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Salsa in Paradise
was hosted by Salsa Brava and Albert Torres Productions, and paradise it
was indeed. The event took place at the Waikiki Marriott Resort on the
island of Oahu in Hawaii from January 16th through 23rd
and consisted of daily workshops, events and dances. Instructors and
performers included three couples from Salsa Brava, Nelson Flores and
Maribel Maldonado from Descarga Latina, Frankie Martinez from New York,
Super Mario from the UK, and more. The event and location more than
surpassed my expectations. It was one of the best salsa vacations I have
taken.
I had always
wanted to visit Hawaii but never had, so I really looked forward to
getting there just as a travel destination. When vacation time came
around I always chose different locations in Mexico for their proximity
and affordability. Salsa in Paradise was a great excuse to finally visit
our 50th state. It was also a great opportunity for family and
friends to make the trip with me. And the price was very reasonable. I
paid under $1000 for a 6-day, 5-night package that included airfare, hotel
(the Marriott), shuttles to and from the hotel and the full event
package. For $300 less I could’ve stayed at a more affordable hotel a few
blocks from the event, but chose convenience over savings.
Thursday
I arrived at
the Honolulu Airport with a group of family members, friends and salsa
students to moderately warm weather. I was hoping for a hotter climate,
and was unprepared for the sometimes chilly breeze throughout the time we
were there. This was no Puerto Rico, that’s for sure! But that was my
only disappointment during the whole vacation.
We arrived at
the hotel and registered for the event. We grabbed the event schedule and
began planning how we would spend each day. At the end of the week, when
I asked people what they liked about the event, one of the comments that
came up repeatedly was that the workshops were scheduled early and the
night events late, which left the rest of the day open for sight-seeing.
One friend said that she would have felt guilty missing workshops to do
touristy activities. The event schedule offered the ability to fit in
both. While I was happy to have the opportunity to take workshops and
attend events with all the salseros, I still wanted to experience the
island and all it had to offer.
The event
scheduled for the first night was a party at one of the local salsa hot
spots called Rumors, located at one of the nearby hotels. The sunken
dance floor was too small for the amount of people there, but there was
plenty of space to dance up on the carpet. There seemed to be a mix of
locals hanging out and others who were there specifically for the salsa
event. I didn’t do a lot of social dancing that night, but spent most of
the time socializing with friends from around the country and world who I
always run into at these kind of events. Once you start hitting the
different congresses and other salsa events, you begin to see many of the
same people over and over again.
The biggest
surprise of the night came after the salsa professionals were introduced
and each danced for the crowd. Albert Torres announced that there was a
special guest there who was one of the biggest names in salsa music.
Well, who do think stepped forward? Marc Anthony! Yes, Marc Anthony,
right there, hanging out with us. Of course, after it was announced that
he was there, the poor guy was mobbed the rest of the night and had to
escape to the VIP area.
Friday
The next
morning we woke up early and took some of the workshops. There were three
hour-long sessions every morning, with two workshops to choose from at a
time. I heard people comment that they actually preferred having a more
limited choice. When you have too much to choose from, sometimes you
don’t know what to do. And it’s vacation time, you don’t want to think
too hard. That first day I took an intermediate on 2 footwork class with
Frankie Martinez, an intermediate partnering workshop on 1 with Super
Mario and a timing and musicality workshop on 2 with Nelson Flores. All
three were excellent. The workshops were well-attended but not
over-crowded. Frankie has amazing, jazz-infused moves and weaves in
plenty of tips on technique. He is also quite humorous. Super Mario, the
“man of a million moves,” lives up to his name and is excellent at
breaking things down. Nelson is down-to-earth and explains timing in
really easy to understand terms. I used to think that most dance
instructors became teachers only because it is the best way to make money
if you’re a great dancer. But more and more, I am impressed with the
quality of the teaching that is out there in the salsa scene.
That evening,
Albert arranged a luau for those who were willing to pay an additional
$30. It was well worth it. The menu consisted of the traditional Kalua
pig (the kind they cook in the pit), Macadamia nut crusted mahi-mahi (my
personal favorite) and many other local delicacies. All of the salseros
attended in Hawaiian wear. Frankie showed up wearing only a Hawaiian wrap
skirt! The best part of the luau, however, was the hour-long performance
that followed. A group of local musicians and dancers performed
everything from the Hawaiian hula, the fast hip-shaking Tahitian dance, a
New Zealand war chant, and an amazing fire-knife dance.
That night, a
local salsa band, Son Caribe, played in the main ballroom of the hotel.
Albert and Luis entertained the audience during a break by performing a
“traditional hula” in grass skirts and those silly T-shirts that make you
look like you have a voluptuous women’s body in a bikini thong. Oh, those
silly salseros. Most of the instructors and professionals attended the
events each night and danced with the attendees.
Saturday
The next
morning we skipped the workshops to be able to spend the whole day
sight-seeing. We started our day with a visit to the swap meet in the
parking lot of the Aloha Stadium, where the Pro-Bowl is held every year.
We were able to buy affordable souvenirs, including tons of shell jewelry
and belts, bathing suits and wraps. They even sold T-shirts at only 10
for $20. And the admission is only $.50 per person. From there we went
to Pearl Harbor to visit the Arizona Memorial and take a tour of the
Missouri battle ship. There were no long lines, and both were affordable
and educational. I felt less guilty about my daughter missing three days
of school knowing that I was providing her with activities like these.
One of the
things that impressed me about Waikiki, was the community activities
organized for the locals and tourists. Every Saturday and Sunday night
they show a free movie on a big screen right on the beach in front of the
hotel. The sand was packed with mostly families and teens. And the
quality of the sound and projection was outstanding. That evening we saw
“Blue Crush,” which was filmed right on the North Shore of Oahu.
Saturday night
was the Gala Night of the event, and the most crowded. Johnny Polanco y
su Conjunto Amistad played to a crowd almost double the size of the night
before. There were many locals who showed up just for that night, and
many more attendees arrived from Japan. The night also included an
amateur dance competition and performances by the instructors, locals and
other professionals. One of the highlights of the night was an amazing
footwork performance by Frankie Martinez and his partner, Lori, formerly
of Young Ambition. That man does not have his bones connected the same
way we mere mortals do. And he exudes sexuality. I heard married women
screaming like little girls as he danced. He makes an incredible
connection with the audience.
Sunday
The next day
we continued with our touring of the island. We started out by attending
the monthly “Brunch on the Beach” just a block from the hotel. All of the
local hotels and restaurants set out tents and serve their special at
reasonable prices. We ate Kalua pig egg scramble, mango French toast,
Kona coffee mile high ice cream pie with macadamia nuts and drank
plantation pineapple iced tea. From there, we went to Hanauma Bay for the
best snorkeling I’ve ever done. The water was cold, but the fish were
plentiful and very used to human visitors. We even saw an eel, closer
than I would’ve liked. We paid only $3 to get in and $6 for the rental of
the equipment. Hanauma Bay is actually a sunken volcano crater filled
with a coral reef that is home to many species of fish, sea turtles and
other creatures.
We arrived
back at Waikiki just in time to do some dancing on the beach to a free
performance by Johnny Polanco. The locals and tourists hovered around as
the best instructors and dancers danced in flip flops and bathing suits.
I had my first social dance with Super Mario, but my daughter stole the
show by dancing the next two songs with him.
That night was
my favorite of all the events. Some participants had left, so they moved
the dance to one of the smaller ballrooms and it was DJ only. It was also
Pajama night and almost everyone came in PJs. You know us salseros,
though, always willing to call attention to ourselves. This time Luis,
Nelson and Mario showed up in the voluptuous bikini thong shirts with
shower caps on their heads and night cream on their faces. Later that
night there was a special celebration for Joby and Luis’ wedding
anniversary and a sexy and funny PJ contest. The winner in the sexy
category was an older gentleman who started off in some silk pajamas and
stripped down to a sequined Speedo. Oh boy, we were all rolling.
Monday
The next day
we took our longest journey of the vacation. We traveled to the other
side of the island, only about an hour away, to visit the Polynesian
Cultural Center. On our way we stopped at the Dole Plantation for some
pineapple ice cream and lots of island goodies to bring home: coconut
coffee, mango macadamia pancake mix, etc. The Polynesian Cultural Center
is a must see if you’re on the island. It’s an all-day adventure and well
worth the $55 entrance fee that includes a buffet dinner. The PCC is like
a zoo with people instead of animals. You journey around to seven
different “mock islands” representing Polynesia to see presentations and
participate in activities. Just to name a few… In the island of Samoa,
you learn men do all the cooking and how to husk a coconut. In the island
of New Zealand, you watch a war chant and learn to swing poi balls. In
the island of Tonga, you watch a drum performance and learn spear-throwing
and weaving. It was really great. The night ends with a buffet or luau
and a night performance by all the dancers and musicians. It’s
interesting to know that BYU has a campus there and that they recruit
actual natives from the islands to attend the university on full
scholarship on the condition that they work or perform at the Cultural
Center.
By the time we
got back to the hotel that night, it was very late. We intended to go to
the salsa party that night at Planet Hollywood, but passed out from sheer
exhaustion. We did hear it was fun. We woke up the next morning,
packed and had one last meal before heading to the airport.
I had one of
the greatest times of my life on this vacation. The combination of a
fabulous location, great events, wonderful dancers and friends and family
made it paradise indeed. Joby and Luis of Salsa Brava, Albert and Maya
of ATP and Tom of Pleasant Holidays did an outstanding job of organizing
and running the event. I’m glad that the event was successful and hope
to attend again next year.
About the author:
Stephanie Palmeri is the assistant director of Son Bravisimo of Salsa
Brava Productions. Check out the website at www.sonbravisimo.com. She
and her dance partner, Danny Zepeda, have been performing, competing and
choreographing together for almost three years. They have also judged
amateur and professional salsa competitions. They currently teach all
levels of salsa dancing at the Mexican Heritage Plaza and Club Miami, both
in San Jose. Stephanie is a regular feature contributor for the
Salsacrazy website. Contact her at (408) 806-0787 or
salsa_queen_25@yahoo.com. |
