Finding a Rhythm
Immersing in Madrid through salsa
By Catherine Glazer
When I told people that I planned to study in Madrid they would often warn me that it is a large city stripped of tradition and culture by its diverse immigrant population. This is exactly why I wanted to go. Madrid is a beautiful cosmopolitan city and its diversity only adds to its allure. The warnings about lack of culture and inability to learn through immersion are not true.
Culture does not fade or disappear easily. Usually, it evolves and changes like a personality. As we change, some important aspects of ourselves may be left behind or evolve into something completely new and different. But they are not forgotten. And more importantly, it is their influence from the past along with new developments and changes that help to compose each individual. Similarly, our distinct cultures from our pasts—forgotten or cherished—and our modern surrounding cultures help to make us who we are today. What was so special about Madrid was that I could observe how in such a large city various cultures come together, along with the predominant modern Spanish culture and the ever present traces of past Spanish traditions, to create Madrid’s unique and radiant culture.
What many people don’t realize about a city like Madrid is the difference between the tourist and the immigrant or foreign resident. During my seemingly transient semester in Madrid, I learned this as I myself made the transition from tourist to foreign resident. This transition did not begin until the first night I set foot into a Salsa club. It sounds unrealistic to describe the very moment when I first made this change, but to me it felt real and very distinct; and despite any previous or later gradual changes, finding salsa was a key moment in my assimilation into Madrid’s culture.
What could possibly be so important about a salsa club? Especially since salsa has nothing to do with Spanish culture. Well a lot. My relationship with salsa is very important, almost to the point of being an obsession, as it often is with those who are passionate about it. Dancing in Madrid I could be myself, feel confident and let go of any fear of standing out or not fitting in. One of the greatest obstacles to immersion is self-consciousness and an un-conscious resistance due to the fear of not being capable. Sometimes I hold myself back, feeling this very fear of never being able to assimilate, and prevent myself from ever opening up enough to become a part of my surroundings. But what one must remember is that immersion is not necessarily about assimilation. We do not need to forget our own cultures and differences but instead bring them with us as a reference and be ready and open to accept the new. If one is successful, there is no culture clash or conflict but rather the birth of a new understanding. This is how I, like many others, was able to truly become part of Madrid’s culture. Through salsa, I found myself in a position to let myself “immerse.”
Before I go any further I should describe that very first night. The salsa club was an exciting novelty and, yet, familiar and comfortable at the same time. When I got there, I knew that it was what I had been searching for without realizing it. The space was alive and happy. I instantly noticed the peaceful co-existence of a multitude of cultures. There were Europeans, Latinos and Africans. If anything, it was a miniature representation of the ideal Madrid. With the powerful music and fervor of dancing it was easy to forget one’s fears and uncertainties. Sometimes when dancing I would simply forget myself and, fulfilled and relaxed, I would become just another part of the atmosphere. But it was not easy to overlook my surroundings. I was very aware that I was in Madrid. This was Madrid. Madrid was this. We: Madrilenos, Spaniards, Latinos, Africans, and even the occasional North American, were all on the same level. We had brought aspects of ourselves and our cultures to mix with this new one, and we came to celebrate our cultural creation with salsa.
Clearly, the Latin immigrants I met there had used salsa in the same way I eventually would. They taught me the important concept of a successful immersion into Madrid’s culture. It isn’t as simple as letting go of your own culture and accepting a new one. Besides, that is impossible and the effort it takes to try and let go of such a strongly ingrained part of oneself impedes the possibility of ever letting the new cultural influences come naturally and positively. A Cuban friend of mine told me one night that he liked to go out salsa dancing because seeing its popularity in Spain made him proud of his own culture and also proud to be in Spain. He told me that it was the best way for him to make Spanish friends but that he also felt content because his own people, who were the ones to bring him to the club in the first place, were there too.
It was easy to see the strong influence salsa had on the Spaniards, the effort it took to learn to dance something so different from their own cultural dances like flamenco led to other strong cultural implications, like a more open mind and a newfound desire to learn more about immigrant cultures. The reverse effect of Spanish cultural influences on all of the salseros in the club was equally evident. It wasn’t hard to miss the fact that the DJ was Spanish himself, or the fact that every Latino in the club had adapted the habit of two kisses of greeting rather than the single kiss of their own culture. There was even the occasional salsa or merengue sung by a Spaniard. After a night of dancing salsa sometimes we would stay out, Madrid style, until the early morning and top off the night with a traditional Spanish breakfast of churros. This rare mix of cultural activities made my time in Madrid memorable and important.
I liked to spend the evenings not only dancing but also discovering where everyone I met came from. My favorite way to find out was by listening to their “gracias” after each dance, as it is customary to say thank you to your partner after each dance. If gracias came out with the Spanish accented “grathias” I knew that the person was Spanish and could strike up a conversation about why he liked to dance salsa, or how he felt about immigration. If not, I could assume my partner was a foreigner and ask where he was from or why he had come to Madrid. I once met a young Spanish woman whose parents planned to move to the United States. She, like others I met, was full of questions for me about my country. Seeing her interest in my cultural background match my own for hers taught me the importance and the reality of cultural exchange. It isn’t just about throwing yourself into a new country and situation and the inevitable giving and taking or sharing and learning like they teach you in school. It’s really about the strength of a mutual desire, the desire to take in the new and the unintentional sharing that results.
Conversations from nights dancing salsa fueled my academic growth and bought an extra first hand boost to my daytime studies. The largest immigrant community in Spain is Ecuadorians, so needless to say I met many. One Ecuadorian friend said that when he first got to Spain he was alone and felt like an outsider because of his dark skin and distinct indigenous Ecuadorian looks. He explained how he couldn’t truly appreciate Spanish culture until he felt comfortable, and he hadn’t felt comfortable until he found salsa. He learned how to dance a bit in Ecuador but began to take lessons in Madrid from a Spanish woman and a Colombian man who taught in a dance academy. He began to meet friends from all over the world and grew to love being in Madrid. I too had come to know a diverse group of wonderful people through salsa and had grown to love Madrid. He once taught me another subtle way in which the Spanish had added part of themselves to salsa when he pointed out a new dance step only done in Madrid and explained to me how even salsa was evolving and changing. After all, salsa itself came into existence thanks to a mixture of old Caribbean, African and European roots and a new cultural exchange in New York City. Then he told me how, like salsa, he was also changing. That was when I realized how much I too had changed. He and I, along with many others, had become a part of the strange and beautiful cultural mix that makes Madrid.
This bio was accurate at the time of publication:
Catherine Glazer is a senior at the University of Michigan, where she is earning majors in French, Spanish, and Latin American and Carebbean Studies. Glazer is a member of "M Salsa" and she works as a translator for the University of Michigan Law School. Glazer studied abroad in Madrid, Spain, last year.