Colombian Style Salsa (Salsa Caleña)

What is Salsa Caleña?

Salsa Caleña is the Spanish name for Colombian style salsa or “Cali style salsa”, which comes from the city of Cali, Colombia.

It’s their identity

Caleños (people from Cali) are such passionate people that they completely fell in love with salsa when it arrived to their city in the 1970s. It quickly spread throughout the city and every social class. It is now a proud piece of the city’s cultural identity. In fact, it’s so engrained in their daily life that Cali is now known as “La capital mundial de la salsa” — the salsa capital of the world.

  • They have hundreds of salsa schools in the city.
  • Tons of bars and clubs where you can dance salsa any night of the week.
  • Every Friday “la calle de la salsa” (salsa street) aka “la calle del sabor” (flavor street) aka “la calle del pecado” (sinner street) is packed with locals playing salsa music, banging their cowbells, scratching their güiros and dancing with huge smiles on their faces—it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen.
  • They host the Cali World Salsa Festival every year which attracts competitors from all over the world.
  • La feria de cali (the Cali fair), their biggest party of the year from December 25-30, is all about salsa. Salsa concerts, salsa shows, salsa parades, salsa music exchanges. It’s crazy and such a cool experience.

My favorite things about Cali’s salsa culture has to be the iconic painting of the “Last Supper” that hangs on the back wall of the Topa Tolondra salsa club. Instead of Jesus’ disciples, the table is filled with iconic salsa artists. How good is that?

What makes Salsa Caleña different from other salsa styles?

Colombian salsa is all about the footwork. The upper body stays relatively rigid compared to other styles of salsa and their footwork is intricate and lightning fast. The turn patterns are quite simple and keep the focus on fast footwork with a partner.

The Colombian style basic step

The basic step used in Cali style salsa comes from cumbia—a music and dance born in the Caribbean region of Colombia—which uses a rotational back basic step. Although most people think cali salsa uses the exact same rotational back basic on both sides, it doesn’t (at least not the pros). I’ve learned that their basic step with a partner uses rotational back basic for the 123 and then just a back basic on the 567.

The speed

The impressive speed of their footwork is often created by using a triple step called “repique” in the middle of their basic step. It’s optional for social dancing, but most of the good dancers use it.

The footwork

Not only is it fast, it’s intricate and often done with a partner. In linear style salsa on 1 or on 2 (often called LA or NY style salsa) it’s most common to let go of your partner to do solo footwork. In salsa caleña, you’re facing your partner in an open hold position and executing the fast steps together. It requires a lot of coordination and a strong sense of timing.

The structure and timing

Colombian salsa uses a rotational structure like Cuban salsa, but keeps the turns very simple. The focus is on the footwork and it’s pretty much always danced on 1 (or on 3 for untrained dancers).

Cabaret style shows

Their cabaret-style shows are also known from their athleticism, using impressive acrobatic lifts and tricks.

My favourite salsa caleña dancer: @Diago.Camilo

Diago Camilo’s footwork dexterity, musicality and understanding of this music and dance is from another world. He blows my mind.

Other FAQs about salsa caleña

Where is Colombian style salsa danced?

Salsa caleña is mostly danced and taught inside Colombia, but in recent years more and more Colombian salsa dancers are traveling the world for dance gigs and even establishing their own studios, so their unique style is definitely spreading.

Although you can find salsa caleña throughout Colombia, its stronghold is Cali. In other regions of Colombia it’s common to dance salsa at family gatherings or parties but most people will only be dancing the most basic steps. On the other hand, it’s normal to see even the casual “bailadores” (social dancers) of Cali—i.e. the majority of the population—doing some fast intricate footwork. Like they say, it’s in their blood.

If you’re a linear style salsa dancer and you go to Cali, good luck finding dance partners. Very few people, mostly just a few pros dance linear salsa on 1 or on 2, and they’re not easy to find. So, open your mind to learning a new style. The more you know, the more people you can have fun with!

What kind of salsa music do you dance salsa caleña to?

You can dance Colombian salsa to any salsa music. That said, the preferred music for most dancers is called “salsa dura” or “salsa brava” — the hard hitting percussion-focused salsa sound that originated in New York in the 1960’s and 70’s.

Who are some famous Colombian salsa artists?

  • Joe Arroyo
  • Grupo Niche
  • Fruko y sus Tesos
  • Orquesta Guayacán
  • Orquesta La 33
  • Los Nemus Del Pacifico
  • And many more…

How fast is the footwork in salsa caleña?

The footwork in Salsa Caleña is incredibly rapid, often considered the fastest among all salsa styles.

Can I learn salsa caleña if I have experience in other styles?

For sure! If you’re used to a linear style of salsa, you’ll have to get used to its rotational style and, no matter what style you’ve danced before, buckle up and get ready to learn footwork that’s faster and more complex than anything you’ve done with a partner before. It’s always taught on 1, but many untrained dancers will also dance on 3.

Can I learn salsa caleña as a complete beginner?

100% and you’ll have a blast! There’s nothing like dancing with Colombians. They’re so passionate and so much fun. You’ll pick it up fast and there’s always someone willing to dance with your or help you learn. It also helps that the basic step and turn patterns are quite simple. Even if you can’t do the fancy footwork you can still have a fun dance!