There is a nice article in the Village Voice about John “Choco” Knight. I’ve known Choco since I started going to workshops and socials. He was a ubiquitous presence and has a politican’s knack for remembering who you are. There are probably few salseros left in the world that have not purchased one of his “on1” or “on2” shirts (I have the on2 one). Choco is running this year’s NY Salsa Congress. I won’t be attending it as I don’t like the big congresses as much, but it sounds like he is making a couple changes which will make it even better. Starting with limiting the number of performances each night. While some performances will blow you away, there are often way too many of them that are mediocre or amateurish, and they drag on long into the night (and therefore into social dancing time– the best part of a congress). I think it is appropriate that the NY congress limit performances to those of the highest caliber.

One thing I had no idea of was that David Melendez, salsa congress producer extraordinaire, had died (which is why Choco is taking over this year). According to his website, he passed suddenly in February of this year.  My condolences go out to his family.

Another thing I learned is that the reason the Copacabana closed down is because it is in the way of a subway line expansion. Another article had implied it closed down due to slow business, which surprised me given how packed it’s been every time I’ve been there.

You can read the full article here.