Victor Varela

Hello everyone, my name is Victor Varela. I am from Mexico City, one of the biggest cities in the world where you can find everything. There are a lot of salsa clubs, but the best salsa dancers can be found at street parties. I remember when I was eight or ten years old, my older sisters used to take me out to these parties, but unfortunately my ability to dance wasn't really good at that age, so I just enjoyed watching them dance. Meanwhile I learned my basics steps and some turns, I thought that it would be enough to have fun and I wasn't really interested to learn more about salsa, because I was into other things.

It wasn't until about a year and half ago when I saw a friend practicing some salsa steps in the gymnasium, and I asked him where did he learn all that moves. He told me about Yang and Erin, so I decided to give it a try and bring back my memory. My first class was totally embarrassing, I found out that I still had two left feet. For a moment I thought that salsa wouldn't be a good idea for me, but somehow after I watched Yang and Erin dance, I felt more motivated, and to this day I still have that motivation. They are such wonderful teachers with a lot patience and a great spirit.

Now, I'm having the time of my life. I'm so grateful to be part of the salsa community. It's just like a second family to me, because all of us share the same feeling while we are on the dance floor. It doesn't matter what kind of nationality we have or what languages we speak, we are all the same. Moreover, salsa music is another way to express my feelings; it is an art; it is a whole culture to me, in which I will never stop learning. I know there are so many different styles, moves, steps, patterns to learn, but I also use salsa music as a medicine to cure my distress and push myself to keep doing it. What's more important, is the feeling of satisfaction while we are dancing.

I want to thank all the wonderful people who I have met through dancing. You guys are a part of my life. I hope we could become better dancers and keep our friendship for many more years to come.

I'll see you guys again soon. "La salsa vive en nuestros corazones".