Puerto Rico! I know you've always wondered about reggaeton and where it came from and how the different areas of Puerto Rico have influenced the music. Check out Daddy Yankee, Tego Calderon, and the rest. The featurette I'm most looking forward to is Tego's. Tego is from the city of Loiza. Historically, Loiza began as a settlement of Africans who were brought to the island by Spainards for slavery. As you might guess, racism existed way back then. And although today there is a bigger push for inclusion of all Latinos regardless of 'skin tone', back in the day, mulattos were not accepted into society. Check out the lyrics to Loiza by Tego. If you want me to translate, let me know (maybe a good project for me since I haven't translated anything for awhile).Most people think reggaeton is just made up of beats with words that are repeated over and over. Sure, some is… some isn't. A lot of it is very fun and I love dancing to it. Most of it is infused with great Latin beats or sampling from salsa or bachata which just makes it better. It'll never replace my true love of salsa though.

On March 18th, I’ll be participating in the first Rueda-Casino Fest in Washington DC.  Calle Ocho is an event that happens in Miami every year and it is just HUGE.  I have never been unfortunately. 

On the 18th, rueda groups from DC (almost all of them) will come together for the first time to celebrate the style of dance that we love so much.  There will be performances from five different groups.  You might be wondering, “What the heck is rueda or casino??”.  Well, it is cuban-style salsa dancing.  Rueda means that you do it in a circle with someone who is the ‘caller’.  Think of square dancing and set it to salsa music with great movies and style.  Usually, you dance it to Timba (www.timba.com) (Cuban salsa). 

If you have ever wanted to take a salsa class or see what this circle dancing is all about, I would suggest coming out on the 18th.  You can drop me a comment if you want more information.