Yo No Consigo Tu Amor by Chuito & The Latin Uniques
During the first year of living in Baltimore, I gave salsa dancing a break to focus on my marriage while we both adjusted to life in the twilight zone we called Charm City. As a result, I don’t have many memorable dances from that first year with the exception of Yo No Consigo Tu Amor by Chuito & The Latin Uniques. The 2008 DC Salsa Congress was the first and only time I’ve heard this song at a salsa event. Yo No Consigo is part of a list of songs I just can’t get enough of. Every time I listen to it, seven minutes seems way too short and leaves me wanting more. However, putting my salsa craziness aside, I always thought of this song as being too long for a set but was thankful that the DJ that night thought otherwise.
As soon as I heard the luring introductory piano by Auther Puerto, I knew I had to find a dance partner. My salsa skills were a bit rusty since this was my first night out from salsa hibernation and the song’s speed made me a bit nervous to ask. Luckily Michele was standing next to me and as we turned to each other she took the initiative to ask for a dance.
There were no other dances that night that I enjoyed more than this one with the mystery salsera from Pittsburg. It wasn’t so much that I was able to execute intricate turn patterns or wow the dance floor with a precise body movement to a song that by now I had subconsciously memorized. It was experiencing Michele’s delightful essence that made this dance memorable. In fact, I remember not caring when losing my timing on numerous occasions while watching Michele’s smile as she enjoyed the often humorous way Auther Puerto plays the piano on Yo No Consigo. Her vibe lifted mine and helped rid me of my nervousness, chipping away at my rust bound feet.
Without notice, the catchy chorus effortlessly guided us across the dance floor. I couldn’t help but sing along as I was well aware of the exact moments when Norberto (Benbe) Carrasquillo would impress us with his improvisational efforts on the mic. The singer’s interaction with the musicians served only to increase our connection as my attempts to impersonate Benbe seemed to fuel her funky footwork. “Eso pa’ que te comas un caykeh” sneaking out of the piano’s intensity is my favorite line from the song.
After our dance, we each cordially thanked each other and went on our separate ways. I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the night as I was reminded of the gift these artists left us over 40 years ago. It was the spark that was previously missing. Great nights are often fueled by an unexpected great dance. Salsa congresses have a funny way of working out that way.
At the end of the event when soaked from a long night of salsa dancing sweat, we bumped into each other as Michele was leaving the hotel and briefly exchanged facebook info. It wasn’t long before my predictable inclination to spread the salsa love kicked in that I was emailing her my favorite cha-cha-chas, guajiras, and sons as a thank you for that dance.
Social Dancing to Yo No Consigo Tu Amor: I love the way the female in green gets down to this song.
4 comments:
Any other songs good for dancing you would recommend from the album?
By the way, you could totally partner with like iTunes or Amazon for music recommendations...just a thought ;)
Hey Cold Salsero... From the Street is mostly a boogaloo and latin soul album so there aren't many good dance tracks on this album. There are two other really good songs on the album, Ponte a Sonar and Stan's Stamina but both are way too fast for dancing. There's also another slower song on the album: Si Tu Me Quieres a Mi that I love but would never think of playing as part of a set.
The first time I heard this song was on a Ismael Otero Cha Cha Cha Workshop and it was love at first sight! :)
Last week, after i read your post, I played it on a gig I had and the reception was OK, the only thing I'm afraid as a DJ is that the song has 7m and some dancers don't like to dance more than 5 minutes...I had some looks 'when does this song ends?':).
I'm going to play it next saturday again in a bigger party.
Here, in Portugal, CCC/guajira/son/boogaloo is growing. Now I feel I can do a night with more CCC Than one year ago and the number of salseros asking for it is incresing. That's something that makes me very happy.
I believe a DJ is entitled to one or two songs a night that's just for the DJ. It's the hit or miss song. The song where you take a risk. Sometimes they work and sometimes the don't. Although Yo No Consigo is a top 5 favorite song, I agree that 7 minutes is just too long for certain venues, which is probably why I've only heard it once at a salsa event. I'm guessing the DJ only played it that night because it was the DC Salsa Congress.
Btw... try the Shinning Knight by Willie Rosario (Frankie Figueroa on vocals). That's usually a song I play that's just for me - the one hit or miss song for the night. When I get a chance I'll post it as a song of the day.
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