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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 1999)
e Battalion Aggielife Page 3 • Friday, April 30, 1999 8 e in the ve ry tense toj :r nfficarea iw.iias, J with five si speed installed e Circle, Hoi <' Oaks Bottle Oct. 8,1955 -ity Count:; y to install a at Munso; n Drive, tugust 1998, nlate request ation voters! e the (ate oi • the petificc secretary Cc: iignatures. Ian. 7,1999,; 'V Council vo! ce ordinance it any closun ), or traffic: 'n Munson .■ oallot as Pico of and Spicy tub an, Puerto Rican dance heritage mix t, ogether to form popular new salsa craze !CH ued from k let ween the: ;t money - winning 0,; of which ill guard fet! March i in in irofit orgai its to es by prev id infant® have four impltsltiflg als said, i advocao; s, educati® Loaring-Cs' immander iajor,sairt to the am BY BETH FOCHT The Battalion 9 t the Grammy awards, critics and viewers de clared one singer to have stolen the show. From that performance until today, the world has seemed to be enraptured by Ricky Mar- n. However, it is not just the man who is grabbing tenlion, it is also the music, sensuality and attitude J beings with him. Namely it is salsa music, which Martin has dped to expose to the public, that is making peo- 10S. ils a good! 3 fOCUS 0(1 but to ilsc orps itself,' itime whei; (he year,- fajdr. teaches a beginner the salsa, Wednesday night at the Epicenter. intents 1 f-o,, -u -v . ime dance instructor, Anna Britain, a senior international studies pie get up and shake their hips. Salsa dancing is not easily defined nor is it easy to determine who invented this form of partner dancing. Salsa has a large number of influences, includ ing the main Cuban and Puerto Rican influences, which played a part in the evolution of the dance. Salsa originally came into the limelight and was popular in clubs in New York during the 1960s. The recent popularity is due to the increase of main stream Latin music, the revival of dances that use a partner, and the increased integration of Latin in fluences into the American cul ture. Cuba and Puerto Rico’s di verse histories and cultures are meshed into salsa. The Latin dancing was first brought to the United States through migration. Integration of cultures in Amer ica produced the salsa dancing seen today. Louis Martinez, a member of Omega Delta Phi, a Latino fra ternity, and a senior political sci ence major, said salsa dancing and music involves an interest ing mesh of cultures. “This dance comes from the Caribbean, mainly Cuban and Puerto Rico, and it is very popu lar in Mexico and it is becoming more popular as these cultures are integrated more into main stream America,” Martinez said. “The salsa music is a cultural mesh of the people of Puerto Rico and Cuba with a lot of African rhythm drums and Latin beats.” v, t, >‘j!v MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion r ldito r Manage C ity EdiW cek.G a [ Sports # uiddin. e,Agg' e 3kh, OP'JJ flight K Special $5 Menu and $1 Margaritas Everyday! O We've cooked up a specially-priced party menu for Cinco de Mayo which includes our most popular items like Fajita Quesadillas, Dinner Cancun and our larger-than-life Triple Combo Enchilada Dinner. • 19 full-size meals priced under $5. • 5 hours of $1 Margaritas (2-7pm) everyday. • Kids meals under S2.50! Games, prizes and more! Come as many times as you like, but get here before May 5th! Great food. Great prices. Salsa dancing is composed as a variety of move ment beginning with a basic rocking step and a transfer of weight between these rocking move ments. From this rudimentary step, the dancer’s own style and emphasis is added. Salsa music has an even tempo that is not too fast to dance to. The phrases of the music repeat, mak ing it easy to count and easy to keep the pace and rhythm. Melissa Hinojosa, a member of the Dance Arts So ciety and a freshman math major, said salsa and Latin-based dancing are really about moving your body. “When you salsa dance you want to move your ribs, hips and feet a lot,” Hinojosa said. “You can dance with or without a partner because there is generally not aerial work when you salsa, but it is more fun to dance with someone so you can move more and turn.” Hinojosa said she believes one reason salsa danc ing has become popular is because the music is so easy to dance to. “The music is fast-paced and upbeat, it is not mo notonous like techno or real hard-core music, and really has a fun beat to dance to,” she said. “I also think with more Latin beats and rhythms coming into mainstream with Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan and club songs that feature Latin beats, peo ple are more familiar and interested in learning about this style. “I also think it was an easy transition with the popularity of swing dancing and partner dancing to this Latin-based dance,” Hinojosa said. Martinez said he believes salsa dancing is com ing into the mainstream because of the Hispanic population growth in the United States. “If you look the Hispanic population is rapidly growing and the culture is integrating into the main stream culture,” he said. “Commercials are using music with Latin rhythms and the culture is now MIKE FUENTES/The Battalion Luis Cisneros, professor of horticulture at A&M, dances the salsa with Cynthia Campos, a junior in ternational studies and Spanish major. Cisneros learned the salsa in his native Peru, while Campos has been dancing the salsa for two years, catching up with this growth.” Salsa is a basic dance and is not hard for begin ners to learn. Martinez said he recommends that people who have never tried to salsa before and want to learn should use the resources that are provided within the community. “There are a lot of Latin student associations on campus and they all have parties that play all of these kinds of music,” he said. “If you show up to one of these parities, someone will teach you how to salsa. It is a great way to learn.” Hinojosa said that for people trying this type of dancing for the first time, there are a few things you should remember. “It is important to let your hair down and get loose when you salsa,” she said. “Do not worry what other people think, you should feel the music and go with what your body wants to do and most im portantly, have a good time. ” STORAGE CENTERS 690-0500 Lease Now For Summer! Located 1 Mile North of Rock Prarie Rd. on the East Bypass Climate Control