Salsa: Una Historia que Contar / A Story to Tell is a 12 x 12 hardcover coffee table book consisting of 192 pages full of colour, textures, emotions and inspirational stories. a thesis project studying Salsa and its cultural/social impact on people through pictures taken in Cali, colombia during the biggest event of the city, where salsa is highly celebrated.
Salsa means rumba and party, but for some Caleños, to dance salsa is to live. Salsa in Cali is not only danced in La Matraca, in the barrio Obrero, or in Juanchito on Friday evenings. Hundreds of Caleños, children and adults, decide to make a lifestyle out of this dance. They decide to turn a dream into reality. They dance every day of the week, rising early and staying up late to practicing choreographies. Often times, they put off their professional careers in hopes that one day they will be able to share the stage with great artists, or simply to be able to own the streets of Cali every December in the Salsodromo of the Cali Fair.
With shiny sequins and extravagant colour combinations, salsa helps spread Cali’s flavor and energy. From generation to generation, this city keeps reaffirming its status as the world’s salsa capital.
Dancers and rumberos attract the attention of onlookers with their skills and greatness, but it is the person inside — the person who worked tirelessly to achieve their dreams — who radiates on stage. These individual life stories shape salsa in Cali, and give it it’s value.
