Nuevotec’s Allan Tabilas and Living in Rhythm International’s Joe Figueroa.  You can also qualify for the 2008 World Salsa Championships here!

Orlando keeps the Fourth of July weekend hot with the 3rd annual 2008 Orlando Salsa Congress.   Promoters Frank Fuentes, Michael Barbieri (Salsa Heat), and Joseluis Gutierrez have scheduled artists such as Yamulee, Masacote, Salsa Heat, ClaveKazi, and the Cobo Brothers to beautiful Central Florida.  We’ve heard great things about the event, but cannot make it this year.   However, there will be tons of salsa media coverage from iMambo.tv, SalsaDynasty, and BorntoSalsa.  Local Orlando TV shot Hot Spots covered the 2007 event, which you can find directly on the home page.

Update - Croatia has its 4th Croatian Summer Salsa Festival in Rovinj, Croatia from July 3-6 also.  There is a highlights video on the front page which looks very hot with beach parties, performances, and workshops.   The event is organized by Los Mamberos from Croatia.

This weekend promises plenty of salsa fun (in the U.S.) on the east and west coast, and the south.   If you see us at any of the events, please say hi!

Tags: , Las Vegas, Orlando, Philadelphia, Salsa Congress, salsamentary, Sin City Salseros, Tropical Gem, Willie Torres
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Henry Knowles talks about the New Swing Sextet with Duplessey Monic Walker

Posted on June 29th, 2008 by Allan Tabilas

“The Rip Van Winkle Story” of salsa.  At the Stardust NY Meets Philly Social on 6/28, the talented Duplessey Monic Walker had a chance to talk with world renowed DJ Henry Knowles about the new album from New Swing Sextet, Back On The Streets (A Taste of Spanish Harlem, Vol 2).   This album comes a full 35 years after their previous album.  What’s old is new again!  Henry was the executive producer behind the album, and worked with coproducer Willy Torres.

You can buy New Swing Sextet (NSS)’s album at CD Universe or Amazon CD Store (I imagine it will be on the iTunes store or Amazon MP3 store or CDBaby.com any day now)

Tags: , Duplessey Walker, Henry Knowles, New Swing Sextet
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New Swing Sextet - Back On The Streets - CD Release Party - June 30 - Taj Lounge, NY

Posted on June 29th, 2008 by Allan Tabilas

	Go ahead George (Rodriguez), play those vibes!  Nearly 30 years after the group split up, the legendary New Swing Sextet (NSS) returns with their new album, “Back on the Streets - A Taste of Spanish Harlem, Volume 2″. The new CD includes some old and new tracks.  Some of our favorites include “El Raton” (with some hiphop vibe from Alejandro Rodriguez, “Flight” (instrumental latin jazz written by Jesus Santiago), and “Bobo Tu Te Quedaras”.  Unfortunately one of their standout songs, “My Favorite Things”, that is loved worldwide did not make the album. Thanks to NSS executive producer and DJ Henry Knowles for our copy. All the songs are very danceable and have the latin jazz, pop, and boogaloo that the New Swing Sextet are known for. A brief history of the group goes a little like this (paraphrased from the “Back to the Street” liner notes): The group made its debut in the Singer Bowl at the last New York World’s Fair in 1965.  The band played in the golden era of Latin music.  The original band had a successful 15 year run before splitting up in 1979.  Some 20 years later, some friends asked the members to play for an event.  They received a great reception, and the rest is history.  What’s old is new again!  They are in demand throughout the world, having played in countries such as Switzerland, Spain, the UK, and in their home of New York, and the West Coast (LA and San Francisco). The New Swing Sextet’s CD release party is this Monday, June 30 (sorry for the short notice!) at the at the Taj Lounge on 48 West 21st Street, New York, New York 10001.Cost is $6 before 7 PM / $12 after 7 PM.  We’ll be there covering the event, so please say hi!The album includes one of the original members from the 1960s, George Rodriguez, plus artists such as Joe Mannozzi, Jr. on the piano, Hector Ortiz on the timbales/bongos, and Angel Justiniano on the congas.
Salsa Central Review (Sizzla) of the New Swing Sextet - Back to the Streets album	Salsa Central Interview with New Swing Sextet members George Rodriguez, Angel Justiniano, and Jesus (”Jay”) Santiago
Below are some videos of several groups that have used New Swing Sextet tracks.
Clavekazi - New Swing Sextet - “Revolucionando”	Caribbean Soul - New Swing Sextet - “El Raton”
Armando & Andrea - “My Favorite Things”

Tags: Fania, Henry Knowles, New Swing Sextet
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NY Salsa at the Stardust in South Jersey

Posted on June 26th, 2008 by Allan Tabilas

New York invades the Stardust!  The Stardust Ballroom is a longtime attraction for salsa dancers in the Philly, South Jersey, and Delaware area. Dress to impress socials are held twice a month every 2nd and 4th Saturday.   On June 28, event organizer Paul Loftland of Paul Loftland Photography is bringing world renowed DJ Henry Knowles, Duplessey Walker, Melanie Torres, and Sabor Latina for some New York flavor.

In demand throughout the world for his extensive knowledge of salsa music as a DJ and promoter, Henry Knowles also manages several artists including the Spanish Harlem Orchestra and New Swing Sextet (who are releasing a new album after many years, entitled “Back on the Streets”).  Duplessey Walker is a classically trained ballet, jazz, and modern dancer, with a master’s degree in psychology.  Her mambo career started with her uncle, Eddie Torres, and she is known for her fierce and sexy styling (indeed she’s a salsa diva).  Melanie Torres also has tremendous salsa/mambo roots in her family as her dad is also Eddie Torres.   She is the founder of Dance On 2 studio in New York, and the director of the Sabor Latina Dance Team.

The Stardust Ballroom is located at 363 W. Browning Rd in Bellmawr, NJ (contact them at 856-673-0700 or at http://www.salsaflava.com)

Our salsa media peers at MamboNYC (Waygee Ho and Jazz Bianchi) have interviewed both Duplessey Walker and Melanie Torres extensively (over 20 minutes a video) in their salsa divas series.

MamboNYC interview with Duplessey-Monic Walker
MamboNYC interview with Melanie Torres

Duplessey & Braniff interview (by Nick Padin)	Duplessey Walker and Braniff Pinzas social dance
Paul Loftland interview by DJ Sazam	Thoughts on the Stardust Grand Reopening 12/2007

Tags: , , Duplessey Walker, Henry Knowles, Melanie Torres, Paul Loftland, Stardust
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NY/NJ Salsa Open 2008

Posted on June 15th, 2008 by Allan Tabilas

Griselle Ponce is hosting the New York & New Jersey Salsa Open competition. The event will send dancers to the Puerto Rico Salsa Open in July. The NJ qualifying rounds start on Tuesday, 6/17 and 6/24 at 46 Lounge, 300 US Highway 46 in Totowa. The NY qualifying rounds start on Thursday, 6/26 at Club Cache, 221 W 46th St, and Sunday, 6/29 at Iguana Lounge on 240 West 54th St. Click here for the finals performance of the 2004 Puerto Rico World Salsa Open champions, Liz Lira and Salomon Rivera.  Past champions include Oliver Pineda and Luda Kroitor from Australia, and current 2007 defending champion Adrian Rodriguez and Anita Santos from Spain. The World Salsa Open also includes a junior division for those under 18 years of age.  For more information, go to the official 12th Puerto Rico Salsa Congress website. Eli Izarry and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company produced the below video on the 2007 open champions, Adrian and Anita from Spain.

Tags: Griselle Ponce, Salsa Open
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Salsa-Central.com interviews Nuevotec Productions

Posted on May 29th, 2008 by Allan Tabilas

One of our salsa media peers, Salsa Central from Birmingham, United Kingdom, was on hand for Pulpo’s Hot Bread CD release party in New York in late April.  While interviewing Gilberto “Pulpo” Colon, Jr (former pianist for Hector Lavoe) and his thoughts about his first album , Mel C and Steve (the founders of Salsa Central) also interviewed Nuevotec’s very own Dimas Mero and Davin Riley.  They flipped the script on us, the tables have turned!   We also interviewed Mel C and Steve to find out how their salsa baby started.

Salsa Central serves as a complete portal and community for salseros in the UK and abroad. The site includes event and music album reviews (from a number of global salsa enthusiasts such as dancers and DJs) , directory listings for events and studios, and one of the largest salsa interview and performance video archives in the world.  They also sponsor and promote events in the UK such as Salsa Kingdom and the Great British Salsa Experience, in September and November of 2008 respectively.

Since both Mel C and Steve server as dancers and salsa DJs, they have taken a major interest in interviewing some of the world’s finest musicians and dancers, including Chino Nunez, Jimmy Bosch, Oscar Hernandez, and the New Swing Sextet.   The interview section might perhaps be the crown jewel of the site. The artist generally tells their own story without an onscreen / interactive interviewer, sometimes in their own home or studio, which gives an authentic and earthy feel of the interviewee.  For instance, the great pianist and musician Larry Harlow was interviewed in his home in New York, and he talked about his early music career to his current activities.  Want to learn how the mambo king started out? Eddie Torres was interviewed for more than 30 minutes in the UK, with Eddie telling his own story.  There’s always more to the artist than just what you seen on the stage.  (Just watch the interview with Ismael Otero or Susana Montero, phD).  Brilliant work.

Salsa-Central celebrates their one year anniversary on May 31 in Birmingham, UK.  Happy birthday!

Dimas and Davin (Nuevotec)	Mel C and Steve (Salsa-Central)
Jimmy Bosch interview	Chino Nunez interview
Larry Harlow interview	New Swing Sextet interview

Tags: , Salsa Central, United Kingdom
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2008 Connecticut Salsa Fest

Posted on May 26th, 2008 by Allan Tabilas

Only four days left!  Connecticut’s largest salsa event celebrates its fourth anniversary with the Connecticut Salsa Fest on May 30-31.  Now in its fourth year, Luis Lopez from Latin Moves and Ivette Sanchez from Latin Rhythms continue to bring great talent for workshops and performances to the city of Stamford.

Scheduled instructors include Ismael Otero and Shani Talmor, Mario “B” Gonzales, April Genovese, and Darlin Garcia. Performers include Caribbean Soul and Plan B dancers from New Jersey, Tropical Image from New York, Hacha y Machete, Salsa y Control, Salsa Con Clase, and Rumba y Tumbal from Massachusetts.  In addition, there are a number of groups from Canada, Puerto Rico, and Colombia.  Luis and Ivette also bring an incredible amount of young dancers to the event, including Dancers Dreamzzz, Mas Estilo, and Rhythmic Fire.  The kids definitely bring the house down!

This year marks a new phase for the CT Staff.  The staff has teamed up with Erik Novoa of Swing Shoes Entertainment to also bring both west coast swing and hustle dancing to the event. So similar to the NY Salsa Congress, you’ll have exposure to other forms of dance expression.

The location is below.  Hope to see you there!

Hilton Stamford
First Stamford Place
Stamford, CT 06902

Luis Lopez interview	Combinacion Perfecta with Eddie Torres
Yamulee performance	Salsa Con Clase performance

Tags: Connecticut Salsa Fest
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Ritmo Masacote - Fantagious CD Release Theatre Production

Posted on May 9th, 2008 by Allan Tabilas

Talented musician and dancer from Boston’s Masacote Dancers, Joel Massicot and the Ritmo Masacote band returns with their second latin jazz album, Fantagious. Their 2006 debut album, Masacote, received critical acclaim with such musicians as Chino Nunez, Luisito Quintero, Raul Agraz, and Jimmy Bosch. The first album also inspired several performance numbers from Joel’s Masacote Dance Company, either as part of a track from the album, or routines from a salsa congress.

For the second album, the creative synergy from both the Masacote Dance Company and Ritmo Masacote band come together with a 2 hour CD release theater production entitled Fantagious. The production will include dancing performances choreographed by Joel’s wife, Ana Massicot, and a concert from Ritmo Masacote playing their latin jazz tracks. Special guests include San Antonio and Semeneya Dance Company’s Lee Rios and the Marshall of Magic from Bermuda as cast members. Sekou McMiller from Chicago’s Descarga Caribe (who is currently in the off-broadway play Celia) is the stage manager, and Gordon Neil from Atlanta will make his vocalist debut. Also featured is Marshall Weller from Bermuda, who mixes his magician skills with salsa. The production takes place on May 16, 2008 in Kresge Auditorium on MIT’s campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts at 7:30pm. Follow this link to get more schedule information.

Watch an in-studio session music video of “Melancholy” from Ritmo Masacote’s upcoming album “Fantagious”.

Ana and Joel Massicot discuss Fantagious	Marshall Weller, Bermuda Salsa Magician
Lee Rios and Maria Falcon interview	Fuerza Latina remix with Lee Rios
Sekou McMiller interview	Descarga Caribe performance
Gordon Neil interview	Gordon Neil and Julissa Cruz

Below is some additional information about Joel Massicot from CDBaby.com

While living in St. Croix, Joel was the director of “Various Artists”, his own reggae, jazz, and funk band, and a part of the 666th Army National Guard Band. When Howard University’s School of Fine Arts Music Department in DC recruited him as a Jazz studies piano major in 1998, Joel ventured from St. Croix to Washington, DC to pursue his musical career.

Since then, he has had the honor of playing with such highly acclaimed bands as Orquesta La Romana (Washington,DC), voted best salsa orchestra by salsametro.com consecutively 2001-2005, the 257th Army National Guard Band (Washington, DC), Sound V.I. Zion Records Reggae Band (St. Croix, VI), and Edwin Pabon and Orchestra (Boston, MA). In early 2005, he was selected to tour with Sound V.I.Zion Records during its Spring 2005 East Coast Tour. He has also had the honor of performing on stage with such Grammy winning salsa bands and artists as “Mambo 911” (Chicago, IL), New Swing Sextet, Chino Nuñez, Bobby Allende, Ray De La Paz, Frankie Vazquez, and Roberto Roena, among others.

Tags: Ana Massicot, Boston, Gordon Neil, Joel Massicot, Lee Rios, Masacote, Sekou McMiller
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2007 World Salsa Championships on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes

Posted on May 6th, 2008 by Allan Tabilas

It’s broadcast time! The 2007 World Salsa Championships will be broadcast on ESPN Deportes and ESPN2 for the first time in the U.S. in May and June (tonight on ESPN Deportes!). The premiere competition attracts dancers from every corner around the globe, covering on1, on2, team, and cabaret divisions, and is also available on DVD. Watch some of your favorite performers, including Oliver Pineda and Luda Kroitor, Mario “Junior” Alabi and Emily Alabi, Abel Pena and Zulmara Torres, and El Mulato y su Swing Latino. We’ve been to the 2006 and 2007 events, and have been always impressed with the incredible talent, organization, music, and social dancing. Simply put, it is salsa and mambo’s best dancers on the world stage. The event also had some great musicians, including El Gran Combo and Aldaberto Santiago. Live music at its finest as well - there is no music without the dance. You must come check it in out Orlando, Florida (U.S.) this coming December.

ESPN Deportes in the USA and Puerto Rico

Date                           Time
May 6                    9:00 pm ET           6:00 pm PT
May 10                  9:00 pm ET           6:00 pm PT

ESPN2 USA:

May 27                   9:00 pm ET            6:00 pm PT
June 4                   12:30 am ET
June 3                    9:30 pm PT
June 19                  2:00 pm ET          11:00 am PT

Additional schedules for Central America, South America, Africa, Middle East, Pacific Rim, and Europe, are available at the World Salsa Championships website.

Highlights at the 2007 World Salsa Championships

Albert Torres interview at the 2007 event. He discusses the depth of talent from all divisions, how Orlando and Disney World has embraced the World Championships, and the live music with Adalberto Santiago.

World Salsa Championships 2007 promo

Tags: Abel Pena, Albert Torres, ESPN, Junior Alabi, Luda Kroitor, Oliver Pineda, Swing Latino, world salsa championships
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