May is National Salsa Month.
The condiment I covered last year, so here are ten facts about salsa the dance:
The dance was named after the condiment as it is a mixture of different styles.
The term “salsa” was first coined by Fania Records, a record-label founded by Dominican-born composer Johnny Pacheco and Italian-American lawyer Jerry Masucci in 1964.
It’s based on Afro-Cuban music but incorporates elements from other Latin American styles.
It developed largely in New York City beginning in the 1940s and ’50s, although it wasn’t referred to as salsa until the 1960s.
Salsa dancing is the most popular form of partnered dance in the world. About 200 million people are said to be fans, which is more than for the next three most popular dances, bachata, swing and Tango, combined.
It probably helps that wherever you go in the world there’s likely to be a local twist.
Some of the dances which have influenced or have been incorporated into salsa include mambo, cha cha cha, Cuban son, pachanga, swing, hustle, Jazz, and Afro-Cuban rumba.
There are six distinct styles of salsa. These are: New York style salsa, LA Style salsa, Cuban salsa, Rueda de Casino, Colombian salsa, and Salsa Choke.
The Music is as varied as the dance and includes Salsa Dura (“hard salsa”), Salsa Romantica (romantic salsa music), Latin Jazz, Timba (salsa music from Cuba), pop salsa, and salsa choke.
Salsa music typically ranges anywhere from 150 BPM (beats per minute) to 220 BPM, which means a person burns 300-400 calories per hour dancing salsa.
Beta
(Combat Team Series #2)
Steff was abducted by an evil alien race, the Orbs, at fourteen. Used as a weapon for years, he eventually escapes, but his problems are just beginning. How does a man support himself when his only work experience is a paper round and using an Orb bio-integrated gun?
Warlord is an alien soldier who knows little but war. When the centuries-old conflict which ravaged his planet ends, he seeks out another world where his skills are still relevant. There are always wars on Earth, it seems. However, none of Earth's powerful armies want him.
Natalie has always wanted to visit England and sees a chance to do so while using her martial arts skills, but there are sacrifices she must make in order to fulfil her dream.
Maggie resorted to crime to fund her sister's medical care. She uses her genetic variant abilities to gain access to the rooms of wealthy hotel guests. The Ballards look like rich pickings, but they are not what they seem. When Maggie targets them, little does she know that she is walking into a trap.
Hotel owner Hamilton Lonsdale puts together a combat team to pit against those of other multi-millionaires. He recruits Warlord, Natalie, Maggie and Steff along with a trained gorilla, a probability-altering alien, a stockbroker whose work of art proved to be much more than he'd bargained for, a marketing officer who can create psionic forcefields, a teleporting member of the landed gentry, and a socially awkward fixer. This is Combat Team Beta.
Steff never talks about his time with the Orbs, until he finds a woman who lived through it, too. Steff believes he has finally found happiness, but it is destined to be short-lived. He is left with an unusual legacy which he and Team Beta struggle to comprehend; including why something out there seems determined to destroy it.
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