This article was originally written by Ron for Dancevine Magazine a few years ago, but was updated last year for the launch of the new Candela website, and to celebrate Candela's Tenth Birthday in 2006.
Club Candela in Shrewsbury has now been going for an incredible 10 years. On Friday 10th May 2006 we celebrated the end of our first decade with a wonderful Salsa Party at our regular venue, The Lion Hotel in Shrewsbury. We had a fantastic turnout, over 150 came, brightly dressed as requested and Elder Sanchez gave us a great class and some brilliant music, as did our resident DJ Diablo.
But how did it all begin?
Remember 1996? Back then I thought Latin Dancing was something done by uncool people in tuxedos and big sparkly dresses like wedding cakes on Come Dancing. But let us not linger on how uncool I was and move swiftly on.
Liz Walmsley and her very cool musical friends had not only been listening to salsa for years, they had played it in a band, and had just started a club for people to learn and dance salsa in Shrewsbury. In May Club Candela was 10 years old and one word sums up how it started, what kept it going and what gives it a bright future: Enthusiasm.
Candela now has its home in a wonderful centuries-old ballroom in the Lion Hotel, Shrewsbury, where it has been for the past 6 years. It is a perfect setting and on a hot, sweaty Candela night when its chandeliers shake to the rhythms of salsa, even the decaying grandeur of Havana does not seem so far away.
So how did we get here?
"About 18 years ago we were all listening to African and other kinds of World music and in that process found Cuban and New York Latin sounds like the Fania All Stars;” says Liz. “The funny thing is we knew it was for dancing but we didn’t know how to dance to it.
”Among her talents, the softly spoken Liz describes herself modestly as an “amateur” bass player. The "we" she refers to were a bunch of folk all from her home town of Oswestry, where a kind of "make your own entertainment" ethos exists. Something to do with nothing else going on there I believe.
This was a group who were really enthusiastic about live music. They included Dave and Jilly who later were part of the first Candela crew. During this time an extension of this group of friends formed Los Gringos, playing live latin music. Sadly no longer with us, the group were to play at various venues, including Club Candela of course.
Their vocalist was Debbie. Having seen the band a couple of times I can vouch that Debbie has a wonderful voice and is desperate to be singing in a latin band again (note: any bands forming out there?). Debbie, who now speaks Spanish well enough to teach it, speaks fondly of those days when she didn’t speak so much and had to mug up the lyrics on the way to gigs. Debbie now helps occasionally with teaching salsa to beginners and like most of the Candela crew has a preference for Cuban style.
Back to the story.....
According to Liz: "The more we listened to the rhythms the more we wanted to learn how to dance to it, so we tried to find some classes." About 14 years ago, after an unsatisfying try at Latin ballroom, one of that group, Chris, who "had jazz connections" took them to Jasmin's, a Latin club in Birmingham run by DJ Zuppe Inglese.
They did not know it, but they were about to have a life-changing experience."We looked across and there on the dance-floor were two people doing salsa, real salsa," and the future opened up in front of them. The two dancers were Mauricio and Gladys, a 16 year-old Mauricio (Latin Motion) Reyes incidentally. "So we started going to classes in Birmingham and Manchester.
Back then there were only a few clubs to go to and very little regular salsa, unlike now, but Jasmin's had a good atmosphere and a good mix of music including cumbia, samba and Cuban folk styles. It was inevitable that salsa would take over," says Liz but it is clear that she thinks it a shame that some of the other styles are now overlooked.
"Anyway eventually we wanted something closer to home (don't we all) and I started teaching salsa in Oswestry," says Liz. The Oswestry ethos of doing things for themselves then led to thoughts of setting up a club. It was not to be in Oswestry though. "We thought Shrewsbury would be a better place. The Buttermarket already had a reputation there for live roots music and had already hosted several latin bands so we knew there was local interest.”
Chilean DJ Juan from Birmingham had now become part of the group of friends and was to play a big part in the Candela story, indeed the name, which has several meanings in English: flame, fire, excitement, sexiness, - you choose, was Juan’s idea. Juan DJ’d for Candela for the first three years. “We really missed him when he had to go home to Chile”.
One of Liz's students, Wendy found the original venue, which was the Park Social Club near Shrewsbury Abbey. It was a small venue but did them proud for a couple of years until lack of space forced a move to the Fitness First centre.
By now Jilly had moved on but Sarah and Jenny had joined the crew and their classes at the start of each Candela night were an important factor for the next few years.
Meanwhile, enthusiasm undinted, the live music involvement continued with the Salsa Project. “We played 5 gigs around Shropshire to give people a taste of salsa, the music and the dance. We wanted people to experience both and take what they wanted from it.”
Eventually after 2 more years they needed a bigger dance area still, and Sarah found the club its present venue at the Lion Hotel. "The dance-floor is great and so is the atmosphere" says Liz. The bigger dance-floor has meant more revenue and therefore the ability to bring in guest teachers.
Over the years the list has included Susana Montero, Ian Worrel and Heidi Ford, Salsa King Henry Vina, Jose Cardoso, Nije, Mel C, Edlin Josephs, Lee Hunter, Mauricio Reyes, Janet and Rafael, Nigel May, Trevor and Vinnie, Banderas & Karen, Hopeton & H, Terry & Yolande, Les & Lorraine, Heber + Xande, Phil Heath, Angus Peters, Mo Tark, Elder Sanchez, Andrea Stewart, Dave Emanuel, and Thomas O’Flaherty amongst others.
Sarah has been involved with salsa for 8 years, starting at the Buttermarket with Liz. She remembers there being about 15 in the class so "humble beginnings". In the past Sarah has done belly and ballet dancing (I think that's what she said). As well as jazz and ballroom she is now well into Argentinean Tango as well as salsa of course. Like a lot of dancers, Sarah likes a mix of Cuban and NY styles but thinks La Rueda is a good way of teaching timing.
It is an amazing achievement to keep a club going for so long. Liz insists that she is a team player “We've had so much support from so many,” she says and she repeatedly told me she did not want to take the credit. But while other faces have changed, she is the one constant factor in the Candela story.
Among the names who have been involved are Polly, who still pitches in occasionally, Neil, the original website creator, and Angela and Pavlina, who sadly both moved away, we miss them. The present team is made up of Liz, Tony, Barbara, JoJo, Stewart, Ron and Eve with constant help from Liz’s partner, Jim.
Regarding the irrepressible Tony, he has been a salsero for 7 years. When I asked him a couple of years ago what he really likes about salsa, his thought-provoking answer was "wiggling". Asking him now if he wanted to add anything he said “no” at first but after a bit of thought he went all serious and said “actually interpreting the rhythm and the co-operation you feel with a top partner (he pointed at Barbara as he said this, what a gent). He has also become hooked on Tango and is persistently working on ways to inject a little tango into his salsa.
One of the most important aspects of running a successful club is getting good teachers and acts organised and general publicity. Since JoJo took those roles over a couple of years ago she has done a fantastic job and is one of the reasons we really have gone from strength to strength.
In her own words: “I learnt my very first salsa steps back in 1999 with Liz at her classes in Oswestry, which completely gave me the salsa bug, and I carried on learning with Liz and also with Les and Lorraine in Chester. Between the 3 of them I learnt lots and gained an excellent foundation for everything I have learnt since. I made my first trip to the bright lights of Birmingham for Henry Vina's Millennium New Year's Eve All-Night Party. Since then my obsession has got worse and I go to Birmingham sometimes up to 3 times a week for salsa.
I also regularly go to gigs in Shrewsbury, Chester, Liverpool, Manchester, Derby, Nottingham and London, and anywhere else there is a great gig waiting for me.” (That goes some way to explaining why she is such a great dancer).
“No prizes for guessing that my favourite salsa style is, and always will be Cuban, but I also love Bachata and Cha Cha Cha.
Barbara has been dancing salsa for 11 years and started learning with Liz when was teaching at the Buttermarket in Shrewsbury. Barbara, who now teaches herself at the Buttermarket has been part of the Candela team for about 3 years. She says: “I have always loved dance and I was dancing for years even before salsa came along. I love Cuban style and also absolutely love Bachata”. Barbara does the occasional bit of DJ-ing and usually takes the beginners class at Candela.
Stewart has been a salsero for 7 years, likes Cuban style and says “I love the feel of moving in contact with a partner”. Okay……moving swiftly on ;o)…………..He says that the defining moment for him was on a holiday years ago in California. “I was on Santa Monica pier and saw this room full of people salsa dancing and it looked hot and sweaty and I wanted to be part of that”. Stewart is also our “official” photographer…. well his camera has more pixels than anyone else’s, essentially as he says “I am a bit of a flasher”.
I don’t often interview my wife, well never to be honest, but just this once:
Eve on salsasays she just loves the music and finds it uplifting and she just wants to move with the rhythm. “I also like the social aspect of salsa, everyone is friendly and…it is a great chance to dress up. Even the men don’t mind wearing something outrageous. No-one talks about work – it’s a rule”. She has no favourite style but likes a mix of Cuban and LA and likes the range of music from Cuban through Reggaeton and African styles. “Candela is a great club and I just love the venue with its lovely ballroom and chandeliers.
”As for me (Ron) I don’t do much except write this stuff, take the money on the door and once a year stuff balloons into a duvet (don’t ask). I was a thorough cross body lead merchant until our holiday in Cuba last year changed all that. Now I guess I am trying to be 50:50. Favourite salsa music: mostly old stuff on the Fania label plus a smattering of new. Seeing Los Van Van in Havana was a milestone, I get shivers when I hear them. Favourite teachers: Super Mario and Ian Worrel.
A final word from Liz. When I asked her how she felt about 10 years of Candela all she could say was “Well it is great but it’s just another month really” which is typical of Liz who will never blow her own trumpet and at the same time is only thinking of the future and the next Candela gig.
