L.A. Style Salsa Workshop Video Clip

A couple of weeks ago there was a L.A. Style Salsa Workshop at Latin Street Dance Studio in Chicago. I did not post any clips from the workshop because we were not allowed to video tape the instructors (Rodrigo Guzman & Vai Au-Hare) and the videp clips I took of myself 'attempting' the moves were not complimentary. My friend Dewayne came across a video clip on YouTube of another couple practicing one of the patterns that was taught. If you look in the background you will see myself walking by and Chad and Karina in the wall mirror. Stacie from Orquesta Bravo and India was also there taking the workshop. Over 1/4 of the class was from Indianapolis!

2006 Fiesta Indianapolis - Where's my taco?

Last Saturday people filled the grounds at Military Park for La Plaza's Fiesta Indianapolis. I attended Fiesta Indy last year and was very excited for this year's fiesta. While this year's fiesta was fun, it did not meet my expectations.

I understand how difficult it is to organize and manage large events such as Fiesta Indy and La Plaza did an excellent job. As I walked around, everything looked well organized and the live music started on time with little to no interruptions.

So how did this year's Fiesta fall short? Well for me, I went to the fiesta for 3 reasons: the authentic Mexican food, live salsa bands and the people. As for the food, there was only one vendor selling tacos. I waited in line for over an hour and a half. Typically, I would give up and find something else to eat, but I remembered how much I loved eating the tacos last year, so I decided to wait it out. Due to the long wait I missed the Rueda performance from OpenSourceSalsa, which I was planning on seeing. When I finally got my tacos, I was shocked! They Americanized my ‘authentic’ Mexican tacos! Authentic tacos are made with a soft shell, meat, pico de gallo and are served with lime. What they gave me was an undercooked soft shell, meat, and cheese with store-bought salsa on top. I could barely stomach it. I would have tossed the food, but after waiting for over an hour and a half, I could not. I will do the vendor a huge favor and not mention their name.

Now, what about the live music? I was only interested in the salsa bands and will not comment on the other bands. The first salsa band was Salsa & Company, an Indianapolis salsa band. Due to a private group class that I was teaching, I missed them, so I cannot give comment on their performance. I have attended venues where they have played in the past and have been very pleased with their work. The second band was Orquesta Iluziones located in Valparaiso, Indiana. I was given their demo CD in the past and they sounded good, but when I heard them live, they sounded much better. While their band’s performance was excellent, I did not like the vocals of their lead female singer. Her voice did not harmonize with the band. It would have also been nice if there was a big headliner salsa band like they had last year by bringing in Puerto Rican Power!

While 2006 Fiesta Indy fell short by my standards, it was still a great success. The attendance was strong throughout the day, everyone was having a good time (expect for us poor saps in the taco line) and there was lots of salsa dancing in the streets. If someone from La Plaza happens to come across this blog, please don't take offense, and take my comments as constructive criticism for next year's planning.