One of the year’s highly anticipated cultural events, Noche Caliente, brought an array of people together to celebrate a night of Spanish culture last Saturday.
It was obvious from the decorations, dinner entrees, and live band that the S.A.L.S.A. club took their precious time in planning and preparing for a night so elegant, even though it was not as spectacular as it was in previous years.
S.A.L.S.A provided Spanish dishes that had a number of people returning for seconds. I even indulged in a little gluttony myself, enjoying not only rice and chicken, but also some desserts. Those of Spanish decent may not have found it to be as good as their grandmother’s cooking, but the rest of us were quite fat and happy.
Guests grew impatient waiting for the band to do a sound check and set up during the event, however. Something like that should have been taken care of before an audience appeared, and as a result, a lot of people grew rather antsy.
When they finally got everything going, the music poured out over the dance floor, and so did the people. The band put a Spanish twist on a Coldplay song and played some of their original works as well, along with a few covers of popular Spanish songs that had everyone moving. This was a good way of being aware of their audience, and making sure that everyone, those dancing and those sitting, enjoyed what they were hearing.
There appeared to be some technical difficulties with bringing Remixx, Fairfield’s Hip-Hop Dance Team, to the floor for their specialized performance. Once everything was worked out, the sensually captivating dance was well done and fit the atmosphere of the occasion perfectly.
There was a point when I wondered how the few older audience members felt about the sensuality that made up the first half of the performance, but once the downbeat came, the dancers were able to bring more to the table.
Still, it was disappointing that they were the only performers. If there were at least two more acts, it would have been a masterpiece arrangement for entertainment.
While it was entertaining to watch people groove to the sound of their own heritage, it was not as fun for those who did not know how to salsa or merengue. Though some were willing to teach while on the dance floor, a number of people could be found in their seats feeling left out when a Spanish song played.
It was at this point that the DJ’s faults were made clear. He was not aware of his audience, playing only Spanish music for almost an hour straight. At one point, the entire dance floor was clear due to the boredom and lack of variety in his mixes.
Audience members were more than happy to feel closer to the Spanish culture, but there was a high demand for hip hop, reggae, and of course the top 40 hits. When he did attempt to mix, there were no smooth transitions. The songs would mesh together, creating a mess of a sound that made it difficult to distinguish what he was trying to play next.
An overall good night, this year’s Noche Caliente did not quite measure up to what it was last year. Despite a few minor setbacks and a rotten DJ, the event was very sophisticated and brought a number of people together for a good source of fun. Hopefully, next year the S.A.L.S.A. club can provide its audience with more entertainment and a DJ that the people can enjoy.
Leave a Reply