This past Saturday the 4th of September,for a four hour stretch,the Bobby Torres Ensemble seduced the slightly conservative,middle class 30-40 yr olds to get off their rumps,from sitting at the tables, to shuffling their feet onto the dance floor!
“Tonight’s show is fabulous because mostly they’re all excellent musicians;but the two singers [Juliana Torres &Karla Harris]are just out of this world…,”stated Carlos Elobisbo
Bobby Torres Ensemble
“I came because my sister knows one of the musicians in the band…”said an anonymous,attractive lady at the bar.She continued ”But if it wasn’t for the lack of seating I’d be out there on the floor dancing with the rest of the crowd…”
Most everyone we talked with had similar sentiments regarding how much they enjoyed the band. If you’ve never had a chance to listen to Bobby Torres-classy grounded,heart felt rhythms with some serious seductive qualities is what you’re in for. For instance take a listen to their “I Will Survive”interpretation in Spanish. It’s hard not to feel happy and sad at the same time!
In the Eastside Esplanade underneath the junction of the I-5 overpass and Hawthorne Bridge, the sounds of cars,and buses passing by overhead on I-5,were for the most part drowned out by the music and the chitter-chatter,as a crowd,made up of a couple thousands,convened and danced it’s feet off to music being played at this year’s Salsa en la Calle 2010.
Salsa en la Calle 2010-Shannon Butler
Although,during any given moment it was possible to question whether it was a low note blaring from the brass performing or if it was the exhaust of a semi,rumbling as it passed by 50 feet above you. This experience of dancing to Salsa rhythms in the streets,under the I-5 corridor in Portland would definitely qualify as one of the key ingredients that drives people to purchase the “Keep Portland Weird!”sticker and put it on their back bumper.
Youth Afro-Cuban Drumming Session-Shannon Butler
And weird and funky,was definitely,Salsa en la Calle this year!For starters,both of the headliners Oscar de Leon and Eddie Santiago failed to show this year. (Apparently Oscar had health issues and Eddie missed his flight).
Roger addressing the crowd-Shannon Butler
This made for an uncomfortable moment as DJ.Roger Rumbamade the announcement,which spurred the crowd to start “booing”. However,after he apologized and promised the show would continue till 11pm,as advertised with Latin Expressions filling for the rest of the night, the crowd began cheering him on.
Los Peques de la Salsa-Shannon Butler
Luckily the show picked up where it left off. On the flip side,there were plenty of positive,funky qualities that made this year’s Salsa en la Calle definitely not to be forgotten. The following is a list summarizing what some of these were:
And a not-of-the-ordinary (out of all things)a hair cut station!
Chavez Brothers at Salsa en la Calle-Jorge Alonso
As much as we all wanted Oscar de Leon,or for that matter Eddie Santiago,to headline the show,the fact that you had all this programming available for a straight 12 hour shift,one would be hard pressed to complain much about the event.And to top off the qualities that made it a an overall positive experience,during the middle of the programming DJ.Rumba,proudly announced and displayed the certificate awarded by the City of Portland,which declared the last Sunday of August as Portland’s Official Salsa Sunday.
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Tomorrow you can start out dancing at Mambos for traditional Salsa played by Roger Rumba or come party like a Colombiano at Aztec Willies Colombian Nights:
Mambo
colombian nights
aztec willies taqueria
Saturday
Apart from Aztec Willies and Mambo Lounge,the Bobby Torres Latin Jazz Ensemble will be playing at Brasserie Montmartre in downtown Portland.
A lot of Salsawent down this weekend within the great city of Roses.
Beginning with Monica’s Birthday on Friday night. The official title of the Black Tie event was “The 19th Anniversary of my 21st Birthday.” Food,a birthday cake,as well as an official Tequila Toast were precursors to the Kartwheels performedby Lori Young, Amy Murakami,Eli Coleand Monica’s Birthday Dance.
Later on that night One Night in Cubacaused all sorts of mayhem at Aztec Willies. You can click on the picture to see the rest on Facebook.
Night in Cuba
Then on Saturday Leo &Rositsa’s performance at the Fremont Fest. This event took place off of Fremont St between 41st and 50th Avenues. Like other Art Walk events they closed down the streets while vendors and artists put there art and products out on display in the streets.Kudos needs to be given to these two Salseros,from Son Latino Pdx,for performing in a space not much bigger than standard size kitchen table (given that there were instruments in the background).
Later on Saturday Night at Aztec Willies the Insane Nights of Solo Performances crashed the house:
Night of Solo Performances at Aztec Willies
Finally on Sunday evening there was Cuban Salsa Concert w/PICOSO from Seattle and ODDUARA from Portland (pictures and/or video to be posted later)
This Saturday night at Aztec Willies,in NE Portland, five local Salseros and internationally known Christian Oviedo came together to offer a show made up of mostly solo routines and a surprise couples performance to cap it off.
”It was just great to see such a crowd-lots of good energy and love for the performers. The performers were great and they looked like they were able to have fun with the audience, ”stated Amber Black who also is part of her own Salsa Performance group called Remix Dance Company,but was there last night as part of the audience to show support.
Lots of great energy definitely captures the essence of what most of the routines were like. Unlike other performances where random combinations are danced to a standard Salsa rhythm-most of the performers incorporated a strong sense of musicality-thereby taking the energy,put out,up a level.
Great examples of musicality (in order of performances):
Jerome &Michele performing at Aztec Willies Night of Solo Performances
Other random sampling of comments found off Facebook describing last night’s event:
“…(The performers)did great on the dancefloor.”
“…(The performers)were awesome!I’m so proud of (them)!!!”
“..I love watching (The performer’s)facial expressions, (they)are so happy when (they)are dancing!”
Overall it was a great turnout at the Night of Solo Performances at Aztec Willies,with some pretty amazing footwork routines by Rick,Jamal,Antonio and Christian, and topped off with a nice surprise couples performance by Michele and Jerome.
