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PROFILING CARLOS NIETO

A true Salsero from the very beggining is Mr. Carlos Nieto, someone who has been in the scene from the very start of it all. He comes under our scope and gives us the priviledge to interview him this day.

Founder and director of Utah Salseros Dance Company, he tells us more about the person behind this fabulous team and dance store. It is an honor to interview such a great pioneer of our Salsa dancing as Mr. Carlos Nieto.

First of all, can you give us your complete name?

My name is Carlos Marcelo Nieto.

Where are you from originally Carlos?

I am originally from Ecuador, am Ecuatorian.

Can you tell us something about yourself besides dancing?

Well, I love to play soccer, I like videogames believe it or not too.

Did you dance Salsa back in Ecuador?

No, I didn't. The style in Ecuador is not the same as the one here either. A lot of people do dance Salsa, and they do it in their own style, but I didn't do it there.

When did you start to dance?

Oh, I have that since I was a little kid. I remember that with my brother (David), we used to sneak out through the window to go to parties to dance. My mom used to chase us around the party when she caught us... hehehe... I remember that we started to dance when we were about 9 years old or so. We used to do little choreographies for our group, it wasn't Salsa but it was dancing still... like rap and other types of music that we used to listen when we were groing up.

So when did the Salsero in you came out?

Well, here... Yeah, you could say that. When we came we didn't have much to do, so we used to dance... hehehe... We would come out of school and my brother and I would be playing around and practicing Merengue and other things. We used to go to Tropicana, and there is where we started to get more serious about dancing, it was about 1998 when we started to go out dancing here in Utah, later on the Salsa bug caught us.

You have a very particular style here, where did you get that?

The style that I have comes from different people that I've seen and learned from. They are all from Los Angeles... my favorites that really come to mind right now are Rogelio Moreno, he really likes to dance elegantly with suit and tie, Al Capone style like we call it here.

Who did you learn from your first steps?

Well, the first people who taught me Salsa was Mr. Carlos Martinez, Olvis Ortega and Joel Hernandez from Los Angeles, CA. They basically were the first ones that influenced me and my brother into this crazyness. They pushed us into the Salsa madness.

Do you remember those days when you used to dance in Tropicana, what's different now?

Ahhh... I remember that back then, noone... and I can say without any exceptions... everyone danced Salsa for fun, they didn't worry about timing, and whatever move came, it came! It was more of like a little begginings of Salsa back then.

So now you see our timing getting better as dancers?

Now Yes!... now that a lot of the dancers are practicing more in a professional level, they learn and teach to listen to the music... but we are all still learning. To learn more about the music will just make us better dancers, like David my brother says "learn to listen to La Clave to dance better Salsa!"

Do you consider yourself a pioneer in Salsa here in Utah?

You know,... I think I could say yes to that. I remember that the Salsa dancing to the way we do it now started only in 2000, and I remember being there from those days. So I think I could say yes in a humble way... because carlos Martinez was really one of the first ones that started to promote the dancing part of Salsa in this way, and then after that we came around dancing it too. So not too much later than when he started, but still one of the first generation as they say.

A personal question, do you miss your brother?

Yes, I miss him a lot... not only on the dancing floor but at all times. We used to be together all the time, and now I feel very different being bymyself. Hopefully someday he comes back to Utah, but I think what he is doing is really good... he really tries to represent Utah over there in L.A.. He always reminds me that he is there for that.

Can you tell us about your future plans?

My plans... hmmm... well, keep on dancing, I hope competing too. A really great dream of mine is to win great competitions like the Mayan, and to yell out that I am from Utah, to carry the name you know!?! Another plan of mine, or dream if you can call it... is to see my daughter dancing as well. Hopefully she is a dancer and follows my steps in the dancing scene.

Can you tell us about your daughter?

Well, I was married, and out of that marriage I have a beautiful little daughter, Kayla Nieto.

You saw our website, what do you think about it?

I looove it, I love it! I love the design, the content I just like everything about it. It's really incredible the work you guys do. Utah never had anything like this before, and it was about time something like this comes out. I was thinking in having one like this too, but money and time is something that I don't have at the moment to spend on a project this big, but I am glad that others have taken the time to go ahead and produce something like UtahSalsa.Com, you guys are doing an excellent job, and are opening doors for Utah that were never possible. You guys are putting Utah on the map like no other has done so far.

Any words that you would like to say to people who will read this?

YEAH!, Hay que echarle ganas! (Keep putting efforts into it!), never look back and never give up, always think it's possible. When there is a will there is a way... and something that I always say to people... "Practice makes perfect!"