It’s not for me to make a comment on the quality of the music played... I’ll leave that to you guys! But I’d like to respond to the thread above if only to correct an apparent misconception.
Salsa is very much a generic term and there are many musically distinct variations that qualify to be called Salsa. As with all art forms we each have our favourite but thankfully we don’t all share the same opinion as to what qualifies as good music or not... It would be a pretty boring world if we did!
The more recent variations in the Salsa genre that have appeared are, the fusions of R&B, Hip Hop and Reggaeton into Salsa. This type of Salsa naturally does have the feel of the above but are not pure versions of the above; it is still most definitely Salsa.
You’d be correct in saying that we play Reggaeton in the club on a Wednesday night but it does give a false impression to state that we play Reggaeton at about 11.30pm in Club Cuba on the first floor (the Salsa room).
To clarify what our policy is (musically) after the classes finish...
We play all kinds of Latin Club Music including Reggaeton, R&B and Hip Hop on the ground floor with Nigel; these are pure versions of the above and little or no Salsa is played.
But we play 100% Salsa in Club Cuba on the first floor of Fiesta Havana with the exception of the odd Merengue, Bachata or Cha Cha Cha track at least until 1am when most of the Salsa crowd have left and / or when the ground floor is closed. We then play to suit the remaining crowd, which can and often does, include pure Reggaeton but equally it can be Salsa.
We set out from the beginning to create a nightclub as authentic as you might find in Latin America or the Latin Quarter in the United States. We think of ourselves as a Nightclub with Classes rather than a Dance school with dance practice. Although it’s fair to say we bring to the South West some of the headline names as far as teachers are concerned. We probably attract more people than any other club in the South West many of which are Latin and I think that says something about our authenticity regarding the music we play, if nothing else!
Finally (1) we always try to vary our music from country to country - classic to modern - romantic to Salsa duro but we always try to keep it funky / clubby... I know this won’t enamour the purists (of whatever type) to us but it does make Salsa more accessible to more people and that can only be a good thing. (2) If ever I’m not playing the type of Salsa you prefer to listen to / dance to, please come and request a tune or at least a type of tune and I’ll be happy to play it for you. But please be aware that I rarely play any type (whatever that type may be) for more than two or three tunes, before a change of direction!
