Francisco Vasquez Part One By Laureano Ralon Facchina

Originally from Guadalajara Mexico, Francisco moved to the Los Angeles in 1988. Francisco's introduction to Salsa occurred when he accompanied his girlfriend to a nightclub. Motivated by what he saw, he immediately set about teaching himself the basics by watching the best L.A. salseros of the day: Albert Torres, Laura Canelias and Joe Casini. Soon the steps came and he discovered that he had a natural ability for dance, a gift for rhythm and a deep understanding of the music. This, paired with the inspiration and influence of the Nicholas Brothers, Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, led Francisco to create his own innovative style.

Eventually he began teaching his brothers, Luis and Johnny. Francisco and Johnny later went on to found Los Rumberos Dance Company. They became known for their flashy, fast-paced footwork, keen sense of timing and the ability to hit an accent at the end of a quadruple spin perfectly. Years later, it was clear that Francisco had found his niche in Salsa. He had been chosen to dance on stage before thousands alongside Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Charo and many other revered Latin artists. His credits include an extensive list of films, music videos, television programs and commercials. He continues to perform, choreograph and instruct for audiences and students around the world.

Through his success, Francisco remains a humble, down-to-earth man, crediting "faith as my strength". A generous heart and loving soul, he puts family and friends before fame and fortune, and works tirelessly to share his gift and passion for Salsa with others all around the world. His greatest and most enduring strength comes from "believing in one's self and teaching those who continue to dream."

For those in Vancouver who don’t know you, introduce yourself.

My name is Francisco Vazquez and I’m from Mexico; I am the owner and founder of one of the pioneer salsa companies in the world, Los Rumberos, and I’m one of the creators of L.A. style salsa.

How long have you been dancing?

I’ve been dancing for almost 20 years.

Who was your first mentor?

Eddie Torres.

What was the most important lesson you learned from Eddie?

Before Eddie I would listen to the music and try to hit the accents, but I didn’t know how to count. Eddie taught me how to count.

Speaking of counting, in the beginning, was there a differentiation between on1 and on2?

Not really. Prior to the L.A. style that we created in California, people here where dancing on any and all beats: on1, on2, on3, on4, on5. They didn’t care, they just moved.

How was salsa in L.A. before you and your brothers came along?

It was a mix of “chilango” and “cubano”... people dancing on different beats of the music and nobody would count. There were some Puerto Rican guys that had a better understanding of the music and the dance, but they were dancing on2. There were a lot of mixes back in the day.

What is it about dancing on1 that attracts so many people?

It is very simple to learn. The one is easy to find; the two you really have to think about it – you need to understand about clave, the congas, etc. With the one, all you need to find is the first beat of the music.

Why is it that for performance, there are dancers that would normally dance socially on2 but switch to dancing on1 when they get on the stage?

Nowadays, the on2 is showing more, but in the beginning the on1 was really showing off, which is what performance is about: the tricks, the turns, the lifts and tricks...

So how did you manage to create your own style?

My style has been changing a lot. I change styles every three to four years. I go from slow, to fast, to more classy, back to fast.

So where do people get this idea from that L.A. style a fast, rough, aggressive style?

That’s a misconception.

So, there is (or should be) contrast in L.A. style...it’s not meant to be this hard, hard, hard dance.

Absolutely not. We definitely created the lines, because before we came along, salsa used to be more rounded; but these lines we invented are meant to be clean, not hard. Whoever thinks that L.A style is just about sharp lines and fast turns is mistaken. There are (should be) other elements as well: footwork, attitude, partner work, etc. Bottom line, L.A. style may look hard, because that’s part of the attitude at times, but it does not have to feel that way.

It’s also a misconception that every L.A. style dancer looks the same. Nobody that came out of my company looks exactly like me: not my brother Luis, not Johnny, not Ronnie, not Ashkan, nobody.

So, how did these people manage to find their own styles when your influence is so huge? How can you find your own individual self in dancing?

It’s definitely not about imitating or trying to copy other people. It’s a good exercise to try to emulate others in order to learn, practice and get started. But at some point you need to start mixing and adding your own stuff in order to innovate. When I go out, I watch everybody, and I see people that have 7 or 8 different moves that they learned in class and stick to the same moves all night long. They think they’re doing a lot, but not really. And the worst thing is: they don’t even own those moves; they execute them exactly as they learned them, without adding anything. If you go to the clubs, watch the good dancers, and you’ll see that they only have 7 or 8 moves. They only stick to what they feel comfortable with and what looks good; they don’t play with the music, and if you watch them carefully, they look the same dancing every single song. It’s only when you see people that play with the music, that improvise and throw things that you don’t expect that you go “wow, that’s a great dancer!”

Going back to the “hard, hard, hard, sharp, sharp, sharp” misconception, what do you make of people that dance the same way on and off stage?

It’s a problem. I will not deny that L.A. style has a lot of fast, flashy elements to it, and so some people tend to have a hard time slowing down. They get so excited that it becomes hard for them to slow down and dance slow songs. But that’s not the way it should be; I mean, I dance super fast when I’m crazy, but when I feel like dancing slow, I both can and enjoy dancing slow.

Now, people like the attention too; it happens to any “salsero.” I’ve been watching everybody, and they all throw what they can at you to capture your attention. It’s the dancer’s ego. And some people really don’t know how to put a grip on themselves (laughs). In my experience these are usually people that learned from videos, never took a class, and want to get a name for themselves quickly. They think that by doing so they’re going to get a name but to do so, honestly, you need much more than that. It’s actually super easy to get a name; what’s hard is to keep your name. In order to survive over time, you need to be an innovator, and to be an innovator y you need to always be willing to try new things. I myself am always trying to push my limits and bring new things onto the dance floor. So going back to your question, innovation has a lot to do with contrast; it’s about being creative and not being afraid to try new things.

Click here to read part two of this interview with Francisco Vasquez.