TROPICAL EDEN, BIKINIS & SALSA
St. Maarten Salsa Escape
“Exotique Caribbean Party Holiday”
On a small island, just 150 miles southeast of Puerto Rico, was held the first annual “St. Maarten Salsa Escape” from the 10th thru the 14th of November, 2004, What makes this island special, is that for it’s mere size of 37 square miles, it is divided half Dutch and half French. The entire event was hosted on the Dutch side at the luxurious Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino, which is the largest resort on the island and an exotic paradise.
The cool vacation was well worth it, and the Maho Beach Resort, is a great place, with good atmosphere, good cooking, and perfect for the occasion.
Having breakfast facing the sea, tanning near the pool at 90°F/32°C weather, while drinking a piña colada cocktail and listening to some salsa, followed by afternoon workshops and dance-filled nights. St. Maarten relishes its reputation as the "Cosmopolitan Crown Jewel" of the Caribbean and is a tropical paradise, which boasts a European flavor that is unique to the Caribbean. The island is also known as a “Shoppers Meca” as it is the only completely duty-free island in the Caribbean
The phenomenon of Salsa has spread across the globe, which has led us to the most exciting place to have fun in November. It was a pleasure to meet Henry Knowles, Ronny Busby and their team for a several days of delight during the Salsa Escape in the Netherlands Antilles.
For a first time event, we applaud the organization.
All the workshops were very enriching with a good choice of instructors, dances and styles. Hustle and Tango workshops were offered as well and received a very good response.
Thanks to Frankie Martinez for his body isolations workshop on Afro Caribbean rhythms accompanied by Spanish Harlem Orchestra’s percussionists Bobby Allende and Pablo “Chino” Nunez.
We must say that this kind of course doesn’t exist or is not very often offered by salsa schools in the Caribbean islands.
This type of workshop should be repeated for more events to come.
It enables one to feel the message that brings the music and the rhythms through each part of the body and also shows us the difference between dancing in a mechanical way contrary to dancing with our heart and soul, feeling the language of each instrument.
The hot salsa night parties along with a diverse mix of cultures created an enriching moment beneficial to everyone.
We could dance and have fun ‘til 4am with people from all levels and let our bodies float on the dance floor, carried away with the vibes of young and talented DJ’s such as Bobby Morales (NYC) & Jose Rodriguez (PA). Musical enrichment guaranteed by the diversity of DJs and styles, between them also a young lady from the Netherlands, Lady DJ Tania… bravo!
We have appreciated the mixing of Henry Knowles, too short for the aficionados but we can forgive him ‘cause he has done a very good job with the organization of such an event.
Congratulations Henry!
The Spanish Harlem Orchestra (NYC) set the ballroom dancing on fire, “le pegaron el fuego a las noches” with the legendary Latin good mood and themes like “Cuando te vea, Tun tun suena el tambor” and with classics like “Llego la banda”. Once you listen to their lively music you can’t stay on your seat.
Thank you “Rumberos” for your dynamism!
We were mesmerized by the breathtaking dance performances, with their respect of the timing and amazing lighting effects. The dance shows lasted no more than 30 minutes, “short and sweet”, very professional and strong from beginning to end… just enough to keep you looking forward to more for next year.
Everyone was pleasantly surprised with Kristine Bendul (NYC), who is currently touring with Billy Joel’s musical “Moving Out”. Kristine’s blindfolded dance performance, with her partner “el maestro” Arte Phillips, left everyone in shock. The sensuality of the Argentine dancers, the mischievous Candy Mena (NYC) and her exhilarating companion: Juan Matos (NYC), Sève and Mouaze’s (Paris) complicity, and el señor Stacey Lopez’s (PR) virtuosity and explosive energy with his mambo dance troupe, what a reveler!
Lots of technique and a unique style with the “Electric” Frankie Martinez (NYC): “Mr. 10,000 Volts” on stage, Unbelievable!
We don’t forget all the others, such as: Raul and Samira (Holland), Jami Josephson and The Rhythm Divas (NYC) … the entire live shows were created to incite us to feel like dancing without inhibitions and enable everyone to find the resource to shine on the dance floor.
It was an unforgettable journey and anybody will tell you so, you got to be there next November!
So Salsa’ lovers, we are expecting you to escape with us for some Latin rhythms in paradise.
For my part, I won’t miss it!

November 2004, Syldia Lopez Labrador. Music’s my blood, Salsa’s my oxygen.

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Emails from attendees:

We live in central California, and had just seen the Spanish Harlem
Orchestra in Fresno, CA in May 2004. They were in LA for the Salsa
Congress and Arte Americas got them to come up to do a show. To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we went on the 'net looking for a salsa cruise in the Caribbean but found out about the first annual Salsaescape. We didn't even know where St. Maarten was, nor did we know about this world salsa dj guy, Henry Knowles.
While a little unsure, we took the leap and booked the trip. Understand that we live in central California, and flew from Fresno to LA to Philly, then to the island the next day. We tell you this to help you understand that we had some big expectations about Salsaescape.
Let me say that for a first time event, Henry Knowles and Ronnie Busby did a fantastic job in putting together a great event. They knew they needed to book the best band, best DJs and surely some of the best salsa dancers in the world. Two nights with the now Grammy-nominated Spanish Harlem Orchestra were truly incredible, and they did not disappoint the crowd. They really sound great in the studio but are even more incredible live. Again these are los gran maestros de la salsa and their deep love of the music came through. The DJs we play some great tracks, and we were especially impressed with Lady Tania who in the first night got us going with an incredible set. Frankie Martinez is an incredible talent as an artist and he is a gifted teacher, so don't miss his workshop next November.
Henry and his staff really made us feel welcomed and made sure we had everything we needed. DJ Jose Rodriguez especially went out of his way to make sure we were having a good time. My point here is that they really care about the event and understand their role in serving the participants. They clearly had an eye on the details and if there was any mix up, you couldn't tell.
We reconnected with the great Chino Nunez (whom we met in Fresno) of SHO and he introduced us to Bobby Allende, their legendary percussionist. We share this to give you a flavor of the event, which was a rejoicing in all that is salsa. It is about the music, but also about how the music brings us together as one people. And it is not about just being a Latino, because Salsa transcends that artificial barrier, and we met a Russian transplant that loves the music as much as we do.
We hope you take away from our words here that we were not disappointed on any level, which speaks to the caliber of all involved. While we are just learning the dance moves, and maybe felt a bit overwhelmed by the talent around us, we still had a great time and took a couple of dance classes. So even if you are not a dancer, but just want to see some legends perform, want to watch the dancers or just want an excuse to go to el caribe, you should really find a way to make it to the next salsa escape. For us the destination is the event itself and not the island (which is great and easy to get around.) The venue is perfect for the event and the resort across the street is very good. So we leave you with two suggestions. First of all, go to the Salsaescape in November because Henry has put together another monster line up two legends of salsa to perform and best dancers to perform and teach. Second, do you homework about the island so you can get the most out of your trip.

Best to you, and hope to see you in November.

Larry & Yolanda Gonzales, Visalia, California