First, la India resembles my aunt and my cousin so much - right down to all that tough attitude! It's so hard to not think of them as I watch her. She may not be the queen of salsa but she is very much the rebellious princess. And second, I love love love this song! I could listen to it on a loop the whole day. It's such a perfectly composed duet. The beats per minute are awesome for dancing and the melody is so uplifting!
Marc Anthony should really have kept all that gorgeous hair!
Tinypliny's Journal
My Podcast Link
12/21/2010 20:51 #53317
The Perfect Salsa DuetCategory: music
12/20/2010 22:03 #53312
¡Azúcar!Category: music
With love...
Celia Cruz - the Goddess of Salsa who lives in the hearts of salsa dancers around the planet and is intertwined inseparably with their souls ...
It's amazing how she managed to flawlessly breathe life into Salsa for nearly 60+ years
and kept on innovating till the very end! She may not be alive today but she is a rockstar who will live anew every time a salsa dancer is born!
Come and experience the magic and soul of salsa at Configuration Dance with Sarita and Sean in the new year! New Salsa for the Soul classes start Thursday, January 6th, 2011. Email Sarah "Sarita" Hooper and Sean Ortiz at SalsafortheSoul [at] gmail for more information about the BEST salsa classes in Buffalo! :-)
Celia Cruz - the Goddess of Salsa who lives in the hearts of salsa dancers around the planet and is intertwined inseparably with their souls ...
It's amazing how she managed to flawlessly breathe life into Salsa for nearly 60+ years
and kept on innovating till the very end! She may not be alive today but she is a rockstar who will live anew every time a salsa dancer is born!
Come and experience the magic and soul of salsa at Configuration Dance with Sarita and Sean in the new year!
New Salsa for the Soul classes start Thursday, January 6th, 2011. Email Sarah "Sarita" Hooper and Sean Ortiz at SalsafortheSoul [at] gmail for more information about the BEST salsa classes in Buffalo! :-)12/19/2010 14:43 #53303
Dance battles and suchCategory: art
Thanks to (e:heidi), I had one of the most fun audience experiences I have had in a while. She urged me yesterday to "Get yer butt down here" and I am glad I did exactly what she asked me... after a couple hours.
Even though I was just passively standing in a corner and watching the battles, all the windmilling that went on left me completely breathless... and a bit worried. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, this was definitely not what it looked like...
Nopes. This was not it either...
It was more like a couple hours of this...
The breathlessness was a result of all the frenetic action in front of me. I could hardly keep up with all the battles. How does one judge these things? They all looked awesome to me. I am guessing that the three interesting people who were judging the dances were watching for technically challenging moves. I say interesting, because the judges seemed rather young. I wonder if they were experts or just appointed judges for the evening...
But my subconscious worry was because I was approximating the number of subtle shear injuries all these dancers were accumulating as they danced. Most of the battling dancers were pushing their bodies to the extreme. They were achieving what would have been physically impossible without a high velocity movement of their limbs. If I had a speed gun yesterday, I am sure it would have recorded the same velocity as a windmill in buffalo on a particularly windy day... and we all know that's not really a pastoral idyllic scene.
It was absolutely dazzling to watch at close quarters but it left me with some doubts about why I would want to take such an intense hip hop class. On the other hand, life would not be challenging or half as interesting if I limply sat here and chomped on those windmill biscuits with tea, would it?
NB: If you want to experience windmills, worlds apart from what Don Quixote battled, and a completely novel approach to what self-expression through dance can mean, trot on down to Verve Studios on Main street (above the Hyatt Art Store) and see the battles for yourself. Verve studio is electrifying hip hop on the web at this
Even though I was just passively standing in a corner and watching the battles, all the windmilling that went on left me completely breathless... and a bit worried. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, this was definitely not what it looked like...
Nopes. This was not it either...
It was more like a couple hours of this...
The breathlessness was a result of all the frenetic action in front of me. I could hardly keep up with all the battles. How does one judge these things? They all looked awesome to me. I am guessing that the three interesting people who were judging the dances were watching for technically challenging moves. I say interesting, because the judges seemed rather young. I wonder if they were experts or just appointed judges for the evening...
But my subconscious worry was because I was approximating the number of subtle shear injuries all these dancers were accumulating as they danced. Most of the battling dancers were pushing their bodies to the extreme. They were achieving what would have been physically impossible without a high velocity movement of their limbs. If I had a speed gun yesterday, I am sure it would have recorded the same velocity as a windmill in buffalo on a particularly windy day... and we all know that's not really a pastoral idyllic scene.
It was absolutely dazzling to watch at close quarters but it left me with some doubts about why I would want to take such an intense hip hop class. On the other hand, life would not be challenging or half as interesting if I limply sat here and chomped on those windmill biscuits with tea, would it?
NB: If you want to experience windmills, worlds apart from what Don Quixote battled, and a completely novel approach to what self-expression through dance can mean, trot on down to Verve Studios on Main street (above the Hyatt Art Store) and see the battles for yourself. Verve studio is electrifying hip hop on the web at this
lauren - 12/20/10 09:16
I am SO glad you went to see what all the fuss was about! :)
I am SO glad you went to see what all the fuss was about! :)
tinypliny - 12/20/10 01:37
Oh well, there is always next year. :-) I am going to most probably join vinyasa yoga because its the nearest from home (Hand-to-Heart yoga). The Bikram yoga place is a good 30 min walk and I am not sure I could do it happily in a snow storm... Maybe I would if it were Salsa but I am not THAT motivated yet for yoga. As for hip hop, I am still on the hedge...
Oh well, there is always next year. :-) I am going to most probably join vinyasa yoga because its the nearest from home (Hand-to-Heart yoga). The Bikram yoga place is a good 30 min walk and I am not sure I could do it happily in a snow storm... Maybe I would if it were Salsa but I am not THAT motivated yet for yoga. As for hip hop, I am still on the hedge...
heidi - 12/20/10 00:08
You missed the most amazing all-styles battle between Tony B. and Fungus. omg. It was so intense and skilled. I have a bit of video from Tony B's first round, but I can't seem to post it directly to estrip from the android app. (Stupid user problem? do I email it to myself and then upload it?)
Glad you finally made it, especially after all your posts about salsa and hip hop yoga! You missed a lot, too.
You missed the most amazing all-styles battle between Tony B. and Fungus. omg. It was so intense and skilled. I have a bit of video from Tony B's first round, but I can't seem to post it directly to estrip from the android app. (Stupid user problem? do I email it to myself and then upload it?)
Glad you finally made it, especially after all your posts about salsa and hip hop yoga! You missed a lot, too.
12/18/2010 00:17 #53296
Buffalo Library Webpage ClutterCategory: buffalo
12/17/2010 22:43 #53294
TalismánCategory: music
I love this song to bits. The lyrics ring so true for me right now and the music is SO incredibly Rainbow + Deep Purple with that unmistakable magic of Rata Blanca...
Fui como un ángel caÃdo
preso de mi libertad
hasta que te conocÃ
por esas calles
Fue porque quiso el destino
que te pudiera encontrar
y hoy no sé como seguir
cuando no estás
Te agradezco que sanes mi alma
sobrevivo encontrando en tus ojos
el resplandor de un verde talismán
Si al final esta vida es un sueño
sólo sé que a tu lado me quiero despertar
amanecer una vez más
Sabes, cuando era muy joven
nunca pensé que el amor me darÃa
sin preguntar tantas respuestas
Y hoy me fÃo de pocos
y hoy que reina la traición
se que alguien puede curar mi corazón
Fui como un ángel caÃdo
preso de mi libertad
hasta que te conocÃ
por esas calles
Fue porque quiso el destino
que te pudiera encontrar
y hoy no sé como seguir
cuando no estás
Te agradezco que sanes mi alma
sobrevivo encontrando en tus ojos
el resplandor de un verde talismán
Si al final esta vida es un sueño
sólo sé que a tu lado me quiero despertar
amanecer una vez más
Sabes, cuando era muy joven
nunca pensé que el amor me darÃa
sin preguntar tantas respuestas
Y hoy me fÃo de pocos
y hoy que reina la traición
se que alguien puede curar mi corazón
¡La Reina de Salsa, Celia Cruz!
Wow! How cool!!!
I read that she shared her whole life with the audiences at her concerts and it was almost like she was conversing with her audience as if they were next door neighbours chatting at the back fence. Apparently, that was how she built up her super loyal fan base by being so down to earth that you always remembered fondly. Of course, having the most powerfully awesome voice ever must have helped. :)
I saw Celia Cruz live in the 1980s in NYC. It was a great show even for white boys who can't or won't dance.