Now
or Never
It
was unusual for me to go out on a Thursday night, especially to Provo. But this time
was special. A friend of mine had organized to bring a dancer from Italy to perform at a
nightclub. Not just any dancer but world-renowned Salsa and
Mambo dancer Adolfo Indacochea. There was no way I could pass up the chance of
interviewing him.
The
day before the event, I emailed one of the organizers, Mariela. I asked if it
was possible to interview him. She responded quickly and said it was up to him.
I went on Facebook and messaged him but he did not reply. I found his email
address from his profile and wrote him. He replied right away.
When
I received the notification on my phone that Adolfo replied, a huge smile swept
across my face. It took a moment for me to open the email because I was afraid to
read, in big bold letters, the word NO. I opened the email and was pleasantly
surprised when I read that he would love to do an interview.
Thanks
to my big brother being heavily involved in the Salsa scene here in Utah, I
have had the privilege of interviewing some amazing dancers. This was the first
time I was going to try to do it on my own though. Needless to say, I was a bit
terrified. I do not work with any newspaper or get paid to do these interviews.
I just simply enjoy interviewing people I admire. That is what I hope to do in
the future. So, the fact that Adolfo, one of my all time favorite Mambo dancers,
was coming all the way from Italy, this truly was a once in a lifetime
opportunity.
My husband, my mother and I drove to
Provo around 9 p.m. My husband had his video camera to record the performance
and my mother decided to join us since she is also a fan of his dancing. Adolfo
would be doing his show at about 10:45 p.m. The whole way there I was mentally
preparing questions then jotting them down. This was more challenging than I
thought. However, since I had already gotten in contact with him, there was no
way I could back down now.
Right
when we walked in, a dance workshop with local Salsa instructors had just
ended. The lights turned off, the DJ started to play some Salsa, and people
started to dance. My eyes immediately checked every corner of the room and I
quickly spotted a door in the back of the club and saw figures walk out. There
was Adolfo. He had a duffel bag and was surrounded by four other guys. I
grabbed my digital recorder and my heart began to race. I quickly told my
husband to wish me luck and was starting to head towards that door, but was too
late. He had already gone outside.
I
spotted Mariela, ran up to her and asked if he was coming back. She informed me
he was just going to get a quick bite to eat and would be back for his show. I
believe I danced three songs but, frankly, I was not fully focused on dancing
since my eyes were glued to the entrance, watching every single person that
walked through there.
Finally,
he came back. I grabbed my recorder and snuck in the back where the door
specifically said “employees only.” He was dressed for his routine in
traditional black and white dancewear: classy and old school. Mariela spotted
me, grabbed me and took me directly to him. She introduced me and I decided to
let him know I was the one who emailed him. I asked if we could do a quick
interview. He said he was just about to go on and if we could do it after his
routine. I agreed. My husband and I went out on the dance floor and found spots
in the front and waited. My husband was ready to record the performance with
his camera and I was ready to scream my head off.
He
went to the dance floor, waiting for his song to start. His routine started
with a slow Cha Cha. He moved to every single beat of the music as if he was
making the music with his body. When the Salsa music started, his hands, his
head and especially his feet moved so excitedly that it made the entire
audience scream. He was so light on his feet, he might as well have been
floating. Throughout his routine, he played with the music so well: hitting
every accent with a quick but smooth movement. He added some Pachanga style and
everyone loved it. His routine was great. The organizers went up and thanked
him for coming out and handed him the microphone. After he said a few words, he
quickly disappeared to the back.
We
got up and as quickly as possible went through the mob of people that were all
waiting to meet him. Somehow we made it to the door and saw that several people
were blocking the door so I was a little intimidated to go in. But I did and he
was there watching his routine from someone’s cell phone. After he watched his
routine, he was bombarded with people asking to take pictures with him. I took
advantage of the opportunity and got my picture taken as well. Right after taking
the picture, I asked him if I could do the interview. He was drying off and
looked exhausted. He replied hesitantly.
“If
it’s fast. I want to go out and dance.” He did not make eye contact with me. He
did not smile, or seem happy. More than anything, he looked annoyed. He looked
at his watch when he said it and the first things that popped in my mind were;
One; people still wear watches? And two; he does not want to do an interview. I’m
screwed. He said he was going to change and he would do it real fast
afterwards.
I
sat outside that room and felt discouraged. At that moment all I wanted to do
was leave. I told my husband how I felt and he could feel all my excitement
just drain out of my body. I did not want to be there anymore. I was turning
off my digital recorder and kept thinking to myself to just head out before I
make myself look worse than I feel. I had earned up enough courage to email him
and go up and introduce myself, and that is how he replied? I just wanted to go
home. That was when my husband told me something I would never forget.
“ You
can’t just go. If every person you want to interview only has a few minutes or
just seconds for an interview, you can’t feel sad or discouraged. If you get
the chance, you HAVE TO take it.”
I
just sat there soaking in what he was telling me. It made sense but I still
felt bad. My husband asked, “What if it was James Franco? What if you had the
chance to ask him a few questions, and he was in a rush? Would you be like this
and just go home? People like this have very busy lives. You are not always
going to have thirty minutes for an interview.” He was absolutely right. That really
made me think. I should point out that if there were one person I could
interview, it would definitely be James Franco. I just adore him.
I
thought of something very quickly and asked my husband if he could record my
interview. I told him if Adolfo were annoyed, he would be forced to look nice
since he would be on camera. At that moment, my mother sat down with us and
asked if I got my interview. I told her no, and that we should leave since he
was so busy. I was just about to get up and was tugging on my husbands arm when
I heard a familiar voice coming our way and started talking to my mom.
Passing
a line of people, Adolfo walked directly to my mom and kissed her on the cheek to
greet her. My mom is well known in the Salsa scene here in Utah. They have met
due to my brother working with Adolfo previously. He saw me and asked if right
now was okay. I stood up and followed him into the “employees only” room.
As
we were looking for a spot to shoot, my mind went completely blank. I could not
think of a single question. I had just realized that I left my notes on the
couch. The more I thought of what to ask him, the more I panicked. Everything
was happening all too fast. I did not even dare try and go get my notes. We
found a spot and my husband handed me my recorder.
From
the time it took my recorder to go from my husband’s hand to mine, I was
praying for some miracle to happen. Maybe some crazed fan would run in to try
and grab Adolfo. Maybe there would be a random fire drill and everyone would be
forced to leave for a bit. If anything like that happened, I could quickly go
grab my notes that I neatly prepared on the ride over here. Then, I would be
saved!
Nothing like that happened.
I
turned my recorder on and waited for a signal from my husband to let me know
when to begin. That lasted about 5 seconds. As soon as my husband signaled me
thumbs up, I felt frozen. Adolfo looked at me and smiled. I looked and smiled
back and he looked like the same Adolfo I have admired for years. With that
smile he gave me, all that fear vanished within a couple of seconds.
I
introduced him as one of the best Mambo dancers I have ever had the privilege
of seeing. I figured I would ask questions that I would want to know myself. I
asked where his amazing style came from, what plans he has coming up that he
could let us know about. He said he and his buddy Juan Matos are forming a
dance group and will be teaching in a new studio. Juan Matos also happens to be
a former student of the same instructor that taught Adolfo everything he knows.
For anyone well aware of the dancers in the Salsa scene, I wanted to jump for
joy when he said that. Two of the best Mambo dancers in the world are teaming
up? I must have died and gone to heaven.
Since I knew he was in a hurry, I decided
one last question would do. The whole interview must have lasted no longer than
3 minutes. I am beyond glad my husband talked some sense into me. This is not
just any dancer. This was someone I have admired for years. He does not come to
the U.S. often. If I would have passed up this opportunity, I know I would have
regretted it. I am glad I got my three little questions in. Even though the
interview lasted a few minutes, I will treasure it always.
My
last question was if he had one more dance left, whom would he choose to dance
with. His answer was short and sweet: his daughter. The few girls that were in
the room all said “aww” in unison, including myself. I had a smile the rest of that night.
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