|
|
|
Uncategorized
Michigan Directory 2023
|
|
|
Europe Festivals in September 2023
|
|
Vienna Bachata Congress
|
Palais WertheimCanovagasse 1-5. 1010 Vienna DescriptionThe 4th edition of Vienna Bachata Congress offers workshops, shows and social dancing with national and international instructors, performers and dj’s. Cost: Full Pass from € 99 + € 1.99 Fee |
|
|
Eden Urban Kiz Festival
|
Hotel PinijaPetrčane V. ulica 1 a, 23231, Petrčane , Zadar, Croatia DescriptionCatch the last summer sun in a breath taking scenery of the Adriatic. We set the scene in an exquisite 4 star hotel that will cater to all your needs. We handpicked a selection of artists that will take you on an exotic journey to paradise. Cost: Full pass COUPLE € 195 |
|
|
Prague Zouk Marathon Autumn Edition
|
Na MarjanceBelohorska 35/262, Prague, Czech Republic, 169 00 DescriptionThe 9th edition of the first 100% Zouk social dance event in the world. Parties all day & night long. No shows and No workshops. Drinks & Dining: Food and Water all inclusive Cost: Full pass from € 118 |
Prague Salsa Marathon Autumn Edition
|
• Na MarjánceBelohorska 262/35., Prague, Czech Republic, 169 00 •Vineyard GazeboHavlickovy sady 1369, Prague, Czech Republic, 120 00 DescriptionPrague Salsa Marathon Autumn Edition presents 3 days & 2 nights of Salsa workshops, shows and after parties. DJ Playing: Sergio, Cycy, Julian, Gaby & Karlos Cost: Full Pass from € 149 |
|
|
|
Alpes Bachata Congress
|
Impérial Palace HotelAllee de l’Impérial, Annecy, France, 74000 DescriptionOffers workshops, shows, parties & socials with national & international instructors, performers & dj’s: Cost: Full pass from € 120 |
The Wave Dance Festival
|
Les Villages sous les Pins2747 Avenue de l’Océan, Leon, France, 40550DescriptionThe second edition of Wave Dance Festival offers 50 hours of workshops, national & international shows, socials, parties with local & international instructors, performers & dj’s playing: Ralph, Ibra, Neko, Timbahe, Lafuriosa, Jeff & SmachCost: Full Pass from € 80 |
|
Kiz N You Non-Stop
|
Espace Jean Jaurès Dance Studio3 Avenue De La Paix, Tomblaine, France, 54510 DescriptionThe 5th edition of Kiz N You Non-Stop offers workshops, parties, parties, after- parties & socials with national & international Kizomba instructors, performers & Dj’s. Cost: Full Pass from € 50 |
|
Paris Salsa marathon2
|
Le Boreas1 Port de Bercy, Paris, France, 75012 DescriptionOffering workshops, parties, and socials. Cost: Full Pass €145 |
|
Festival Corazon Latino
|
Rocher de Palmer Ballroom1, rue Aristide Briand, Cenon, France, 33150 DescriptionThe 10th edition of Festival Corazon Latino provides 2 days of Salsa, Bachata, Kizomba workshops, parties, shows and concerts with national/international performers and Djs. Cost: from € 109 |
|
KAMBA Kizomba Festival 2023
|
Théâtre Foirail105 Avenue du Général de Gaulle, Angers, France DescriptionPassion SBK is delighted to welcome you to Chemillé in Anjou for its first edition of Kamba Latino. A Salsa & Bachata Festival Cost: € 83 |
|
Lambazouk Paris
|
Studio Des Rigoles School Kim Kan46 Rue des Rigoles, Paris, France, 75020 DescriptionThe first edition of LambaZouk Paris offers 10hrs of programs on weekends + parties in Lambada and Brazilian Zouk Cost: From € 90 |
|
|
|
Yo Vengo De Cuba
|
KongresshalleGögginger Strase 10, Augsburg, Germany, 86159 DescriptionA Cuban Style Festival with the most popular teachers in Europe, two parties with shows, animation and 3 days of workshops (Afro Cuban, Casino Rueda, Reggaeton, Salsa) and the DJ El Gato Cost: Full Pass from € 100 |
Kizomba Days Cologne Weekender
|
Tanzschule TanzraumSalierring 33, Cologne, Germany, 50677 DescriptionThe third edition of Kizomba Days Cologne Weekender offers more than 20 hours of workshops, 3 parties, 2 socials with national & international instructors, performers & dj’s. Kizomba, Semba, Tarraxinha Cost: COUPLE Passes € 205 |
|
Kizomba Festival Stuttgart
|
Singing HallLindenschulstrasse 29, Stuttgart, Germany, 70327 DescriptionThe 10th edition of Kizomba Festival offers 4 days of Kizomba workshops, socials, parties & shows with national and international teachers, performers and dj’s playing: Lenhy, Iron Mams, Hazel Beats & Harry Cost: Full pass from € 99 |
|
Festival Timba Paradies
|
Congresshalle Convention CentreHafenstr.12, Saarbrucken, Germany, 66111 DescriptionThe 6th edition of Festival Timba Paradies offers 40 workshops, shows, 3 parties with national & international instructors, performers & Dj’s: Francois Timbalero, Yannick, Pastaguero Samir, Assane Kane & Herve Timbaleaks Cost: From € 99 |
|
Zouk Festival Hannover
|
Move & Style Dance AcademyVahrenwalderstr. 195 A, Hannover, Germany, 30165 DescriptionZouk Festival Hannover offers 3 days of workshops (Brazilian Zouk), 3 days of parties, with extra 4h of special masterclass training with BZCC official Jack & Jill. Cost: From € 120 |
|
|
|
Dance Casa Festival
|
Hungarian University of Sports ScienceBudapest, Alkotás u. 42-48, 1123 DescriptionWelcome to Dance Casa Festival A Ukrainian Festival that will take place in Budapest. See you all from 29th of September to 01st of October 2023 We are a well-established Ukrainian based festival and we are happy to announce our first Budapest edition. We are expecting all of you from September 29th to October 1st 2023 for an amazing experience where dancers from all over the world will join us to learn, teach, have some fun and share together our passion for dancing Afro Latin, Bachata, Kizomba, Salsa, Tarraxinha in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. Cost: Fom € 150 |
|
|
On 2 Salsa Congress
|
Tower Genova Airport Hotel & Conference CenterVia Pionieri e Aviatori d’Italia, 44, Genova, Italy, 16154 DescriptionThe 11th edition of On 2 salsa Congress offers workshops and social dance parties in Salsa with world performers and instructors. Cost: From € 140 |
|
|
Vilnius Bachata Festival
|
Vilniaus Lenkų Kultūros NamaiNaugarduko gatvė 76, Vilnius, Lithuania, 03202 DescriptionThe 7th edition of Vilnius Bachata Festival offers 3 days and nights of workshops, shows and social dancing with national and international performers, instructors and dj’s playing: York, Husky & GAT Cost: From € 90 |
|
|
Bindaas Bachata Amsterdam – Bachata Sensual & Fusion Event
|
CanDance StudiosIsolatorweg 28, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1014 AS DescriptionThe third edition of Bindaas Bachata Amsterdam offers 14 hours of workshops, parties on Saturday & Sunday + day socials on Sunday & 14 hours of Social dancing. Cost: Full Pass from € 75 |
|
|
Zouk Porto Festival
|
The View HotelAv. de Ramos Pinto 240, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, 4400-261 DescriptionZouk Porto Festival offers workshops, shows, socials & parties with local & international instructors, performers & Dj’s playing: Carballo, Jano & Zouk OF on Bachata, Kizomba, Salsa, Semba, Brazilian Zouk Cost: From € 70 |
LIKE Lisbon’s International Kizomba Energy Festival
|
Inatel Costa Caparica HotelAv. Afonso de Albuquerque, S. João de Caparica, Costa da Caparica, Portugal, 2825-450 DescriptionThe 12th edition of Lisbon International Kizomba Energy (LIKE) offers workshops and parties with lineup performers, teachers and dj’s. Cost: From € 95 |
|
|
|
Bachata Takes Over Bucharest Dance Festival Autumn Special Edition
|
Caro Hotel Bucharest164A Barbu Vacarescu Blvd, Bucharest, Romania, 020285 DescriptionBachata Takes Over Bucharest Dance Festival / B to B Dance Festival ALL STAR EDITION offers workshops, shows and parties with national and international instructors, performers and dj’s. Cost: From € 100 |
|
|
Latino Afro Festival Varijanta Bachata Salsa Kizomba
|
Dom OmladineMakedonska 22, Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro DescriptionThis festival is a one in a lifetime experience with a perfect combination of partytime and workshop, where the best international stars in Cuban salsa, salsa crossbody, Tarraxinha, kizomba, Bachata meet in the beautiful city of Belgrade, Serbia. Cost: Full Pass from € 95 |
|
|
DyD Be Unlike
|
Vértice Sevilla Aljarafe HotelAv. República Argentina, 1, Bormujos, Seville, Spain, 41930 DescriptionDyD Be Unlike offers Bachata workshops, shows, parties, socials with national & international instructors, performers & dj’s. Cost: Full Pass from € 80 |
Pirineos Salsa Festival
|
Albergue – Hostel PirenariumAv. Del Ejército, 27, 22609, Sabiñanigo (Huesca), Spain DescriptionDear friends Pirenaicosalseros, we return with our Pirineos Salsa Festival 6 Edition, bustle, party, learning in a unique setting of the Pyrenees Oscense, a singular Event, outdoors, this year we return with everything, tents, floors, Shows, Orchestra, artists of national and international renown, an Event with about 50 training workshops, Djs specialized in each rhythm, animations, etc. Cost: Full pass € 80 |
|
Karga Kizomba Festival
|
Hotel Evenia Olympic ParkCarrer Sra. de Rossell, s/n, Girona, Spain, 17310 DescriptionThe 8th edition of Karga Kizomba Festival offers workshops of Kizomba, Semba, Kuduro, Afrohouse, shows and parties with international and national performers, instructors and dj’s. Cost: Full Pass from € 60 |
|
Madrid Zouk Bachata Congress
|
Eurostars Madrid Foro HotelRonda de Europa, 1, Madrid, Spain, 28760 DescriptionThe 5th edition of Madrid Zouk Bachata Congress provides workshops, shows and parties with national and international performers, instructors and dj’s. Cost: Full Pass € 145 |
|
On1 Salsa Festival
|
Hotel Isla de la GarenaC. Galileo Galilei, 18, Madrid, Spain, 28806 DescriptionOn1 Salsa Festival offers workshops, shows, socials, parties with national & international instructors, performers: Adrián & Anita, Terry & Cecile, Fernando & Ayelén, Talía & Pocho & dj’s playing: Cumbanchero, Pulpo, Rebo & Ya Cost: From € 40 |
|
|
|
Kyiv Sense to Dance Festival
|
Mercure Kyiv Congress HotelVadyma Hetmana St, 6, Kiev, Ukraine, 02000 DescriptionKyiv Sensual Festival offers 50 workshops, 80 hours of parties & beyond compare partners, 2 grand show programs & live concerts, 4 parties with national and international instructors, performers and dj’s of Bachata, Kizomba, Salsa, Brazilian Zouk Cost: Full Pass: from € 60 |
|
|
Bachata King Festival
|
Kipriotis Village ResortOdyssea Elyt, Kos , Greece, 853 00 DescriptionThe 4th edition of Bachata King Festival offers 50 hours of workshops, more than 20 shows, Bachata competition with 40 national and international artists. Cost from € 69 |
North America Directory – September 2023
CANADA
Founder and owner of Guapacha Productions Gil Tower
Talk with Gil Tower
From this platform, we have had to interview many famous Latinos who have left their countries and Latin culture in general on high, but today is the turn of a very special one. We are talking about the talented Venezuelan musical director and multi-instrumentalist Gilberto Torres, better known as Gil Tower in the artistic environment.
Thanks to a mutual friend, we have managed to make contact with Gil Tower, who from the beginning has been very accessible and willing to share everything related to his work in the music industry and his contribution to the Latin cultural scene, so we are very grateful to him for giving us the opportunity to hear his great story.
Below, we share the topics covered in a conversation that was as enjoyable as it was enlightening.
Musical beginnings in his home country
Gil Tower always knew that he wanted to devote himself to the world of music. When he was about five years old, he began watching television programs related to classical music and zarzuela. Several of his aunts were zarzuela teachers and took him to see zarzuela orchestras, which was great for him. In fact, several of those musicians he got to see play on these occasions ended up teaching him when he began preparing to become an artist.
One of the most important institutions in the training of Gil is the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela (El Sistema), where he was trained directly by maestro José Antonio Abreu, a fundamental part in the path which this young musician would take later in his career.
He joined the children’s orchestra, advanced all the way to the youth orchestra and finally reached a more professional level in the national orchestra. At about this time, Gil recalls that ”maestro Abreu always said that we were rich because we had an instrument in hand and could change the world through music. As a child, I didn’t understand what he was getting at. Now I do understand and I think he was absolutely right.
”Abreu was a unique influence on me because he transformed me as a person and musician. He also made me become a leader, as he had always wanted me to be,” he continued.
Learning from the groups he was in
As to the learning acquired in the many groups he worked with, Gil singled out Carlos Rojas, who was a musician and jazz lover. Carlos took the initiative to give a workshop in La Pastora (a very important area of the city of Caracas, Venezuela).
As a teenager, Gil used to go to La Pastora to learn to improvise with Carlos in salsa, as he liked this genre so much ever since. This is how he started learning about harmonies and taking his first steps as a composer.
When given the chance to play with the group Los Morrillos, he learned a lot about gaitas and other Venezuelan rhythms from the western region of the country. In the case of the group Madera, he learned (and keeps learning) a lot about Afro-Venezuelan music in general.
After that, he met Jesús ”Chucho” García, who is an intellectual, activist and author of several books on Afro-Venezuelanity. Together they formed a group called Cimarrón, with which they represented Venezuela at the International Jazz Plaza Festival in 1989. To date, they are still very good friends and continue to learn about this great musical branch from one another.
Why move to Germany?
His initial plan was to move to the United States to continue his studies in Berkeley, but he was unable to obtain the required visa at the time. However, that would not be the end of his dream.
It turns out that some friends of his from the group Madera went on a Germany tour and stayed to live there. Then, one of them, Felipe ”Mandingo” Rengifo offered him to join them to work in that country and try to be admitted in one of their conservatories. At the time, Gil only had a saving of $1,000, with which he took a gamble.
Although he had to play in the streets and wash bathrooms at the beginning, he achieved his goal of entering a conservatory, an institution that gave him the opportunity to fix his papers to have a legal status in Germany. Having solved this inconvenience, he was able to focus his attention on his musical project Guapacha (name in honor of a great Cuban drummer who lived in the parish of San Agustin del Sur, Caracas).
All this experience was preparing him for when he could finally achieve his goal of going to the United States.
Arrival in the United States
While still in Germany, Gil was invited to participate in a jazz festival in the United States, specifically in Montana. He did so well that he amazed many musicians with whom he shared the stage that day and exchanged contact information for future events.
Later, he managed to play in San Diego and Boston, where he had the opportunity to share the stage with the Boston Power Orchestra and meet Danilo Pérez, Dizzy Gillespie’s pianist. The latter, in turn, recommended him to maestro Tito Puente, whom he met shortly thereafter.
This was how the artist managed to build a very respectable reputation in the industry through his talent. This is how he ended up playing with ”half the world” and building a great prestige as a musician and composer.
In addition to singing and playing multiple instruments, Gil has also taught low-income youth in order to spread the knowledge he has gained throughout his career. He even created an orchestra composed of children whose parents have no resources or documents in order to help them learn music and provide them with better work-study opportunities in the future. Some have even got into college and obtained scholarships thanks to this knowledge.
Parallel to these activities, he began composing and making arrangements for other artists who began to require his services.
Guapacha Productions
On the subject of Guapacha Productions, Gil says that the idea came when he began researching on the music industry, licensing, distribution and other things.
The musician saw an opportunity to achieve his dreams during the pandemic, which is when he noticed that many artists had no idea how to register a composition and how other necessary licenses to collect their royalties from their music works.
Noticing the ignorance of many young talents about the industry, he created the company Guapacha Productions, which is responsible for the musical production and arrangements for artists signed to this label.
When asked how the economic issue was handled for artists who do not have the resources to launch their career as it should be, he explained that there are three types of music distributors: major labels, labels created by the artists themselves and independent companies like Guapacha Productions. We are a group of independent artists who created our own label and we are trying to have our own distribution, so we would not be obliged to negotiate with any big distribution company” explained Gil.
Along with that, it is Guapacha Productions that will make agreements with Spotify, iTunes and other digital platforms to distribute the music of its artists without intermediaries.
The company has been so successful in these efforts that its name will soon be part of the Latin Grammys, which means that the talents signed to the label will have the chance to stand out and be finalists in the various categories.
Cheo Valenzuela’s ”Salsa Buena” Tour
With respect to the important issue of Cheo Valenzuela’s ”Salsa Buena” tour (artist signed to Guapacha Productions) in Europe, there are negotiations with some event producers in France, Spain and England so that Cheo Valenzuela can perform at various venues in those countries. There are also talks of taking the artist to Central America and the United States, specifically to San Francisco, where Gil lives.
In addition to that, Valenzuela is working on an EP with five songs by other artists and another one with five compositions created by himself. Being already a singer with a long-standing career, this last work would also become him a consacrated composer before the world. Once all this material has been released, his name is going to be considered for a Grammy nomination, which Gil has a lot of faith that he will win due to his great talent.
At the time of doing this interview, Valenzuela is taking a few days off due to the death of his mother, so we send our condolences and solidarity to him and his family at such a difficult time.