Clases de Salsa y Merengue

We are familiar with the saying “White men can’t jump”. Well, in Colombia I am sure they have phrases that loosely translate: “Gringos can’t dance!” In a culture where Tango was born, the lack of rhythm is comparable to a mortal sin. Every gathering, including some staff meetings, there is music playing and couples dancing. Therefore, when fellow teacher Daisy started dating Carlos, her Colombiano dance instructor boy friend, his business boomed. Carlos comes to people’s homes for 1 and ½ hours a week and teaches us gringos how to wiggle our hips to the Latin beat. Heather had her first class tonight.

Pushing the rug to one side we jumped right in. Merengue was the first dance and surprisingly, within three songs I was spinning, twisting, and shaking my hips, (not shoulders, the upper body stays stiff while the bottom half does all the work). Salsa came next. In the process of learning where my feet should go I also learned some Spanish. Carlos doesn’t speak a lot of English so the lesson was taught in Spanish. Just like with our kids in the classroom, when you get up and get them moving or give them the motivation to understand, they learn faster. In no time I did not only understand what he was saying but also where my feet should go! And after an hour and a half, and three Nalgene bottles of water, (who needs to go to the gym after dance lessons), Carlos left saying, “This gringa can dance!”