A recent pleasure of mine was being interviewed on The Empowered Dancers Podcast.
Although I have had many guests myself on my radio show, this was the first time the roles were reversed, and it was a thrill.
About the podcast
In the words of host Bobbie Miles, The Empowered Dancers Podcast serves to function as
a space for different voices in our dance scene to be celebrated and have conversations that matter in order to promote more understanding, accountability and responsibility in our dance scene through the value we share with listeners.
On the show
For Episode 32, I shared the origins of my love for salsa music, some experiences as a DJ, and some details about my current activities -- beyond just spinning at salsa events -- such as creating content for the radio show Encanto Tropical and researching the role of context in salsa, both in individual songs and in the 'genre' at large involving socio-cultural and historical references.
Bobbie Miles is a wonderful, insightful, and bubbly host with a great objective in mind: to encourage salsa/bachata/kizomba dancers to dance "on our own terms, to shine our own light." She provides this empowerment by sharing interviews with people from a range of backgrounds, each of whom has a story to tell -- and in their story she provides some form of empowerment.
I feel grateful to have been invited to appear on the show. It was a fun and interesting talk, as the process of verbalizing my experiences and ideas reminded me of my belonging to the exciting and supportive salsa community -- both locally and globally.
The 25-minute interview can be accessed through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and elsewhere. Check the page for TEDP Episode 32 for details. The YouTube version is below.
Errata
Oops. There are two points I should mention as post-interview edits.
I mistakenly said 9am instead of 9pm when referring to my 8-hour DJ sets.
I incorrectly described Jimmy Bosch as the singer when I mentioned his song "Otra Oportunidad". Of course, the vocalist is Herman Olivera; I meant to refer to Bosch as the lyricist, as Olivera was singing his words.
OTHEr EpiSodes
There are engaging interviews in other episodes of The Empowered Dancers Podcast. Below are some examples, but check out the link above for an index of all episodes.
Connect
A special thanks and best wishes to Bobbie Miles for interviewing me on The Empowered Dancers Podcast.
