I’ve always been intrigued by individuals living from the streets. Artists, buskers, craftsmen, salesmen, shoe polishers and all those nearly invisible eccentrics for whom the streets represent an endless playground of opportunities. Not only, because there’s usually a lot of “hidden” talent on the streets, but also because people on the streets are the ones who really see it all. Streets are where everything happens. 

Nicolas Tapia and Antonela Chaya are Arrebato Caleño‘s teachers of bachata and salsa. They are a couple from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who came to Cali to learn Cali style salsa and stayed to live their dream to the fullest – travel and dance for the rest of their lives.

D’Cache is one of the very few, all-female salsa groups in Colombia. Traditionally, salsa music is played by men, but these women defeat stereotypes by playing and singing melodies and rhythms that people are used to hearing only from men. In November 2017, D’Cache performed at Arrebato Caleño. Here’s a video featuring not only the group, but also dancers Antonela Chaya, Norbey “Kanelo” Gil, Andrés Molina and myself.

Miguel Angel Ferrerossa is only 21 years old, yet he is definitely one of the best dancers I have ever seen. Professionally he has been dancing for four years, but deep within he has been a dancer all through his life. In Arrebato Caleño he has been teaching for two years.

The month of October 2017 has been busy for many non-professional dancers in Cali, Colombia. It’s the month of the auditions for the Salsódromo – the country’s biggest salsa parade, taking place each year on the 25th of December. This year the theme of the parade are the 60s and 70s, and the prevailing dances are son and bolero. In Arrebato Caleño, we had the honor to be taught these dances by Edgar and Yolanda – the King and Queen of Bolero (Los Reyes Del Bolero).

Tote Pascual is a man who many asuncenos know by name. A hairdresser, hair stylist and barber, he’s the owner of Raio Bemba – perhaps just the hippest hair studio in Asunción. What’s more, over the past five years of the existence of Raio Bemba, Tote has definitely made his way into the hall of fame of the creative souls in the city. He has become a social influencer that local magazines write articles about and national tv channels love to interview. Yet what exactly is it that Tote has done what other people haven’t?

Oz Montanía, an internationally acclaimed illustrator and street artist from Asunción, is one of the first people to ever have painted on the walls of his home country back in the late 1990s. After that a lot has happened, but only very recently has street art began to gain ground in the eyes of common Paraguayans. And we owe a lot of that to Oz.

Ayllón is a village which lies 140kms North of Madrid. Situated in the province of Segovia, this place is known for its nature and historic buildings, which include churches, monuments and palaces. What’s less known is the history behind the name of the village. That’s why (on the day I flew to Brazil) I was lucky to visit Ayllón with José, who has a very unique relationship to its name.