Dance Academy

Historical events that gave birth to kizomba

History of kizomba

There are many musical genres and rhythms that we love and make us want to dance just by listening to them, but in most cases, we do not know their origin or how they became what they are today. Such is the case of kizomba, whose origins are both particular and fascinating, so we want to explore a bit about this interesting story for the knowledge of all those readers who still do not know it.

This dance modality that has become well known in Latin America and the United States in recent years has its origins in Angola in the 1960s as a fusion of ”semba” and other African rhythms, but it was not as simple as it sounds. In fact, many things happened before kizomba became what we know, some of which have to do with historical events that led to the creation of this musical genre indirectly.

People dancing kizomba in a dance studio in Angola

Historical context

Angola was colonized by Portugal in the 16th century, fact from which the European country began to impose its culture, language, religion and political system in the occupied territory. In the same way, the colonizers took advantage of the Angolans in every possible way, but the best known was the labor exploitation to which they were subjected to obtain resources and the suppression of their national identity.

The situation became so unbearable that there has been an emergence of numerous anti-colonialist movements throughout the country such as the National Front for the Liberation of Angola, the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola. This resulted in the Angolan population demanding the rights they had as inhabitants from their own country and which had been forcefully taken away from them. The following years were marked by intense armed conflict, a lot of political instability and international intervention.

Finally in 1975, Angola gained independence from Portugal to become a country free from the yoke which settled down on it for decades. However, the legacy of colonization in every area of national life was so profound that it could not be swept way from one moment to another, including traditional music and dances. Both Angolan music and dance ended up mixing with European and Portuguese rhythms in general, resulting in a colorful range of sounds that have been conquering the whole world.

Angolan women dancing tradicional rhythms

Origin of kizomba and its name

Returning to semba that was mentioned at the beginning, it was its union with other African rhythms such as zouk that gave origin to kizomba as such. The word ”kizomba” comes from ”kimbundú” or ”quimbundú” which means ”party”. Kimbundú is a language spoken in some Angolan provinces and the Portuguese language incorporated some of its terms such as ”xinga” which means ”curse”.

On this subject there is much controversy, since lots of hypotheses are floated to explain the origin of kizomba and one of them states that this genre does not exist as such, but it is a version of the already existing zouk, but sung in Portuguese. There are also some studies indicating that kizomba comes from ”bèlè”, which is a dance inherited from African ancestors who came to the Island of Martinique as slaves to work in the sugarcane plantations.

By mixing bèlè and the European polka, Martinican musicians created something called ”beguine”, which was spreading in Parisian popular dances. When these rhythms were mixed with more commercial music in the 1970s, zouk originated and this term makes direct reference to the spontaneous parties in Martinique. ”Zouk” means ”party” in Creole, which is a language spoken by West Indians that emerged from the mix of French with other African languages. Coincidentally, it has the same meaning as ”kizomba” in Kimbundu.

Some contestants at the Luanda Semba Festival 2019

After zouk spread to French Guiana and Brazil, it returned to Africa, especially to Angola and Cape Verde, where it merged with semba and finally gave birth to kizomba.

What how is kizomba is today

Kizomba tended to be slow-paced and static and not required many turns, but that changed with the passage of time. Today, it includes legs tangled and recreates much more visual moves than before.

Something that characterizes the genre is the circle dance with forward and back steps, which has been very appealing to dancers from all over the world despite their origin. Besides, it is very easy, sensual, different and exotic.

Johnny Pacheco, presents “Orquesta Primera Clase” from Maracay-Venezuela

The title of this album speaks for itself; the hand of the transcendental Dominican musician is introduced in this album.

El Zorro de Plata Pacheco appears as executive producer of the album, although we do not discard that he also participated in part of the musical production, due to the way the orchestra was structured and the style in which the arrangements were given; it is something that we can hardly notice when listening to the album, it is evident the great similarity to “Pacheco y su Tumbao”; four excellent trumpets with sonorous arrangements.

Johnny Pacheco, presents "Orquesta Primera Clase" of Maracay-Venezuela — Johnny Pacheco, presents “Orquesta Primera Clase” of Maracay-Venezuela

The predominance of Teo Hernandez (R.I.P)’s vocal style and register in the nasal coros, fits perfectly with the “Tumbao Añejo” that we have always been accustomed to from maestro Johnny Pacheco (R.I.P).

Although the album was backed by the Fania label and is loaded with a cheerful and swinging flavor, we think that it went somewhat unnoticed by the music-loving public.

The reasons could be several, we must remember that in those times in the 80’s the merengue rhythm was beginning to penetrate with a lot of strength.

Johnny Pacheco, presenta la Orquesta Primera Clase

Although we could also add the little interest that the public of the capital (Caracas) had for the groups of the regions or interior of the country, and although it seems ironic to say it.
Another possible reason could be linked to the inclusion of only unpublished songs (it is well known that in those times, they supported copies more than creativity); these are only conjectures of this server, however, they do not escape the reality of that time.

As for the musical themes, we have already pointed out that all of them are original and very well compensated with their arrangement; In particular there are two songs that I like very much, one of them is “Negro Nací”, written and sung by Orlando Sanoja, is a very happy song dedicated to our black race of the danceable in his music, “Si negro nací nací nací, blanco no puedo ser”, The other song of my predilection is “El Sabio”, composition and lyrics by Jorge Compres and vocalized by Teo Hernández, with great diction, good phrasing and those tasty choruses that accompany him.

It is worth mentioning that the excellent La Orquesta Primera Clase is still in force with a musical staff of the new generation maintaining its original sound with its lead vocalist Orlando Sanoja.

It is another good Venezuelan album that you should have in your personal CD library.
Johnny Pacheco presents “La Orquesta Primera Clase” (1982) Fania LPS-66506

SIDE A

1.- NEGRO NACÍ (Orlado Sanoja) Sings: Orlando Sanoja/ Arrangements: Nicomedes López
2.- ME SIENTO MUY FELIZ (Al mMaro Ríos) Sings: Orlando Sanoja/Arrangements: Bolívar Javier
EL ANIMAL (Jorge Compres) Sings: Teo Hernández/Arrangements: Jorge Compres
4.- TODO TIENE SU FINAL (Bolívar Javier) Sings: Teo Hernández/Arrangements: Bolívar Javier
5.- LLEVAME CONTIGO (Almaro Ríos) Sings: Teo Hernández/Arrangements: Bolívar Javier

SIDE B

1.- EL SABIO (Jorge Compres) Sings: Teo Hernández/Arrangements: Jorge Compres
2.- A MARACAY (Orlando Sanoja) Sings: Orlando Sanoja/Arrangements: Jorge Compres
3.- EXTRANJERA (Phorto Jacquez) Sings: Teo Hernández/Arrangements: Jorge Compres
4.- VIVA MI GUAGUANCO (Jorge Compres) Sings: Teo Hernández/Arrangements: Gilberto Riera
AY QUE HUMANIDAD (Orlando Sanoja) Sings: Orlando Sanoja/Arrangements: Jorge Compres

Personnel:

Pastor Rodríguez (1st Trumpet)
Henry Kamba (2nd Trumpet)
Gustavo Nieves (3rd Trumpet)
William Fermín (4th Trumpet)
Armin Kail (Piano)
Carlos Fagúndez (Bass)
Harold Josef (Congas)
Edgar Aponte (Timbal)
Félix Benítez (Bongo)
Teo Hernández/Orlando Sanoja (Singers)
Bolívar Javier/ Nicomedes López/ Jorge Compres/ Gilberto Riera (Arrangements)
Teo Hernández/Orlando Sanoja/Edgar Aponte (Chorus)
Johnny Pacheco (Executive Producer)
Carlos Guerrero (Recording Technician)
Luis Arismendi (General Recording Supervision)
Recorded at Fidelis Studios
Alejandro Pérez (Art and Design)

How Jacira Castro and Salsa Power changed the Latin music scene

How did Salsa Power start?

Latin culture, specifically the musical part, has had a large group of unconditional allies who have promoted it worldwide through their work and platforms, being Chilean-American Jacira Castro one of the best known. Jacira is a salsa casino-style salsa teacher and web designer who had the dream of spreading the typical rhythms of our countries, but she did not figure out how until she came up with a revolutionary idea: Salsa Power.

Salsa Power was born in 1999 as part of an initiative created by Castro and graphic designer Julian Mejia, who practically became her partner until the moment when the page stopped working. From that year on that the dance instructor began to generate contacts and develop human networks with people inside and outside the world of music, especially from the salsa genre. A particularity of this system devised by Jacira was that it was fed by the information received from people from anyqhere in the world about everything related to concerts, festivals, press conferences, autograph signings and much more.

Jacira Castro - Salsa Power — Dance instructor and web designer Jacira Castro – Salsa Power

How did this project work?

Thanks to the technology that was advancing little by little in all this time, there were many more contact ways and social media came along to facilitate these activities. The website grew to such an extent that it came to have more than 300 correspondents in over 60 countries, many of whom did not even have professions or occupations related to music, but wanted to strive to make the initiative successful and Latin artists and orchestras have a dependable space to promote their work.

Contrary to what many readers may have thought, everyone involved in this project never received a single cent or publicity in return for all the work being done. In fact, it was Jacira herself who had to pay for all the expenses related to Salsa Power such as plane tickets, travel, lodging, food, wardrobe, among other things. Not to mention the website maintenance and other hosting costs for the domain to work properly.

Fortunately, all that effort and money were worth it because Salsa Power rose to become the largest salsa website on the internet and a true reference for any independent media planning to do anything remotely like that. Much of the fruits harvested by this beautiful project can still be found on the internet and consist of articles, interviews, event coverage, videos and many other things.

The name Salsa Power was so respected that you could not talk about the Latin salsa scene in the United States without mentioning it, especially in South Florida, a place where competition for the first places was at its higuest. This competition was not only between artists and musical groups, but also between media, associations and academies, triggering some inconvenience and regrettable situations like the one experienced by Jacira and Julián a few years ago.

Jacira paid for all the expenses related to Salsa Power

Controversies

Jacira has had run-ins with some important personalities of the Latin music community in Florida because of her political positions, which went against the current of a large number of Latin artists and dancers at that time, especially those who are part of the Cuban exile. Her attitudes towards the political situation in Cuba have been highly controversial, mainly those related to the U.S. economic embargo on the Caribbean country and the limitations on free cultural exchange between both nations. Both Castro and other leaders of the entertainment industry were opposed to the decades-old blockade, which has been maintained until today.

This caused the dance teacher to make some enemies in the Miami music scene, which led to the hacking of Salsa Power with the caption ”This is a communist website” in big red letters along with a message whose author calls Jacira ”communist” and ”pro-Fidel Castro”. Obviously, she got worried and immediately called Julian to bring down the page.

As they began to diagnose the issue and its possible causes, they concluded that those responsible were part of an association composed of a dozen dance schools in Miami and its sorroundings called Salsa United. Around the same time, this organization had just created its own website, which published content very similar to that of Salsa Power, so much so that its principal spokesperson Jolexy Hurtado and Jacira came to have some arguments and run-ins due to how much alike the interviews were in both websites. The conflict reached at such a level that Jacira states that Hurtado told her she was messing with the wrong guy.

Undoubtedly, this whole situation was a big headache for the web designer, but has never let any of this daunt her or make her feel inadequate. On the contrary, she has grown before adversities and has faced them with the gallantry that has always characterized her, since she knows what her work is worth in terms of quality and globality.

However, there comes a point when the effort and time invested are not enough, so it is time to be realistic and assume that everything has its end, as the great Héctor Lavoe would say.

Jacira and Larry — Jacira Castro with producer, composer, and pianist Larry Harlow

Farewell to Salsa Power and Jacira’s current life

After 22 years of operation of the Salsa Power project, many of the correspondents who provided information for the page got married, had children, studied, moved and pursued other professional opportunities that did not allow them to continue their work. For the same reason, Jacira had no choice but to terminate the project that was her life for more than two decades and publish a farewell message thanking all her readers for their support over the years and assuring that she will continue to travel and enjoy salsa and dance.

In spite of abandoning her duties as administrator of Salsa Power, the great impact of the Chilean-American’s work on those who have come to know her and collaborate with her cannot be denied. On her LinkedIn profile, there plenty of favorable reviews about her professionalism and commitment in every activity she makes.

From International Salsa Magazine, we wish her the greatest success in every project she undertakes and that she enjoys all the stages that are to come.

Meet the director of the Academia Salsa Tepic – Mexico.

The history of Salsa Tepic :

Rafael Reyes is a Cuban who was dedicated to being a coach of Greco-Roman wrestling and Olympic Wrestling in Cuba and had the opportunity to work in Mexico in this profession during the time that his contract imposed, during this time he made the decision to live there , being his current stay in Nayarit, Mexico.

Thanks to personal motivation and the support of his students, he created and founded the Salsa Tepic Academy 6 years ago, he tells us that before founding his academy he gave dance classes at the Bar Juanes located at Rafael Buelna 86, Fray Junípero Serra, 63169 Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico; For him this was a hobby that he enjoyed very much and when he stopped working there, many of his students advised him to open a dance academy and that is how it came about.

Salsa Tepic Logo – Dance Academy

Practica de Salsa - Salsa Tepic — Estudiantes practicando pasos de baile en Salsa Tepic

Estudiantes de la Academia Salsa Tepic — Photo of the Salsa Tepic Academy students

Son Cubano and Salsa Cubana are the genres that he likes the most, he mentions that each genre has an identification in each country and in Cuba he tells us that it is very lively and dynamic which can make different fusions such as Timba ( is the fusion of several Afro-Cuban rhythms)… giving this musical genre a lot of motivation, differentiating it from linear salsa, Salsa Neoyorquina and Salsa en Dos, but be careful, you have to know the differences between traditional Timba and Cuban Timba. and very broad cultural.Being Cuban, he tells us that music is in the blood of most Cubans, especially Afro-Caribbean music, and to top it off his parents enjoyed dancing so he spontaneously inherited this passion for dance from a very young age, and He perfected his native dance techniques in workshops with various teachers.

Rafael Reyes is also in charge of organizing the Salsa talent festivals in Nayarit, they have invited Guadalajara, Guaraguato, Puerto Bayarta, among others with new talents so that they have something more than just academic learning but a new experience through participation. and competition between the different students of each city, showing all their abilities on stage; In total, it has had 5 Salsa talent festivals, which one can find out when the next one will take place through the Salsa Tepic Facebook page.

Also the students of the Salsa Tepic academy have participated in other events such as the one that happened a few weeks ago at the Bar Tango Milonga, another event they participated was the Puerto Bayarta festival, and in other places.

The dance classes at the Salsa Tepic Academy are currently active, of course with the protection measures for the covid-19, they began to work from 7 – 10 am and from 5 to 10 pm Mexico time; There they teach Cuban Salsa, Bachata, Son Cubano, Rumba, Merengue, Cumbia, Cha Cha Cha, among other rhythms, so if you are interested in learning to dance from scratch or continue with the experience you have in order to be able to defend yourself during a social, competitions, parties and / or meetings, and at the same time that the students learn to identify the type of music that they dance respecting their respective times.

https://fb.watch/6q7Gdt89if/

And he leaves us the following message for all his readers, current and future students “Whatever happens, they dance, never stop, dance is very healthy, it takes away stress, it is motivational, it makes you more sociable and above all it is something that everyone likes when one learns … that they take off the taboo or the fear of saying I don’t like dancing because of any circumstance ”

For more information and the schedule of activities:

Meet Gerardo Osvaldo – Salsa y Sentimiento Academy

Meet Gerardo Osvaldo Russo, director of the Salsa y Sentimiento Academy and organizer of the San Clemente Salsa Congress

One of the seaside and tourist cities in Argentina is San Clemente del Tuyu belonging to the La Costa district, in the province of Buenos Aires, a very cozy place especially if you have a beach taste, enjoy the beaches, the tourist hotels, the seafood and many other things.

This time we have Gerardo Osvaldo Russo, he was born on July 3, 1984, he lives in a small city called San Clemente Del Tuyú, Argentina, he mentions his tastes for salsa and Latin rhythms, he tells us that in 2005 he began to dance and listen to salsa, from that moment his taste and passion for this great musical genre began, then he went on to dance other Caribbean rhythms.

Since 2009, I have been teaching Caribbean Rhythms in the “SAOCO” studio, one of the best places to train in your country, for that I had to travel every week since it was 300 kilometers away from where I lived. Then he made an important decision, which consisted of dedicating himself completely to teaching and then in the future to be able to create new projects that he already had in mind.

He mentions that in the city where he lived, he had no way of training, since there were few resources and he could not get to do everything he had in mind, in addition, his motivation was to grow personally as a teacher and dancer, to be able to dump all the knowledge that he was going acquiring the people who went to his classes.
For the year 2008 he began to teach at the beginning as a hobby for a year and a half until he made the decision to work 100% in his profession; So today he has his own Dance Academy called “Academia Salsa y Sentimiento” which was inaugurated in 2012, where he is currently a coordinator and teacher.

Team photo of Gerardo Oswaldo Russo — Gerardo Oswaldo Russo’s team

Gerardo has also been in charge of organizing the “San Clemente Salsa Congress” for about 3 years, as well as for his institution he holds Salsa, Bachata and other Caribbean rhythms every year, these include seminars and trainings with great teachers. quality and track record.

The reason that allowed the inauguration of the “Academia Salsa y Sentimiento” was basically the need in the people (not only in their city, but also in the neighboring cities of Puerto de la Costa, which is the region to which San Clemente belongs del Tuyú) to have the opportunity to learn to dance, express themselves, find a place of liberation, belonging and also be able to meet people and socialize.

For what it is known for being the first dance academy registered in the entire region, feeling very proud of its work team and of itself. In a few words, they mention that their goal has always been for people to identify with the activities they do, find a place where they can learn and have fun, as well as recharge. Students entering this academy may do so without any experience or knowledge of the rhythm they wish to practice.

At the Salsa y Sentimiento academy you start from scratch but people who already have knowledge can also come because we have various levels, working with people from 3 years onwards.

The biggest goal to be achieved was to create an International Salsa Congress, where they proposed to bring their students to compete; and in 2016 they were able to do it with the reggaeton group with professor “Maximiliano Laplaca” reaching the finals of one of the most important competitions in Argentina and South America called “Argentine Aerobic and Dance Tournament” (TAAD).

In 2017 their official website was inaugurated where they can manage more information and not only through their Facebook account and in the academy, together with other companies in the city, they are working to provide benefits to their students and not only have the possibility of learning and have fun if they can not also access discounts and benefits in stores in San Clemente. There is also a project for a few years from now and it is to be able to train teachers who leave our Academy. And later he began to broadcast live on his radio “Sentimiento Salsero”to promote other artists in the musical world.

During the Covid-19 period, many activities were paralyzed, including face-to-face classes, but it has managed to keep up with online activities and events, where for the first time its salsa and feeling congress was a success in 2020, we all look forward to your next congress in 2021.

Gerardo Oswaldo Russo at the dance academy

At the end, he gives us a message for both students and future learners.

“My message is as a teacher but fundamentally as a human being is that you do not stop going in search of your dreams, as long as you work hard with responsibility, passion and respect, things can be achieved. To also tell anyone who wants to come to the Salsa y Sentimiento Academy, they will find a place not only where they can learn to dance and train, but also a human group of containment, a place where they can freely express and bring out everything they carry inside. Young and old, to whom we are united by the passion for dancing. Teachers who love what they do and want to pass it on to new generations. Always open to the possibility of listening to anyone who has new ideas to build a better ACADEMY SALSA Y SENTIMIENTO every year ”

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