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PROFILING OLVIS EL CUBANO ORTEGA
Today we have the honor to speak with Olvis El Cubano Ortega. He came with a wave of L.A. style
dancers to the state and decided to stick around. He is considered one of the best
dancers of our state and he's got the moves to prove it too.
Influencing a whole new generation of Salseros, he has been a good influence in the community
since the day he stood his ground on Salt Lake City. People, here is the interview
of El Cubano.
Give us some general informatio about you?
My nam is Olvis Ortega. I was born in Cuba in 1978. I've been dancing since I was four years
old and that's my job... I teach Salsa.
Are you Single, Married?
I am married, I have two little girls... Beautiful!
Are you an LDS member?
No, I am not. I grew up in a country where religion is not permitted.
It's very obvious why you are called Cubano right?
Yeah, 100% Cuban!
Tell us something about your town, the roots of Salsa?
Ummm... We say that Salsa was born in Cuba, which is not true because they came up
with Cha Cha, Rumba, Guaguanco and some of those rhythms. They became popular and
traveled to Puerto Rico, and then they mixed them there and came up with some other
stuff. But then when they took it to New York, and "THEN" and there is where they
got the name Salsa. So the roots, the rhythm that creates Salsa came up from Cuba,
but Salsa was born in Puerto Rico I would say.
Can you tell us about your first experience with Salsa?
I remember I was thirteen years old and my mom was my first dance partner, that was
back in Cuba... It was like "WOW"... I was so in love with it, I really liked it! Since
then I grew up with that and liked it.
But another good shocker was when I got to L.A., ummm, in Cuba I used to dance on the two,
in L.A. they dance Salsa on the One. It was totally different! It was also a different
style not just the count. And with the L.A. you feel like you want to get onstage and
perform and do shows, not just social dancing anymore. So when I got to perform for the
first time, when I got into the Salsa World, it was a breathtaking experience, it blew
my mind... it was amazing!
What are some good memories about Salsa?
I will never forget it. The first time I got to perform at the World Salsa Congress in L.A.,
also the two times I got to perform at the World Salsa Congress in Puerto Rico. I mean,
those were moments that you could never forget... because you are in front of five, six
thousand people and between 50 to 100 dance companies from all over the world. It's really
big!
Talking about Salsa in Utah, how do you see the Salsa here?
I think it's not as good as L.A., N.Y., or Puerto Rico or Cuba of course... YET!... But
it's growing! And the reason why I say it's not as good is because we spend more time,
and I said this the first time I came here to Utah. We spend more time fighting and
talking about all the Salseros than really teaching, learning or helping other people. We
have to teach them what we love to do!
Which Style do you prefer, L.A., N.Y., Cuban?
I just love Salsa... They are all different, the reason is, when you dance on the two or when
you dance in New York or Puerto Rico, you have more body rhythm, more body movement. When you
dance on the one in L.A. or West Coast states, you can come up with more of a show, create
more. To me, it's all the same - It's so much fun!
Do you have someone you admire, as a Salsero or Dancer in General?
In Utah, I am so proud of Jago and Ericka, or as most people call them: Chocolate
and Vanilla. Because I taught them Salsa in the beginning but now, they are just all over
the place. I told them "Be humble and that will take you far!"... And they are so
unique, they are just so unique. Wherever you go dancing here in Utah, you say Chocolate
and Vanilla, and eeeveryone knows who they are. That's respect!
In L.A. my idol is Rogelio from Salsabor Y Cache Dance Company, he is one of a
kind! He's really good!
I understand that you guys have a company called "Callejeros", why that name?
The reason why we named it "Callejeros" is because in Cuba, we dance on the streets
and our dance, our music, grew up on the streets around the city. Back then, we
didn't have nighclubs, or dance schools... we didn't have that! Over there, we used
to party, and still do, on the streets, on the Calle!
We are Callejeros, we are dancers from the street! That's why we decided to name the
company "Callejeros" (People from the Street!)
How do you see the Salseros here in Utah?
I think that there is a lot of motivated people. They want to learn Salsa, they want to get
in the Salsa Worldwide Scene. But like I said, most of the Salseros, they were too
selfish. They don't want to share their knowledge about Salsa. And so, it has been
taking so long to bring what we know to this community. Although lately I've seen that
it has been changing...
From your point of view, who do you think provides the most to Salsa Worlwide?
No question about it... I would say Albert Torres. He has done a lot for the Salsa World. The
reason is he is the one that organizes all the Salsa Congresses all over the world, so
he gives Salseros the opportunity to show what they know, to share their knowledge with the
rest of the world. I would say he is one of a kind, he has done what noone else has
done before.
Talking about Utah, do you remember the scene when you came?
When I first got here, everybody was dancing Cumbia, most of the people still do! And I
remember that everyone danced it Cumbia style, and they still said that they were
dancing Salsa. But it was Cumbia! Only two or three people were into Salsa the way we danced
it in L.A. - Some of the first ones would be Victor, Jessica, Carlos Martinez, Daiyani. But then
after I came, Carlos was in charge of bringing Salseros from L.A. and so we got to see
the big guys.
Today... WOW... I mean, we have so many Salseros and we could have more! I mean, our
numbers are increasing by the week! We could double by one week if we really wanted to,
and put some effort into it. But for that, we need to go out there and share what
we know and what we have!
Then there is the competitions, what do you think about this last one, Los Duros
De La Salsa?
To me, it's funny. Because most of the Salseros... they call me before competition to
ask me what I think. What's my point of view of the contest. That's because, before,
on past competitions I would tell them what my guess was, who was going to win, and I've
been guessing it right, so they call me to ask me who do I think is going to win... It's
a funny thing... inside joke between all of us I guess. Well, I've been right 99% of
the time.
What do you see in this competition then?
What I see in this competition is... hmmm... there is four couples that have a really
good chance to get one of the top three places. Daiyani and Fancisco from Salsa Elegance,
David and his partner from Utah Salseros, Carlos and his partner from Utah Salseros too,
and hopefully Ortensia and I. Now, the rest of the couples, like Maria, wow she's good,
she's really good!, but she needs someone with a lot of potential to balance the power
that she's got to balance things out. And Chocolate and Vanilla, I always tell them: You
are good but you need to double the effort! The reason is that he came up from
the beginners side. He is the FIRST ONE that jumped to Pro from Begginers on his own
MERIT (well besides Robyn now!), but anyways, compared against people that have won
3 or 4 contests already! They are just heavier on the dancing than Chocolate and Vanilla,
but they are coming! They have experience of dancing on stage now. So, it's not just your
passion for the music, but you really have to put a lot of effort into it, a lot of
practice in order to make it top three. It's just way hard nowdays. Nothing is really
for sure.
Do you have any future plans for Salsa here in Utah?
Yeah, since the first time that I got here!... I want to take "Callejeros" outside of
box. I am thinking more! I want to take them to Japan, I want to go to the World Salsa
Congress in Puerto Rico. I want us to go to New York, San Francisco, L.A. if one day
is possible.
Another big dream of mine is... that all the heads of each group. Salsa Elegance, Utah Salseros,
Munecos Dance Company, Wasatch Salsa, Callejeros, Salt Lake City Salsa, Drugaya and all could
work together! I mean, get people really into it! If we can make our community know that we
love Salsa, and that we can expand it, that would be awesome! Believe me, there is going
be people from all over the place joining the Salsa World if we push it!
There is a lot of people who admire what you do, including me, so what do you say to your
fans?
To me, there is different types of Salseros; The ones with only money on their minds. They
don't even care if others learn or not, they just care about money. The Salseros that
just want to learn to have fun. Those kind go to the nightclub and have a couple of
hours of fun, and that's all they want out of it. And then there is the Salseros, which
I think is the category that some of us fit in, who have the passion for the rhythm,
where money is not an issue, it's not a problem to share what you know. It's all for the
cause, to show the beauty of it to the rest of the people. Some of those are
humble some are not. I think that being humble will take you all the way. Either if you
are a begginer, intermediate, advanced or a professional. Dance with everybody, share
what you know! To me that's passion! I wish everyone would do that.
Have you seen our WebPage? What do you think about it?
I love it... I just love it! But I would love to say to most of the people who log on to
the site, not to be rude to the Salseros.
First of all, it takes guts to get up on stage and perform. Either if you are good or
not so good, either if you are a beginner or advanced, it takes a lot of effort to
get up on stage and dance to the audience, and it's harder to dance for judges. So
when someone wins a contest, don't say that the judges were bad, or that they did
this or that... I mean, I respect everybody's comments, but just don't be rude to the
Salseros. Even if they are not humble or not nice to you, don't be rude! The reason
why I think the website is good, is to tell people "Hey, we have this. We have
Salsa in Utah!" Not to tell "Hey, we have a few Salseros and They are not good!"
I think the website is a huge step in the Salsa Community! This is what we needed for
quite sometime. There wasn't a website about Salsa in Utah at ALL! NOT EVEN ONE! This
site just helps all the Salseros a lot, keeps us informed about the Salsa events,
keeps information about the growth of the state, competitions and more. And most of all,
it gives us a push to grow in the Salsa World.
Thanks for your time, would you like to say anything to the people who will be readin this?
Ummm... I think that everybody has a different style. Respect everybody! And once again,
whoever wants my help, I'm here, even if they are poor, rich, beginners, advanced,
whatever, I am here. For everyone and to just dance from the heart.
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