"I am not the message, I am the messenger"
"It became an obsession, a driven obsession"
"I was always on "2" but didn't know it"
"Our dance needs to be recognized, to be developed to a professional level"

PART 1

On February 16, 1999, I met with Eddie Torres at Jimmy's Bronx Cafe where the following interview was conducted. Mr. Torres is considered a pioneer and it is through his teaching and natural dance abilities that many dancers can proudly say, "I've learned from Eddie Torres". I should know. I'm one of them. For the past 9yrs, I've been involved in the New York mambo scene. For 6 of those years I was a principle dancer with the Eddie Torres Dance Company. Since departing his company, I've traveled internationally imparting and sharing with others the "Eddie Torres Technique" mixed with my own style. It has been a winning combination. The Eddie Torres technique is recognized around the world.

So it is with great pride that I share with you this exclusive interview. Exclusive in that it is the first time Mr. Torres is interviewed for the Internet. In addition, you will read facets about his life not revealed in other interviews.

For Eddie Torres it started when he was 16 years old. He was attracted to a young lady at the time. However, she knew how to dance and he didn't. Compelled to prove to himself and probably to her that he could learn and dance well, Eddie Torres embarked on dance mission that has now spanned over 30yrs.

Recognized as "The Mambo King", he recently received a Lifetime Achievement award at the 1st Annual Salsaweb Convention held this year in Washington, D.C. April 28 - May 2nd 1999. From performing at Ford Theatre for the president of the United States (George Bush) to touring with the legendary Tito Puente, his credits read like a who's who list. Mr. Torres has shown his commitment and love to the dance. His natural talent for choreography and his perseverance over the years, has catapulted him to be recognized as "The Mambo King". When no one else believed in sustaining the mambo, when most believed it was just a fad, Mr. Torres planted his dancing feet and stood his ground. He has positively touched many lives through the art of dance. For all his achievements, and many more to come, the Lifetime Achievement award is well deserved. Enjoy the interview.

Angel: How long have you been involved in dancing and what was the catalyst?

Eddie : I started dancing at the age of 16. I now have over 30 years involved in dancing. It all started because I was attracted to this young lady but I didn't know how to dance and she did. I was kind of heartbroken because she wouldn't pay that much attention to me but to this other fellow who happened to know how to dance. So one day I made up my mind to learn how to dance so that this wouldn't happen to me ever again. I was actually 15 years old but was dancing by the age of 16. In fact, it was my sister who helped me to learn how to dance because she was already a dancer. She didn't have much patience for me but she helped me get started with the basics. Her nickname was "Shorty" but her real name was Elia Torres. She was the "dancer" of the family. I remember always asking her to take me to the clubs. It's funny because she would answer me by saying, "You're crazy?" "I don't want to be seen in a nightclub with you looking like that"

(Eddie laughs) Then after about 7 years of dancing and becoming better at it, she used to beg me to go dancing with her!! Then she would ask me, "Eddie, would you go to clubs with me?" Then I would answer, "No, not you looking like that". I turned it around on her and I used to tell her, "Hey, those are old moves, I've got new moves!!!" So we used to joke with each other like that.

Angel: While in your youth, which types of music did you listen to what were your favorites at the time?

Eddie : Right at the top, I'd have to say Tito Puente because you know that's been the biggest inspiration for me and the work that I've done in choreography has been to Tito's music. I have practically dedicated my whole life to working with his music. I almost feel like my whole life was to come down (from heaven) and work as a choreographer. I used to tell Tito that his music is choreographers' dream.

The top names when I was growing up was Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Ricardo Ray, Ray Barretto, Larry Harlow, Pacheco, Machito, and Tito Rodriguez (which by the way I managed to see one time and danced in the same venue) There were others as well. Eddie Palmieri was really happening at the time.

Angel: Was music something that called your attention or were there other hobbies?

Eddie : I started out with the interest in Music and I always, always liked to play the piano. My mother bought me an organ. I would sit there for hours just playing and making up melodies. The piano was something that I thought one day, well, I would grow up to be a pianist (THIS IS AN EXCLUSIVE!!)

A lot of people don't realize the connection I have with Tito Puente. When you look at it, we're both born in the same hospital (Harlem Hospital), both raised in Spanish Harlem (El Barrio). My mother said the other day that we were probably born in the same hospital room. I told her that I never really thought about that before.

I believe Tito was destined to be a musician. I believe I was destined to be dancer. But when I was young, I really wanted to pursue the music and become a musician - just like Tito wanted to become a professional dancer!!!! When he was growing up he had an act with his sister. He was fascinated with dancing and I was fascinated with music!!! It so happened that somewhere in his youth, he suffered a fractured ankle. I heard it was pretty bad. That was the turning point for him. Then he committed himself totally to the music. I did the same thing. You see this finger here (Eddie shows me his right hand pinky), I broke this finger playing dodge ball. So I remember trying to play the piano with the damaged pinky and every time I'd had to play with the pinky, it would collapse. My teacher used to tell me that if I wanted to pursue piano playing, I would have to correct the broken finger. So I started to think that maybe piano playing is not something meant for me. These kinds of things happen in life and kind of bring put you on a track to where you really might belong. I didn't want to go through the operation so I got into dancing very young. So when Tito told me about his bicycle accident and how his ankle got stuck in the spokes and broke his ankle, well, the rest is history. Someone once told me that somehow because of the circumstances, Tito and I were destined to work together.

I remember going to the Corso (a club located on E. 86 St in Manhattan -- no longer there) in the 1970's and listening to Tito play and then complimenting him on his music. Tito then told me that I really should be doing more with my dancing. Instead of hanging out here at the Corso every Sunday and dancing for fun, you're talented and should be doing something on a professional level. That's how the working relationship with Tito started.

Angel: As a youth, did you have an opportunity to take any dance classes? Maybe at the local boys club or any facilities such as that? Was that available to you back then?

Eddie : I was actually more into sports like competitive swimming. I swam for about 11 years for the Boys Club of America. I liked baseball, skating. But dancing didn't happen for me until the accident with my finger. So I didn't take any dance classes. However, when I did become interest, there was something that upset me. One day I was looking through the yellow pages to see if there was a school that I could go to learn this dance. Back in the 1960's, there were no schools listed.

The only place that I think offered any Latin dancing was Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire. I remembering one time going to see what these classes were about and I was so upset. I said, "What is that?" "Who wants to dance like that?" It was different. I remember telling my mother that there was nothing in the yellow pages for this kind of dancing. Everything was there i.e. ballet, tap, modern, African, everything but Latin dance? Where's the Mambo? She told me that it's not popular, it's not mainstream and that it's not going to happen. I said that it wasn't fair. I wanted to study but nowhere to go. So I did what everyone did at that time. I went out dancing and I learned as I went along. I watched, and watched, and kept on watching. I picked up visually and if you knew someone you would ask.

There was a guy named George Vascones. He was probably the first teacher that I know of that was doing on the site, on location teaching. A lot of credit goes to George for being one of the first to do this. We were at the Hunts Point Palace (Bronx, NY) and every Sunday, while the dance was going on, George had a group of people on the corner where he would give instruction right there on the spot. I would say, "George, start me off:" He was very helpful to everyone. I think that was the only teaching at that time. Back then since I was too young to go to the clubs, I would go to house parties and I remember seeing a lot of the youth dancing and dancing whatever was in fashion at the time. Their parents who at the time used to go to the Palladium back then influenced the teenagers. Dancing mambo was a hip thing to do because of the Palladium era.

Angel: What were some of your thoughts about dance in the early years and did you have a visualization of what and where you wanted to be?

Eddie : This is the strange thing. Once I got into this and I realized I found something that I felt I could be good at, well, for some reason I knew it. After I got the hang of it, I started picking up really quickly. I also saw that I had an instinct to put stuff together (choreography). I remember the guys used to call me and invite me to the center (Robert Wagner Junior High School) and let's put stuff together so that you can show us. The High School had a center for adults to visit in the evenings from 7pm to about 11pm. They had the swimming pool, ping pong room, and the gym.

I'd go in there and ask them to borrow the record player and grab a little corner. The guys would meet me there and we'd start jamming (dancing). One guy would show one step, another would show a step and I'd come along and share whatever I was working on. We were teaching each other. I remember the guys asking me what did I pick up (learn) because I was always inventing something new. I would try and invent something new to bring to the center.

There were good dancers at the time. There was competition then but I don't think there was so much malice. We liked each other. We knew how to have a good time together. Today it's questionable and what motive people dance for. But I think Angel, I had a vision and I started to think about the incident with the young lady that I mentioned earlier, that I didn't want to be good, I wanted to be the best. That was the spark that drove me. Everyone else was doing normal hours of rehearsal maybe 2hrs. But I was doing 5 or more. They would call it quits at the center but I would go home and practice some more. It became an obsession, a driven obsession, like something was taking me there. And then, along the lines, I had this dream Angel that seemed so real, it was such a real dream, and I remember being in a huge stadium. Tito Puente's band was there, a lot of lights, a lot of people and a lot of excitement and I was there performing. The voice that I heard was telling me that I was going to be known internationally. My goal was to be a professional dancer. I had this vision of what could've been with this dance. And so now I understand that everyone who's purpose in life is to be a pioneer in any form of dance, at some point every dance had a beginning and had it's pioneers. Our dance needs to be recognized, to be developed to a professional level. So I see now that my purpose is to help make that happen. I'm not the message, but I'm the messenger.

Angel: Most people remember their first endeavor whether it's their first dance class or performance. Could you tell us when and where your first performance was?

Eddie : In junior high school there was a dance contest and I remember rehearsing for this and I shocked everybody because I put something together and it blew everybody away. Not to many people at that time knew how to work with music and structure their routine but I felt I did. I won the contest and after that I went to the Hunts Point Palace and every Sunday they had a dance contest and afterwards they had a pie eating contest!! I won the dance contest 11 weeks straight Angel. Every week I would choreograph a routine and I always had outfits and there was a theme. Dora and I would work week to week to prepare the routine with and outfit. The people loved it and we had a fan club. Everytime we'd get on people would scream. At that time, I think the audience were the ones that choose who would win. So junior high school was my first dance contest. I remember I won a trophy. I was so happy because I beat this guy named Louie George; I beat this guy named Louie Colon. I caught the salsa fever and I wanted to dance more and compete.

Angel: Here's a question a lot of people wanted me to ask you: When you first started dancing, did you start on the "1", "2" or anything else?

Eddie : The first time I had about this dancing on "2" was when someone from one of the studios where they teach dance, ask me (June LaBerta was responsible for "educating" me in this dance). June was responsible for advising me that if you want to teach, or choreograph, I would have to learn how to read music. She said I would only limit myself if I didn't know how to read. She compared it to a gifted piano player where the individual plays the piano but does not know how to read. As a dancer, June told me, that I have to know clave. You have to know about phrasing, you have to know terminology. She drove me crazy Angel for two years.

Somewhere along the line, I went to a studio and someone asked me, "Eddie, do you dance on "2"?". I was about 18yrs old. I said, "Dance on "2"?" You mean my two feet? I said what do you mean by "2"? Before then, I never knew what that was. June would purposely take me to all these different ballrooms and parties to dance and show me off. Everybody would watch and ask who I was. Eddie Dorfer was her previous partner. June was about 56yrs old when I met her. Then people were coming up to me asking all these technical questions. So after awhile, and since I didn't know the answers, I decided to learn it. So June sat me down and began teaching me how to read music. At first it was a nightmare. So to answer your question, I was always on "2" but didn't know it.

Angel: What is the controversy today regarding the different methods of counting i.e, 1-2-3-5-6-7 or the 2-3-4-6-7-8? The public has heard about dancing on the "1" and so forth. Can you describe to us your point of view on this?

Eddie : It's hard for me to answer that but I think the 2nd generation of palladium dancers, well, we somehow adapted and it became our natural way of dancing mambo 1-2-3. It was our generation. There was the Palladium 2-3-4 and even the Cuban 2. A lot of the dancers in the Palladium days evolved from the Rumba, which is 2-3-4 timing.

Angel: Then what do you attribute the popularity of the 1-2-3-5-6-7 if all this time the studios have been teaching the 2-3-4?

Eddie : The studios which were teaching at the time when I was growing up, well, no one from the street world went to a studio. Our gravitation to the 1-2-3 was already happening without us knowing that it was the 1-2-3. We are still breaking on 2 but it wasn't the 2-3-4. So I would have to say that the reason 1-2-3 became so popular because I believe I was one of the first, from the street form, to bring it to the public. I started putting names to the steps and started promoting it that way because June explained that I was dancing on that timing. So we started to call the 1-2-3 the street version and the 2-3-4 the studio version. So I introduced this 1-2-3 before this whole thing with "Salsa' came out. "Salsa" as we know it today came afterwards. I've been teaching for many years now. I remember way back when I had only 3 or 4 students. So people began to recognize and acknowledge my timing and wanted to learn from me. They said that what Eddie teaches fits in the clubs.