Latin Music and Dance.

Rumba is a hodge podge of dance hatched in the Caribbean but it did not come from Africa. The basics came from the ancient Indian Civilizations in Mexico. Where did the people of the Caribbean come from? The distance by water? 90 miles from Florida to Cuba. 90 miles from Yucatan to Cuba and 90 miles from Venezuela to the Antilles which was much later. We are talking six, seven millenniums back. The Cubans went south to other islands and the ones in the southern islands migrated northward. They became the Caribbean People. Rumba is the banner dance of the Caribbean.

"Social dancers believe that dancing can teach us how to perform

and develop a sense of performance."

The musicians and dancers in the Indian Civilizations in Mexico were "professionals." They had the aptitudes at an early age and soon they did not have to do labor work. Just play whatever instruments they liked, sing and dance seven days a week. They had a place to sleep of course. Food, really just snacks four times a day. Not much necessary to wear but furnished at no cost. And the big shots could fix you up with a little booze now and then and perhaps a little nookie too.

"Soy Mejicano;" por Jorge Negrete

The Battle of Puebla, May 5th, 1862

Agriculture began about 9000 BC all over the world. And within a couple centuries, people began to improve on their music with drums, whistles and just plain humming. They discovered that they wanted to move to it, - STRANGE .- The Olmecs in Mexico developed the first basic movements which were the Even step, the Rock step and the Chassé. The Mayans improved the most and left the finishing touches to the Aztecs. Those very basic movements are what went to the Caribbean many years ago and they did very well with them indeed.

"Social dancers want to show the world who they truly are and who they can be."