HACHA Y MACHETE
Loving the Dance

Chatting with Hacha y Machete is a very pleasant experience indeed – its like bathing in a warm friendly pool of fun and vitality with an added sprinkling of enthusiasm and passion for the thing that links us all together – salsa.

And as self-confessed Turko-Rican, Burju – who was the only Turkish person on her college Latina Student Organisation – says, “In performing I am showing my own love for the dance; I like to express how much I love it – you don’t have to be a Latina to express that.”

And that is music to the ears of this Welsh girl from the valleys who’s as hooked into salsa as each and every one of my friends from all parts of the globe – Essex (!), Japan, France, Malaysia…you name it there is a salsa-addict from it.

When I met Hacha y Machete I was keen to find out just how they came to be dancing salsa – out of all the things in all the world they could have done. What got them here?
For Victor it began because he wanted to meet more girls….
“I used to to break dancing and dance to house music,” he explains, “and my Puerto Rican parents used to dance salsa in the living room. When I got to High School none of the girls wanted to dance with the guys break dancing – they liked the guys who did all the spinning stuff – so I started salsa!
“And that,” he continues, “is how I met Burju – we were both at college but not at the same one; she was looking for dancers and we were introduced by a friend of a friend.”

And Burju? “I did rhythmic gymnastics, then hip hop and jazz,” she says “I was in a lot of dance clubs in school and college. I also loved all things Latin – they called me the Turko-Rican!”
So how did she meet Victor? “I organised a talent show which is why I needed guys – so I went fishing for guys and got Victor. I’ve been salsa-ing ever since.”

Then there are the two younger members of the group, Sasha and Hector.
“I’ve been dancing since I was eight,” says Sasha, now sixteen. “I didn’t used to dance at all, but my brother worked in music and knew a guy who knew a guy, and that’s how I got into it. I met Victor and Burju when I was twelve, and here I am!”
And as for Hector: “I come from a family of musicians,” he explains. “My sister was too young to go out dancing, so she forced me to dance with her in the house. That’s why I learned to dance!”

So, how did this seed grow from college shows to international stages? For both Victor and Burju, it was definitely looking only one step ahead at a time….
“When we started the group,” explains Victor, “Our only goal was to make it to the L.A Salsa congress 2000. When we did that,” he continues, “then it was what’s our next goal? We made it international. We met Juan Matos and were part of his group, Fogarete, and learned great technique and inspiration; we also met lots of people around the world who recognised our talents.”

The majority of us love to dance, but don’t have that need, or pull or push or confidence or actual ability to get out there and perform routines in front of an audience. So, what is it about Victor and Burju that makes them want to go that bit further, give that bit extra?
Says Burju, “There’s something in me that likes to entertain…….I grew into it. I felt a need to explore my creative side and needed to be expressive. I get inspired by other performers and it has become my own personal challenge to be a great performer. I can also show my own love for the dance.”
And for Victor performing has developed his confidence.
“I was always nervous about being in front of others, especially at school” he explains. “But as I started teaching and performing, that fear went and I got more confident.”
And the routines? How do they develop and grow?
“It’s like a pregnancy”, says Burju. “It’s a very long process. We find an inspiring song, then we learn the song and let it seep in. Then we go through a daydreaming phase….we try to stay with the story of the music and let the song control everything we’re creating.
“It’s like an emotional journey,” she continues, “We’re firm believers in owning the dance before performing it. We need to dance it in our heart not just in our head.”
“And,” she says, “We need to mature into the music, and all of this can take about 6 months or more.”

There comes a point in every interview when the nosey – me - just wants to know more and more but recognises that the subjects – in this case, Hacha y Machete – need to go off and do what they (and me, really) love the most – dance. No matter how much more we want to talk and explore and find out.
So. One last question - Salsa???
Says Victor, “I think salsa is great and it gives me the opportunity to meet people from all around the world. It’s a real community and makes the world smaller.”
And as Burju says, “it’s all about having fun. We should share our love for it.”

The Salsa Sage caught up with Hacha y Machete at the Mambo City Five Star Congress 2007

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copyright Chris Penhall 2007