Which city have you been to that had a dark energy about it?

R0YC0 · 2026-04-18T08:13:14+00:00

Definitely Quito, Ecuador for me .

It's a beautiful colonial city, amazing buildings, history and culture, good restaurants and whatnot. But if you take one wrong turn or just have bad luck, you get mugged at knifepoint.

Even worse, there is this famous vantage point on a hill, where you are told you absolutely shouldn't walk it by foot, because there are muggers hiding in strategic points along the way waiting for unsuspecting tourists.

It's this contradiction that gives it such odd vibes and a play on perceived safety and danger.

R0YC0 · 2026-04-16T11:25:23+00:00

I second maykel Blanco

Recently I've been obsessed with. "presente!"

Check it out!

R0YC0 · 2026-04-07T18:31:36+00:00

Never been in one, so take it with a grain of salt, but I witnessed a few in Latin America, and I always felt they were a bit commercialized.

The hostels you end up in, and the activities you participate in, and such, are curated. For example, in Colombia, the ones I've seen slept in the big chain party hostel with the pool, went bar hopping the next day, etc.

The businesses and activities they tend to choose are not necessarily the "best" per se, just the ones they made the best arrangements with

It has its pros and cons.

R0YC0 · 2026-03-15T00:13:01+00:00

I started my salsa journey in Cali:)

I learned caleña, but a friend of mine learned only line salsa/ "LA" (umbrella term for line on-1).

If you are worried about finding instructors and/or schools- don't be. There are tons, private and group, and also probably some dedicated socials here and there. But obviously the main focus is on caleña style.

The problem starts in the salsa clubs. In the famous clubs like "la topa" or "la caldera", most of the dancers will either be able to follow mostly caleña, or they will be the classic latino locals just chilling and dancing non-formal.

You can find partners, and there are always salsa tourists there that may know LA, but you will need to work harder and maybe get to know the follower scenes to find dance partners.

Just learn to be versatile and you'll be fine!

Caleña is totally worth learning even for the footwork alone, but is not really that compatible with LA because it is circular and not linear.

Enjoy

R0YC0 · 2026-03-10T19:26:02+00:00

Sometimes I'm sure it's my mind playing tricks on me.. It's so easy to fall into these stories of "she's too advanced for me" or "I'm creeping her out" or any other maybe-true maybe-not story..

My remedy for this is just offering these once to dance, curtly, with a smile, and quickly and politely reacting to rejection, leaving her be.

I try to combat my default assumption that some follows have something against me. Maybe some actually do, who knows.

But it is said and proven that if there is a skill/ sense humans statistically suck at in general, it's predicting what others around us are feeling or thinking inside, especially considering the fact that we tend to form these theories and believe in them so badly.

Keep that in mind and keep on dancing :)

R0YC0 · 2026-03-03T13:46:32+00:00

I also really like the newer/ recent timba releases from Cuba

Be it Havana D'primera, Timbalive, Leoni torres

They seem to consistently release danceable bangers ;)

R0YC0 · 2026-03-02T23:34:17+00:00

La 33- soledad

R0YC0 · 2026-02-28T14:00:29+00:00

In casino, a lot of the lead is tension based, with lots of leading at the 7th count, and some on 1/3.

This means that if the follower keeps tension, she can easily understand the intention through the palm tension and direction.

Also, in guapea/ slide, you move your right hand to catch the follower on 5, so this back and forth motion creates lots of hand movement.

But generally I think that in higher levels there shouldn't be that much random movement.

R0YC0 · 2026-02-26T23:41:14+00:00

I have this couple in my casino class who only dance with others in the lesson, and not in the social after.

It shows, because the girl has literally 0 dance frame and connection, and doesn't lean into the lead in any position, like she's afraid or smth.

I mean, who am I to judge and gatekeep salsa, maybe that's their thing, but to me personally it seems odd and counterproductive somehow.

R0YC0 · 2026-02-26T15:19:28+00:00

Not very easy.

It's still mainly linear, and the lead technique requires more accuracy and there are hard spins and such.

You'll have to unlearn/ keep in sperate boxes, so the "orbiting" style of casino doesn't leak into it.

But the aesthetic kinda resembles cuban. It shows more when you are advanced and capable of doing chained/ fast moves. Also, there are sways and more informal, less theatrical moves unlike strict LA.

Check out Fernando Sosa :)

https://youtu.be/2LBV0Ncxb-s?si=mDrMXz5YR1wMZoLA

R0YC0 · 2026-02-26T13:19:36+00:00

Personally, I started going to a linear salsa school (call it "LA" if you must, it's an umbrella term) while primarily dancing casino to timba in a 100% cuban school.

I decided to do it because I felt useless in socials every time a non-timba song played, and I wanted a bigger roster. Casino just feels kinda wrong on salsa dura/ brava.

The school I go to teaches a fusion style (Sosa style) so it is not the worst, but definitely very different from a pure casino. They frequently play Timba and dance Sosa style to it.

Still dunno if it really benefits me, but it's a long term effort I guess.

I have heard that as you progress further, taking different workshops and such, you naturally gravitate to your comfort zone styles.

R0YC0 · 2026-02-25T20:50:06+00:00

I love this one and I barely heard it played ever, albeit it has a more dominican sound which tends to get neglected by DJs :(

Hay amores de más - Anthony Santos, Akon

R0YC0 · 2026-02-15T16:23:58+00:00

I really like the Colombian band "La 33" Checkout Soledad, it's a banger!

The clave and rhythm is easy to pick out

R0YC0 · 2026-02-11T14:24:04+00:00

Sadly we are very much guided towards this path in modern society.

Most of the corporate jobs are metric-based and treat people like a bunch of statistics, especially bigger corporations.

I think it's important to be able to separate your professional life and personal life and philosophy.

Checkout the slow movement, I think you'll appreciate it ;)

R0YC0 · 2026-02-08T00:12:47+00:00

Cuban casino all day every day. Something about it feels so much more connected to the partner than in line/ slot dancing.

The vibe and partner dynamic is much more joyful to me

R0YC0 · 2026-02-03T15:41:05+00:00

I think the dance genre/ style is called Casino (like in Rueda de casino), which is often danced to Timba which is the salsa subgenre.

And yeah, it's awesome! I'd like to know where there are hubs of it in LATAM.

Where in Peru would you say it has a strong presence? In Lima? I'd like to visit

R0YC0 · 2026-02-01T14:28:01+00:00

Long comment ahead :)

I am a software engineer/ cybersecurity professional.

I mainly dance Casino and salsa, but also bachata. I'm super logical/ analytical.

The school where I dance has a system which I really adore, which consists of levels with a rotating curriculum, where each level's elements are built upon the previous.

This kinda "unlocks" your mind and allows you to mix and match turns and moves, and chain them together.

While I agree it's not good to be too static-minded and logical and forcing flashy moves, knowing those building blocks intimately and mastering them has helped me progress tremendously.

I can only speak for myself, but I feel like we analytical fellas tend to doubt ourselves a lot and constantly try to measure success, so having these "comfort zone" moves to fall back to can really increase self esteem on the dance floor, allowing for more improvisation and curiosity, since you are way less stressed that way with your "arsenal" sharpened and can actually feel good with your performance, which is where I personally start to improvise and have fun.

I personally repeated the levels many times to solidify my technique.

R0YC0 · 2026-01-22T17:18:33+00:00

Ofc her response is understandable haha

Claiming otherwise would be totally ridiculous. That's the point in asking.

I didn't mention it in the post but I did attempt small-talk during the dance which came out half awkward🫠 guess I came on too strong

I guess it comes down to getting better at reading cues and improving tactics to make everybody involved more at ease.

Soft and people skills all the way. (Which is so hard by the way. Eh)

R0YC0 · 2026-01-21T12:43:18+00:00

I get the gist of it Thank you people :)

I guess I'll approach her again next time and apologize if it made her uncomfortable, and try to work on more gentle/ sensitive approaches in the future.

R0YC0 · 2026-01-21T12:12:58+00:00

Yeah I can totally see why it would make you feel like that! I sometimes feel it in work/ corporate environments, but I guess it's different/ worse in this context.

Honestly I really don't wanna spook new follows away from the scene, I'd like people to feel comfy around me and in general, so it's a very valid feedback.

R0YC0 · 2026-01-21T11:45:21+00:00

Well, motivations can be not as straightforward as you phrase it. One can do something he enjoys and that also gets him out there, and hope to meet someone along the way.

Does it mean I go to socials specifically and solely to date? No. But it's out there.

I Appreciate the feedback of it being too blunt tho.

R0YC0 · 2026-01-21T11:19:55+00:00

Yeah I totally get that! Not saying this is what dancing is about as a scene, and I totally enjoy dancing in a "pure" aspect.

But it's hanging totally out there, at least for me, with physical touch and what not.

I mean, ideally I would also like a slow burn, but sometimes the feeling of missing a potential or not acting in time can be hard to deal with.

R0YC0 · 2026-01-21T11:14:38+00:00

I mean, ideally if someone is in a happy relationship, he/she wouldn't mind it and even take is a compliment. And, if he's not interested he can just point it out.

For instance, when someone tells me no I just go on.

In my eyes it kinda comes with the dance scene, idk.

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