One of the longest running festivals in the United States is the Salsa Rueda Festival in San Francisco. Both of us headed over for the 13th edition of the festival, ready to party as always. The bay area definitely brought the heat, read more about it in this week’s post.
What was Included?
We purchased party passes for $109 with fees. This included access to all the socials. Door opened at 8pm and closed at 2am featuring the events listed below, and social dancing with DJs spinning in the off times.
- Friday – Performances and Live Rumba directed by Micheal Herrera including Adonis Pantar, Roberto Borrell, Einar Leliebre, Javier Navarette, Lester Bolaños, and special guest Emilio Frias
- Saturday – Performances, El Niño y la Verdad concert
- Sunday – Performances and Mega Rueda
In addition, we purchased classes a la carte for $21 each class.
The full pass included socials and classes. There were 12 hours of classes with 4 options each hour. The early bird price for a full pass was $220.
What classes did I take?
Andrea
Musicality w/ Karelia Despaigne
Alexa
Vacila por aquí, vacila por allá. The powering of mastering your vacila w/ Julian Meija
My favorite part?
Andrea
Sunday’s social. The music was great. I had some great dances the whole night. This was also the least scheduled night, so there was a lot of time to dance. Overall energy was high.
Alexa
I really loved Julian’s class. He is a wonderful instructor. The class gave some valuable insights on what it means to be a good leader and follower, and how to instruct others on how to do it. Overall grateful to learn and hear from an instructor who has been in the scene for so long. Also, it was super fun to help in the demo!
An Area of Improvement
Andrea
The schedule for the socials. It was very unclear what time things would start, which makes it hard to plan accordingly for people trying to rest after classes, or for people coming to the just the social times.
Alexa
I wish there had been more fans in the room to help keep air circulating. Also, the sound quality throughout the entire room was spotty, so I think that could have been better as well.
Overall Takeaways
Thank you to Salsa Vale Todo for organizing this festival, and doing everything possible to ensure the enjoyment of attendees. We had a great time meeting up with friends and dancing. There were plenty of us East Coasters this year, and you all made the weekend special.
The hotel was a really good quality, convenient, and good value (~$150 a night w/ taxes). The ballroom with dancing had a large dancing floor which did feel a little cramped during peak hours. Which, is just something to keep in mind if the festival keeps growing. It was unfortunate that the floor was very sticky, so perhaps cleaning it or a different material would be helpful in the future.
While we only took 1 class each, both of us feel that the workshop schedule would have benefited from levels. It helps people gauge which class is most accessible to their skills. Plus, it helps ensure everyone in the class is getting the most out of the class. The line-up of instructors was full of talent and quality.
As for the music, the music was great. We liked the throwback night. Shout out to all the DJs who were enjoying the music, and bringing the party up on stage. The music on Sunday was banger after banger. The El Niño y la Verdad concert was great. He is truly a professional and a performer right down to the 2am mark.
If you’ve considered going to San Francisco for this festival, maybe it’s your time to make the leap. There are lots of components to this festival, and something for everyone. There are plenty of classes, party, live music, performances. It is definitely an iconic event in the United States. We also recommend it for East Coasters who often don’t have access to a lot of the instructors based out West.
Were you there? Tell us your favorite part in the comments below. Don’t forget to check out our list of festivals from around the world for your next trip. Check out our festival reviews for thoughts on one’s we have attended.
Bueno…ya tu sabes.
Ya Tu Sabes 