Eclectic Waters

Lazy Sunday afternoon.

Walking back to the car after enjoying Sara Watkins music performed at the 37th Roots Festival on Adams Ave, San Diego, Kate, Brad and I stopped to enjoy lively salsa music being played. There was a dance floor. The beat was in my veins and I desperately wanted to dance. Scanning the crowd, I tried to find someone who had the same longing as I did to dance and then thought about whether or not I had the guts to ask a stranger to dance. The salsa song ended, and I thought I had found someone.

He was standing a few feet from us. Tall. Dark. Handsome. He listened intently to the music. In the span of the song, he moved to the right side of the dance floor and stood watching. Then he walked to the other side of the dance floor and again stood watching. He moved slightly in tune with the music. My gut told me he knew how to dance and wanted to.

I asked Kate if we could listen to one more song and when they announced they were playing a song from the Dominican Republic (I’ve been there and love their music), I knew it was now or never. I asked Kate to hold my purse and bee-lined my way through the crowd until I was steps away from him. Am I really going to do this? And, taking a breathe as though about to jump into cold water, I approached him.

Excuse me, would you like to dance?

He looked at me in surprise and then his whole face lit up. YES!

We walked to the dance floor and then he removed the work shirt he had over a regular shirt, and placed it, with his large soda, on the sidelines. Then he approached me. The song was a merengue.

I was right. He KNEW how to dance and after my initial nervousness disappeared, it was easy to relax and enjoy the dance. I found out his name is Antonio and he teaches salsa and merengue. He spoke little English. I speak next to no Spanish, but it was easy to follow his clear guiding and to communicate flawlessly in the language of DANCE. I found out he was working a booth across from the dance floor and was on his break. At the end of the dance, I did my typical little curtsy and he thanked me for the dance.

I’m so glad I stepped out and asked a stranger to dance.

Nothing could have made the afternoon more perfect that ending it with a dance to my favorite type of music.

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