Dance Academy

The Callao Carnival A Burst of Gold, Rhythm, and Tradition

The Cultural Heartbeat of Bolívar State

In the mining heart of Venezuela, where gold dictates the pulse of the land, an annual celebration arises that transcends simple festivity: The Callao Carnival.

This is not merely a costume party; it is a living chronicle of resistance, cultural fusion, and joy that has echoed through Bolívar State for over a century. Declared a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016, this festival is the result of a fascinating blend of West Indian, African, and European cultures.

El Carnaval de El Callao de Venezuela, Patrimonio Inmaterial de la Humanidad

A Journey to the Roots: The Origins of Calypso

The history of this carnival is intrinsically linked to the 19th-century gold rush. Immigrants from the British and French West Indies (Trinidad, Grenada, Saint Lucia) brought with them their languages (patois), their cuisine, and, above all, their music: calypso.

Unlike Trinidadian calypso, Callao Calypso developed its own distinct identity. It is sung in both English and Spanish, accompanied by the bumbac drum, the rallo (metal scraper), the bell, and the Venezuelan cuatro, creating a contagious rhythm that narrates the hardships and hopes of the miners of that era.

Iconic Characters: Guardians of Heritage

El Carnaval del Callao. Un Estallido de Oro, Ritmo y Tradición

What makes the Callao Carnival unique is its colorful and unchanging hierarchy of characters, each carrying deep significance:

The Madamas: They are the central figures and pillars of the tradition. They represent the matriarchs of the West Indies, dressed in regal, brightly colored gowns, headscarves (turbans), and abundant jewelry. The figure of Isidora Agnes, the legendary “Negra Isidora,” is remembered as the great defender of this culture.
The Dancing Devils: Dressed in red and black, they wear impressive masks with multiple horns. Their original role was to clear the path for the parade and maintain order with their whips, symbolizing the protection of the festivities.
The Mediopintas: Characters who roam the streets smeared in a mixture of charcoal and molasses. With humor, they threaten to “paint” passersby unless they are given a coin (a medio).
The Miners: Clad in helmets and carrying tools, they pay homage to the region’s primary economic activity and the workers who founded the town.

More Than a Party: An Identity

The Callao Carnival is a prime example of cultural resilience. During the festivities, social barriers dissolve under the sound of the bumbac. Families prepare all year to sew costumes and rehearse songs, passing this legacy from generation to generation.

Visiting El Callao during this time is to immerse oneself in a whirlwind of energy, history, and hospitality, where every parade tells a story and every beat celebrates freedom.

Isidora Agnes: The Eternal Queen Who Turned Calypso into World Heritage.

To speak of Isidora Agnes, universally known as “La Negra Isidora,” is not just to remember a figure from the past; it is to invoke the very soul of the El Callao Carnival. She was the vital force who rescued, protected, and championed this tradition until it reached its current status as a UNESCO World Heritage treasure.

Isidora Agnes La Reina del Calipso de El Calla

A Leader Forged in El Callao

Born on August 17, 1923, Isidora was much more than a festive figure. With a firm character and clear convictions, she stood out as a social leader and labor unionist. Her role as the town’s first telephone operator was no coincidence; this position allowed her to be the town’s communication hub, hearing firsthand the needs and struggles of her people.

With deep West Indian roots (the daughter of immigrants from Saint Lucia and Martinique), Isidora grew up with calypso in her blood, leading her to fiercely defend her identity at a time when the tradition was beginning to fade.

Rescuing a Fading Tradition

In the mid-20th century, the El Callao Carnival was facing an identity crisis and losing ground to outside influences. Determined not to let her heritage die, Isidora launched a cultural crusade:

Institutionalization: In 1954, she founded the “Friends of Calypso Association,” giving the festival a formal structure.
Discipline and Aesthetics: She organized the parades under strict standards of authenticity, demanding rigor in costume making and respect for traditional music.
National Exposure: She took calypso beyond the borders of Bolívar State. Thanks to her, Caracas and the rest of Venezuela discovered the thundering bumbac and the patois choruses.

The “Madama” Par Excellence

While the carnival features many “Madamas,” Isidora became the ultimate icon. She didn’t just wear the dress; she personified the elegance, respect, and stately joy of the figure. Her presence in the streets dictated the rhythm of the entire festival.

Beyond the Dance: Her Social Legacy

“La Negra” Isidora’s commitment didn’t end when the drums were put away. She was a tireless advocate for El Callao. It is said she never hesitated to travel to the Miraflores Palace to demand improvements from the nation’s presidents, achieving milestones such as the installation of the sewage system and the construction of the local hospital.

Facts That Immortalize Her Legend

The Carnival Anthem: The famous song “Isidora, Isidora, Isidora Callao Calipso Queen,” composed by her close friend Lulú Basanta, is considered the unofficial anthem of the festivities today.
A Poetic Farewell: She passed away on March 5, 1986. Ironically, it was Ash Wednesday—the day the carnival ends. She was laid to rest with state honors and, as per her final wish, to the rhythm of calypso.
A Date of Honor: In commemoration of her birth, every August 17th is celebrated as Municipal Calypso Day in El Callao.

Also Read: Samba el baile que despierta el Carnaval en Brasil

Creator of Salsa Vida Takeshi Young graced us with his presence in International Salsa Magazine

In International Salsa Magazine, we have always tried to cover all types of Latin music artists, including producers, arrangers, composers, singers, musicians, dancers, and club owners. However, it is also important to talk to other platforms that promote Latin music as we do, so we contacted the creator of the website Salsa Vida, Takeshi Young, to learn a little more about this online media site and everything it has to offer the public.

Takeshi with a painting — Takeshi Young with a painting of Hector Lavoe

Takeshi’s relationship with Latin music

In view of the trouble digital marketing specialist, dance teacher, and competitor Takeshi Young went to create a site like Salsa Vida, we obviously had to ask what relationship he had with Latin music. He replied that he loves to dance and has been doing so for about 19 years. His attendance at various salsa events led him to create a calendar for the San Francisco Bay Area, where he currently resides.

The acceptance he had led him to include much more content like articles, events, guides, and much more. The main goal was to show salsa lovers all the places they could go to enjoy this genre, but over time, Salsa Vida was turning into a sort of online newspaper that provided information on many other things related to the same topic, especially dance academies. For its operation, it uses tools like WordPress, iTools, and Chat GPT as an information bank to his writings, most of which are of his authorship.

He used the name “Salsa Vida” because of the lifestyle that he associated with salsa, which he considered to be unifying, nourishing, and joyful.

Greatest challenges in creating Salsa Vida

One of the most annoying parts about creating Salsa Vida was the calendar, as Takeshi always had to keep an eye on updates, date changes, and event cancellations. Fortunately, he always received information from many of the organizers, who told him when there were any changes in their schedules.

Takeshi at the San Francisco SBK Congress — Takeshi Young dancing with the San Jose State Salsa Team at the San Francisco SBK Congress

Salsa Vida’s most important goal today

Takeshi pointed out that, at present, Salsa Vida’s most important goal is to teach and promote salsa around the world, which has led him to write all kinds of articles in which he seeks to educate his community on all kinds of topics related to Latin music, such as “what is pachanga” or “what is cha cha chá.” With this, he wants those interested in learning about dancing or knowing more about this rich world to have a starting point from the theoretical part.

In addition to that, the website still maintains the calendar to help salsa lovers find events related to their passion near their homes.

Contacts obtained to date

Takeshi claims to have so many contacts with a lot of bands, especially in the Bay Area, which has helped him keep on growing his website. However, the people he interacts with most in this environment are dancers and instructors who give him a lot of information about their work with their academies and students.

Moreover, his work has also helped him gain invites and press passes to all kinds of events and concerts in both San Francisco and the rest of California, allowing him to cover them and bring the latest updates to his loyal readers.

Takeshi and Alyssa — Takeshi Young and dancer Alyssa Aguilar

Goals with Salsa Vida for the coming months

As for Takeshi and Salsa Vida’s goals for the coming months, the creative young man keeps searching for and publishing events from around the world for his readers to see, as well as highlighting the importance of expanding and publishing even more countries in his calendar so that many more salsa fans from other latitudes can use Salsa Vida to find what they want.

Today, the Salsa Vida calendar has events in about 80 countries, but Takeshi says it is not enough and wants to expand much more to other locations. He also wants to add more languages to make visitors to his page feel more comfortable, and new sections such as “Dancepedia” that would come to be a kind of Wikipedia, but focused on dance.

And if that were not enough, he wants to design an app through which those interested can use the same functions of the site in a much more comfortable and interactive way from any mobile device.

Takeshi’s other occupations

As well as handling Salsa Vida, Takeshi is also a digital marketing specialist and teaches salsa at San Jose State University twice a week.

Importantly, he has a BA in philosophy and a BS in software engineering, both from the aforementioned university. During those years, he was also a member of his class’s salsa and mambo clubs.

Colombian dancer and instructor Camila Cepeda takes salsa caleña to Canada

Every day there are more Latinos who, with their talent, are gradually taking over various cities in Canada and the hearts of many of its inhabitants. Colombian instructor and dancer Camila Cepeda shows us that she and several of her compatriots have managed to break into the aforementioned North American country and shares with us a little bit of her interesting story.

Camila’s interest in dance

Camila has danced through life, and since she was a little kid, dance has been very important to her. One genre in particular that caught her attention was salsa caleña, especially since she saw it for the first time with dance groups on the TV show “Colombia’s Got Talent”. From there, more specifically in 2011, she looked for a dance academy where she could learn to dance and imitate what she saw on the screen.

Almost immediately, she realized that it was a very demanding style that required stunts and movements that were not common in more classic versions of salsa. After training in dancing, she did not want to be just an expert in salsa caleña, but many more people learned how to dance it as well, which led her to create a folk dancing group with which she would take her first steps towards teaching.

In addition to salsa caleña, Camila also danced salsa choka, champeta, bachata, merengue, and Colombian folklore.

Camila dancing at an event — Camila Cepeda dancing in one of her salsa caleña events

Moving to Canada

Initially, Camila’s plans did not include leaving Colombia, but when she knew Canada, she found it an extremely interesting country where she could start something new with dance due to the lack of salsa caleña there. So, she entered the country with a student visa and studied international business at Seneca College in Toronto, with the intention of forming her own company in her new host country.

While gaining business experience through jobs for other companies, she continued to offer classes in parallel. Finally in 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and when she was still a university student, she decided to register and open her dance academy, “Salsa & Sabor.”

During that time, she also validated her teaching in English so that she could give classes to both locals and people from other cultures who spoke the same language.

Camila, Aleja, and Sonia — Camila with dancers Aleja and Sonia

Salsa & Sabor today

Although the academy was started with only online classes due to the sanitary restrictions of that time, Camila was able to gather together a more or less numerous community that allowed her to stay afloat in such a difficult moment. Therefore, when government controls were relaxed, the young woman had no problem to organize dance classes and activities in parks keeping proper social distancing.

A short time later, she could finally open her dance studio, welcome students in person, and recruit other instructors such as Diana, Victoria, Mateo, and Paula. One thing to mention about these five young Colombians is that they were all Camila’s students in the past and, after all the training she offered, they also became experts in the field. Given the pitifully small number of salsa caleña instructors in Canada, when they were ready, she asked them to join her team, and they gladly accepted the opportunity.

This, in turn, helped them to open up more schedules and workshops for many more people, allowing the academy to grow even more.

Camila with her students — Camila with some of her little students

Division of teaching genres and events

As we said at the beginning of this article, Camila also teaches other genres such as salsa choke, la champeta, bachata, and merengue, but her flagship and main rhythm remains salsa caleña. An important difference between salsa caleña and the rest is that it has a well-defined continuity and academic structure, so it takes much longer to learn. The other genres are relatively simpler, so they do not require as many hours or such an elaborate program.

Differences between salsa caleña and traditional salsa

According to Camila, a very important component of salsa caleña is its speed compared to traditional salsa. The way salsa is danced in Puerto Rico, Cuba, or New York is much better known around the world due to its age, while salsa caleña is a little newer and only began internationalizing a few years ago. In addition, traditional salsa is slower and uses the hips and shoulders a lot, while salsa caleña relies heavily on the rapid movements of the feet.

In fact, an important fact to know is that salsa caleña was created from a mistake. It turns out that a group of young people in Cali were doing private parties with LPs by various artists of the time, but they accidentally raised their speed and made the songs sound faster than they should. This led them to create completely new steps and choreographies based on these fast songs, giving rise to what we now know as salsa caleña.

These parties were called “aguelulos,” a Colombian term to refer to alcohol-free parties or gatherings for young people.

Kadenza Dance School

Latin America / Argentina/ Buenos Aires

Kadenza Dance School is a dance academy located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They don’t just teach people the steps of a musical rhythm; they demonstrate through their teaching that dancing nourishes the spirit of those who practice it. Not only that, but dance also allows for a connection with emotions, giving students more freedom for their spirit or soul.

KADENZA is a school geared toward students of all ages and with different goals, whether they wish to pursue a professional path or use dance as a form of recreation or therapy. All their students and teachers benefit from a comfortable reception area, spacious studios equipped with mirrors, barres, wooden floors, high-quality sound systems, and Wi-Fi throughout the studio. In short, it’s an ideal place to learn with passion, as the atmosphere is full of joy, respect, and good vibes, where one can enjoy what they love to do most… which is dancing.

Kadenza Dance School - Danza Jazz — Kadenza Dance School – Danza Jazz

They also state that they are seriously committed to the quality of instruction, where qualified professors and instructors give their best in every class. This ensures their students incorporate the essentials of each technique and develop the maximum potential of their learning in the rhythms chosen by the student.

The Directors: Yamila Larraura and Juan Pablo Villar

The School’s Directors are Yamila Larraura and Juan Pablo Villar, who mention that, “Anyone can open an Academy, but few are the ones that make a difference.”

If we want to know more about the history of these two directors, we can start with Yamila Larraura, who was born in Argentina. Since she was a child, she began listening to Afro-Latin music thanks to her father, “Jorge Washington Larraura,” who was of Uruguayan origin. When she was 14, she went on vacation to Villa Gesell with her parents and a friend of theirs. It was on this trip that her interest in Salsa was awakened, as she went to a place near the beach that played Salsa music and offered classes in the afternoon with all the people from the beach.

One of the songs heard back then was “El Muerto se fue de Rumba” by the group “Las Sabrosas Zarigüellas,” which was very catchy for everyone who heard it. After her vacation, she decided to enroll in Salsa classes, where her teachers were Pablo Demaro and Kimena Puente.

As for Juan Pablo Villar, during his youth, he worked as a waiter in a bar and took theater classes, which also included lessons in national folklore and Latin rhythms (Salsa). This was his first contact with dance, and from that moment, he developed an interest in it. One day, a person came to the bar and mentioned that they taught classes in a studio, asking if they could leave flyers at the bar for people who wanted to dance. Knowing this, Juan Pablo Villar decided to go to the Salsa classes taught by Professor Pablo Demaro.

Kadenza Dance School - Social — Kadenza Dance School – Social

They explain that the Salsa classes back then were in a Cuban style, which featured fairly simple movements and figures. It was in these very classes that the future directors of KADENZA, Juan Pablo Villar and Yamila Larraura, first met.

The Journey to Kadenza

To gain a better experience, and to teach and give classes, they had to learn new techniques. They decided to seek out the best teachers in Argentina, who at that time were from the “Escuela de Mambo en Dos,” led by teachers Liz Paredes and Carlos Aragón, until they moved to Italy in 2007.

Afterward, they formed a dance group with their colleagues called “Combo Bayres,” during which time they toured the country and performed on various stages. In 2007, Liz Paredes and Carlos Aragón returned from Italy and formed the “Compañía Mambo en Dos,” where Yamila Larraura and Juan Pablo Villar joined the project. They gained great experience in the artistic world, traveling to different Argentine cities like Mar del Plata, Rosario, among others.

They also had the opportunity to travel abroad, attending the Salsa Congress in Uruguay, and later going to the United States, to New York City, to present at the Salsa Congress where they met great dance legends like Eddie Torres. Another great experience they had was the honor of being the official dancers for the famous Venezuelan Salsa singer “Oscar D’León” and the Dominican Salsero José Alberto, also known as “El Canario.” By 2010, they left the Mambo en Dos company to start their own school.

The academy’s beginning went without a name for a year, simply referred to as Pablo and Yamila’s school, but they were always looking for a name that would identify the essence they wished to convey. They eventually came up with “Cadenza,” which in Italian means “style of free rhythms.” To make the name more original, they changed it to “KADENZA,” feeling proud of their choice.

Kadenza Dance School - Mambo, Salsa, Bachata, Tango, Urbano, Arabe — Kadenza Dance School – Mambo, Salsa, Bachata, Tango, Urbano, Arabe

Contact Information

For more information, contact them at:

Website: http://www.kadenza.com.ar
Facebook:escueladebaile
Phones: 5354-0957 / 15-3331-7875
Email: [email protected]
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/106664874547676369685
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-he58RYqrJwoxoH8OID3ZA

Solar Latino Academy

Latin America / Venezuela / Caracas

Solar Latino Academy

It is an academy located in Caracas, Venezuela, founded by passionate dancers and instructors who dedicate their time and effort to teaching future well-rounded dancers. They use didactic methods to provide dance knowledge, expanding their students’ horizons and future at a national and international level.

They feature a great environment where students not only acquire dance knowledge but also enjoy their activity. They perform on stage to demonstrate the high quality of the show and to showcase innovative fusions of dance, aiming to position themselves as one of the best academies in the market.

In short, their vision as an academy is to “develop the best artistic working environment where our students learn and enjoy to the fullest.” “Basing this on the exigence and quality of our classes and shows, becoming a very competitive group, achieving national leadership and international recognition.”

The academy started with a group of students who learned to dance Salsa Casino for recreation, and as time passed, it became something more serious.

Starting in 2004, they began teaching family and close friends, and within a few months, they already had at least 50 students.

In 2006, the Solar Latino Academy was officially founded, starting with salsa casino. They later added diverse dance genres as they expanded their knowledge of integral dance and teaching methodologies, thus forming a large number of dance classes taught at the La Trinidad headquarters. The only founder currently at the academy is Oscar, who was responsible for instructing and training dancers and expanding the Academy. After achieving excellent results in national competitions and festivals, the Academy’s Dance Corps (Cuerpo de Baile) was formed.

They mention that they are currently a group passionate about dance and integral development, relying on dance as one of the most used tools for artistic and corporal expression. They also state that their work is maintained in constant artistic growth and teaching development, always applying “our innovative touch in everything we do.” They have even had the opportunity to participate in national and international festivals and, in addition to that, develop innovative events.

For more information, please visit:

WebSite: http://solarlatino.comve/nosotros
Facebook: AcademiaSolarLatino
Instagram: solarlatino
Twitter: SolarLatino