So your reference is what some guy looking at a video saw?
Did that guy provide any reference as to where cumbia came from and how it was danced traditionally?
My reference is my own eyes i.e. how salsa is danced in Cali and the rest of Colombia by the majority of people i.e. those who have never been to classes. (N.B. those who do go to classes are a big minority i.e. not at all unusual.)
Since when has Terence been 'some guy looking at a video'?
When I refer to the basic cumbia step I'm aware that I'm referring to cumbia as a partner dance dancing to the contemporary form of the music. Traditionally it's danced to folkloric music. and whether the traditional dance has the same basic step I don't know.
Have you ever been to Barranquilla?
Have you heard of the Museo del Caribe?
No and no. Why?
Separate question:
Why do you pontificate on dances you do not dance nor have taken lessons in and that are danced to music you do not like?
Makes no sense to me.
It's not pontification it's sharing information. Which is the purpose of the forum I believe.
And anyway I do, out of necessity, dance Colombian style, albeit in a very basic form. In fact more often than not I dance like that all night. Out of necessity not choice. I've never taken lessons though, for the same reason most Colombians and most people in Cali don't take lessons: lack of interest/time/money.
I once saw a local dancer in Cali who had started to take classes and started to do all the complicated moves, and a caleña I know specifically told me after dancing with him that she much preferred dancing with him before he learnt all those moves. Maybe with time he got better at leading the theatrical stuff but I think for her she'd rather just do the basics. I doubt she's alone. Not to say that there's anything wrong in taking lessons in Cali style, but it's definitely not an essential if you want to integrate.
As for danced to music I do not like - there are Cali tunes I don't particularly like (Margie or the Wham track spring to mind) but the vast majority of music I hear here I like, a bit or a lot. In fact a lot of the big Cali tunes I have copies of on CD or vinyl. Which has often taken a lot of searching and financial investment.
My complaint is that tunes get speeded up here sometimes, and that often venues play the fast stuff only after a certain time. Whereas on the radio, in la Calle de la Salsa, at houseparties etc, the music is far more varied and better.
You seem to think that if I don't portray or collaborate with an idealised version of Cali salsa it means I dislike it and am being unfaithful or unpatriotic or even treasonous. I believe:
truth is more interesting than fiction
if the scene is constructively criticised (from an international salsa perspective) then it has better opportunity to improve, which will benefit the city
there is no point in lying or keeping quiet on any topic.
Do you think no one else sees what I see? I can assure you that a number of visitors to the city who are good dancers have told me the same things I have noticed and other constructive criticisms. Some love Cali regardless and others see little appeal in the salsa scene here. In fact the only 2 women I know who are accomplished dancers and have visited have both been disappointed and have no intention of returning.
@Sabrosura (pre kizomba conversion) was one of them.
And as re. the academy version of Cali salsa dance: Terence said over and over on this forum that the moves were from jive and swing.
Again, it's not a blanket criticism. I love Cali and love living en la capital mundial de la salsa. But I'm not wearing rose-tinted spectacles. Nor are you - but your tastes, knowledge and experiences are different to mine. I suspect most salseros would see things from my perspective more than yours.
A few years ago I gave an hour long online presentation, purely about the Cali salsa scene, for an academic series
@Latinjazz was doing. Do you think I did a hatchet job? I portrayed it from an objective viewpoint. There was at least one caleño watching and I didn't get any complaints. In fact he contacted me afterwards to say that I was obviously a real salsa lover.
