What makes salsa, salsa? Like the Blues, salsa is heavily rooted in African rhythms and dance. From sensual Mapale came the sensuality of salsa.

Here is another great video of Mapale dance. And now Che Mapale makes it to Barranquilla for Mardi Gras. It’s the Mapale that gives Barranquilla, Colombia it’s edge on having the best danced Carnival celebration in the world. See Carnalavero to see why? The indigenous collides and merges with the Afro Colombian Mapale in Barranquilla with Checo Acosta. More Danza Mapale and back to a Tribute to the Carnival of Barranquilla.

All in all, you can see some of this style danced on occasion in Manitou Springs! And Mapale beats break-dancing USA style any day. In fact, break-dancing is probably just a degenerated form of Mapale. And who knows what the Manitou Springs form of dance degenerated from?