Welcome to Salsa Session

Ever since I was a kid, I can remember hearing salsa in the background in my home (usually while we did chores around the house). Ruben Blades, El Gran Combo, and Frankie Ruiz received the most airplay by my parents back in the mid 80's and even into the 90's (vallenatos took over in the mid-90s). Although my taste for salsa has changed since then, those days laid the foundation for my love of the music. As a kid, I would spend hours making mixed tapes of those songs for other friends and family. As an adult, I still spend a part of my day thinking about salsa, coming up with the next idea for a mix to share with friends. It’s this passion for sharing that brought me to start this blog. I will periodically post and discuss from a dancer’s perspective salsa mixes and songs. My hope is that other DJs and dancers will become contributors to the blog and do the same. Ultimately, the goal of the blog is to keep this wonderful music alive and to share our experience as artists, collectors, dancers, and DJs.

When I first envisioned this blog, I had the idea of contributors sharing their experience as dancers and the process they lived through. My process definitely began back in the days glued to the tape deck but I’m sure that for some of you, it wasn’t the same, especially for those who only learned about the music as adults. Now I’d like to take it a step further because this dance would not be possible without the music.

I collect because I have a passion for the music; dance because the music moves me; and DJ because I want to share that passion. It’s with these three areas of the music in mind that I hope will evolve the blog’s discussion. Since I recently moved to Medellin, Colombia, I will post some entries on my experience discovering the Medellin salsa scene as well as my own process as a dancer. From speaking to other friends, I learned that the "dancer's process" is different for everyone but some of us also share similar breakthroughs and frustrations. All posts will include a song or mix that I hope will help further convey what lead me or a contributor to post.

If you would like to become a contributor and discuss your experience as a dancer, collector, DJ, or artist, please email me at salsasession.blogspot@gmail.com

Peace

DJ Walt