New Years Eve Salsa?

Sunday, December 30, 2007


Hello everyone. Well another year has passed us by and its time to celebrate the New Year. I know there are many parties going on in San Diego, some with Salsa themes involved. I know at the La Jolla Marriott for example Rumba Entertainment is hosting a Salsa New Year’s eve party. There are some others around town as well and I would search around online for these other venues.

Whatever you do New Year’s Eve night please be safe and enjoy the night. Take care and God Bless!

John ;-)

A Salsa Dancer Travels: Review of Seattle WA Salsa

Thursday, December 27, 2007


It’s good to be back in sunny San Diego after a nice break to the Pacific Northwest. (Yes, we had a white Christmas!!) We had the opportunity to go Salsa dancing at the Century Ballroom and actually saw some familiar faces. Biz recognized a dancer named George who we met at the San Diego Salsa congress some months ago. We also met with Jim , main organizer for the Seattle Salsa Meetup Group , who was kind enough to give us a rundown of the Seattle Salsa scene. According to Jim, Century Ballroom is a great venue for those looking for a Saturday night spot. I would have to agree. Century Ballroom reminds me of those old style theatres deep with red and yellow lighted hues that is a perfect invitation to the dance floor. We stayed long enough to satisfy our salsa dance cravings. Overall it was a great time.

PS: Biz and I had a wonderful opportunity to meet with representatives of the Hedges Family Estate Vineyard Sarah Hedges Goedhart , Assistant Winemaker for the organization. We were treated to some choice wines and enjoyed some pre Salsa dancing fun before heading off. The wines we sampled were absolutely delightful and are highly recommended. including

A Salsa Dancer Travels: Seattle WA

Thursday, December 20, 2007


Okay, so Christmas is coming up real soon and many people are taking part in the perennial holiday trip to visit family and friends. Salsa dancers are no exception. The difference, though, is that most salsa dancers will actively plan, seek out, and go to a dance venue that is in the locale they will be visiting. I’m like this myself and have been looking into Salsa dance venues in Seattle WA where I’ll be visiting Biz’s family for the Christmas holiday.

So far I’ve found one place that is pretty good, Century Ballroom . I’ve actually gone dancing there before so I know its a good venue, but i’m looking for other places as well. I was hoping to find a local website or blog to discuss the salsa scene there, but couldn’t find one other than a sister site to our own San Diego Salsa Meetup , the Seattle Salsa Meetup Group . I tried contacting the group but haven’t received a response yet.

Well, I’ll let you know how it goes in Seattle.

Merry Christmas.

A little bit of Salsa History from Colombia, SA: Discos Fuentes

Saturday, December 15, 2007

Over the course of my years of Salsa Dancing, I’ve had a great opportunity to meet many people who have limited knowledge about where Salsa music originated from. Of course the genre is a mix of many different styles including roots borrowed from Cuba’s mambo and music from Puerto Rico, but it amazes me to know that many people don’t identify Colombia as a major player in the history of Salsa.

Specifically, Discos Fuentes has produced many of the Salsa world’s greatest artists. The video showing here for example is of Joe Arroyo , a familiar voice in Salsa songs but often confused with being Cuban or Puerto Rican. He is Colombian born and his music fiercely describes many aspects of Latin history and society but with a Colombian sense. Joe Arroyo and other artist found fame through associations with Discos Fuentes . Founded in 1934 by Antonio Fuentes in the colonial city of Cartagena , it was the first record company in Colombia and one of the oldest independent labels in the world still today.

Next time you go out salsa dancing and hear a song you like, find out whether it has a Colombian origin. You’d be surprised how close your friendly neighborhood Colombian has been all this time.

John ;-)

Thoughts regarding the last San Diego Salsa Meetup at Cafe Sevilla

Friday, December 14, 2007

Hi everyone. Salsa dancing at Cafe Sevilla was great as usual. I made a point of arriving at Cafe Sevilla promptly at 9pm and making myself available to Meetup members that wanted to talk before the dancing started. I had the opportunity to meet some new members to the San Diego area (some from Boston, some hailing from other areas as well) and caught up with some old friends as well. Biz brought some balloons for my birthday and after the lesson was done we all went straight for the dance floor for some great Salsa Dancing. An added bonus was having Orquesta Primo performing live at the venue.

All in all a great night! Thanks to everyone who came out.

A Salsa Dancer goes Shopping…

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

POSTSCRIPT:

Since the time I originally wrote this article, I’ve found THE place for salsa and latin dance wear. The place is called E.K. Clothing and has great salsa dresses, skirts, shoes, and accessories.  Check out E.K. Clothing at their website provided here and let them know Ritmo Bello sent you!!!  To find out more information about E.K. Clothing check out the interview I did with them in this article.

E.K. Clothing salsa skirt

_____________________
Well its Christmas time and people are rushing all around to get those perfect gifts for people on their wish lists. Salsa dancers are no exception and I’ve found a number of sites related to salsa merchandise on the net.

I was actually surprised to see so many different products online for Salsa dancers ranging from dresses , shoes , dance shirts for guys , etc.

If you have a salsa dancer on your holiday shopping list don’t forget to get them something special!

Salsa Dancing this Wednesday Night at Cafe Sevilla!

Monday, December 10, 2007

Hi everyone:

Just wanted to let you know that there will be a Salsa Meetup this Wednesday at Cafe Sevilla. One thing that I’ve found from hosting multiple meetups in the past is that many people go to them but its hard to really meet those that are part of the group.

To remedy this, I’m going to have a special meetup button I’ll wear to identify myself and I’ll be downstairs by the large bar area for anyone that has any questions about the group. I’m looking to be there a little after 9pm.

Looking forward to not shopping and going to the Salsa Meetup!

John F. Bello

Meet John ;-)

Found useful information here? Please Donate to Ritmo Bello

SD Dance Venues
Live View from Pacific Beach CA in San Diego
Scan This Bar Code for Ritmo Bello Contact Info!
San Diego Salsa Bachata Festival
BlackWhiteParty
Advertise with Ritmo Bello
Catholic Answers
Advertise with Ritmo Bello
Jesus Christ God's son Savior