Pedro Gomez (dance instructor)
Encyclopedia
Pedro Gomez is a Salsa
dance instructor from Cuba
.
The Gomez family arrived in Puerto Rico
. Salsa music had been popularized in Cuba by Celia Cruz
, Olga Guillot
and others, and, in Puerto Rico, it shared the general public's top spot among favorite types of music with American rock
and pop music
. Such stars such as El Gran Combo
and Eddie Santiago
were famous during the 1980s there. Gomez started to become interested in this type of music since he was a child, demonstrating ability to dance it from his early years.
Gomez tried to continue learning and practicing his dance moves as a teenager, after he had moved to Miami
. Later, he went into the army and was stationed in Germany. After getting out of the Army, he worked for a while in Germany until he eventually settled in Rome, Italy.
Salsa is a growing music genre in Europe; Andy Montañez
, another Puerto Rican star of the 1970s and 1980s, toured Belgium, Spain and other countries, for example. Gomez, basking in Salsa's new popularity in that continent, set a dancing school there.
Soon, Gomez became one of the best known dancing teachers in Europe, in part because people from Italy and other countries wanted to learn how to dance Salsa.
Gomez has popularized the Puerto Rican and New York City dancing styles, among others, in Italy as well as in other countries such as England and Denmark. He has also taught at schools in Muslim countries (particularly in northern Africa) as well as in South Africa.
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
dance instructor from Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
Biography
After Gomez was born, his parents decided to abandon Cuba, perhaps to allow his son to live under better economic conditions.The Gomez family arrived in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. Salsa music had been popularized in Cuba by Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums...
, Olga Guillot
Olga Guillot
Olga Guillot was a Cuban singer who was known to be the "queen of bolero". She was a native of the Cuban city of Santiago.Guillot and her family moved to Havana, Cuba when she was a small child...
and others, and, in Puerto Rico, it shared the general public's top spot among favorite types of music with American rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. Such stars such as El Gran Combo
El Gran Combo
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, commonly known as El Gran Combo, is a Puerto Rican Salsa music orchestra. It is Puerto Rico's most successful musical group, and one of the most popular salsa orchestras across Latin America...
and Eddie Santiago
Eddie Santiago
Eddie Santiago is a salsa singer from Puerto Rico. At a young age, Eddie demonstrated great love for salsa music...
were famous during the 1980s there. Gomez started to become interested in this type of music since he was a child, demonstrating ability to dance it from his early years.
Gomez tried to continue learning and practicing his dance moves as a teenager, after he had moved to Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. Later, he went into the army and was stationed in Germany. After getting out of the Army, he worked for a while in Germany until he eventually settled in Rome, Italy.
Salsa is a growing music genre in Europe; Andy Montañez
Andy Montañez
Andrés Montañez , better known as Andy Montañez, is a salsa singer from Puerto Rico.-Early life:Montañez, like singer Daniel Santos and boxer Ossie Ocasio, is a native of the Tras Talleres area of Santurce San Juan. He is known by the nickname "El Godfather de la Salsa"...
, another Puerto Rican star of the 1970s and 1980s, toured Belgium, Spain and other countries, for example. Gomez, basking in Salsa's new popularity in that continent, set a dancing school there.
Soon, Gomez became one of the best known dancing teachers in Europe, in part because people from Italy and other countries wanted to learn how to dance Salsa.
Gomez has popularized the Puerto Rican and New York City dancing styles, among others, in Italy as well as in other countries such as England and Denmark. He has also taught at schools in Muslim countries (particularly in northern Africa) as well as in South Africa.