,
dj sugarmanEL VIAJE’S MUSIC NOTES
-FALL 2005
The pity of the petty-ness in
the Philly Salsa Community….
While speaking with fellow salsa supporters,
many subjects came to mind,
the depletion of salsa venues, the increase growth
of the population of salsa dancers,
is the Star Dust ever going to close, and more importantly
why can’t we all just support each other instead
of trying to stab each other in the back, put down each other,
‘player hate on the dance floor or in the DJ booth or have this
“I’m better than you” attitude
although we both learned to dance salsa just yesterday.
Come on boys and girls, aren’t we suppose to be grownups
and take our daily dose of maturity before we leave the house?
Well, aren’t we supposed to at least act grownup out there?
Hmmm, seems like I might be pulling on a thread
that might just mess up the material.
And yet for the last five years, all I ever heard was how
we should all try to form salsa unity within
the local salsa community.
Funny thing is, several individuals have pulled
out their spool of thread to try to sew things up,
but without a needle. In other words, a lot of talk,
on message boards, in clubs, at dance socials
and even during dance lessons,
but talk has the value of a penny,
and a penny can’t even get you a gumball nowadays.
Case in point, recently there was a mega salsa
dance/concert at a tremendous venue.
(For the Love of Salsa @the Liacouras Center 10/ 22/05)
Mind you, I said a “mega salsa event” and yet the
local salsa community was poorly represented
if represented at all. Outside of the four local DJs involved in
the event, no other local DJ came to even support the
event. I saw only one of the major dance instructors and two
of the minor dance instructor
(by minor I mean, instructors who do not own a dance studio).
So where were all the so-called salsa dancers at?
If 600 people can fill a dance social to watch
“Rocky and Bull winkle” perform a 10 minute dance
routine and pay 20 bucks to see “moose and squirrel”
do the dance act, then why couldn’t they have been there
for a major and historical salsa event and
give it its full support? Ok, rumors are flying
through the air that the promoter is not well liked throughout
the local salsa community, some dance instructors
are mad at him because they feel they’ve been
disrespected by him, some local bands are mad at him
because he does not utilize them as much as he should for
his events, and even some DJs are mad at him for not using
them (or him) exclusively. Go figure, here is a person
who has brought a salsa congress to this area twice
already and who has literally put Philly on the salsa map
with this concert of such energetic “salsa magnitude”
and yet he receives belittlement instead of support
from the local salsa community. Perplexing isn’t it?
Then again, I wouldn’t care who was promoting
an event of such high salsa star magnitude,
because with the acts that were there, it was worth
every penny spent just to be at this historical event,
so should you care who the promoter was, absolutely not!
Salsa unity and support exists? Hmmm, tick, tick, tick,
as time goes on, we’re still waiting for the answer, aren’t we?
Now in response to this article there are those who will
try to rally the troops to say that salsa unity exists,
but truly beware of the false gods and false prophets,
be they for example; a DJ, Dance Instructor or even another
promoter who may go around preaching that peace and unity
does exist within the salsa community, by stirring up the masses
to only serve their own agenda and for their own self glory.
I still hear of a DJ trying to steal other DJs jobs/venues away
from them. Sadly, I even heard about two local DJs who went
into a partnership to host a venue for a salsa night and one segment
of the DJ partnership tried to steal the “night” from the other partner,
needless to say, the partnership was dissolved and
the Latin night was cancelled.(HOLD ON FOR A MOMENT,
I’M ABOUT TO HAVE A NANO-SECOND OF BEING IN SHOCK
AND A JIFFY (1 / 1000th of a second) MOMENT OF SADNESS
OVER THIS ONE)
I still hear of dance groups belittling other
dance groups, and even “newborn” dance teachers,
putting down the professional, state certified and college
graduate dance teachers who actually taught those newborn
dance teachers how to dance not that long ago.
BTW – BY LAW IN PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY,
YOU HAVE TO BE STATE CERTIFIED TO TEACH ANY
SUBJECT OR TOPIC-from a knitting lesson to a stamp collecting
lesson, certification is a must! And if you are caught by License
and Inspection in PA or The NJ Certification Board in NJ you will be
subject to fines and possible jail time- unless you are giving/teaching
instructions at a place that already has a certification that is addressed
to provide said service. So if you aren’t a real dance teacher /instructor,
you better run out and get certified kind of quick, because I hear that
those jail cells are pretty small and those jail cell-mates like
to dance- all over people’s faces.
Now get this straight because I won’t mention names,
or point a finger at anyone because then the stain of these sins
will never dry up. And isn’t the thought of being strong as a whole
greater than the thought of having many single beings proclaiming
their own individual strengths. A fellow salsero said to me that there
are ways around the pettiness, but then again, does that solve the
problem or just avoid it?
A hundred and fifty years ago, America was building a railroad system
across the continent, but instead of going around the mountains, they
chose the challenge of trying to go through the mountain. It is a human
flaw and a “first” instinct to avoid a problem or attempt to go around it,
but the greater victory comes from going through the problem,
tackling it, solving and resolving it till it is a problem no more.
Now how does this apply to the local salsa community,
well just like a band aid, minor cuts can be covered and cured by
it, for the major cuts, time to call in the doctor. So can we forgive
the promoter who forgot to acknowledge us for a micro-moment, can
we say thanks to the dance studio teacher/owner who taught us to
dance in the first place and brought out our natural talents beyond
even our own expectations, and dance groups, come on now, unless
we start seeing your whole group dancing in mid- air without strings,
you’re just like every other local dance group- just as good- so respect
each other and acknowledge each other’s professionalism, don’t put it down.
And local DJs, come on fellows, you all get your music from the
same places. And whatever one DJ has, the others can surely purchase
just as easily as blinking an eye, so the stream you dip your cup in
is all from the same water. So in reality everyone is on equal par.
Besides that, you all grew up in the “CD generation” of recorded music,
so that truly does put you all on an equal playing field.
The only people above you, the local DJs, are the record
collectors who have so much music that has never been
recorded onto CDs ( to date) - and I have bowed down before
them in respect of their awesome accrued collections over the
many decades, for I know what it takes to build a record collection,
because I am a fellow record collector. So I know of the
many hidden gems that are not out on CD. “ Acquired
knowledge is power without equal.”- Socrates
I don’t care if you have 30,000 songs or 300 songs because
in a 5 hour span while you are DJ-ing you are only playing a max
of 65 songs, about 13 songs per hour – so what makes you think
any one DJ is that much more special/ better than all the other local
DJs, when you are all playing the same music – mambo, salsa, salsa
romantica and etc. (For those in the lower IQ number range of
intelligence, this means no one local DJ is better than the rest,
even if he thinks he is!) l So get a grip on reality and realize that just
as the sun shines on you, it shines equally on every other DJ around these
parts. RESPECT YOUR FELLOW DJ, DON’T PUT HIM DOWN!
And to DJ Spanky: sadly, when you were on the other side of the
CD players, you were their boy, you were appreciated and thanked
for dancing to their music, but now that you are on this side of the
CD players, you’re called a rookie, and sneered at, why, because
you’re trying to get a slice of the pie, which some DJ may want all
to himself- Spanky, welcome to the world of the local Latin DJ scene.
Now, there are websites to tell you where to go dance at, which
dance group or individual is coming to town to wow you at the
bimonthly social, but I decided to make this segment of my
website a place were guts can be spilled and truths can be told.
I’ve talk to other city’s salsa community representatives and found
these same “flaws” to be a common thing. DJ rivalries, dance
group rivalries, dance instructor rivalries are common just about
everywhere and “salsa unity” is something that only exist in the
figment of one’s imagination.
And if someone tells me that “salsa unity” exists in the Philly area
then I’ll just pull out the Nerf bat and pop them upside their
head, because they’ll need to get hit back into reality.
Example: How come there were only two local websites that
advertised the “For the love of salsa” concert/dance
(www.trinijunglejuice.com /salsainthecity & www.phillysalseros.com.)
on their main page, and not just as a topic on a thread within a website?
And the event was produced by a local individual who had no ties to
any dance studio/school/club or website. This was a neutral event for
ALL to support, show up and enjoy all that it had to offer. So why
didn’t other local websites promote the event if “salsa unity”
supposedly exist? One for all and all for one- NOT!
Hey, isn’t this the same thing that happened at the last two Philly
salsa congresses? You know, just like the salsa concert /dance that
recently happened, the events came to Philly, but Philly salsa dancers
didn’t come to the events. We call this the “un-support” movement!
Salsa Unity exists in Philly, surrrrre it does, just like the
tooth fairy, yeah right! (We call this color, male cow manure
brown -pretty clever huh?-get the analogy, I knew you would!)
Hating and loving in the name of salsa
Hating the fact that there are still people out there stealing music from the internet or elsewhere: an email sent to me shows that this is still going on, Now to quote Popeye, “it’s all I can stanz, ‘cause I can’t stanz no more!” The following quote was from a website where the individual was bragging how he downloaded the entire latest El Gran Combo CD from the internet.
Subject:“El Matrimonio , By El Gran Combo
Culprit: addamo4u@hotmail.com
Penalty: well, they don’t put those warning against recording /
copying piracy on the CDs for nothing. This is a federal offense
and has been reported to the FBI. There is $5000 fine and or jail
time. Also, you can’t hide from the FBI they can trace an email
address to it’s source and also trace who registered the email
address or the IPS address where it was created at. Plus yahoo
and any other email service have to turn over the info if requested
by a Federal agency involving any federal violation, it is an FCC Law.
Also, the record company and distributor have both been forwarded
the information as they will pursue a legal recourse.
I’ve said it over and over that it is wrong to “steal” music,
SO DON’T DO IT!
Loving the fact that salsa dance groups are learning about
salsa history whether they realize it or not. How, well as dance
groups learn new routines and seek songs to fit those routines
they turn to classic salsa, more so, mambos and pull out classic
tunes by Joey Pastrana, Johnny Colon, Eddie Palmieri and other
legends of this great music to use for their dance routines. So
as they practice, they listen, and as they listen, they learn.
How come……
Club Polaris was not supported like it should have
been…….Here is a place that can hold over 1000 people
in a very comfortable atmosphere. The dance floor is
perfect and the sound system is unique. It is large yet
cozy, but the booths along the walls throw you back to a
1940’s type of look. The Promoters are great people and
the drink prices are very reasonable, so why no support
from the salsa dancing community?
Evelyn Figueroa and Salseros International Dance Studio
do not get the respect they deserve. Salseros has been
around for over 15 years and Evelyn taught many of the
“kid” dance instructors out there. Salseros has always had
some of the classiest dance parties. From the Officer’s club
at the Naval Depot, JFM Caterers to now, their present locale
for dances –The Polish Association Hall in the northeast, their
dance parties have always been very classy and so much fun.
So why no respect, why no appreciation of the impact Evelyn
and Salseros has had on the salsa dance community
in the Philly area?
Misfires and then some…..miscues
I heard and read of a couple of incidents involving
salsa dancers here and there….
- Cuba Libre Atlantic City: it seems on 08/27/05 or there about,
there was a situation regarding Cuba Libre and some folks who went
there to go dancing. I received an email which apparently was sent
to the management complaining about the non-professionalism of
Cuba Libre’s (AC) staff, but I also received an email from an individual
who supported what the staff did and the individual wanted me to
post his email on my website, to which I said no. Well, hopefully this
issue is now a mute point and all parties involved are satisfied by
what ever recourse was taken.
Lesson to be learned: places like Cuba Libre in Atlantic City
(and the one in Philly), Samba and other places set up in a
night club/restaurant forum are open for the reason of making money.
They are not bus stations where you can go to just sit there without
spending a nickel. If your intent is not to spend money, but just dance
salsa, then head for a social/dance studio sponsored dance. You don’t
have to spend money at these places, but at places like Cuba Libre etc,
you’re suppose to spend money there, that is how they survive, that is
the nature of their business. If their survival depended on just watching
you dance salsa and not spending a nickel, then they wouldn’t
survive at all!
Local Philly salsa band- Orquesta La Paz celebrated their
30th anniversary with a reunion party dance on Sept 30, 2005 at
Club Polaris. They sounded awesome, but unfortunately no one
showed up to give their support and enjoy this historical event.
Lesson to be learned: Ah, once more, “salsa unity” was on trial
and found guilty of a non-supportive effort!
I mentioned how two DJs formed a unified effort to host
a Latin night and how one of the DJs tried to steal the night away
from the other DJ-partner by approaching the owner of the establishment
and stating that if the owner gave the night solely to him that he would
literally pack the place wall to wall. Needless to say, the other DJ partner
is good friends with the owner of the club/restaurant and so the Latin night
was cancelled.
Lesson to be learned: If you were never friends, and never really liked
each other, why would you try to partner up with someone and get into
a business venture together?
Now for a little stickball, just like we use to play back in the day
down at 7th & Master Streets in “El Barrio” with the old mop stick
and pimple ball. No wait, let’s make it a challenge, we’ll play “halve-sies.”
So as we cut the pimple ball in half, let’s bat’errr up, shall we.
First, I receive much respect from 98% of the local DJs around this area
for my knowledge of Latin music and my selection of the music I play,
but like DJ Sugar Ruiz says, “there’s always that one knucklehead” that
thinks when he was born as a DJ, so was salsa/Latin music. Contrary to
the self adoration rumors, this isn’t true. Salsa/ Latin music DJs were
around for a very long time – time as in decades. My all time favorite
local salsa DJ is Eladio Cortez – the host of a radio program
called “La Perfecta” – WCAM 1310 Camden NJ, back in the
mid 1970’s to early 1980’s . I was always tuning in, and outside
of the other music he played, he always played the best of the
best in mambo and salsa. The first time I met him, I was in awe
of this local DJ legend…..and my second favorite was Frankie Malave
on Friday nights on 103.9 FM Radio Hispano Americana. His showed
aired from 7pm till midnight and was a piece of salsa heaven. During
the mid 1980’s he filled Friday nights with awesome salsa sounds.
The reason I bring this up, is to show that if you give respect to
those that came before you, you grow stronger as a DJ and as a
person. I remember both Eladio Cortez and Frankie Malave
( who actually became a very good friend of mine) giving me
tips on what to play, when to play it and how to keep myself at
a level where I can accept criticism and learn from it. So here I
am still learning and growing about the music and about being
a DJ, 29 years later and it is paying off.
Nowadays, if you critique some DJs on their skills and/ offer
them some knowledge or even give them advice, they look
at you like you are insane to even critique them or offer
them advice. So be it. However for the “knucklehead” who
may think he is beyond critique or has been overdosing on
the “I know it all” drug or has been taking too many
“I’m the best DJ” pills, please seek help, there is a hotline
number to call and a cure for the over inflated ego syndrome,
but act now before you are beyond salvation. I am not writing
this to sound mean, or even say I am the best, but realize this,
that while most of the DJs around this area were kids and playing
with crayons or their army men, I was already spinning salsa at
WRTI and at night clubs. So, if I am still learning and growing at
trying to be a better DJ 29 years later with over 29 years worth
of experience, how can you think that you have reached the
mountain top of DJ knowledge & skills – Impossible! Learning
is an on going process, the minute you think you know it all
is when you realize that you don’t!
Footnote of Knowledge to think about:
1-A good DJ can fill the dance floor and makes people
dance to music that they will recognize or be use to hearing.
2-A great DJ can fill the dance floor and
makes people dance to music they never heard of.
david ortiz
david ortiz
”
- sazam as quoted
from www.djjoserodriguez.com
(See #2 above if you don’t understand why I posted this quote)
Lesson to be learned: A quote from my dad that I live by
as I notice the lack of respect around “these” neck of the
woods: “If a person will not respect and honor you as a fellow
human being, then he is your enemy, and your enemy must be
made to fear you in all that you do.
“
I’ll give my own short version: If you do not respect me
(even as a DJ), then you will fear me!
Always keeping it real & always supporting
the music, how about you?
David Ortiz
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Keeping it all the way real, Latino style.
LA MUSICA ES PARTE DE NUESTRA VIDA Y
NUESTRA VIDA ES PARTE DE LA MUSICA…
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You can contact David Ortiz davidortiz@phillySalseros.com at |
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Copyright © 1999 phillysalseros.com djdavidortiz.com . All rights reserved. |
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Revised; April 10, 2005 |