Hola…

I’m David Ortiz, and I was born, raised and educated in the City Of Brotherly Love. I grew up in both North and Northeast Philadelphia, educated at Temple University with a Communications Degree and a Minor in Bilingual Education. Salsa has been a part of my life since the very first breath of air I inhaled those many decades ago. I grew up watching my parents give parties for New Years’ eve and the Feast of The Three Kings, and during them all, I always remember hearing the music of Joe Cuba, Tito Rodriguez, Machito, Tito Puente, Johnny Colon and many others from the 50’s 60’s and early 70’s. My mom was the music collector who literally had hundred and hundreds of albums and my pop was the street wise guy also known as a “titere” who became a bodegero (grocery store owner). They met at the Palladium in New York City during the late 40’s and could dance up a mambo and a cha cha with the best of them. All this Latino soup in my blood and yet I didn’t get into salsa until I was 16 when my younger sister forced me to listen to an album called “Cachao y Su Ritmo Caliente –Descargas in Miniature.” And then as the saying goes, I got hooked.

I saw my mom’s record collection as my own personal library and a resource to a whole new world. I was the youngest guy I knew who wanted to be a DJ. I just loved the music so much then whenever we had house parties I’d volunteer to play the music with our one turntable stereo system called a Hi-Fi. Then I had to grow up and go to college, I wanted to go to “La UP” – University of Puerto Rico and be on the island where salsa was born. Man, talk about a dream come true, but my pop had other plans, like keeping me close to home. So ever time I got accepted at a college far away from home, my dad made these rules or regulations that I had to comply with. E.g. If I went to college in Puerto Rico I had to live with my grandmother in San Juan. Sounds great huh, except that the university on the other side of the island in Ponce so life changed course for me and I went to Temple University right in North Philly where I first majored in Bilingual Education, but graduated with a BA in Communications.

My love of salsa seemed derailed because college studies became my priority but one day fate pointed its finger in my direction. While sitting in the office of our student organization called The Federation of Puerto Rican Students one cold February Wednesday afternoon, this young man came into our office and ask if anybody would be interested in doing a Latin Jazz / Salsa radio show. As I was in our “study room” fellow members there called me to come to the front office and upon my entering the room, everybody pointed their finger at me and said “He has records, he’ll do it!” And the rest as they say is a “salsa –riffic” journey through history which I’ll just sum up as “El Viaje.” I guess you can say my dream came true, a 20 year old kid with his mom’s record collection and the means to share that music with an entire city. Twenty Seven Years later, I have seen that dream grow and grow because now I get the privilege of sharing that music I love so much with an entire planet because of the 11 stations on at the same time and the internet www.wrti.org. As you read my “music notes” you will see the passion I have for salsa and its rich history.

There are other loves in my life, and God is my first, family of course my second but music, and more so salsa, is the means to the end. So by all means, enjoy this website as it is dedicated to the city I grew up in, and even more so, a culturally enriched music that grew up in me.

To all who read this website, enjoy the journey, and but of course you are most welcome to come back again and again and again. So, pull up your mind, take a sip of some knowledge shared and hopefully I may be able to satisfy a portion of the thirst your heart and soul may have. Welcome to a segment of my universe called www.phillysalseros.com

That's enough information about myself, let's move on to more interesting topics.  Click on one of the icons below.

• Philly/Jersey scene - A Latin, Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, and a dash of Brazilian resource for those who are interested in the Latin night-life and dance scene in the Philadelphia, PA, area.
• Salsa calendar - A two month  calendar highlighting all events of local interests.
• Jamming Links.
  • Salsa/Latin dance related resources in other locations.
  • Local and national news resources.
    • Including links about asthma and Hermansky Pudlak Syndrome (HPS) web site.
      • HPS is a non-curable genetic disease that effects mostly Puerto Ricans and people with Hispanic backgrounds.
  • International Radio Stations.
  • Temple University.
  • Philadelphia, PA.
  • Puerto Rico.
  • Other Links.
    • Airlines.
    • General Dance. COMING SOON
• Salsa instructors
• Dance steps
• NY Scene
• Puerto Rico
• Personal
• El barrio