Hi people,

Let me tell you a story....
when my family first came to Australia in the early 80s, we were poor and we lived in a small flat in Kensington. My dad was an illegal immigrant, my mom was a post-grad student. I remember my dad used to jump when he would see a policeman. One night, there was a knock on the door and it was this door-to-door Encyclopaedia salesman, Bill was his name and he was Greek. I  swear he must have stayed for hours trying to talk my dad into buying this posh set of encyclopaedia with the beautiful bookshelf that they came with, obviously to no avail as we were poor-as. We kept telling him how poor we were and he wouldn't take no for an answer. The conversation got to a point where my dad told him that we were so poor that we couldn't even afford a car to get anywhere. You know what this Bill guy did? he put my dad and us boys  in his car, drove us to his house and gave us an old car! I couldn't forget this guy's kindness. We were still talking about this at our family dinner this past Easter (almost 30 years later), telling the story to my 17 and 12 year old nieces. Yes, we did buy the encyclopaedia. It gave us boys plenty of research material and it gave my brother's daughters the same (until they discovered Google and Wikipaedia anyways). We still have the set at my brother's home. What's the story got to do with Easter? Without getting into the religion of Easter (as I can feel your eyes glazing), the similarity is about giving, giving with such ferocity that a lifetime later, the generosity is still remembered with fondness and gratitude. Once in a while, we should give and give fearlessly, not to be remembered by some kid for the rest of his life, but to give out of the abundance of our hearts. Happy Easter to you all.

TUESDAY NIGHT

 SALSA @IVORY LOUNGE

TOMORROW

Guys, don't forget, if you want "Salsa-lite" ie. early in the week salsa fix, you can't go wrong with Tuesday night at Ivory Lounge. It's intimate, it's friendly, and it has a nice room with intimate lounges to chat while watching the silly DJ get drunk (again) and does his shines. Sure it ain't free, but for $8 you get the entry AND a softdrink! And I promise you, no reggaeton, no drunken people walking across the floor (apart from the DJ) and plenty of street parking. BARGAIN!

Just watched the movie "The Eye". Man, I hate horror movies! it makes me scared to sleep in the dark at night but Jenny loves them. At least this one has Jessica Alba in it, and she hasn't fallen off the ugly tree, hitting all the branches on the way down, if you know what I mean. Personally I prefer more depth and intellect in my movies. Predator comes to mind; Terminator, Alien and Rambo were also colossal epics! So is Debbie Does Dallas methinks.... but I digress....

FRIDAY NIGHT SALSA

@PORT ORIENT 

2 ROOMS PLAYING DIFFERENT MUSIC FROM NOW ON / SHOWMOVES WORKSHOP & PERFORMANCE BY RAY & RACHEL THIS FRIDAY / $2000 JACK & JILL COMPETITION IN THE MONTH OF MAY
Don't forget that Port Orient Fridays now has 2 rooms playing 2 different types of salsa. 1 is my normal room with salsa and mambo with a sprinkling of bachata, zouk and cha. And now we have a second room playing traditional salsa, merengue, reggaeton, and the rest. The great DJ Willie 'Sabor' from Tuesday night The Establishment will be holding court in the 2nd room. So whatever type of salsa tickles your fancy, Port Orient is your Friday night destination. Jump from one room to another if you like :) Still only $15.

The crowd pleasing Ray & Rachel will be conducting a showmoves workshop this Friday, from 8.30pm to 9.30pm before flying off to teach in India early the following week. The cost is $20 for both workshop and entry. They will also do a performance on the night. If you haven't seen them perform, this is your opportunity! Electrifying! They'll be performing early so if you want to see them, come early!

Also, I'm getting a lot of interest for the

$2000 Jack & Jill (or "Jose & Maria") competition

in May but I need you tell me which week in May you are interested in entering (remembering that there are 5 Fridays in May). If you want to know the rules, check out the Jack & Jill event page in FaceBook. Any questions, ask me! No judges, 100% audience voting!! LET'S GET READY TO RRRRRUMBLE!!!

Would somebody with taste advise me if chrome mags look better on a silver car or simple black mags?

Don't forget that there are 2 massive events coming up. 1 is

The SYDNEY BACHATA FESTIVAL

(www.bachateros.com.au) in late April and

the AUSTRALIAN

SALSA CLASSIC

NSW QUALIFICATION

(www.australiansalsaclassic.com.au) presented by Palladium IV in June. Start practising to enter the biggest salsa competition in the Southern Hemisphere, folks!


see you dancing somewhere!

--
Clement
MAMBO JUMBO