Life Onboard LAST UPDATE  November 14, 2010
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September 20, 2010 Dancing to the Beat of the Waves – Jose Mendiola
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Photo: Kameda Urara
Sailing from the Canary Islands towards the Caribbean, Jose Mendiola, a professional Cuban dancer, permeated Peace Boat's life onboard with Latin vibes. Mr Mendiola explained that Cuba has made art available to all its citizens, establishing schools of performing arts throughout the country and cultural centers in every city and municipality. Mr Mendiola, native to the province Las Tunas, has been dancing since the age of ten. After spending five years of his childhood at a vocational school of performing arts where he took both academic and technical classes, he continued his development at the National School of Ballet for three more years. "Having reached that level, the doors are open to become a professional dancer but it requires a lot of study because there is a lot of competition", he asserts. He recalled having an arduous routine of ballet lessons and rehearsal sessions.
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As with many other professions in Cuba, students are required to complete a three year residency programme after graduation. After that period, Mr Mendiola set the goal to pursue a career with a high degree of independence. "The dancer needs to develop professionally. He cannot remain in the same place, he has to explore and learn new things," he emphasizes. Mr Mendiola embarked in a professional journey that took him to various corners of the world such as France, Italy and French Guyana. He recounted one of his first jobs for a dance company called "Sonlar", which merges various dance styles to express the history of traditional Cuban neighborhoods where people live such transculturation of music. Currently, he is preparing a festival called "Tiempo Cubano," which includes a wide variety of Latin music, popular dances and contemporary dance, a genre he identifies with due to the freedom of movement involved.
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Sharing this amazing professional experience, onboard Peace Boat Mr Mediola introduced participants to the various popular dances existing in Cuba while performing the basic steps for each style. Mr Mendiola stresses that Cuban dance is rooted in the lives of ordinary people. Explaining the uniqueness of each dance eloquently, he started by saying that the cha-cha-cha is a sensual dance involving polyrhythms. When talking about Mambo, he proudly mentioned Beny More, a renowned Cuban singer known as 'El barbaro del ritmo' and Damasco Perez Prado, a Cuban bandleader, musician and composer recognized as 'The King of Mambo'. Rumba is an energetic African style dance and son a folkloric style that predominates in the month of July in his hometown, Mr Mendiola added.
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Pointing out that son is danced on delay measure upbeat (contra-tiempo) and salsa on downbeat break (a-tiempo), Mr Mendiola concludeds his first event on Perace Boat with a duo salsa performance, marking the start of "Viva Cuban Salsa", a series of salsa workshops conducted onboard. Mr Mendiola expressed that "salsa music and dance is what identifies Cuba because it is unique in the world." As he directed the students to follow the four beats of the music while taking only three steps, participants spent seven days dancing and rehearsing two choreographies with the rhythms of Juan Formell y los Van Van.
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Mizutani Chieko, a Peace Boat participant and Mr Mendiola' s dance partner throughout the workshops and dance performances onboard, cannot stop smiling when taking about those seven joyful and intense salsa days. She was surprised to see so many people interested in salsa dance and was equally impressed with their progress. "These were some of the best choreographies I have ever seen, you could really feel the energy, people truly enjoyed the music," she says. For Ms Mizutani, "salsa is like oxygen, I cannot live without it". For Mr Mendiola, dance is his life. "My life and dance are walking hand by hand through the same road". For the participants, the salsa lessons were one of "the best experiences on this voyage, the most memorable moment with Peace Boat."
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The night prior to arriving at Havana, a Cuban night was held onboard. A quiz session prepared by the English and Spanish volunteer teachers put participants' knowledge of Cuba to the test. Participants then performed their new skills from Mr Mendiola's salsa classes. With the songs "Esto Esta Bueno" and "El Negro No Tiene Na", a large group of participants dressed in bright color shirts presented two lively salsa shows. A special dance show followed, featuring a contemporary dance solo from Mr Mendiola and the famous Rueda de Casino. Four pairs of dancers in a circle performed dance moves as called out by Mr Mendiola. The speed, variation and constant swapping of partners opened the floor to a night of live music and dance that will never be forgotten.