Dena Burroughs' blog

Every so often I get free downloads from PR folks wanting to give exposure to their stars-in-progress. Up until now I had been listening to them but done nothing much about them because most are not Salsa tunes, most are not local artists, and so on. However, I am changing my mind. Mostly because I really like the song I will talk about next. From now on, I am going to stick the links to any good new songs in here and so whoever likes it can download it.

Here's is a pop tune by Benny Ibarra, an ex-member of Timbiriche, called "Calaveras" out of his upcoming album "La Marcha de la Vida." It's a duo with Lila Downs, the Mexican Latin Grammy winner. I'm told he wrote it during the "Dia de Los Muertos" celebrations in Jalcomulco, Veracruz, and it mixes cumbia, blues, reggae and pop. I like it. See what you think.

It took 10 months (since April 2009) to get another 100,000 hits into VidaSalsera.com ! Thank you everybody for your visits!

Melena is an LA musician of Cuban descent. Her song "Baila Conmigo" was accepted amongst 96 others into the KTLA Battle of the Bands contest. To get to the second round she needs votes. It only takes a minute to register and vote. Check out the song and if you like it, show her some love! - http://ktla.upickem.net/engine//Welcome.aspx?contestid=13691

The consensus between the people I spoke to (a good dozen folks) is to relieve Maelo Ruiz of any fault for the horribleness that went on at Quiet Cannon last night. Ruiz sings nicely and he sang his heart out on stage, a couple times a' capella even. Other than his voice though, the night was a fiasco - the musicians (which according to a few opinions resembled a cumbia band) were playing over a synch track and even then the sound sucked. Santiago Ceron did not perform. Word on the grapevine is that he had serious health problems that impeded him from showing up, but whether that was the case is still to be confirmed. The blessed yellow tape line that divides the "rich" from the "poor," their dance floors included, and which I have criticized enough in the past was there again. It was a totally puke-able time which a reader in an email today called "una estafa" and from which I was gone by 11.30 pm.

The good thing about human beings is that we have the ability to make the best out of the barely ordinary and hundreds of people did just that last night to make the best out of their 36 bucks per person.

Your first Salsa Sunday at Hacienda Hotel will hit you as a moment to evaluate your dancing progress, because this hotel bar, turned into a Salsa spot once a week, has three smooth, high quality, dance floors on which dancers seem to segregate themselves depending on their dance level.

It hit me half way into the evening that several of the dancers I knew kept on walking straight passed me into the third room in the back. I thought it odd because of all rooms that's the one I imagined most claustrophobic, but once I walked in I realized something even more serious... the "super duper" dancers (and those working hard to get there) sacrifice even being able to actually hear the music well in exchange for getting a good dance with one of their own. (The sound system works the poorest back there.)

At any rate, if the "super dupers," which by the way discriminate within themselves as well between "on 1ers" and "on 2ers," stay in the back room, you may already imagine that the other two rooms are for beginner dancers and intermediate. These two other rooms, however, are more open to mixing between the two. And to be fair, a few nice souls out of the "super dupers" do come out every so often and mingle with the rest of the common folk.

Yes, I am poking fun at them. But in all honesty I had fun. Hacienda has plenty of seating, the floors really are excellent, the bathrooms are clean, there is NO cover charge, and the DJ (I believe he said DJ Diablo) played varied music and gave no reason for complaint. I danced in all three rooms, yes!, including the super dupers's! And I didn't even get kicked out!

It is a place totally worth of checking out. But may as well start figuring out which room you'll belong to right now! ;)

Rio Grande has been at the same location in Montclair for years and for quite a long time I've had it listed on my "salsaclubs" section under Wednesday dancing. Finally last night I checked it out.

There are several good things about Rio Grande - parking is free, there is plenty of tables and seats, the prices at the bar are reasonable, the floor is large and smooth, the sound system is good, and tropical Wednesdays are well attended. There is a Salsa dance class earlier in the evening taught by Mario Gonzalez, a guy that is actually very nice and that seems well liked by the people he's instructing. He says sometimes he gets up to 80 people in his class. The DJ is none other than DJ Chuy, who has been a staple in the tropical scene in Los Angeles for the past two decades. He knows music better than you and I put together and he, to my surprise because I never knew it, began playing at Rio Grande 11 years ago. He is definitely in his turf.

Now for purposes of our picky Salsa scene, it must be said that you must be tolerant of other genres of tropical music besides Salsa if you're going to be happy at Rio Grande. Both the band, called California Show, and DJ Chuy, will play a sequence of cumbia, Salsa, and merengue, that alternates pretty consistently throughout the night - only interrupted by a bachata here and there. It is the right sequence for the crowd as the floor stays full all night long. The band plays Colombian salsa. The DJ plays Puerto Rican salsa.

Mixed in the crowd I saw folks I've seen at Cocopalm Restaurant, at Acapulcos in Montclair, and some dressed comfortably in jeans while others dressed to the teeth. There is room for everyone at Rio Grande and you'll find they have a good thing going if you are adaptable.

I love this picture that Caleb took of the Costa Rica/Mexico game in Costa Rica during his vacation. Mexico kicked our butt but the picture is really cool.

This is the end of the United States at the TJ/San Ysidro point (San Diego), where the Mexican coast begins. The fence actually goes into the water. Our coast is clear, barely any people, whoever is there is just doing the tourist thing. On the other side the beach is full of people and sounds - a busy town going about on a Sunday that to them is not Labor Day. Children play right on the fence and cross over one way and the other. The Border Patrol drives in their Jeeps periodically and the kids run back into Mexico when they see them come. Bizarre sight as the people on the U.S. side stare to the other side and the folks on the Mexico side stare our way. Everybody stares but nobody waves. We are odd creatures, us humans. If we could continue the fence over the water I suspect we would...

While I was busy updating the website, you guys clicked and wayyyyy passed the 200,000 hits mark!!! That means that from June 17th, 2008 to July 9th, 2009... just over a year, we gather 100,000 more hits. That's so cool! I'm glad you guys are hitting. Thank you for visiting!

My windows and doors are open; the fans are on; and I wish I could be elsewhere, anywhere right now, where it'd be much cooler. I don't love the heat, and the awareness of three months ahead during which temperatures will be up to the 100s makes me sad. I live in Azusa; there's no body of water in sight; and the mountains make sure to stop the flow of air and make it stagnant, and muggy, and irritating. I know many love the heat, but I wouldn't mind a good and mean rain every so often, like the ones that would soak me to the bone in the country I grew up.

Anyhow, heat and all, today I made it, just for a little bit, to the one year anniversary of the Cuban restaurant "Merengue" in Monrovia. Grupo Cache - four guys who I don't have the pleasure to know - played for a crowd who put up with the heat to be outdoors and listen to them. One has to love the power of advertising. This restaurant had been there for a year and I'd never heard of it. A salsa band gets scheduled and boom! so far I've gone already twice to eat some of their potato balls, pastelitos, tamales, coconut sodas, and the pastries that look so tempting to the eye. The "Merengue" menu is rather similar to Portos, and for us on the east side of town is really a discovery.

As I said I was there just for a bit, and towards the beginning of the afternoon at that, so I'm assuming it must have been much more crowded after I left, but here are some pictures. Check out the guy's t-shirt... you can feel the love can't you?

"The Proposal," which is out in theaters this weekend, is the story of an immigrant's struggle to stay in the U.S. that is unlike most of the INS stories we normally hear. This immigrant, for a change, has power. She is a corporate boss, played by Sandra Bullock, who is feared by her employees and has a personality that will give you flashbacks of Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada." Her position enables her to blackmail her assistant, played by Ryan Reynolds, into marrying her so that she can remain in the country.

The development of the relationship between boss and assistant is completely predictable. This is a true chic flick , albeit an enjoyable one. Although it is hard to believe Bullock as the horrible "Devil's mistress" that she starts as, at the end she turns into what the audience loves her for. On top of that, by the time the audience leaves the theater they will have seen much more of Bullock's skin that they were bargaining for!

A definite plus in the movie is the participation of Betty White, as grandma Annie. She plays her part perfectly and gets the crowd to chuckle often. Perhaps the best laughs come from Ramone, the one Latino in the film, who, -- don't be too shocked! -- plays all of the "help" parts: Ramone is the waiter, the sushi chef, the male stripper, the shop attendant, and so forth and on. Ramone is played by Cuban born actor Oscar Nunez. Most of his scenes are hilarious.

"The Proposal" is a formula seen many times before, but that has never harmed anybody.

The coolest (and scariest to me!) thing on the last night of Congress was the acknowledgement given to me by the Albert Torres team. I got a very nice plaque that is now hanging on my wall and even though it says my name, I am taking it as an acknowledgement to this website, and the fact that it has allowed me to become an active part of this Salsa community that I am so fond of. My thanks to ATE Productions and to all of you who come to get your information here and consequently make my work worthwhile. I am very flattered.

Here's a Salsa poem... 'cuz I must be inspired on account of the Salsa Congress. :) Yeap .. yeap...I'm ridiculous like this

Over a month, no blogging! tsk tsk tsk to me. The days go by so fast when you're having fun! ;) Maybe what I need to do is start a weekly wrap-up of sorts, to talk about what goes on during the week and particularly on the events that I only post pictures for. For example, I could tell you that it was freaking hot today at Echo Park during the very short time I was there. Couldn't really stay too long, but wanted to at least see it with my own eyes. Everybody seemed to be having fun, although the festival appeared a bit smaller than usual this time around. Even the drum circle was smaller (that's always my favorite part). Saoco was DJing when I was there and there was no sign of a band coming up. Somebody will have to tell me how the bands did.

Saturday night was the Latin Jazz Festival at the Greek. I already told you in my write up how that went. Pictures could have been better of course, but I don't yet have a long lens camera and they switched the picture taking location from last year's. It's a real shame because the pictures from the pit came out beautiful. But it's not their fault that I don't have a long lens. I may have to start a long-lens-fundraiser folks! :)

Friday night got split between the Conga Room with Poncho Sanchez and Sabor in Glendale. Poncho is always a treat, his band is always a treat. Joey is just so fun to watch. But the security people at Conga Room are neither a treat nor fun. Don't get me started. I'm trying to be nice. Anyhowwwwwwwwwwwww, Sabor was packed! The stars lined up and everybody showed up over there and we even had the special guests you saw the pictures of on the main page. Good times. Sabor is starting to be that place "where everybody knows your name."

Thursday night I went to Garfono's Pizza in Alhambra for a little bit. The Cal State L.A. radio station students have a Thursday night going on at that place and decided last month to make their second Thursday their salsa night. It's really only a half salsa night because by 10 pm everybody is ready for hip hop and other stuff (let's face it, most college students dont have the concentration to salsa. Jumping to hip hop is easier.) But for what is worth, at least from 9 pm to 10 pm the university's Salsa club instructor plays music out of his own laptop and the little group of Salsa lovers get a little bit of a fix. It took me longer to drive from and to Azusa to the darn place than what I stayed there for, but again, I had to see it. Next time I go will have to be with a beer drinking buddy that won't care what music may be coming up next.

Now looking to the future - This coming up week is Congress week! Dancers from all over who could afford it must be arriving to L.A. just about now to dance with each other, and a few of us will be there also for the amazing performers. Not cheap... but Gilberto Santarosa, Choco Orta, El Canario, Son Boricua, and our local bands, one night after the other doesn't happen everyday! And it should be added that The Conga Room will have Eddie Santiago on Thursday night. I know his music is soft (monga-ish let's say) but who hasn't heard "Lluvia" at least 200 times? And I've never seen the man live, so... here I go security guys!.. get ready! hah.

It's going to be a full week. Believe or not I do work long days... run a house... have a couple of family members and a few other things to read and write on a daily basis... but I'll have time to sleep when I'm 80! Let's see if I can do better at blogging more often from now on. Thanks for reading!

Make sure to check out the movie "Sugar." It is currently on selected theaters - Pasadena's Laemmelle's is showing it for example. The movie was partially filmed in the Dominican Republic, then in the U.S. - both Iowa and New York. Those of you who love bachata will love the soundtrack - the scenes in D.R. have Zacarias Ferreira, Aventura, Juan Luis Guerra and others. The scenes filmed in Spanish Harlem have similar familiar sounds.

"Sugar" is the story of Miguel Santos, a young Dominican who, like many others, sees baseball as his way out of poverty. With the "baseball academies" that the U.S. keeps in the D.R., it is no coincidence that 15% of the major league players in the American teams are Dominican. Many young Dominicans train since tender ages hoping they'll be the next one to be offered a contract. And many come to the U.S. just to find out that there are good, but not good enough.

Their "American" dreams turns them into just one more immigrant in the U.S., with all the hassles that involves. "Sugar" is more than a sports movie. It tells one Dominican experience in the U.S. and it will help you look at those ball players in a whole different light. Real Dominican ball players, like Manny Nanita and Jose Rijo, appear in the film.

Oscar D' Leon pulled a huge crowd once again into The Mayan last night. I wonder how he does it, time and again. Seems people never get tired of him.

To be honest, the music was off and on weird. He sang a lot of non-Salsa songs - stuff that drove the Peruvians wild, then the Venezuelans, then the Mexicans, and so forth. I'm not saying that it was a bad concert, I'm just saying every so often I heard myself say: "HUH?"

Then again, "HUH?" look at these pictures. I was so cute at The Mayan camera-less. Left it at home. That is what happens when you leave the house at 10 am thinking you have everything you'll need until 3 am. BUT, since this is the first time I've done it in a long time... cut me a break. Gracias. The pictures below are from my cell phone.

First of all, the wacky pictures on the main page are pictures taken with my phone and e-mailed to myself so that I had something to post since I forgot at home the cable that connects my camera to the laptop. But I do in fact have good pictures of the opening gala of the Latin Film Festival and fabulous pictures of the Spanish Harlem that I will post as soon as I get back to LA.

So far my visit to San Diego has been successful. The opening gala was the largest I've been to so far for this event, and I've been coming for a few years already. The Orquesta Binacional del Mambo played last night and a couple of San Diego dance teams performed. This afternoon I watched the screening of "Leonera," an Argentine film that, in my humble opinion, got its title mistakenly translated to "Lion's Den" when it should have been "Lioness' Den," because the movie is comparing a women's prison to the lair of a bunch of wild females. Male lions are definitely not the subject. Anyhow, it is a great movie directed by Pablo Trapero about the experiences of a woman, and a mother, in a prison. The official website for it is http://www.leoneralapelicula.com/

Tonight's concert of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra at the Birch North Park Theatre was fabulous. San Diego showed up in full force and filled up the place and I was very happy to see it. Oscar Hernandez needed it as, for sake of gossip I tell you, the airline lost his two bags today as he flew into San Diego from last night's concert in the San Francisco area, and now he is passport-less just as he is supposed to head to Mexico for yet another concert tomorrow. How that will turn out we will have to hear later, but I'm sure the nice show of the San Diego fans helped his spirits. The theater very kindly gave me a photo pass and I should be able to deliver some nice pictures. Needless to say the music was fantastic, but that is only expected from musicians and singers of the level of SHO. Unfortunately, as concerts normally go at nice concert halls, it was over by 10.30 pm. By 11 pm I was in my hotel room, being that San Diego doesn't have that many salsa options and being that I did not want to go to La Jolla Marriott (no offense).

I'm thinking of you guys in L.A... with La Clave going on, and Odyssey, and Granada, and Mayan... heck, even the Acapulcos right by my house. Boy, Salsa does have a lot of options in LA!

But I'm staying happily in San Diego because tomorrow is another movie day! Tell you about it later!

(Afterthought: you should have seen the limo the SHO showed up at the theater. Some nice ride!)

Over a week after the Gilberto Santarosa/Victor Manuelle concert, a few folks are still asking me where the pictures are. I'm sure there's tons floating around the internet, but I took none. Of the concert I can say that it was very well attended. The powers in charge must have made a pretty penny that night. I was given a photo pass, actually a "staff-all-access" pass to hang from my clothes but that nobody honored. The security folks in the midst of their power ecstasy did not let me get even close to a position of advantage from where I could take some pictures. You see, normally, when I have no expectations and have received no promises, I am the first one to stand like a soldier for however long it may take to be in a spot from where I can capture some pictures. This time though I had been promised a pass in exchange for harassing you all with a mailing blast, so I saw no need to stand by the stage.. And by the time I realized I was going to get no respect, the crowd in front of the stage was huge and there was no way I was going to be able to pass them. So I put my little camera away and never pulled it out again. And that's the story of the lack of pictures for that concert.

Most people haven't even heard of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) convention. However, every year the winter session is held in Anaheim, CA and thousands of musicians schedule their affairs to be there. It is an industry event, NAMM won't allow anyone "outside of the industry" in there, and the truth is that no one outside of it would want to go anyways... unless they're people like me - I don't play a thing... but I love my music... and the musicians who make it... and the instruments they use.

So since I heard of NAMM three years ago, I've tried to make my way into it. Last year I had the pleasurable kick of getting in as Press, on account of VidaSalsera.com. The rest of the times, including this year, I was there thanks to having friends in high places. NAMM snubbed VidaSalsera.com out this year - "industry only" said the dreadful e-mail, and VidaSalsera.com doesn't manufacture anything.

Anyhow, never mind that the NAMM Press department is so un-cool, I still made it in yesterday, and this was my third year at NAMM. Perhaps I make too much out of a huge space filled with vendor booths selling from pianos to guitar picks, but I love every minute I'm there. It's something about the people, such a bunch of either real or wanna-be rockstars, wearing whatever it is a human can throw on - from nice to scary clothes, from too much to too much-skin - it's all there. It's something about the instruments too... the shine of those trombones that are just so sexy to me, or a pile of colorful drums one on top of another that somehow remind me of the colors in a candy store. It's something about the fact that everyone there is present for the music, and the respect that they have for one another's craft is almost tangible.

Instrument manufacturers like Toca, Tycoon, Remo, Latin Percussion (LP), and Pearl each have their own booths and represent several Latin artists. The size of their booths vary, but Pearl is the largest and their booth's set-up, with the pictures of the musicians that belong to their group, is fun enough just to look at.

Around the convention I saw from belly-dancers to KISS look alikes; from African drummers to R & B singers. Starting at 7 pm, LP threw a party in celebration of its 45 years in the business, and in celebration of Martin Cohen's birthday. The Latin Giants performed around 9.45 pm.

At the Mayan last Thursday, a space was left right in front of the stage for the photographers and aspiring photographers to be able to get their best shots. I'm not sure but I imagine it was at Albert Torres request and if that is the case, the Salsa Gawds bless him. It is SO hard for short people like yours truly to take pictures when the crowd is seven rows deep from the stage and everyone else is taller. I wasn't so lucky at NAMM. The floor was all one level and I had to stand at a distance to be able to see anything, and distance is the enemy of small photo cameras like mine. So, what you see in the pictures is all I could manage. If it is of any consolation, the Latin Giants' performance at NAMM was pretty similar to the one at The Mayan, so if you didn't miss that one, you're good. (Well, they were however joined on stage by Giovanni Hidalgo, who hit the heck out of the conga set, as well as John Santos and Chembo Corniel, and were introduced by Tito Puente Jr.).

Anyhow, separate from the frustration of my far away pictures, I had a ball at NAMM. After so many years at this, I still get star struck big time. This year, meeting Bobby Sanabria did it for me. Of course the man most likely won't remember me, but I have his card! and he has mine... and he was so awesome (and handsomely decked out!) at The Mayan.

The NAMM convention began on Wednesday and it went on until Sunday. Anaheim was honored with so many talented souls gathered about it. If the creative process could be bottled and sold somehow, that'd be a place to do it. I am psyched I got to be there this year again, and thankful to the friends I have in high places who keep on making it possible. They know who they are.

QUEEN MARY RINGS IN THE 2009 NEW YEAR WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS
FREE ADMISSION IN JANUARY

Long Beach, CA- The Queen Mary in Long Beach, is celebrating the New Year by inviting all California residents to visit The Queen Mary free of charge, as often as they would like, through January 31st, 2009. This special, FREE Admission ticket includes a self-guided tour of the Queen Mary. California residents must provide documentation of residency with a driver's license (or other form of photo identification) at the box office, during normal attraction operating hours from 10am to 6pm. Parking not included.
"Realizing that we are all living through difficult economic times, we thought that offering free admission to California residents during January would be our small way of helping to ring in 2009 on a positive note," said Queen Mary General Manager Jay Primavera.

While aboard, guests can experience the largest collection of Art Deco artwork in the country. They can also choose between many guided tours, including the Behind-the-Scenes, Historic World War II and an array of ghostly paranormal tours. Tours sold separately.

In addition to a variety of specialty boutiques, guests can enjoy fine dining at the Five-Star Sir Winston's restaurant, fresh seafood specialties at the Four-Star Chelsea restaurant or all-day dining specials at the Promenade Café. Finish off your day in the 1930's-style Art Deco Observation Bar, as you enjoy a spectacular ocean and skyline view of Long Beach.

The Queen Mary is home to a 314-room Art Deco Hotel, where guests relive the excitement of cruising in the style of the 1930's without ever leaving port. The Queen Mary is located at the south end of the 710 freeway, on the water in Long Beach. For reservations, call (800) 437-2934 or visit http://www.queenmary.com/ .

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About the Queen Mary

The Queen Mary, now celebrating 40 years in Long Beach, captures the imagination of the public and has come to represent the spirit of an era characterized by elegance and style. During her illustrious career, she has played many roles – from an elegant ocean liner to a World War II troopship. Now permanently docked, yet still afloat, her operation and preservation are entrusted to Hostmark Hospitality Group, a leading independent management company. Located at 1126 Queens Highway in beautiful Long Beach, California, The Queen Mary has become a must-see attraction. The historic ship offers a unique on-the-water hotel experience, a variety of historical, paranormal and education tours, unique shops, unmatched meeting & banquet facilities, three award-winning ocean view restaurants and so much more. For more information please visit http://www.queenmary.com/ or call (800) 437-2934.

If I was a singer / musician / artist... I think that I would want little bits and pieces of my work to float about so that people may get to know what I do and want some more. That's what I've always thought YouTube does... provide people with music, not perfect you know, with background noise and people screaming and so forth, but at least something that would make folks want to buy my song. So I don't understand why Gilberto Santarosa's people has now for the second time asked YouTube to remove the videos I took of Gilberto at The Mayan. The messages to me from YouTube say that the videos are charged by Sony to be infringing material rights. I say they may show the millions and millions of people who do not know who Gilberto is an opportunity to hear him. (Let's face it, our Salsa subculture is small when compared to the mainstream artists out there.) Anyhow, I do understand the musicians want to make money and don't want their music stolen, and "say no a la pirateria" and all that... but I think not exposing your stuff on something as popular as YouTube may actually work against you. Or maybe some artists are SO BIG that they do not need exposure anymore?????

"Rai" music is a genre from the northern African country of Algeria. It has the sound of pop music mixed with world music and Bedouin desert sounds. It is sung in French and Arabic. "Rai" means "opinion" so its lyrics are comparable to the Blues in that they tell stories of pain and joy alike. Often the lyrics, which are honest and at times blunt, are looked down by the Muslim authorities, so several of the Rai artists live outside of Algeria, many in France.

Faudel is a Rai artist, in fact considered "The Prince of Rai." He is a 30-year-old French singer of Algerian descent. In 2001, as part of his CD "Samra" he participated with Yuri Buenaventura in the song "Salsa Rai," which is exactly what its title describes, a mixture of Salsa and Rai with lyrics in both Spanish and Arabic. Yuri Buenaventura is a Colombian artist residing in France, representing with his Salsa all over Europe.

I was turned into Salsa Rai by DJ Mambohood, of the Denver, CO area. Beautiful song, and great to dance to! Below you'll find several links of interest, one of them to a YouTube of the song itself. Enjoy! and Merry Christmas!

Doing lots of movie watching lately. Have you seen "Nothing Like the Holidays"? Without spoiling it in case you haven't I'll tell you this much - it won't win any Oscars, but it's not terrible either. There's a lot of Puerto-Riqueñismos in it - mentions of coquito, parrandas, lechon and so forth - and the music is fun - Ricky Martin, a song by Eddie Palmieri, another one by Marvin Santiago, etc. The plot is as predictable as any other Christmas movie - everybody goes home for the holidays with problems and somehow at the end everybody leaves happy. You know the drill.

Jim Carrey's "Yes Man" is funny. I didn't realize until very much towards the end of the movie that my mind had not drifted at all, which means I must have been interested. Same thing as always with Carrey - his physical comedy is a big part of it, and the plot, well, you know it has to do with him saying "yes." No secret there. But I got a few very good laughs. That's what I look for in a movie. (Not a drama person here. For pain and suffering I can always read my dairy for free! hehe )

Greetings from Denver, Colorado! It's going to snow tomorrow. It will be a white Christmas!

A VidaSalsera.com blurb on the "Que Pasa Los Angeles" section of the December/January issue of Latin Beat.

Sixty eight years ago, Frank Sinatra was on stage on the grand opening night of a soon to become famous Hollywood Palladium. From that night forward, a long line of artists graced its stage, including salsa classics like the La Sonora Matancera, Celia Cruz, the Fania All-Stars and El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. The venue became the place to be, and therefore, nearly anyone who has lived long enough in Southern California has a story to tell about a fabulous night once had at the Palladium.

Mine was only eight years ago or so, when I attended a Pochy y su Coco Band concert and, as an exciting first for me, made it backstage to take pictures of the band, thanks to the pull of Abelardo de la Pena, the editor of LatinoLA.com, who allowed me to cover the event. Sure, by that time the Hollywood Palladium was only a shadow of what it had once been, although it still had the largest dance floor I had ever seen and it was still possible to visualize the splendor it once held. But the Palladium continued to deteriorate until finally a broken pipe and a flood brought about its complete close down.

The good news are that last year Live Nation signed a contract to renovate and run the Palladium, and the work is now done. Like so many others in Hollywood, the Palladium has undergone "reconstructive surgery" and for all accounts is now as good as new, with fresh bars and restrooms, light and sound systems, refurbished chandeliers, and more. Last month, Jay-Z was on stage on its rebirth night.

It is now time to bring salsa back to the Palladium! On Saturday, December 13th, Eddie Palmieri and his orchestra La Perfecta II will perform, accompanied by Herman Olivera, Tito Rojas, and Los Angeles orchestras Son Mayor and Charanga Cubana. General admission is $49.50. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.livenation.com/edp/eventId/338069/

(Live Nation photo - The Palladium in 1940)

(Live Nation photo - rendering of the new Hollywood Palladium - indoors)

(Live Nation photo - rendering of the new Hollywood Palladium - outdoors)

The Latin Grammys were fun to watch. Saw Larry Harlow in the audience and I just can't wait to see him in LA this weekend! The best thing was Victor Manuelle of course, although I must say Alejandra "la rockera" brings me a lot of flashbacks from my teenage years. I am convinced she's pretty much the Madonna of Latin America. Anyhow, the Latin Grammys are always a bittersweet affair for me, because, for each good performance I see I have to watch another one that makes my eyes bleed. As far as the winners, I hate to sound like a West Coast Cuban... but... why is it that it is always the Estefan's friends that win, huh? The winners are so predictable sometimes... honestly. Anyhow, at least we have some representation. Once upon a time Grammys came and went and nobody even knew Latinos could make music. And so goes the rationalizing...

Don't forget the details of this day. We may be retelling them 40 or more years from now to our grandkids and their kids.

I found a cool link today. It is Willie Perdomo reading his poem "The day Hector Lavoe died." I saw him read it to a group of about 50 last year here in Los Angeles. (He is from New York and was in town promoting his then new collection of poems Smoking Lovely.) The poem is great, and here it is recorded in his own voice. If you are into this sort of thing, I think you'll love it. Enjoy: http://media.sas.upenn.edu/pennsound/groups/Rattapallax/Perdomo-Willie_The-Day-Hector-Lavoe-Died_Rattapallax_2003.mp3

My goodness! Already November! It starting to smell like turkey! And talking about turkeys, hopefully the price of gas will continue to go down enough that we'll all be able to afford a turkey later on this month, plus the trimmings. But what are the chances that the prices of gas will start hiking up again after November 4, huh? hmmmm... forgive my skeptical mind... guess we'll have to see.

Anyhow, this entry comes as a reaction to last night's Halloween party at Sportmen's Lodge. Chino Espinoza was so adorable as a pirate! He even let his beard grow for the occasion! Imma start a petition that he keeps his goatee permanently. Doesn't he look good? :)

Don't worry. It's not a sick thing or anything. I did tell Maria, his wife, that she should make him keep it. :)

So here we go. If you agree with my petition, sign here: _____________________________ he he.

For the record, I hate people pushing me away, or in any way unnecessarily touching me unless they're my acquaintances or we happen to be dancing. Thursday at Cafe Sevilla this one guy irritated me when he pushed me... twice... out of the way while I was trying to take a picture. What on earth takes over the ego of a person to think he can manhandle a woman who he does not know blows my mind. I did not appreciate it then, and I still don't. I had posted something about it on the review of the club that I posted along with the pictures. The page had gotten about 50 hits when I decided to erase the text and leave the page as a gallery only. The removal was not done as a favor to Mr. Pusher, but it was done after I received an email from a non-salsa community organization, which reminded me that sometimes non-salsa, real life Latino organizers come into this page and the least I should do is keep some sort of professionalism into what they may read. I'll keep my ranting in this blog. After all, it is a blog, and certain liberties come along with this format.

The first one was Saturday at the Puerto Rican art exhibit in Baldwin Park. I was expecting paintings, not Salsa, but as I drove into the building I heard the loud sounds of this music I love. Turns out DJ Mr.Aries was there all set up and jamming. The art exhibit was small this time - a five artist show, but the seed of a larger Puerto Rican event was planted. Keep an eye open! Baldwin Park may have some Sunday Salsa soon!

The second one was Saturday evening, outside the Acapulcos Restaurant, in Montclair. This place has been my hideout for years. Whenever nothing calls me on a Saturday or I just feel like dancing and not taking pictures, I end up at the Acapulcos in Montclair. Thing is, they seem to be closing the place earlier and earlier every year. These days the night is over at 1.30 am. But, the genius of the dancers... they came up with an idea - once the restaurant closes, the back of a car opens, and the congas, bongos, maracas, guiros come out and the rumba begins. It is a commercial area after all, so there's no problem with the noise. Cool stuff!

Ever since reading the L.A. Times article ( http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-culture2-2008aug02,0,1141822.story ) and people's comments about getting injured on the dance floor, I've been thinking about what can be done to keep the dance floor safe. So here it is... here's twelve recommendations out of my own experiences:

“Non-dancer yuppies”: They’ve been to Puerto Rico or Cuba once or twice, and therefore they’re convinced they can do the cha-cha. Their conviction grows stronger with every lemon drop martini they consume.

At eleven in the morning on a Sunday, the West Covina Mall opens its doors to receive, almost immediately, a large wave of customers. As I sit on a bench, placed in the middle of the walkway, sort of dividing those who come from those who go, I see the MAC girls setting up their counter. It’s one of those floating stations also on the walkway, which lures passersby to look, even if not shop. The prominent color of their station is black, the counters, the racks where they set up the make-up, even their clothing. It juxtaposes markedly with the attendants fully made-up, colorful, faces. There’s no better advertisement than the MAC girls themselves. They’re cowboys ready for a showdown, in their high heeled leather boots and their holsters full of brushes of all sizes. A woman walks by pushing a stroller with two kids in it. Her face is plain; her hair tied up in a ponytail. Slowly she walks looking at the small black boxes containing lipsticks, eye shadows and the sort, but her step does not miss a beat, and she goes on. A man wearing sunglasses (as if we’re not indoors) walks by the counter carrying two large J.C. Penney bags. He looks at the MAC station, looking at the girls, not the make-up.

The mall is certainly a watering hole, and in July an oasis in the Southland’s heat. However, it is not a communal place. Although we’re all here, everyone minds only their own business. Strangers remain strangers. No one communicates unless it is to a store attendant or to their own friends. I saw a man wearing an “Oxnard Salsa Festival” t-shirt. I happen to know that the Festival is going on this weekend, yesterday (Saturday), and today. Before I get a hold of myself, I blurt out: “oh! Did you go to the Oxnard festival yesterday?” The man looks startled, then he reacts and says that yes, he went, in fact, he just came back this morning. I wanted to go, I say. You should have gone, he responds. Then he walks away. I am thinking this will most likely be the only time a stranger sitting on a mall bench will spark up a conversation with him today on account of the logo on his back. And I am pretty sure it will be the only time, in a good while at least, that I will start speaking to a stranger out of nowhere! I forgot I was alone at the mall, just sitting on a bench!

Egda Lovo was born in Estelli, Nicaragua, a town close to the country's border with Honduras. She has been around tobacco leaves and cigar makers since she can remember. Today, she is the owner of Lovo Cigars, with stores in L.A., Las Vegas and Arizona.

Friday evening, Egda handwrapped her cigars in fresh tobacco leaves at Marty's Cigars, in Glendora. Her manicured hands kept the wrapper leaf straight and tight around the pre-pressed cigars and then sealed them smoothly with potato starch. Her years of practice made a tricky task look easy.

Her craft kept Marty's Cigars' costumers enthralled, partly because there is a unique beauty in cigar rolling, and partly because this was the first time most of them had the chance to observe a made-up and manicured female cigar roller at work.

This update is about Victor, who single handedly restored my faith in Mexico's Salsa dancers, last night, back at Bandidos. Victor is a waiter at Bandidos, who apparently saw us dancing the night before and got his nerve together and asked me to dance. He turned out to be Zihuatanejo's best Salsa secret! I loved dancing with him. He's so nice and unpretentious . I am happy he asked 'cuz I was almost going home thinking no Mexican dances Salsa in his own land. I stand corrected.

Anyhow... last night we first went to El Canto de la Sirena, recommended by the door staff at the hotel (they're our main source of information). Supposedly, that would be the "best place" for Salsa on Saturdays. NOT! They have Salsa on Friday, now we know. On Saturday they have a dude with a guitar, very nice singer mind you! but geeeezzz... we weren't on our 22nd anniversary or anything like that! After one hour of hearing the guy singing Roberto Carlos' songs and songs like "Besame mucho" (my dad would have loved him) I finally asked the waiter when Salsa will begin. "Oh. There's no Salsa tonight." We were out of there within ten minutes.

Bandidos was already rocking by the time we got there. Our Colombian friends from the night before were already there. I am telling you... Bandidos is the place to be for Salsa in Zihuatanejo. Do not let the door staff of any hotel convince you otherwise!

It is Sunday morning. My dirty clothes are already packed. My computer will get put away last. I am going to go dip a bit in the Mexican ocean because in a few hours we're out of here. Booo.

I had an adventure this morning. I hopped on a bus, for five pesos ($0.50) and switched over to another bus, for eight pesos ($0.80) and the combination of both took me to Playa Linda, ten minutes north of Ixtapa. The whole thing was recommended by the hotel staff at the door, when I told them I wanted to go someplace on a bus. The buses are old and falling apart, but they take you where you need to go and for really cheap.

Playa Linda was linda, in fact. For thirty five pesos ($3.50) I got on a boat that crossed me over to an island where there's nothing more than restaurants and snorkeling equipment. I ate breakfast over there and that bought me the right to lay on a chair under the sun. I could have stayed there all day had I wanted to. I stayed a couple of hours, read the paper, and now I'm sun burnt. There was a crocodile and iguana lagoon right outside Playa Linda. That was odd, stinky and a little scary.

It was fun going around on buses. Somehow I managed to time it just right so that as I was on my way back, all the men were off their construction jobs and trying to get on the bus. There were so many men on that bus, standing, squished together, and a little smelly. I'd forgotteb what being on a bus was like... but memories of Costa Rica came back real fast!

Saturday morning, still in Zihuatanejo. Yesterday we walked the streets of the "Centro." It's where all the little stores to buy stuff are at, same stuff you see anywhere else - things made out of silver, sombreros, dresses, and so forth. To the bad luck of the merchants, it rained two days ago and it burst the sewer pipes. Now there's caca water all over the street and according to the taxi driver, no one will do a thing to clean it up. It'll go away when it dries up and that's it. Needless to say, it stinks.

There is also a bay very close to the businesses, and restaurants all around its edge. We found a Mexican waiter with a perfect American accent that lured us into his restaurant where we ate two lobsters for $25. Tell me that's not the greatest price ever. He was born and raised in Zihuatanejo, but educated up in Seattle. Now he's back with his family to stay. People love it here.

Right around this area is Bandidos, a bar/restaurant that has a little Salsa band at night time. We went back to it and found a group of four Colombians on vacation. One of them, John, danced with both of us and I can now leave Mexico in peace that I danced upon its soil. :) Good dancers them Colombians! The band at Bandidos was a little bit better than the one the night before, but they were still playing over a sequence... we could hear the sound of a piano that was not there.

I wanted to go to Acapulco today, but turns out it's 4 hours away... bleh :(

Hello from Zihuatanejo, Mexico! It is absolutely gorgeous here. We're at The Tides, a super fancy resort in front of anincredible looking bay, which must cost a pretty penny but I'm here thanks to the penny power of my friend Shelly. [She got a brand new job and this is her celebration and her relaxing before the stress of it starts.] I just got lucky to be along for the ride. ::clink clink:: to Shelly's new job!

There's a big difference between the standard of living of the locals in Zihuatanejo and the luxury the visitors enjoy at the resorts [we have our own pool in the room!]. The resorts are beautiful, but once you leave them, the view changes very markedly. However, the tourist industry seems to be what supports this town so more power to us.

Ixtapa is a town 10 minutes north of Zihuatanejo. It's larger and more developed. Last night we visited Hotel Barcelo, where a group of five Cubans, some of them in Mexico only for the past three months, entertain every night of the week. Rosario and Javier are the singers, beautiful voices, although pretty much singing karaoke over a sequence. They do have a base, a drum set and a piano, but they're all playing over recorded music. You hear trombones, flutes and congas that are not on stage, and for the music lover, well, you know that' s disappointing... however, I reiterate that the voices of the singers are very strong.

It's hard to miss things when one is at a beautiful place like this one. However, I know you guys are having a blast in L.A. with the Spanish Harlem Orquestra and all the rum you can drink. Have fun! I'll do the same over here!

At 10:51 pm, between all of us, we have clicked 100,000 times into VidaSalsera.com. That is totally cool! Big number! And I, as a good mother, was here watching it happen... :) Thank you guys, for clicking with me.

With all the picture taking and event attending I do, I'd forgotten how awesome it is to just go out dancing, no camera, no "work," and just dance, dance, dance, until my clothes are soaking wet, and I can once again say "ufff, I stink!"

Tonight I did just that. Went to Sabor Restaurant in Glendale, and danced to the music of Chuy Martinez all night long, with a friend that just happened to be there and, oh my luck! he's a great dancer! I had a ton of fun and I feel like I spent three hours in the gym. Yeah!!!

You've heard of the battle of the bands before. But how about the battle of the clubs? seems to me there's one going on right now in Long Beach, with both Cohibas and Sevillas having live bands on Wednesdays! If money is not an option, or if you have friends in high places, you can just walk up and down the street at will from one club scene to the other (hey! club hopping!) Will it stick? Who will win? tan tan tan!!! stay tuned...

This past weekend was the busiest Salsa weekend of the year so far! Not only was the L.A. Salsa Congress happening, but Ismael Miranda was at the P.R. festival, Adonis Puentes was at the opening of "Alexandros" in Laguna Beach, Maria Costa had a fabulous birthday celebration, a new club opened up in Pomona, Andy Andy was at the Hollywood Park Casino, phewwwww!!! who knows what else! so much to do, so little time!

So far I have posted Congress, but I do have fabulous pictures and video of Adonis in Laguna Beach. That will be coming up mid week. Peter (aka "the bachata freak") went to the Andy Andy and graciously took some pictures that I will post later on, as well as his observations. And I have pictures of the new club in Pomona likewise. Little by little I'll try to catch up. Real life is a problem and gets in the way and I have to work and write real life papers that feed me. :) But I'll get there.

The California Supreme Court overturned yesterday, 4-3, the ban on same-sex marriage and with it demonstrated that the terms "Republican" and "Conservative" do not translate into bigotry. It is a proud moment when people in power stand against dark-age-like rulings that impose the religious beliefs of some on all. It is a memorable day when the law rules that no human has the right to interfere in another human's happiness.

Of course, intolerant ones, wearing the disguise of holiness, are already organizing to make each of us decide and vote in November as to whether we believe we can rule over other's lives or not. I am proud of the California Governor for saying already that he will not support any effort to amend the Constitution so that yesterday's ruling be overturned.

This is not a political website. We are Salsa music lovers. But if we are all good enough to dance on one same dance floor and play on one same stage, we are certainly good enough to have the same civil rights. Life is short. Seventy or eighty years of life is pretty much what each of us has, and we should live them as happily as possible. Our individual goal should be to enjoy ourselves and leave our mark in the world, rather than spend life minding other people's business. I am pleased for the gay community, and actually for all of us, at this important time in history when the law is confirming the global right to happiness and equality. Slowly but surely, we're walking out of the caves.

Two weeks from tomorrow, on Friday 30th, Cheo Feliciano performs in L.A. He is one of those voices one can not miss to hear, and I will not. But! I am such a girl... the 30th is very important too because it is the opening of the movie Sex and The City! Am I all alone here? or are others just waiting to watch it too? Be it as it may, I am devising something to get both things done on the 30th. Thankfully Cheo doesn't sing until 11 pm.

NPR had a story this morning about a well educated Cuban woman, who actually lives in Cuba, Yoani Sanchez, who received a top journalistic award in Spain for her work and blog on http://www.desdecuba.com She was not able to travel to accept the award because the Cuban government denied her permission. In the NPR audio, you can hear her giving her acceptance speech in her home in Havana, in front of her friends, about the same time she should have been giving it in Spain. Very touching and telling, and I am very impressed with this woman's guts. Not very many people have access to the Internet in Cuba. Those who do, use it, and whose words we get to read, create a precious window into a world we are all intrigued with but barely know. Check out the NRP story at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90268442 and Yoani's blog at http://www.desdecuba.com/generaciony/

It cracks me up when I see bands that have been around long enough to be considered local advertised as "So and So... directamente de Cuba" or "So and So... directamente de New York." Honestly, to me it feels like an easy way the promoter found to get people's attention to his or her event. Of course, the opinion on this will vary depending on what each person considers the meaning of "directamente de" to be. I suppose, depending on the interpretation, I could be here "directamente de Costa Rica" even though I've been in the U.S. longer now than how long I lived in the place I was born. As far as my interpretation, when I hear "directamente de" I assume the band is visiting here from someplace else. "Directamente de Cuba" means a band is on tour, or defected just a few months ago, or something like it. "Directamente de New York" means they are visiting L.A. from New York, so I better hurry up and go see them before they go back! yeah? or no? You tell me.

The "Mi Son Cubano" Festival at Bonelli Park in San Dimas was fabulous today. This is really a great new location for it. Oscar D'Leon, as expected, gave a great show accompanied by his band, made up of musicians who have been playing with him between three years and two decades. I have ninety five pictures. One on the main page... ninety four to go! Coming up soon!

Hello from the Antelope Valley! We spent the day today at the "Cinco de Mayo Celebration" at the Marie Kerr Park, in Palmdale. Early in the afternoon Orchesta Charangoa performed, followed by Sonora Dinamita, and later on by a "Salsa with the Stars" contest, a version of the TV show that included three "stars" of the Palmdale government who had been training with the instructors from AVSalsa.com. The contest was fun and the winner was Palmdale Councilman Steve Knight. I have pictures of it all coming up later.

The documentary "Cachao: Uno Mas" was successfully screened last night at the Arclight Dome, in Hollywood. The documentary is Andy Garcia's latest tribute to Cachao, made now more profound by the death of the latter just five weeks ago. It records Cachao's performance four years ago in San Francisco, with the CineSon AllStars, plus tidbits of a conversation inside The Cigar Bar and Grill between him and Garcia.

Nothing worthwhile is ever free. When I got into creating VidaSalsera.com I knew it would cost me some money and I was willing to spend it. In the course of the two years plus that I have been at it, it has, very happily to my heart, grown - more folks are visiting, more pictures and second tier pages have been added, and it all amounts to more bandwidth. I have increased the site's size a couple of times since I first opened it, and every so often I have to pay extra for more bandwidth on months that seem particularly busy. It's all good, really. I am willing and I even have some folks who have been willing to sponsor me as of late. However, what is NOT ok at all is that another website may want to advertise using my website's bandwidth. Isn't it nice that someone may just come over and click and copy over to their commercial page to make money while I pay!?! I thought something was funky this month when my bandwidth was running out before its normal time, and upon investigating, turns out that there is an organization out there building up to be VidaSalsera.com's competition for the L.A. area... and making me their sponsor by force because I am paying for pictures to show on their page! ayy que bonito!... Anyhow, the party is over. I have now set my page so that pictures simply can not be linked and shown elsewhere.

I am completely aware that the events in Los Angeles are not my website's unique property. Anyone can start a website and sit and copy any and all information I have here and that would be their prerogative. What is NOT ok, though, is to make me pay for it. Taking bandwidth from a website amounts to stealing, because someone is certainly paying for it. Nothing worthwhile is ever free.

Here's a question I found in a dancing blog, in case any of you feel like tackling it. If I got a quarter for every time I've read or heard this discussion I'd be rich! Are mambo music and salsa music the same thing?

Willie Colon has a new single called "Corazon Partido." It is available for free download on his site, at http://www.williecolon.com/descarga.html . It is no "Idilio" for sure, it's different and takes some getting used to, but I'm curious... what do you think about it? Would you call it the good, the bad, or the ugly? Listen to it and let me know! :)

Dizzy Gillespie was immediately recognizable for his impressively inflated cheeks and the bent shape of the trumpet he played. He was the gifted bandleader, singer, composer, and trumpeter who popularized bebop and was instrumental in the development of Afro-Cuban jazz by bringing Latin and African elements into classic jazz, and producing compositions such as Manteca and Tin Tin Deo.

Gillespie left a legacy of creative innovation and a broad repertoire of musical masterpieces. His craft has greatly influenced almost every trumpeter that came after him, as he played faster and higher than any trumpet player before him. He became a mentor to musicians who would later be acclaimed themselves, such as Arturo Sandoval, the Cuban trumpeter and pianist who left Cuba and settled in Miami while touring with Gillespie,

This Saturday, April 26^th, the Luckman Jazz Orchestra, led by conductor Charles Owens, honors Dizzy Gillespie with a tribute to this music. Tickets are $35/30, available through Ticketmaster, or at the Luckman box office. CSULA students can purchase two tickets at $12 each with student I.D. You may also check the following link for free tickets that will charge you a $7 service fee: http://www.goldstar.com/events/show/165018.html Concert time is 8 p.m.

Greetings from Las Vegas! Last night we checked out the band Latin Breeze at Bar Armadillo, inside of the Texas Station Casino. Latin Breeze is the band that was at the Gold Coast Casino for a long time but recently moved to perform at the Armadillo every Friday night. For what I understood, they're testing a few Saturdays to see how it goes and perhaps they'll become the Saturday entertainment as well. We had fun. The band was good, the music varied, and we danced a lot. It was $10 at the door.

The only weird thing at the Armadillo is that the management reserves the best booths "for sale," meaning, you have to give them $100, out of which you get to use $50 for alcohol if you wish to do so, and the other $50 they keep for the privilege of sitting in their marvelous booths. Not surprisingly, most booths were empty and people used the smaller tables instead. Sometimes one has to wonder where businesses get their marvelous strategies from. Pictures coming later!

Here's some pictures of the Johnny Polanco Tribute to Tito Puente last Friday at Sportsmans Lodge. By the way, the reason for the tribute was that Tito Puente was born on April 20th, 1923, so in three days it would have been his 85th birthday.

Cachao: Uno Mas, the film, would be shown Wednesday, April 30th at the Arclight Theater in Hollywood. It'll be followed by a Q & A by Andy Garcia. I've got my tickets! See you there? Info at http://www.afi.com

I'm taking just a minute to update. I have been more than entertained entertaining friends from Connecticut. We started dancing Thursday night at Stevens and finished walking yesterday at Universal Studios. I am pooped. I guess I needed to go back to work so I can rest. :)

To report quickly, I am impressed with Stevens' crowd of Thursdays. The place bursts with La Charanga Cubana on stage. Polanco's tribute to Tito Puente on Friday night at Sportsmans was well attended and I had tons of fun. Johnny had a larger than usual band (about 14 people.) The sound was only ok, it seemed to have been worked on constantly through the night and it wasn't as clear and strong as it could have been in the back part of the room, BUT we all enjoyed ourselves anyhow. Then Saturday was the grand opening of Club Fuego, inside Prego Ristorante, in Irvine. Very fancy place. Has potential but needs to be fine tuned organizationally still. Universal Studios has nothing to do with Salsa, but it was fun too. :)

I have pictures of it all. It's going to take me a while to get them ready, but I'll get there ASAP.

If you are a student within the California State University (CSU) system, you need to know the following information. The same if you are planning to become one in the future, or if you have children or other family members hoping to do so.

The CSU system is facing a 386 million dollars budget cut in the upcoming 08/09 academic year. The budget cut was proposed by the Governor of California and, if approved, it will affect all 23 CSU campuses in the State.

The proposed budget cut would translate into a disastrous chain of events – less available money will mean fewer faculty, less course options, overcrowded classrooms, and limited financial aid and student services in all CSU campuses. If the budget cut is approved 10,000 less students will be admitted in the system during the 08-09 year. Specifically speaking, the CSU Los Angeles (CSULA) campus alone will suffer a 13 million dollar cut.

However, as of this moment, the budget cut is still a proposal, and therefore, not yet inevitable. To fight the budget cuts as much as necessary, the “Alliance for the CSU” organization was created, with the support of CSU students, alumni, faculty, staff, administrators, community leaders, parents of students, and so forth.

The first steps towards gaining support for the “Alliance for the CSU” mission are being taken right now. On April 2, a “Budget Fight Back Meeting” was scheduled simultaneously at the CSULA and the San Jose State campuses.

The meeting at CSULA was held in the Golden Eagle Ballroom, and it was well attended by representatives of the student body, staff, and alumni. Twelve distinguished speakers headed the meeting, including CSULA President, Dr. James Rosser, and the former President of the CSU Alumni Association and of the Screen Actors Guild, and current part-time faculty at CSULA, Mr. Barry Gordon.

Dr. Rosser stated the purpose of the “Alliance for the CSU” organization: “To mobilize the people of the State of California with the understanding that the investments done towards the CSU system are, at once, investments done into our State.”

With eloquent and moving words, Mr. Barry Gordon said: “We can not allow this cut to stand, and we will not allow this cut to stand.” He labeled the thought-process behind the budget cut with a phrase later adopted by the other speakers: “Penny Wise – Pound Foolish.”

Student Gabriella Serrato, a Psychology and Chicano Studies double major, and a representative of the “Students for Quality in Education – L.A. Chapter,” closed the speakers’ series and brought to the audience’s attention the more personal effects the proposed budget cut would bring to a students life: higher education costs, less return for their investments, and more years spent until graduation.

The meeting ended with a plea for all in attendance to support the efforts of the “Alliance for the CSU” organization and to make the information provided known to others. Fighting effectively the proposed budget cut will take more than just the CSU students and staff. It will take the support of the community at large – of all of you who appreciate the role that the CSU system plays in the social and economic development of our State’s communities.

Ms. Melody Singleton, a CSULA staff in attendance, said it well: “Those who are once CSU students become later on consumers and create the economy of California.”

The statistics must be considered: 51% of all bachelor’s degrees conferred to California are awarded by the CSU system; 87% of all the California teacher degrees and 89% of all the criminal justice professionals (such as police officers and firefighters) degrees granted in California come from the CSU system; and 58% of the Latinos who get degrees in California do so through CSU.

The motto of the “Alliance for the CSU” organization is: “The fight for the CSU budget is a fight for California’s future.” If you agree, and if you are, have been, or will be touched by the benefits provided by the CSU system, lend your hand and your name towards the fight to recover and restore the threatened budget fund from legislature.

The background music on VidaSalsera.com's main page is track #7 out of the local artist Ruben Esteva's CD. The songs are Esteva's inspiration and the arrangements and music are done by very talented musicians you may know from local groups, such as Hector Manuel Rivera (pianist and director of Tabaco y Ron,) Joey de Leon (conguero of the Poncho Sanchez band,) Cesar Espinoza (timbalero of Los Duenos del Son,) and so forth.

The CD will be available on CD baby soon. However, it can already be purchased by sending a check for $13.50 to Adela Cortez @ P.O. Box 90712, San Bernardino, CA 92427. You can check out some of the other songs in the CD by visiting Esteva's myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/rubenesteva

I'm sending a hello to all of you from Albuquerque, New Mexico. And a big happy birthday to my brother, Gersom, in San Jose, Costa Rica, who was born today-thirty seven years ago. ::gasp:: ;)

VidaSalsera.com is pushing towards becoming interactive! It's the way of the future you know! and the only way to keep a wide angle on what goes on around town. So, I have added a new button to the front page called "Community Input," which leads to the message board that I've had for a while, only now re-organized to hopefully get you guys involved. Let me know of events you know that I don't. Share you Salsa adventures, your Salsa pictures, your Salsa complaints, opinions, and so forth. I only have two eyes! so your input will be much welcomed!

Se murio Cachao. He was old. And lucky. Ninety years is a long time! But for people who produce beautiful music, like Cachao did, even 90 years don't seem enough.

I saw Cachao play live at the Hollywood Bowl once, maybe a couple of times, but that venue is so large Cachao looked very tiny on stage. The most memorable concert of his that I had the pleasure to be at was in San Francisco in 2004, in which Cachao performed with his 17 piece band CineSon All-Stars at the Gift Center Pavilion. This was before VidaSalsera.com even existed, but guess what? Even then I was going around with a little camera, not as nice as the one I have now, but the important part is that I have now priceless memories.

Searching for the pictures has made me nostalgic. I've done so many fun things over the years and I have been around such nice people that I feel lucky. On the date of this concert, my friends Sue and Kristine, and I, drove up to San Francisco. We went up to dance, not really knowing of Cachao's concert ahead of time. In a strike of good judgment, when we found out about it, we attended. Unbelievably, Cachao would have been 86 already!

Anyhow, here's a few of the pictures I took that evening. And here's to the life of Cachao, to the wonderful gift of life that we all have, and to good memories.

Martin Espada is one of the very few writers of Latino heritage that are included in the Norton Anthologies of Literature. He is of Puerto Rican descent, born in Brooklyn, New York, and his poems reflect many aspects of his culture, including the music that all of us, VidaSalsera readers, have in common. I am thrilled about his reading and book signing coming up on April 24th at CalState Long Beach. Check him out at http://www.martinespada.net If you like what you see, support his event. I have posted one of his poems on VidaSalsera.com's main page, one that I'm especially fond of because a while back I wrote a college paper about it, " Latin Night at the Pawnshop." And here I am posting another favorite of mine, "Tiburon." Just sharing my enthusiasm. :)

Heads up! Cocopalm, in Pomona, no longer allows anyone to park in the sides of their long driveway. Unless you're very early to get one of the very few open parking spaces, your options are to pay for valet, or to park outside the property, which is basically undoable as the main street's curb is mostly painted red. Now they have a poor guy shooing people away from parking in the entrance driveway all night long. One of those dream jobs he has! He goes around saying: "it's the Fire Department's fault, not ours!"

So, if you're planning to go to Cocopalm I recommend you get there early, or you clean up your car and get your money ready to pay for valet. Since I didn't do either tonight, I left and got on my way to Acapulcos in Montclair.

VidaSalsera.com has a new sponsor. As part of their support they have provided me with a code that will slash a bit more off the price of their shoes. I don't know where else to place this information, as I don't really want to become too commercial, so I'm posting it here, for those of you caring enough to read. You'll get the extra cash for being good nice little readers! hehe. If you go to salsawithstars.com, use the code "dena." That should get you a little deal. I don't really know how much, but anything that saves you money is worth a try!

Completely off the subject, did you know that Lynda Carter, the woman that used to be "Wonder Woman," is a singer? She has performed with Kenny Rogers, Tom Jones, and the sort. I had no idea. I loved her when I was a kid. Of course when I was a kid she spoke Spanish. I loved her big necklace, the one she would grab and call "Oh Poderosa Isis!," and Isis would give her special powers and she'd be able to do all sorts of cool stuff. You know, I think to this day I go around buying necklaces that remind me of that one. Still looking for my Isis power! Anyhow, Lynda Carter has a concert coming up at the Kavli Theatre in Thousand Oaks, in case anyone wants to check out Wonder Singer.

This Saturday I did what I had never done in a decade of Salsa. I was terrified and had to consume some Absolute liquid courage, but I participated in the Jack-N-Jill contest at the Harrah's Rincon Casino and had a blast! It was Maria's fault, of Lorenzo and Maria, a lovely couple of dancers who were there.

When they called my number, I was to dance with Joe. Joe is an Israeli dancer with a great attitude that clicked with me right away and we had fun. And isn't Salsa mostly about fun?! I laughed tons and tons.

It was a first time experience that I'm glad to have had, yet doubt will happen again easily. Believe it or not, I'm shy!

Oh... and the best part. Guess who won! ::grin:: I left the place with $150 in my pocket courtesy of Harrah's Rincon Casino, and my partner Joe took the other half!

This is the week of the San Diego Film Festival. As I do every year, I'm looking forward to being there. The film "Noche de los Innocentes" (The night of the Innocent) will show on Saturday 8th at 6 pm. The awesome Cuban actor Jorge Perugorria is in it, so I'm sure it'll be great.

If any of you are going, or are considering going, I'd like to recommend "La Edad de la Peseta" (The funny age.) It is a beautiful Cuban film that I watched at this year's LALIFF, very moving, about the Cuban exodus experience. This movie is Cuba's official entry to the Oscars and the Goya awards this year.

Besides the long list of films, the San Diego Film Festival throws great parties every year. The first one is this Thursday, March 6th, with live music by Agua Dulce. There'll be another party a week from Thursday and a closing gala celebration on Saturday, March 15th. Always very nice, they're also at a good price. The ticket includes a drink and a pass to a film right before it. The info to the parties is here: http://www.mediaartscenter.org/site/c.dfLIJPOvHoE/b.3888147/

Problem solving... is what comes easier to some minds than to others. Some of us look at a problem dumbfounded, hoping inspiration will fall from the sky, while other people, like say, my son Caleb, simply look at an issue and come up with a solution, at times so obvious that I must wonder how on earth it didn't occur to me!

Here's an example. My eye surgeon said I couldn't wash my hair for at least two weeks after my surgery. Now, have you ever gone two weeks without washing your hair? It's not as easy/pleasant as one may think. Today was one full week for me and I couldn't take it anymore.

I whined out loud, "Oh my goodness!! what am I gonna do!! I need to wash my hairrrrrr!!"

"Because if soap touches my eye is going to hurt very, very much, never mind the risk of infection," I responded.

Wear goggles!! Of course!! wear goggles!! Why on earth did it not occurred to me?!?

Anyhow, my hair is washed now. Ahhhh! what a wonderful feeling! Shampooed, conditioned, and fabulous!

Now, do not waste your time imagining me naked taking a shower, but for entertainment' sake do take the time to imagine me taking a shower wearing...

Son de Tikizia's CD "Pa' Los Pies" is really good. Walter Flores is the group's musical director and, perhaps unknowingly, you may have already heard his work, as he participated with Ruben Blades on the CD "Mundo."

The lead vocalist on the "Pa' Los Pies" CD, Alfredo Poveda, for starters has a voice that, at least to me, sounds similar to Blades, or perhaps it seems so because he did second voice for him in "Mundo," and maybe, it's now familiar.

I had a hard time deciding which track, out of 5,6,7,9,10 and 11, to load to the VidaSalsera.com's main page. All of them are beautiful songs that will for sure be a pleasure to dance to. The lyrics and music of track #6, Juan Gonzalez, are by Ruben Blades. The rest are the music and arrangements of Walter Flores, who seems to be a brilliant musician, with the lyrics collaboration of Alfredo Poveda, Danilo Castro, Marco Arias, and others.

A few songs on the CD are on the experimental side, and rather to attempt to explain it myself, check out the Descarga review by Peter Watrous, http://www.descarga.com/cgi-bin/db/22904.10 which describes it better than I could ever.

The CD is available for purchase on Descarga.com. It is also at a better price on CDBaby, and downloadable on mp3 form.

Son de Tikizia is a Costa Rican group, but more than biased, I am really proud to hear such good stuff coming from my "madre patria." Check them out! I'm curious to hear what you think.

Well, I think it's now safe to say that I survived. I've been crossing my fingers, without any of you knowing it, for a week now, because I had to go into the hospital to get some surgery done in my left eye. It doesn't matter how many reassurances the doctor gives you, how many times she says to have done the operation successfully in the past, or how great you're told your chances are, going "under the knife" is freaking scary.

I was happy to know that I wouldn't have to be put to sleep completely, (I'm just horrified at the thought of never waking up and never even knowing it!) but I have to say that the experience of being awake while they worked in my eye wasn't all that pleasant. Especially the first injection, the one to numb the area, yeah, that one wasn't pretty, in particular the moment when I felt the needle go right into my eyeball!!!

Anyhow, I didn't have the heart attack I was afraid I'd have, and my blood pressure did not rise like Old Faithful the way I thought it would. I did not suffer a stroke or stopped breathing. I am alive! My eye a little touchy still, but hey, I even ventured out to see Havana NRG two days after my surgery. How cool is that!

Here is a shout to modern technology and to efficient doctors! Gosh ,I love America and everything this country does that's good for all of us.

For the next three weeks or so, I can't dance too much or too wildly. Apparently, dancing is considered at "contact sport" that must be taken easy for the first month after eye surgery. I have a hunch that whoever created that hospital list has seen Salsa danced L.A. style! ha!

If you're not a parent, I'm going to bore you to death. If you're a parent, you'll kinda know what I'm talking about. But if you are a parent who's had your kid represent her school in the District's Spelling Bee, then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

I am amazed at my daughter. She's most of the time shy, "urana" like we say in Spanish, meaning that it takes her time to feel comfortable around people. Yet, today she stood in front of a wide hall of people, along with another eighteen kids from her school district, and was one of two who represented her school in the competition.

I had my stomach up in a knot and all I was doing was sitting there watching. I can not even imagine what she must have felt up on the stage, standing in front of a table from where five teachers looked at her, minding a microphone placed in front of her mouth, and at once thinking of the spelling of words like "wallow," "sullen," and "discrete."

Our kids, I mean it in the plural sense - all of our generation of kids, are incredibly smart and talented. It is impressive to see their nerve and their dedication. We just need to figure out how to keep them like that, so that they can grow into productive and creative adults.

The guest list was not honored at The Granada last night... and am I surprised? NO! because it never is... at least, never when I am there. The last time I went there was a list, but I was told my name was not in it, even though I had signed up on Albert's website. Last night, the ladies at the counter said that there was no guest list because it was a special event, EVEN THOUGH there was a place to add one's name to the list on Albert's site, which , in fact, specifically said that the guest list price would be $15 due to the special event!

I am inclined to believe it is Albert's, or Albert' staff's intention, to have a guest list that works. Only that from the website to the actual club entrance there's an apparent Bermuda Triangle. It pisses me off, not because the entertainment doesn't deserve the twenty bucks, but because we are led to believe that a deal is available, when it is not. Isn't that false advertisement? Isn't like dangling a carrot and then giving the horse straw?

If they're straight with me from the start, I will still go and pay the $20 if I want to catch the show. And that way I could go without having to cuss them out under my breath for pulling the same old shit on me... AGAIN.

The worst part is, another year from now, when they have another special guest, I'll go back again I guess - damn it. Although by then I should know better than keep adding myself to an unreliable guest list, like a fool.

At the very least, the patio is put together again. That is one redeeming thing of this "blessed" club.

Needless to say, however, it was nice to see Jimmy Bosch. He is always a treat.

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you have all the chocolate you can eat, and a piece more!

Love Me, Love My Dog Art Print by Joshua Reynolds

"La vida te da sorpresas," like Pedro Navaja said - life is full of surprises. I was looking tonight for a nice picture to put on VidaSalsera's main page for Valentines, googled "valentine's day" but the animations were corny; googled "love" and got a couple of sex poses *ha!*; and then I googled "love art" and ended up finding not only the picture that I chose for the main page, but also a picture that stabbed my heart the second I saw it. You see, I grew up seeing that picture on the wall. My folks had it, I believe they still do, and it was just there my entire youth - no one ever talked about it, nor about its artist, or the title of the piece.

Come to find out, the painting is called "Love me, Love my dog." It is the resemblance of Miss Jane Bowles, painted in 1775 by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and it is today part of the Wallace Collection in England.

What strong memories seeing this picture has brought! And it will be mine soon, as long as I send $24.99 to AllPosters.com.

Not to be mushier than mush already, but see how wonderful Valentines can be! It even found me a picture.

Keeping up with a tlog is harder than one may think! Life just moves on so fast that the days come and go like water. My folks went back home today. In fact, I barely got an e-mail from them saying they arrived safely on the other side. We spent their last night in L.A. walking around Hollywood - the Kodak theater, the Chinese Theater - all the musts of that area. Technology is amazing - 24 hours ago they were here, now they're thousands of miles away. It was nice having them around, though.

Life now should get back to business as usual. Until the next irregularity comes up, be it surprise or crisis.

Completely unrelated, I've written a short story. It's actually a class exercise but since I added some Salsa into it, I'm putting out there for any of you with patience and time who may want to check it out. Comments are welcome; sensitivity cherished. (heh). Click: http://www.vidasalsera.com/browneyedgirl.htm

I hate getting stepped on on the dance floor. When I get stepped on by one (or more) of the "super fabulous" dancers of L.A., I hate it even more, because you'd think, dancing as often as they do, they would know better.

I also think, the more one dances, the more one would understand that it is impossible to expect one eighth of the floor just for one's personal use. However, it often seems to work in the opposite way... the more steps they know the more room they need for their unscheduled performances.

Here is the one time of the year when I'm glad to be poor. I stayed in last night and did my taxes. Mr. TurboTax and I spent a couple of hours together - Turbo asked and I responded - and at the end Turbo thought the government outta send me some money.

This morning I got an e-mail - Turbo telling me that the IRS agreed - Uncle Sam is sending me something something! aahhhh niiiiiiiiice. And they say being poor sucks!

My folks are in town from Costa Rica. And instead of sunny California, they came just in time to see the Angeleno rain. Our 40 degrees in the early mornings and evenings keep them wrapped up in the jackets and hoping for the warmth of the next cup of coffee. Heredia (the Costa Rican province where they now live)'s temperature is 78 F in average, so our temperatures here are more than 30 degrees cooler than what they're used to. However, they're enjoying visiting with their grandchildren, even if it means they have to keep up with our crazy schedules of work, school, and routine.

Equally, I think they enjoy the parenting role they regain immediately once I am under a same roof with them. And nature is so powerful, that even against my own purpose, I find myself liking the feeling of protection; the luxury of being again a chick under the hen's wing.

They'll be going home in a couple of weeks, and I'll go back to being my family's mother ship, the control center, and the supermom I, at least, try to be. But for now, I think I'll let them comment on my hair-do, on my health, on the stuff I should and shouldn't do, and the crazy things I'm sure are wive's tales, but that they believe as certain.

The good news is my internet service is back up. The guy finally showed up Saturday morning.

NAMM was fabulous today. Best way to describe me: like a kid in a candy store. However, I am beat. The place is huge and requires tons of walking, and on top of that I had the bright idea of wearing high heels. :duh:

The update is ridiculous. I still have no internet at home. I waited for the cable guy during the two-hour window they gave me, just to find out at the end that the technician's visit had been cancelled. Needless to say I was irate but that makes no difference in the fact that I'm still disconnected from the world. Word is they'll be coming over Saturday morning. We'll see.

Meanwhile, from this Starbucks, I'll say last night at El Floridita was fun! I have a short clip of Irizarri on the timbales, which I'll process as soon as I have decent internet "accomodations."

NAMM is happening as we speak. I'll be working hard in showing you as much as possible of what I see over the next couple of days.

The cable connection at home is dead. By the time I got there yesterday at 3.30 pm, nor the cable TV or the internet were working. I thought it'd be some sort of maintenance downtime that'd be fixed after a while, but by 11 pm it was clear that something was wrong. The possibility that I'd forgotten to pay the bill came to mind, but no, that wasn't it. After several attempts calling the cable company's technical support, it was determined that they had no idea what was wrong and that a technician will have to come into the house and take a look.

- "Sorry ma'am, tomorrow is all taken. The earliest would have to be Thursday. And by the way, ma'am, you must be home for a four hour window to wait for our technician."

So, now, to add insult to injury, I have to find a way to escape work Thursday afternoon so that I can open the door for the cable guy.

Meanwhile, my little family is feeling disconnected from the world. Apparently we're all more attached to our e-mails than we realized. Last night, for the first time in literally years, I used the yellow pages book. And shame on us, but we actually missed our "Bravo" channel. At which point I became so dependent on my laptop I'm not sure, but I can't wait for the cable guy to get home tomorrow.

“Imperial” is the beer of Costa Rica. “Las Imperialitas” over there are as much as staple as gallo pinto (rice and black beans) and you see the black, yellow, and red label wherever people are relaxing, having a party, barbequing, and so forth. Its label’s eagle has become so much an identifier of Costa Rica that it is not unusual to see it tattooed on Costa Ricans' varied body parts.

There's a fellow student in a writing class I'm taking, heavily accented, I'm guessing Haitian, who volunteered to read his short story out loud today. The tale was about a young woman addicted to crack, whose baby was taken away at birth by Social Services because it showed signs of prenatal addiction. Not able to put herself together, the stress of loosing the baby threw the woman into a downward spiral that left her in Skid Row, where drugs are easier to find than food, and where she began to prostitute herself to keep her habit. There was no happy ending to the story. We were just left with the uncomfortable feeling of having peeked into someone's hopeless reality.

Immediately, I had a mental flashback to the homeless I saw in San Francisco over New Years. I wondered how many of them would tell a similar story if asked, when I was brought back to the room by the clapping of the class, encouraged by the professor.

The story was opened for discussion. The last step is always to have the writer tell about the source of his/her inspiration. My fellow student said, "Until I started coming to school, that was my life." He has lived in Skid Row in cardboard boxes, eaten out of garbage cans, and been addicted to drugs. He just fictionalized his life by assigning a female character to it. Today, a respectably looking man in his forties, he sat in a classroom and read a beautifully constructed story to a group of 20.

I was so impressed that I had to say: "Wow, good for you. Congratulations." So did everyone else.

The cliché is that every person has a story, but the cliché is true. And sometimes, the story is so impressive that it leaves you inspired and in awe, even if it was just meant as a writing exercise.

The problem with the holidays is that they are over fast! My friend Adrianne, who is of Mexican descent and a strong Catholic, once told me that the Christmas decorations should stay up until January 8th, the day of the "Reyes" celebration, when some families get together one more time and share a loaf of bread, which has, someplace within it, a plastic baby figurine, meant to symbolize "the Child." I've never been to a "Dia de los Reyes" celebration, only have been given its description, but I sort of adopted the January 8th date, if not out of religious reasons, certainly out of shameless convenience.

Yet, here we are, January 8th, and our Christmas tree still stands, a wooden snowman has been enduring the rain right outside our door, and every so often one of the kids still pushes the button of the Jazz Santa on our living room table that fills the house with a saxophone version of "Santa Claus is coming to town."

I do realize that after tomorrow even the people who stretch the holidays to the max will frown at my Christmas decorations... I do know they must come down...

So perhaps semi-unconsciously I've sabotaged myself into forcing me to go to the garage, grab the empty boxes, stuff them, walk the boxes back to the garage, blah blah blah... the load of work that entails to put Christmas away: I've invited my friend William and his kids over on Sunday - if the calendar is not enough motivation, for sure social embarrassment will! won't it? I wouldn't dare to still have the tree up for their visit on January 13th!..... would I ??

Marjane Satrapi was born in Rasht, Iran, in 1969. She grew up in Tehran and eventually moved to Vienna. She studied illustration in Strausburg. She has authored four graphic novels based on her life growing up in Iran. Her movie, Persepolis, is based on her graphic novels. Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis means "City of Persians." The movie is a black and white cartoon, of sorts. With graphics it delivers a serious and interesting story about life in Iran since the 1970s.

Persepolis is shown only at the Laemmle's Theater in Beverly Hills right now. Sounds like a long way to go just for a cartoon, but we did it, and it was worth it.

Our New Years celebration was non-Salsa, although DJ Aykut did play Celia's "La vida es un carnaval."

I'm still on the Spanish Harlem. Here's a short clip of SHO in action. Luisito Quintero first on timbales, then a turn to Karl Perazzo [of Santana and of Avance,] who was in the audience and was invited up.

With the Spanish Harlem Orchestra was Oscar Hernandez, Marco Bermudez, Ray de la Paz, Willie Torres, Luisito Quintero, Maximo Rodriguez, Harry King, Jimmy Bosch, George Delgado, and I'm missing four or five other names. They played for about 90 minutes, including a brand new song written by Oscar just last week, called "La Fiesta Empezo," with lyrics by Marco Bermudez. I have a short clip of it, although I'm not supposed to have a clip at all (Yoshis doesn't like to share.) Anyone curious let me know. ;) Here's one of only two pictures I took. Yoshis was fighting picture taking and so a good angle was impossible. Sorry about the big head in the middle of the shot. :(

Time flies when you're having fun. December 30th came and went and I never got to the computer. It is now 12:55 am in the last day of 2007.

The Spanish Harlem Orchestra was wonderful just a few hours ago. Yoshis is a nice, medium size, jazz club in Oakland, that sold out this week for the SHO every night, twice each night, since Wednesday. We made it in on Sunday to their second show at 9.00 pm. Only expected face missing was Chino Nunez. In his place was Luisito Quintero. The music was all fantastic.

Yoshis is small enough that no matter where one is sitting it is still at a good distance. Besides a jazz club, it is also a sushi restaurant, so during the performance one can order from the sushi bar. We ordered a spicy tuna roll, which I would never have even mentioned, had we ever gotten it. We were refunded for it at the end of the night.

Earlier on Sunday we stopped at my most favorite Salsa place in S.F. - Jelly's, and it did not disappoint. I just love the place! Saturday night we spent at Cafe Cocomo dancing to the music of Pepe y su Orquesta.

We're getting to be masters at S.F. public transportation. It'd be nice if L.A. had the same transport system. Easy, fast, reliable, at a fragment of the cost we have in L.A. for gas alone. Sure, in one out of five trips or so there'll be a smelly hobo in the cable car with you, but hey... every one has places to get to I guess.

San Francisco is wet. It's raining just slightly - not enough to make us pull out an umbrella but wet enough to get our feet wet. It should dry up tonight according to the weather forecast.

Hotel Aida is right on Market St., in the buzz of the city, the cable cars, the shopping stores... and the homeless. It's an old building with small rooms. We're on the sixth floor. Our room has a window with a wooden frame that opens up wide and tall with no resistance - a mother's worse nightmare. Good thing is just the two of us this time. The sink is one of those that force you to wash your hands one at a time - one hand under the water, the other holding the faucet open. There's an old toilet -the kind without a tank. The bathroom has a small window that opens into the core of the building for ventilation - it's one of those crawling spaces where action always happens in action movies. Makes me wonder if I'll see a guy crawl by if I leave it open.

The other hotel guests are interesting to watch. They all look as if they came from a far away place and most have accents. I'm noticing them as I sit in the lobby. Hotel Aida has internet connection only in the lobby and first floor.

An old man, hands full with coffee and donuts, stood just a minute ago in front of the elevator and yelled, "Elevator!" He kept on looking at the man at the reception, as if he could open the elevator for him from behind the counter. I set my laptop aside and pressed the call button for him. "I think you're supposed to press this button for the elevator to open," I said. The door opened. "Thanks," he said, got in and the door closed behind him.

I'm entertained. Hotel Aida is clean, and will be fine for the two of us. Hotel Britton, however, where we stayed the last time, just a block away from here, is better.

I hope someone knows it takes a brave woman to keep on writing in a tlog that got a total of two hits in an entire day. Not Bhutto brave, but brave anyhow - this could very well end up being a conversation with myself. But..."If you build it, they will come." Well, let's see.

There's a bus service called the MegaBus [http://www.megabus.com ] David read about it some place - the newspaper I believe. It services a few cities, including Los Angeles, and from here it goes to the San Francisco area, San Diego, Las Vegas and Arizona. Their buses are in great shape, contain a toilet, overhead storage, and TV screens. The ticket prices are very good, the earlier one buys them the better, I'm talking as cheap as $10 one way LA-S.F. In these times, when gas makes car travel rather expensive, the MegaBus is a great option. Besides the price, there's something to be said about having someone else make the drive while we read, watch a movie, eat, talk, or snooze all the day up.

So far we've gone to San Francisco and Las Vegas on the MegaBus. Both successful trips. Tonight we're hoping on it again, on our way to San Francisco. We'll leave L.A. out of Union Station at 11 pm and should be in S.F. tomorrow by 6 am. We'll receive 2008 over there.

The Spanish Harlem Orchestra is at Yoshi's in Oakland tomorrow. Jelly's at the Pier is a must for me on Sunday. Monday is New Years and we'll do the middle eastern thing - on account of my Lebanese-Jewish-Italian man.

I suppose any aspiring writer wants a blog. Mostly because every other aspiring writer he or she knows already owns one. So, of course, I've been wanting a blog of my own for a while now. Trouble was, until today, I wasn't completely sure of what a blog is officially supposed to be. Tonight I did my homework though. Turns out that I did not want a blog after all. What I was looking for is called a tumblelog, because, according to Wikipedia:

"A tumblelog or tlog is a variation of a blog, that favors short-form, mixed-media posts over the longer editorial posts frequently associated with blogging. Common post formats found on tumblelogs include links, photos, quotes, dialogues, and video. Unlike blogs, this format is frequently used to share the author's creations, discoveries, or experiences without providing a commentary."

So yeah, a tumblelog is what I wanted. First of all because I not always have enough to say to create a long post, and second, because as you may already know, I love pictures, videos, and the tid-bits and out of the blue things I find in my walk through life.

Therefore, today, December 27th, 2007 I start my tumblelog. I'll call it tlog for expedience sometimes. It'll be about the bits and pieces of my Salsa Life [yeah, mi VidaSalsera,] which many a time will include Salsa and its world, but just as often will be about something else, because, truthfully, life is too wonderful, and puzzling, to care only about dancing.

I'll have to mention the major things that happen every day - the good, the bad and the ugly. And the very bad and the very ugly, like Benazir Bhutto's killing of today. And the wonder of what possesses such a woman to put herself in danger, a Harvard and Oxford graduate that could have led a life of luxury in any other country... I don't know what would move me enough to put the humble comfort of my laptop on my kitchen table in danger, other than the wellbeing of my children that is.

The ultimate would be to have someone read my ranting. So, if you are, don't hesitate, like the cool kids say, to "holla'!"