Concert & Performance Reviews by Shirley Fastner

2009 Chicago International Salsa Congress

February 12 - 15, 2009

By Shirley Fastner

Economic downturn? What better way to shun all the negativity than to immerse yourself in the uplifting world of salsa for four days! The rest of the world can continue to mope around but there were nothing but high spirits and good will at the eighth annual Chicago International Salsa Congress! Once again it was held at the very accommodating Westin-O'Hare and after several years at the same venue, things went more smoothly than ever before. Of course, there were the usual complaints regarding the Congress not occurring downtown and unfortunately those folks missed yet another great event. This year we also had the warmest weather so far as this dance-induced heat wave continues, so no weather delays. After all, it was the dead of winter so we were all happily ensconced indoors for the long weekend.

This year brought a few changes with many different instructors than previous years, along with some of our favorites from which I never fail to learn something new. I still would like to be able to figure out where the instructors are based on the actual class schedule so I know whether I have them available locally or need to jump on them right there. The sight lines are bad in certain classrooms or in general with the most popular classes as many workshops are packed with their regulars and not all instructors rotate. A noted improvement was the alteration of the traditional opening Thursday night to allow the bands to commence right away so people could begin dancing and the showcase performers were worked into the middle instead, literally. The first evening, billed as a Latin Jam Session, opened with Spanglish. The dance performers were on the floor so there was no wasted time setting up the stage, which was a well-received upgrade. This was followed by the SalsaChicago Mambo All-stars Orchestra among whom we find none other than our very own Miguel Mendez (showcase MC extraordinaire). These guys apparently are a huge crowd pleaser and are gaining steam! Papo Santiago y Orquesta Infraverde then performed followed by the SalsaChicago Mambo All-stars closing out the night with several original compositions including "Tributo a Tito Puente", "Amigo", "Musico de Corazon" and "De Ti me Enamore."

Following opening night, in case you don't know the drill, the schedule goes like this. You can literally attend this salsa marathon from 9:30 to 3 a.m. daily should you so choose for the next three days. Basically, there are dance workshops until 3:30 p.m. Next is the first session of exhibition performers at 4 p.m. followed by the evening dancers at 8 p.m. with a bit of a much needed break in between the two shows. After this, as soon as they can get the ballroom turned around from the second dance show, the big evening of dancing and live band starts at 10:30 p.m. And then you repeat this three days in a row, Starbucks in hand! Now if you don't have this kind of stamina, you can always pick and choose your events individually. This year a noted improvement was letting salseros in to get going before the bands were ready which lessened all of the waiting around that tends to make one lose steam!

The workshops are always very high caliber and there are many favorites. On Friday I took a great "Ladies Styling" class with Elaine Marrero, based in Detroit, who despite her youthfulness, said she has been teaching for 28 years and, boy, did she give you styling you can use within your partner dancing. She really can clean up your dancing and take it to the next level! The showcases are very creative and Andy Cruz, who produced the early dance show, and Maricza Valentin, who handled the evening showcase, are to be highly commended for the great job they did! The performers were great and on Friday, Miho and Mong Ye, dancers from the Korean delegation, stood out as usual and were one of two groups invited to the evening exhibition. The concepts were incredible with all types of interesting themes from monsters to gangsters. The costumes alone are worth the price of admission. The first round of the Chicago-Midwest Salsa Open contest followed with those left standing scheduled to compete again on Sunday night. It is great to see Ray Rubio back year after year as the evening showcase MC. I still think he is hilarious.

La Sonora Carruseles, from Columbia, was fantastic Friday night. It is amazing how may salsa hits they are responsible for in their 12 years of existence, such as the dance floor-filling "Lola," and they are known for performing the classics as well. Their high energy was incredibly infectious and they looked like they were having so much fun. Unfortunately, they did not come on until about 11:45 p.m. The Congress salseros were incredible and I never stopped dancing. There was no recession in sight by the number of people there! There was also a tango room added this year as well as a bachata room, because the main ballroom was salsa pura! I must say I did get smacked across the face walking along the sidelines by an arm that was way out of line and got cut by the bracelet and I was not even on the dance floor. Not sure what has happened to dancer's etiquette.

Saturday brought more great classes. Among my favorites were Juan Calderon with his "Matrix" move for the men to avoid a woman's "helicopter arms," as fun as always. This move doubles for picking up dropped earrings, glasses, etc., all in one fell swoop - very practical. He gets an A+ for the best rotation system so that you automatically dance with EVERYONE. Both dance showcases were great, as we have come to expect, with "Sondeluz," from Columbia, getting the most reaction from the crowd for their over-the-top performances. We had to wait through an opening act for Wayne Gorbea & Salsa Picante, who performed admirably for the typically largest Saturday night crowd and it also happened to be Valentines Day, so lots of red! The Bronx-born Puerto Rican band leader, Gorbea, is the piano player, arranger and producer of this popular group.

On Sunday Juho So, who is responsible for bringing all of the wonderful Korean performers, taught a great Spinning class, something that always needs work! The popular Emerging Artist Showcase was fun as always with some of the tiniest performers, who usually bring the most response. Brandon Segovia and Serena Pav are still perennial faves, although they aren't so little anymore. Our very own Pablo and Kathryn won the Chicago-Midwest Salsa Open and will be going to the Puerto Rico Congress. Victor Burgos and Gaby Bernal in the evening showcase were a hit with their unique "salsa quebradita" and are the organizers of the Acapulco Salsa Congress as well, although they are based in Mexico City. "Sondeluz," of Cali, Colombia, continued to blow the audience away with their creativity and expertise.

The farewell finale brought back Congress fave Adalberto Santiago (here in 2006) with the Luis Gonzalez Orchestra in a tribute to Fania legend Ray Barretto. Of course, Santiago is a Fania legend himself and was previously Ray Barretto's singer so it is only fitting that he be up there and the man still has it! Gonzalez handled all musical direction. It is always sad to see the Congress end. Many of us go into withdrawal and can't wait for next year!

Okay everyone, the Ninth Annual Chicago International Salsa Congress is already scheduled for February 11-14, 2010, once again at the Westin O'Hare. The Congress also continues to provide salsa for those who are not as spoiled as we are here in Chicago, such as the gentleman I spoke to from Davenport, Iowa. Mark your calendars NOW and grab the early bird passes when they go on sale. This makes good economic sense and we all need that right now! This year seemed to be extremely well attended despite all that is going on in the world and if you missed this event, don't make the same mistake twice! It is starting to feel like an annual family reunion and as we all know, there are congresses around the world, probably on any given weekend now. The world can always use more unity through salsa! Our thanks go out to Rosita Ragin-Alamin and Saladeen Alamin for their labor of love in providing us yet another long weekend of fun! See you next February!

Click here or on image for the SalsaChicago.com 2009 Chicago International Salsa Congress picture page.

Images brought to you courtesy of Miguel Mendez & the SalsaChicago.com Staff.