Spanish Author Saúl Delhom Immerses Us Into The World Of Salsa In Four Simple Illustrated Texts
The computer engineer, illustrator and dancer, Saúl Delhom, recreates the culture of Salsa in an exclusive selection of four short books that are easy to understand, a substantial exploration of the representatives of the genre, and an enjoyable reading that you can finish in a week.
The author of these different texts tells us quickly and with the characteristic Spanish humor about the skills, efforts, adaptability, and approach of Afro-Caribbean music.
With these books aimed at Salsa fans, you will get motivation, reflection, knowledge of history, tips, and advice on social dance based on real stories that will not allow you to get left behind in this competitive and fascinating world of Latin dance.
The four books on Salsa by Valencia-born Saúl Delhom will make you learn the most relevant data of the Salsa industry in a fast and exceptional way.
En Clave
En clave is one of the books by the Valencia dancer with which he makes a chronological journey of Salsa through the lives of 77 women artists around the world. For this reason, you will find singers, instrumentalists, composers, and directors of the genre from Croatia, Denmark, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, Puerto Rico, the United States, Cuba, and Venezuela, just to mention a few countries.
En Clave is structured by a timeline dating from 1877 to 1995, separated by decades. So in the first instance, you will read the biography of an artist who is probably the source of inspiration for another. Then, you will come across a connection diagram as visual support and contribution of extra information that will provide you with emotional ties, teachers, professionals, and collaborations between members of the industry.
Likewise, you will find at the end of each biography the title of a song along with a printed code that you can scan through your smartphone that will link you directly to the Spotify digital platform to listen to it.
And finally, you will observe a second timeline with the exhibition as a frame of reference for contemporary male singers and groups and the exact date of the incursion and musical performance of the artist reviewed for that moment.
“In short, for this book, I have opted for that general vision of the term Salsa… This has also allowed me to include interpreters of traditional Cuban music, to travel back in time making prominent women visible, and to the future including generations of artists who merge, and they reinterpret. For that reason, you will find exponents of the Trova, Danzón, Danzonete, the Cuban point, Guajira, or Latin Jazz. ” Excerpt from the En Clave book.
Remember that you need to read this book because…
“More Salsas are known with female names than female names in the Salsa”. Saúl Delhom
El Antimanual Para Bailar Salsa: Episode I. The social
El antimanual para bailar Salsa is an ironic and humorous illustrated guide on how to successfully overcome a social dance of this Latin rhyme on a dance floor.
In this first book by Saúl, you will find answers to common questions of beginning dancers, such as: Should the girl be dragged to the floor? Is it better to dance only with your partner? Is doing many figures the best to stand out? Do I have to know all the songs of memory to be a real Salsero? Is criticizing other couples a national sport? Who moves my drink from here?
Delhom tells us that his intention in creating this project was initially purely personal and without any commercial intention, but due to its success and the liking of the experience acquired, he decided to write an extension of this book with a few extra chapters and face a second different book.
Ficcionario Salsero. 50 New Words Explained For Normal People
The Ficcionario Salsero is a dictionary of 50 words invented by the author.
These simple words with minimal modifications in the union of two of them or the exchange of one or two letters make the meaning vary entirely, creating a new terminology in salsa slang.
To do this, Saúl Delhom developed an advanced algorithm that allowed him to generate each new term, which in the writer’s words, that should already exist today.
In addition, in the last pages of the Ficcionario, you will find a story about the events that take place in a Salsa Congress and in which these new words are used as an example and that make you actively get involved in this fascinating world.
It should be noted that the style and method applied to the illustrations here are different from those applied previously.
Trivial Salsero
Finally, there is the Trivial Salsero, a Salsa cultural enrichment book. Its base consists of 360 questions that join a playlist of 160 songs.
In the questions related to a hit, for example: According to a song from El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, what city do you recommend living in summer to have fun with charm and beauty? You will have the information about the correct answer and bring you the exact time within the song through a mark on the digital link to listen to it on Spotify.
Trivial Salsero also includes a system to choose pages randomly without the need for dice or cards.
And is that if you consider yourself a real Salsero you should already know the answers to any of these questions that appear in this book and that I leave you here below as a preamble to what you will find in its internal pages:
- With what instrument is the artist Noro Morales associated?
- What discipline did Celia Cruz leave to dedicate herself to music?
- What nickname has the artist Charlie Palmieri received?
- What is the meaning of the word Segundo of the artist Compay Segundo?
“I’ll tell you a little personal anecdote… The first time I tried a Salsa class was in a pub called Cachao. At that time, I had no idea who was the legendary double bass player Israel López “Cachao”. I believed that it was an invented word or the name of some island. Years later, I not only know his story thanks to dancing and the controversial term Salsa, but I have ended up writing a book in which appears his sister Coralia López, much less known”. Saúl Delhom
