Reignite the Rhythm: Salsa Club Returns to CSULB

Following a three-year hiatus, Salsa Club returns to Long Beach State this spring semester. Photo by Mike Reza.

Laughter and conversation can be heard faintly over the sound of the salsa music blasting from a speaker and the footsteps of those dancing. The beginnings of lifelong connections to a culture, a genre of music, and other people are in the making at the newly reinstated Salsa Club at Cal State Long Beach.

“It's a tight-knit community. You can dance salsa anywhere in the world, and you do not have to speak the same language,” said salsa instructor Jenny Mee, who teaches weekly salsa classes at CSULB. “It can be romantic, it can be fun, it can be silly. It just has so many facets to it, and that's why I love salsa.”

Salsa Club activities halted in June 2021 after COVID-19 restrictions kept club members from meeting in person. Club advisor Amythyst Fritzler and club member Eliana Wong tried to restart club activities last year during the fall semester, but the president at the time was unable to start the club.

When plans fell through, Wong stepped up to the position of president. Fueled by her desire to continue learning salsa, Wong began to reach out to people who had previously been involved with the club via social media.

“I wish I was more connected to the culture. I want to know more about it, but I really like dancing, and I was like, I want to partner dance,” Wong said.

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the history of salsa dancing traces back to Johnny Pacheco, a Dominican musician, arranger, composer, bandleader and producer who founded Fania Records in 1964. Fania Records is an independent record label created when Pacheco’s previous record label, Alegre, went under. It was a partnership between Pacheco and his lawyer, Jerry Masucci, and is currently a part of Craft Recordings.

Pacheco and other artists under Fania Records catered their Afro-Caribbean sound to New York City Latinos. Pacheco’s Fania Records came up with the name “salsa” for their sound and culture. Puerto Ricans and Cubans living in New York developed the dance style, and it blossomed into the salsa culture we know today.

Many Salsa Club members feel a connection to the dance style. Samara Plasencia, a second-year student and club member, had taken dance classes before with her family and saw Salsa Club as an opportunity to build more connections on campus, learn to partner dance and connect with her roots.

“I've always grown up around salsa dancing. The music is at every family event, every birthday, every holiday, and it's just nice to be able to dance it that way you can connect with your family members,” Plasencia said.

Plasencia hopes the Salsa Club will give her the skills to dance when she goes out in the future or at family events.

Throughout the lesson, salsa instructors Mee and Peter Araiza have members switch partners around to get them comfortable dancing with one another. Araiza and Mee have been a part of the Salsa Club for over a decade, starting out as guest instructors and later becoming official instructors of the club.

They are both passionate about salsa dancing, as the two first met on the dance floor. When they were contacted about the reinstating Salsa Club, it was a no-brainer; the club holds a special place in their hearts, especially for Araiza, who is a CSULB alumnus.

Wong’s goal is to create a large community among club members inside and outside the club. To foster this big community, the salsa music keeps playing at the end of the salsa lesson, and members are encouraged to ask each other to dance and practice the skills they just learned.

Araiza was not expecting to become a professional dancer, but he fell in love as he learned about the culture, the music, the art, and most importantly, the people. To Araiza and Mee, the salsa community feels like their family.

“We've seen our students get married. We've seen them have kids. You know, like she said, our best friends are from this club itself,” Araiza said. “It definitely has shaped our journey as individuals as a couple. But it allowed us to also influence the journeys of a lot of other people.”

Even as the clock hits 8 p.m., the music continues to play and students continue to dance until “Por Ella” by Victor Manuelle comes to an end.

Moving forward, lessons will be for official members who pay the $45 dues, fill out the Sports Easy form, and follow the club on the events and organization page on the student single-sign-on, giving them access to 11 salsa classes held every Wednesday.

Members can follow Salsa Club on Instagram and Discord to stay updated.