Who Is Alex Da Silva Anyway?

Salsa Bear said:

Very famous On1 dancer; former world champion. In fact, I think he's credited with helping to develop the On1 style.

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Misinformation. On1 was being danced decades before Alex Da Silva learned to dance Salsa. LA style was developed by many people, some decades before him. Cubans danced On1 way way back. He taught at the Mayan and competed in the Mayan salsa competition, so was more prominent than some.

'Develop' doesn't necessarily mean invent or originate; I think you may have misunderstood his meaning.

DJ Yuca said:

'Develop' doesn't necessarily mean invent or originate; I think you may have misunderstood his meaning.

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I know what 'Develop' means, I was a 'Developer' for many years. Some say we (English people) even 'developed' the English language. Though I wouldn't know anything about that

You worked in photography?

dj yuca said:

you worked in photography?

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lol.

azzey said:

Misinformation. On1 was being danced decades before Alex Da Silva learned to dance Salsa.

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Decades??? If salsa was created in the 1970s, then On1/LA style probably didn't arrive on the scene until the 1980s. And if Alex Da Silva won his first world championship as late as 2000 (I don't have a clue when he really did win), then he probably started dancing at least ten years earlier - 1990. :doh:

"He [Alex da Silva] is credited with contributing to the 'LA Style' of Salsa dancing."

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--Wikipedia (Alex Da Silva)

"The L.A. style as it is known today was pioneered by what many consider some of the most famous and influential people in dance. Albert Torres, Laura Canellias and Joe Cassini rightfully deserve much of the credit for the early development and growth of L.A. Style Salsa. Later, such dancers as Alex Da Silva, Edie Lewis, Joby Martinez, Josie Neglia, Liz Rojas, Francisco Vazquez and Janette Valenzuela are often credited with developing the L.A. style of Salsa Dancing as we know it today."

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--Wikipedia (Salsa dance (LA Style))

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In other news, Wikipedia has been updated with Da Silva's conviction, while what I assume is his personal website is seeking people who can testify that his victims are lying about him.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Da_Silva_(dancer)
http://www.alexdasilva.com/

(Sorry for the double post; I have a bad Internet connection.)

Salsa Bear said:

Decades??? If salsa was created in the 1970s, then On1/LA style probably didn't arrive on the scene until the 1980s.

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Your error stems from that you seem to think On1 and LA style are the same thing which they're not. LA style is a specific flavour of on1. Your original statement was about on1. PR's, NYers and Cubans were dancing on1 long before, whatever style of 'Salsa' you believe in. <shrug>

azzey said:

Your error stems from that you seem to think On1 and LA style are the same thing which they're not. LA style is a specific flavour of on1. Your original statement was about on1. PR's, NYers and Cubans were dancing on1 long before, whatever style of 'Salsa' you believe in. <shrug>

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Here in Seattle, we're taught there are two main styles of salsa - On1 (alias LA Style, which is supposedly favored on the West Coast) and On2 (of which New York City is regarded as the capital).

I read about On2 salsa in other contexts all the time (e.g. Cuban salsa), but I have a hard time remembering when I last read about On1 salsa in any other context but LA/West Coast.

In other news, I'm amazed Edie The Salsa Freak hasn't taken this page down yet...

www.salsafreak.com/alexdasilva.htm

Great way to give yourself a black eye.

Salsa Bear said:

Here in Seattle, we're taught there are two main styles of salsa - On1 (alias LA Style, which is supposedly favored on the West Coast) and On2 (of which New York City is regarded as the capital).

I read about On2 salsa in other contexts all the time (e.g. Cuban salsa), but I have a hard time remembering when I last read about On1 salsa in any other context but LA/West Coast.

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The old saying " dont believe all you read ! ".

On "1" is very prevalent all thru the eastern seaboard, and its NOT all LA style . As Azzey stated, specific styles and dancing on different breaks, are 2 independant actions .

And LA style , became somewhat popular quite a few yrs back , in metro areas like Atlanta for e.g.( its not the most dominant )

Salsa Bear said:

Decades??? If salsa was created in the 1970s, then On1/LA style probably didn't arrive on the scene until the 1980s. And if Alex Da Silva won his first world championship as late as 2000 (I don't have a clue when he really did win), then he probably started dancing at least ten years earlier - 1990. :doh:

--Wikipedia (Alex Da Silva)

--Wikipedia (Salsa dance (LA Style))

* * * * *

In other news, Wikipedia has been updated with Da Silva's conviction, while what I assume is his personal website is seeking people who can testify that his victims are lying about him.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Da_Silva_(dancer)
http://www.alexdasilva.com/

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I would just like to point out that you always have to be skeptical of uncited information on Wikipedia. Anyone could have put Alex's name in there, maybe even Alex himself! Plus, a lot of people will write what they want to be true, not necessarily what is actually true.

ColdSalsero said:

I would just like to point out that you always have to be skeptical of uncited information on Wikipedia. Anyone could have put Alex's name in there, maybe even Alex himself! Plus, a lot of people will write what they want to be true, not necessarily what is actually true. Trust me, I've edited articles on Wikipedia before, and people will put all kinds of crazy stuff in there, without any evidence to back up what they write...

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Besides.. anyone who has to resort to "because wikipedia says so" to shore up their argument must really be on shaky ground.

"Salsa Bear said:

Azzey said:

Misinformation. On1 was being danced decades before Alex Da Silva learned to dance Salsa.

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Decades??? If salsa was created in the 1970s, then On1/LA style probably didn't arrive on the scene until the 1980s. And if Alex Da Silva won his first world championship as late as 2000 (I don't have a clue when he really did win), then he probably started dancing at least ten years earlier - 1990.

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Anyway, to put the argument/discussion over on1 to rest..

salsera_alemana said:

I am surprised about this discussion and that many of you seem to think that on1 was "created" after on2, and that a Vazquez brother invented on1??? When I got into salsa (1991), everybody danced on1: all Puerto Ricans, Cubans, other Latinos that I danced with, and not only in the clubs in Germany or Switzerland but also everybody in Puerto Rico, Miami etc.

I just asked my husband who has a long history of salsa. He is Puerto Rican and has been a salsero all his life, spent the first 30 years of his life in PR. This is what he said:

On1 has always been around (he was born in the 50s), long before salsa came up in the 70s. On2 was around in the old mambo days (50s) but the old mambo was danced separately and mostly not in partner hold.

Salsa in the 70s was danced on1 and on2, he said on2 was what they called slow salsa then but many people did not dance on2 then.

In the 80s and first half of the 90s everybody danced on1. Papito Jala and Papo Conejo started out dancing on1.

On2 is an old style from the mambo days that was re-introduced in the second half of the 90s. I saw it first danced in Puerto Rico in 1997. That is also when the first Congreso de Salsa took place in San Juan and when the whole commercialization and craze of salsa began.

When I started dancing salsa there was no such thing called LA Style, that name came up - according to what I remember - about 10 years ago or so. I can imagine that people in LA danced more cumbia style salsa before. Remember, most Latinos in LA are from Mexico, Central and South America. They have no salsa tradition.

Actually, LA style at first was salsa on1 with Puerto Rican type turns that were then further developed into acrobatics, and is now characterized by acrobatics and a zillion spins.

By the way, here in central and northern Florida most people in the salsa scene (that consists of about 95% Latinos, mostly Puerto Ricans in central Florida) dance on1, I see very few dancing on2.

All the above refers to Puerto Rico, Florida and Europe, not to NY. I was not exposed to NY salsa in the 90s.

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http://www.salsaforums.com/showpost.php?p=159552&postcount=35

The post is taken from this thread: history of On1 dancing in which myself and others posted various interviews and articles as far back as available.

yeah, I assume that salsa on 1 comes from the Casino tradition, which I read["Cuba and its music", Ned Sublette] was basically Son converted to on1 somewhere around the '50s to make it easier for the tourists.

sweavo said:

yeah, I assume that salsa on 1 comes from the Casino tradition, which I read["Cuba and its music", Ned Sublette] was basically Son converted to on1 somewhere around the '50s to make it easier for the tourists.

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+1

5 posts to go...

"Who Is Alex Da Silva Anyway?" -- Great title for the most bizarre thread I've seen on this forum.

azzey said:

Besides.. anyone who has to resort to "because wikipedia says so" to shore up their argument must really be on shaky ground.

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Dude: You need to get over yourself. Anyone so totally obsessed with such a pointless topic must have a few issues of their own.

1) I never said "because Wikipedia says so."
2) I never even said Alex Da Silva contributed to the development of On1 salsa.

This discussion started after someone asked "Who's Alex Da Silva?"

Based on something I thought I remembered reading, I replied...

"Very famous On1 dancer; former world champion. In fact, I think he's credited with helping to develop the On1 style."

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Note the words I think. If I was writing a PhD dissertation, I might have contacted one of the Vazquez brothers and solicited their opinion. But it was just a casual discussion.

When someone challenged that statement, I tried to track down the source and posted links to a couple Wikipedia articles. If the articles are in error, and you're so passionate about your new cause, go edit the articles.

In the meantime, "On1" means different things to different people. Yes, anyone can dance salsa (or other dances) to a particular beat (On1, On2, On5, etc.). But when people talk about On1 around here, they're generally referring to LA style salsa.

Salsa instructors and schools often advertise "On1" classes; they don't specify "On1 LA style." You can learn On1 or On2, and it's generally understood that On1 means LA style, while On2 means New York style, mambo, or whatever you want to call it.

I thought people pretty much used the same terminology nationwide.

As for Wikipedia, I wrote an article criticizing it long ago:

knol.google.com/k/david-blomstrom/wikipedia/1i6e04re3w2kp/5

Again, I thought it was pretty common knowledge that Wikipedia isn't an encyclopedia. When someone cites Wikipedia, you can take it with a grain of salt, reject it outright, or whatever.

But if you want to criticize Wikipedia, you might also criticize the salsa community for not putting the correct information out there, putting out so much hype, etc. That was one of my biggest complaints from the very beginning; it inspired me to create my website, primarily as a source of information for beginners.

Salsa Bear said:

Dude: You need to get over yourself. Anyone so totally obsessed with such a pointless topic must have a few issues of their own.

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Ha. Anyone who has to resort to personal digs just because they were corrected in a discussion forum...

Salsa Bear said:

"
I thought people pretty much used the same terminology nationwide.


you might also criticize the salsa community for not putting the correct information out there, putting out so much hype, etc.

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By and large.. yes.. but.. designating a "break " sequence does NOT necessarily indicate style taught/preference.

I teach classes on "1", but its not LA style ; P.R .break on "1" and "3", again, not LA style .

As to salsa comm. (?), when one has essentially a non conformist attitude towards a specfic, in this case, " dance ", then there will always be room for disagreement .

Salsa Bear said:

Here in Seattle, we're taught there are two main styles of salsa - On1 (alias LA Style, which is supposedly favored on the West Coast) and On2 (of which New York City is regarded as the capital).

I read about On2 salsa in other contexts all the time (e.g. Cuban salsa), but I have a hard time remembering when I last read about On1 salsa in any other context but LA/West Coast.

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Here i'll help azzey through an on2 lens. There is no single on2 style in NY. The most devoted "salsa" dancers in NY dance on2, but there are many styles within the on2 community here. It's a big city and you could break down the city into multiple styles. We just all happen to dance it on2. Thus there's a difference between those who developed salsa on2 and those who developed a specific style of salsa on2 within the scene.