Congreso Revisited
by Toni Mendoza
Managing Director
Side Street Kids Dance Company

Every once in a while an event comes along that truly reminds me of the immense joy and satisfaction that I get from dancing. For me, these feelings all came flooding back at the 2nd Congreso Mundial de Salsa held this past summer in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The event was held over four days in the Grand Ballroom of the ultra luxurious El San Juan Hotel in Isla Verde. Hundreds of people from varied corners of the world attended nightly. There were delegations from Italy, Switzerland, Curacao, Japan, Germany, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico and of course Puerto Rico. The United States was represented by participants from Florida, New York, Illinois, and California. The Contingent from Los Angeles was at least 100 strong.

Every night was amazing. The opening rumba number performed by a group from Puerto Rico was awesome. It was powerful and the performers allowed the dance to speak for itself without cluttering the stage with distracting costumes and attention grabbing antics. But that was just the beginning. There were many repeat performers from last year and it was apparent that throughout the course of the year, careful attention was paid by all of the performers to honing their craft.

The event was very well organized. The performers were greeted with a welcome package that included a T-shirt, the program of scheduled events and the video of Congreso 1997. Tickets for the general public were available for purchase in advance and all the performers received a certificate of appreciation from Mr. Irrizarry for performing in the Congreso 1998. Noticeable improvements from the previous year where the participants were not so well received.

Individual stages were set up in the opposite ends of the ballroom to showcase both the performers and the magnificent bands that entertained us. An immense dance floor lay in between both stages nicely accommodating the dancers. Each night we were treated to three dances and two dance shows. We got to groove to the sounds of El Gran Combo, Mulenze, Sonora Poncena, Roberto Roena and Andy Montanez just to name a few. My personal favorite was Cano Estremera. Wow, what a talent!!!

I was most impressed with the professional attitude of most of the performers. It was apparent that Salsa is evolving into an art form to be reckoned with. I found myself comparing the different styles between Los Angeles and New York. Los Angeles was pure Hollywood drama and flair. They were artistic and creative and bigger than life while New York was Broadway, the forum most performers aspire to. My personal favorites of the week-end were Columbia. They were fabulous and for their effort they received a standing ovation.

The action on the dance floor was pretty impressive. It was non-stop until the cows came home. On two nights, the management turned the lights off because the dancers refused to leave but it all was in good fun. Stacy Lopez is to be commended for creating that soul train line of dancers from around the world. For just one moment in time, there was no jealousy or competition on the dance floor - just pure enjoyment.

Of course, there were moments that were less than spectacular but these were negligible at best. It was a great idea to have a Master of Ceremonies throughout the week-end to introduce the performers and keep the general public informed however, understandably, at times it was difficult for him to contain his obvious favoritism for the acts from L.A. In addition, A gentlemen from the L.A. felt it necessary to take a crack at the dancers who danced on "two". The event wasn't about ‘one’ or ‘two’. It was about dancing.

I left Puerto Rico with renewed conviction that the Side Street Kids would participate in the Congreso 1999. We were the only children’s dance company from the United States to participate during the first Congreso. For economic reasons, we were not able to make the trip during 1998. Let the fund raising begin!!

Congratulation to Mr. Eli Irizarry on a phenomenal success. To all of you good readers, I encouage you to put this event on your calender for 1999 but I warn you... this event is no for the meek. If you don’t think that your heart can take the non-stop action of this jammed packed week-end, take a cruise. Bon-Voyage!