Alonso Brito, The kind of Music that gets under your skin!

Discover the Old Style Cuban Music of

Alonso Brito!

When I hear the music of Alonso Brito, I feel myself transported to an old cafe somewhere in Havana, with the smell of cigars in the air and the heat in the air assisting in the slow grind of Cuban couples dancing to the sultry rhythms. It is how i picture real Latin music to be.  You can feel in the song that their is Latin passion behind it.  You just can't fake emotion in songs like this.

"Alonso is like no other contemporary salsa singer – part Mick Jagger, part Caetano Veloso and part Desi Arnaz on acid" – Los Angeles Times

"In the 1950's America fell in love with the Mambo.  It's 2008 and we are already falling in love with Alonso Brito and his brand of Cuban music, he is really talented, extremely talented" -KPFK Radio

About Alonso Brito:

Born in La Habana, Cuba during the Golden Fifties, Alonso Brito had an idyllic childhood that ran parallel to Hollywood classics of that period. At the age of nine, he was living in Cuba when Fidel Castro's revolution arose. Political and civil unrest forced him to flee the country, never to return.  During a landmark historical period in American history, Alonso arrived in Miami, Florida in September 1960.

Thrust into early adulthood though being barely ten years old, Brito has been witness to events that have formed our country and left an indelible mark in his memory. The short-lived presidency of John F. Kennedy, The Birmingham Riots, The Cuban Missile Crisis, the civil rights movement and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, manned space travel and the Vietnam War are moments in time that some of us lived while some of us only read about them in books—Alonso Brito has done both and uses it to not only give depth to the life he leads, but volume to the music he shares.

Those wonder years, as well as those of his pre-emmigration childhood are reflected throughout his music. Alonso, or “AB”, along with his dear friend Chris McClure have prepared a style of show that has not been seen since the 1950's. Nothing in the United States and few similar performers are comparable to the style, culture and substance of the music and performances that AB brought from Cuba to gift us. His journey, his convictions, his spirit and his music have become the epitome of what it is to be Cuban-American.

9th Annual Pre Turkey Bash LIVE with Avance!!

The 9th Annual Pre Thanksgiving Turkey Bash!!

Wednesday, November 26th 2008

Roccapulco Supper Club
3140 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA
Tel:(415)648-6611

Music by DJ Bosco Vega and, SF's own live salsa band, AVANCE!!

Roccapulco is an internationally renowned Salsa Club and restaurant in San Francisco.  Information – Age for admission: 21 and over; Dress code enforced; Doors Open: 8:00 pm.  Cover Charge: $10.00 Friday and Saturday before 9:30 pm, $15 after 9:30 pm, except for special events.

About Avance:

Avance Originates and consists of the hottest and newest talents the San Francisco Bay Area has come to know. Four electrifying, bilingual singers, a sizzling horn section, and one of the best rhythm sections on the West Coast. You put this all together and you get a new and unique sound that crosses the language barrier: Spanish and English. Leading the group is Carlos Santana percussionist, Karl Perazzo, and Co-Founder/Vocalist Armando Cordoba.

From Central America, Luis Morales, Jeff Cordoba, Jimmy Flores and Armando Cordoba, bring to the table each, his own style of vocals; enriching each song with its own personality.  Rich vocals and an exhilarating dance show, these singers leave all audiences wanting more.

AVANCE's musical productions combine and fuse all the different styles of salsa: Puerto Rican , Cuban, New York and Colombian.  Add to the mix R&B/Pop, then you've got yourself a group with diversity and innovation, yet always familiar to the ear, and more importantly to the soul.

AVANCE's ultimate goal is to spread their music and inspire all over the world.

Rumba Cafe at Cafe Cocomo this Thursday, San Francisco

Rumba Cafe Performing LIVE

Thursday October 2nd, 2008

Doors Open at 7:30pm

Cover: $10 before 10pm, $15 after 10pm

Salsa Lesson by Jake 8:00pm-9:00pm

DJ Fab Freddy at 9:00pm spinning the best of salsa, cha-cha-cha, merengue, and bachata.

Rumba Cafe performing live at 10:00pm

Cafe Cocomo
650 Indiana Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
415-824-6910

NEW Salsa Dance Class, Wednesdays, San Jose

NEW Salsa & Bachata Classes

WEDNESDAYS

Salsa & Bachata Classes with Edwin

Susan Studio
2146 Ringwood Ave San Jose, CA 95031
Tel: 408-835-1889

Salsa dance lessons ALL LEVELS
Beginners 7:00 – 7:45 PM
Intermediate 7:45 – 8:30 PM
&
Modern Bachata Dance LEssons 8:30 – 9:15 PM

*Social Dancing from 9:30 – 12:00 AM
$10 for all lessons and dance
$6 for social dancing ONLY

Top 5 Ways to Speed Up Your Salsa Dancing Skills

Top 5 Ways to Speed Up Your Salsa Dancing Skills

Whether you are a beginning, intermediate, or advanced salsa dancer, there are certain tips and tools that will always come in handy when you want to dance at your best. It is one of the greatest things about salsa dancing. We are ALL ALWAYS learning, so that means that even the best dancers that you look up to will never know all there is to know about dancing. If we knew everything there was to know it would quite frankly get boring. Constantly challenging ourselves, as dancers, with new styles, moves and tricks is what keeps us dancing. So with that said there are certain importand tips that will never die. I have been dancing socially for about 10 years now. When I feel myself getting rusty, I revert back to the 'ol basics.

1. COUNT 123,4,567,8, that is right…it may sound easy, but even now when I dance with experienced dancers I find myself wondering…"What beat are they dancing on?" Count silently in your head, especially when you are just starting out. I kid you not, I was counting out loud on the dance floor for the first 3 years. Not only did it help me to stay on the beat, but if your partner is observant enough, they might actually hear you and follow your lead.

2. Make salsa tension a top priority. Doesn't matter if you are the leader or the follower. The connection between the two dancers is what makes salsa what it is. Remember the four points of contact in the closed position. The hands, the leaders hand on the followers shoulder blade, the followers hand on the front of the leaders shoulder, and the leaders and followers elbows that line up when in closed position. Remember to meet your partners tension and adjust to each individual.

3. Watch other dancers. Whether it is the class instructor you are watching, dancers in the salsa clubs, or salsa videos. Watch different styles of dancers and pick the styles you want to adapt to your own. There is no right or wrong style of salsa dancing. The more you make the style your own, the more interesting you dancing style will become. So take a little something from everyone, keep what you like and forget what you don't.

4. Practice the basic step. This should go without saying, but it really does make the biggest difference. Practice in your kitchen, practice when you are walking around your house. The more you engrain the basic step into your muscle memory, the easier all of the other turns and patterns will become. Build a solid foundation with the basic step. It will never fail you.

5.Last, but certainly not least, listen to salsa music. You are what you eat, so to speak. If you listen to salsa music all the time, you will get more and more familiar with how the rhythm of the music progresses, and how your dancing will speed up and slow down with the music. Dancers connection to the music is really what make them amazing dancers. It is not about showing all your flashy moves, it is about letting the music move you.

The most important thing is to enjoy yourself. This may seem like a give in, but it is what salsa dancing is all about. It is natural to get nervous when you are first starting out. But we all started somewhere, so just communicate with the person you are dancing with and just remember that they were right where you are at some point in their dancing lives.

Do you have any tips for salsa dancing?? If so let us hear about them. Add you comments and ideas.