Dance, Dance, Yah!

I´m impressed with the ability that Nicaraguan woman are seemingly born with to shake their booty. I have been convinced for a long time that Wendy must have some extra joints in her hips that allow her to shake them. . .how she shakes them.

Until coming down here this time I had only seen the like watching a Shakira music video. However, I have now seen other Nicaragua females do the same thing. What is most disturbing to me is that this time it was by a girl that couldn´t have been older then 8.

When this girl growns up assuming she keeps dancing she will be their equal. Granted, not all of the girls here can do what my Ex and this little girl named Celeste can, but there are many many more that aren´t far behind. The professional dancers in Montelimar for example. Some of them are very very good at what they do.

The two nights that I was at Montelimar they did dances from lots of different countries and then did a dance specific to Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan dance involved more hip shaking and generally suggestive movements than the dances from any other country that they performed. I would rate the performance PG-13 at the very least, not that I´m complaining.

Last week on the anniversary of the day that Somosa fled the country I went to see a bunch of little girls dance (many of whom I knew because I had befriended their parents). The dance ended up taking place on a random section of street.

There was a piñata in red and black strung up in the middle of the street that the kids bludgened with a stick and then tore apart first, before the dancing began. The piñata was not the only one in red and black. Easily 80% of the crowd was deck out in their Sandanista finest. Also, there was a woman walking around passing out FSLN hats to everyone in the audience.

She didn´t offer me one.

I thought it odd that they should have their children dismemeber a piñata decked out in the red and black; it kinda seems like flag burning to me. In any case I began to feel a bit exposed in those surrounding. I mean it´s one thing to talk about evolving politics from the safety of a cyber cafe´, but I wasn´t quite as sure at that moment:

"Luchemos contra el Yankee, el enemigo de todo la humanidad."

Luckily this growd was more interested in watching the dance than lynching whitey, so I got to enjoy the show unmolested.

They girls had to change their costumes four times. As we were on the street they were forced to do this in the back of the cars that we had used to get there. They did an exeptional job. The music was sexually suggestive (much too mature for these little girls) but than so was their dancing.

Once I overcame my initial shock I found myself laughing out loud at how they danced like their adult counterparts. During one famous Nicaragua dance called "El palo de Mayo" half of the dancers (usually men, but in this case the girls did it) lay down and the other half shake their booties suggestively over the prone dancers.

I have rarely seen anything quite as funny.

They also had some dance competitions between all of the girls. Celeste won even competion she was in, even though she was one of the youngest girls there; that girl´s got mad skillz.

Personally I suffered from a complete lack of physical coordination when it comes to dancing, at least when it comes to dancing latin music. I just can´t get my hips to wiggle right (I still think it´s genetic, and that I simply lack the aditional joints.)

Still, I love watching these girls and woman dance. So, last week I went back to the disco called "Matrix" on carretera Masaya. This time I got there right as it opened, big mistake. It opens around 9:30, but nobody even starts dancing until around 10:30 or 11:00, and it doesn´t really get going until after 12:00.

The biggest problem with Matrix is that there aren´t enough places to sit, and it is too full. What this means for me is that I couldn´t really settle in and enjoy the show. If you go to Matrix you should go to dance, not to watch. Or you could go to drink; the bar was allways packed. In fact that is where everyone is until the dancing starts.

I´m currently on the lookout for a more spacious, less dark, and more comfortable disco that´ll allow me to appreciate dancing as nothing more than a zealous fan. Anyone know of a disco out there that´ll be a better fit?

Saludos!