1st Thursdays of the Month with Meetup.com on February 2nd is coming fast and this edition will have a St. Valentine Day theme.  Come dressed in red in honor of the holiday wearing any article of red that you have (red shirt, skirts, shoes, whatever you have) and be ready to meet and greet new members who love salsa dancing as much as you do.

The event is open to everyone so feel free to come alone or bring any friends. We’ll meet downstairs at 8pm in the Meetup.com area of the club that will be reserved for our group. Look for the Meetup.com signs. Valerie will give a free salsa lesson starting at 8:30pm.

For full details and to RSVP please check out the special event page here on the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup group. If you have additional questions feel free to contact me on Twitter @RitmoBello.

See you dressed in red for 1st Thursday’s of the Month with Meetup.com

John ;-)

@RitmoBello

Ritmo Bello on Facebook | RitmoBello on Google+

The San Diego Salsa Bachata Festival is coming up September 15th through the 18th and the schedule of events has been recently updated.  In order to make it easy to follow the various events we’ve added the events to the calendar of the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup group.  Here are some of the main points of interest:

September 15th, Thursday Night Registration and Pre-Party (Click here to see event and RSVP)

September 16th, Friday night WELCOME PARTY (Click here to see event and RSVP)

September 16th, Friday night Main Event Shows and Social Dancing! (Click here to see event and RSVP)

September 17th, Saturday night World Latin Dance Cup Competition and Dancing (Click here to see event and RSVP)

September 18th, Sunday night Pro Salsa Footwork Showdown and Social Dancing (Click here to see event and RSVP)

Don’t forget that there will be workshops ongoing throughout the event with some of salsa dancing’s finest giving instruction.

Of course you will need to purchase your passes to each of these events (you can purchase them here).  There is still time, though, to get a FREE full access pass to all these days events by entering in the RitmoBello.com YouTube contest (ends Friday August 26th, 2011!!!)

Keep your eyes on RitmoBello.com and the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group for more updates on San Diego’s biggest salsa bachata event of the year!

John :-)

@RitmoBello | RitmoBello on Facebook

The Dia de San Juan Salsa Festival is hitting San Diego later this month and we are lucky to have Spanish Harlem Orchestra on hand to headline the event.  That’s right, the 2 time Grammy Award winners will be performing LIVE at the event along with Conjunto Costazul and J.D All Stars.

Here are some videos of Spanish Harlem Orchestra and Conjunto Costazul for you to get a quick preview:

This festival will be a full day event starting at 10am and ending at 6pm.  Best part about it is that it will be a FREE event for kids 12 and under.  Everyone else can purchase tickets in advance for the event.

For more information about the event and to RSVP with the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group please visit the event page here.

See you all at the San Diego Dia de San Juan Festival!

John ;-)

@RitmoBello

Dancing After School will be holding a special benefit to raise money for their work.  Founded in 2006, Dancing After School is a non-profit organization committed to providing life-changing dance programs to youth in underserved areas throughout San Diego County. The organization uses dance as a vehicle to inspire youth and provide a culturally relevant outlet.

DAS has been able to make an extremely positive impact in communities where a tremendous need exists. Based in San Diego, sites are located from Vista to San Ysidro and provide meaningful dance fitness programs to more than 1300 students each week.

Please join Ritmo Bello and the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup group as we attend the “Dance Salsa & Tango Under One Roof” event this Saturday April 30, 2011.  For more information on the event please visit the event page on the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group.

Thanks for supporting DAS!

John ;-)

@RitmoBello

Although Cafe Sevilla is still not open in their new Fifth Avenue location, the club is keeping their beat alive through their popular yacht party. It’s the return of the biggest boat party in America & they are  kicking off the summer right during Memorial Day weekend.

The 3rd annual “dress in white” party will feature a 3 hour cruise showcasing breathtaking views of San Diego Harbor by night and more importantly great LIVE dance music for salsa and Latin dancers to enjoy.  There will be 3 floors of music (Live Salsa Band, Top 40 DJ’s & Live Flamenco Guitarists), room for 1,000 people on the luxury yacht, 5 fully stocked bars, and1 Massive Outdoor deck with a Cigar Lounge sponsored by Excalibur Cigars.

Angel and Tulane from A Time to Dance Studio will be offering salsa lessons at the event and the headlining act will be Son Mayor, an LA band that plays with a high energy style of Salsa popular in Southern California venues like The Mayan, Steven’s Steakhouse & The Hollywood Bowl.

THIS EVENT WILL SELL OUT- Purchase your tickets early!!!  Also don’t forget that this is a Dress in All White party.  You don’t have to wear white by why would you want to stand out as the only person on the boat not wearing white?  If white isn’t your color just try to find something white like a skirt, tie, shoes, hat, etc.

Ritmo Bello and the San Diego Salsa & Latin Dancing Meetup Group are sponsors of the event and we invite you to attend this great kick off to summer.  For more information about the event including RSVP info please check the event page on the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group.

See you all on the Sevilla on the Bay Yacht!

John ;-)

@RitmoBello

Although the San Diego Salsa Bachata Festival is not until later this year if you’ve been to the event in the past you know the rooms and tickets sell really fast.  Angel Rivera, one of the main producers for the event, recently released this informative video that explains how you can obtain rooms and tickets.  It also does a really nice job of showcasing the myriad of changes that are in store for this year’s festival including the new venue at the Town & Country Resort Hotel and Convention center and the new focus on bachata.

For more information on the event check out the special event page on the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup Group.

John ;-)

@RitmoBello

Okay, so by now you’ve probably heard about the 1st Wednesday’s of the Month Meetup.com events at Cafe Sevilla (we’ve been hosting them for more than a full year now!).  Well, for those that have made it out in the past  you know that there is a simple formula for how they work:  1) Come out with the intent to have a good time 2) Meet new people & 3) Do something different to interact with your local San Diego salsa community.

This month the theme is to “Spring into Salsa Dancing” with everything that this implies.  If you’ve been sitting on the fence about coming out to our events or if you’ve gone in the past and it’s been some time since you’ve been, I encourage you to come check it out.  The event is free and Cafe Sevilla has been gracious to offer drink specials to our group members for the night (see the RSVP page for details).

For those of you unfamiliar with Café Sevilla, the venue is known for its great Spanish Cuisine and as a great salsa dance venue.

The event is open to everyone so feel free to come alone or bring any friends. We’ll meet downstairs at 8pm in the VIP area of club that will be reserved for our group.  Just look for the Meetup.com signs.  Valerie will give a free salsa lesson starting at 8:30pm.

For full details and to RSVP please check out the special event page here on the San Diego Salsa and Latin Dancing Meetup group. If you have additional questions feel free to contact me on Twitter @RitmoBello.  See you all Wednesday April 7th!

John ;-)

@RitmoBello