Westville Salsa Dancers Feel the Music

The foot-tapping rhythms of ​“Triste y Vacía” by Héctor Lavoe & Willie Colón reverberated throughout the blocked-off space outside 650 Central Ave. in Westville. 

Christie Colón (who goes by DJ Christie) and her assistant Samm Andrews set up the speakers for Salsa Night, a dance lesson and session sponsored by the Westville Village Renaissance Alliance that occurs every Tuesday evening in the summer. 

Colón described Salsa Night as a ​“community resource”: free and open to all people of all ages. ​“It’s a place where people can come to experience something positive,” she said. ​“Even if you don’t know how to dance, you can learn, and probably make a friend.”

Alisa Bowens-Mercado, who runs Alisa’s House of Salsa, created the event as a space to bring people together in the open air. After the pandemic, she decided that people had gotten cooped up sitting at home and social distancing. Not only did Salsa Night get them outside and moving, it also offered an opportunity to build community, and expose newcomers to Latin music and culture. 

“If I can offer a fun place and safe space in my own backyard … that’s incredible,” said Bowens-Mercado. Driven by the upbeat sounds of Latin music and Bowens-Mercado’s unfailing enthusiasm, Salsa Night became a place for New Haveners to get together — and get moving.

“There’s a family I haven’t seen in a while,” said Bowens-Mercado near the beginning of the evening, walking over to Patrick and Jane Rivers, who had just arrived. 

The Rivers brought their two daughters, Naomi and Dalia, to join in Salsa Night’s family-friendly fun. They like to dance as a family, as often as they can. ​“It’s hard to get out when you have kids, to go late night salsa dancing,” said Jane Rivers. Salsa Night provided an opportunity to not only do what they loved, but share it with their children. Even as they spoke, the Rivers’ feet tapped back and forth, moving with the beat.

As the street began to fill up with ready and eager participants, Bowens-Mercado grabbed a microphone and stood at the front of the crowd. ​“If you didn’t know how to salsa, that’s what we’re here for,” she announced. Bowens-Mercado taught the group a series of steps — a little salsa, a little bachata, a little merengue — moving from person to person to offer corrections and give individual tips. She adapted to and accommodated a range of skill sets, from first-timers to seasoned veterans, reminding everyone to ​“feel the music” and ​“stay on the balls of your feet.” 

“I always say if this is literally your first salsa class and you come out of it with a front …and a back …” said Bowens-Mercado, shuffling her feet forward and back, ​“you are doing exceptionally.”

Some students tried out salsa for the first time, while others had been dancing for years. Donny Fortin and Fred Veasley have attended Salsa Night for a long time. ​“Soon as Covid had broke we were here with our masks on,” said Veasley, a seasoned salsa dancer. Fortin still considers himself a beginner, but said that he would take every lesson he could get with enthusiasm. 

Both dancers enjoyed Salsa Night for the community it offered, as the regulars all knew each other and also danced with new people. ​“I love Cuban music, and being in the neighborhood it’s a no-brainer” to come to Salsa Night, said Fortin.

Others, like Lisa Granger, attended Salsa Night for the first time on Tuesday. She found out about the event from Facebook, and felt glad that she did. ​“I love it, and I got a good workout too,” said Granger. Her first impression of Salsa Night, in one word: ​“Fabulous.”

After Bowens-Mercado’s lesson, the group divided into couples and the dancing became more free-flowing and unconstrained. Pairs talked and laughed together as their bodies swayed and spun around the space. For every person who left the dance floor, newcomers arrived to take their place. The sounds of music and laughter consumed the neighborhood.

About an hour into the event, students from Alisa’s House of Salsa arrived. Cynthia Colón and Andrew Kinlock, members of Bowens-Mercado’s class, have attended Salsa Night for around a year. For them, the event offers a safe space full of connection and community. ​“I feel like I can be myself here,” said Kinlock. ​“It connects me to my Puerto Rican roots,” added Colón.

Rosa Sanchez also felt that Salsa Night provided a link to her culture. ​“I grew up dancing salsa,” she said. ​“It’s in my blood.” Sanchez has known Bowens-Mercado for fifteen years, and she found out about the event from her social media. She believed that dancing serves a greater purpose than just a good time, that it can educate and encourage empathy between people. 

“When you start learning salsa, you start to embrace the music, and also the culture,” she said. Sanchez makes an effort to come to every Salsa Night, either alone or with her friend and frequent dance partner, Joselito Omar.

The dancers swirled and tapped their way around the street, switching between partners and dance styles with ease. Each time a participant sat out a song to grab a drink, a bite to eat, or just to rest their feet for a minute, someone else would come along with an outstretched hand to pull them into the next one. ​“Feel the music,” advised Bowens-Mercado. For the community at Salsa Night, music ran deep in the blood.