Follow-up, aka NYC part II

Technically speaking, this post has nothing to do with NYC, but for the sake of keeping last night's promise for a part two, well. . .
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My friends tend to tease me, but not in a bad way, about my rather eclectic taste in music. Not content to listen to the usual mix of 80s new wave, brit pop or the latest Dr. Dre discovery, I've always had a large collection of jazz, Latin and world music in my CD player.

I've had a fondness for jazz - especially big band -- since I was a child. Some of my earliest childhood memories include dancing with my grandma to her collection of big band LP's on her massive record player.

As for Latin music, that love affair also started in childhood. My elementary school best friends' mother, Dorenda, was (and still is, I guess) a flamenco dancer. We'd go watch her concerts, and then return to the house, sneak into Dorenda's closet and try on all her big skirts and 'play' her castanets. We put on flamenco records and dance in the basement, attempting to recreate what we saw on the stage. Classic. (Side note: I never saw Dorenda without her fake eyelashes. Even to this day. And I've known her for 20 years!)

Once high school rolled around, my ears were opened to the joys of salsa, merengue, cumbia, cha-cha-cha etc etc. Every time our group of friends headed to Rudy's house, there were assorted family members there dancing. Always. Without fail, always a party.

But what really did it for me was going to a Carnevale (SALSA VS MERENGUE VS CUMBIA! DENVER CARNEVALE 1997) party with my friend Anna and her parents. Knowing that I did not know a lick of Spanish, nor any of the dances, she gave me the following words of advice: say "si" if someone asks "baila con migo" and that was it. I danced with this guy Oscar for a ridiculous number of hours. Anytime that either of us needed to communicate verbally, we had to get Anna (conveniently dancing with Oscar's friend) to be our translator. It was literally one of the best times I've had in my life [and I still have Oscar's phone number in my ticket scrapbook -- the first number I ever got! :)]

I felt high for weeks after that. I mean, what was this music and why had I never heard any of it before?!?!? It was totally unlike the mix of classical, country and oldies that I had relished all growing up. The next day, I ran to Blockbuster Music and bought my first salsa CD: Salsa Fresca. I listened to it everyday for the rest of that school year, I think. I read and re-read the liner notes (which aren't bad), about son, sensual style, and salsero. I've worn that CD out, and am on the hunt for a new one.

The rest, as they say, is history. I've never *officially* taken a salsa dance class (lots of unofficial ones, though), but that is on my list for 2005. I mean, I dance around in my kitchen, but that doesn't count. And SF has some awesome salsa places. Vamos a bailar!