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.
Sometime after work this last Tuesday,the Band Afincando set up shop and started playing Salsa to a parking lot of residents and passerby’s of the Northwest Towers off of Flanders and 19th in NW Portland.
Every now and then an individual or two would get up and dance as Afincando shelled out the latin beats. And although there was a free barbecue while Afincando was grooving the house down,the event was sparsely attended. It would have been nice if there would have been more publicity regarding the event and what it was about.
The good thing about both of the previous events is that you can start your pre Salsa Appetizer there and cap it off with some serious Salsa shuffles at the venues:
Venues:
Santa Fe’s-located in the Pearl, Armandos SOS Social,FREE admission and Salsa Lesson by Antonio Torresfrom Rumba y Cache
New Fernandos-in NW Pdx-featuring Los Rumberos Del Caribe, $5-6 cover
