Salsa Festival – Bogota

            Yesterday right in Parque Bolivar, the central plaza in Bogota, Colombianos were celebrating their 11th Salsa festival, featuring many of the top salsa bands in Colombia and dance performances.  As the event is free, the whole plaza was packed.  It was my first time going to a live salsa festival.  Simply moving, the whole salsa loving crowded sang to the music.  The big screen behind the band showed salseros dancing on a separate stage.  There must be close to 50,000 people at the plaza. 

            A few bands played before “Grupo Niche”, from Cali Colombia, came on stage.  I had never heard of them before, but when the first note broke, I knew they were something special.  Later I found out that the band has a 30 years history.  Just like Buena Vista Social Club from Cuba, the original members of the band have passed on, but the next generation of salsa singer have carried on the torch and the tradition of the music.  They were simply amazing.  If you love salsa, you have to check out their music.  At one point, one of the four singers got hold of a violin and started soloing on top of the philoharmonic orchestra!

            The most memorable moment for me, however, was when I saw a salsero dance.  He only has one leg.  He danced with a crutch.  He danced beautifully.  If you ignored the crutch he held in his left armpit and the pantleg that is folded up near his stub, you could not tell the differences between him and the other dancers.  And then, he did his shines.  Shines are stylish footwork and body movements in Salsa.  Holy moly.  How in the world do you do shines with only one leg?  His right foot tapped to the music and he moved in aboslute sync with his partner.  My jaws dropped. 

            I had been traveling pretty fast the last few weeks and was planning on making my way down to San Agustine in southern Colombia to visit the hundreds of giant stone statues. 

            At the hostal, I have just traded in my “Essentials of Tai Chi” for “On The Road” by Jack Kerouac.  Rain is starting to come down on the roof.  On the road and on an afternoon like this, I am happy to slow down, read and stay here for a while.