Deep Salsa Survival (2).

7 Jan

The following references are from:

by Laurence Gonzales ».

A book about real life survival stories.

Appendix: The Rules of Adventure, Pages 263-268:
“… Here are a few suggestions for staying out of trouble …”

Appendix: The Rules of Adventure, Pages 263-268

1. Perceive, believe, then act.
There are many ways a salsa gigolo can get himself into trouble, in the salsera wilderness. Perhaps the quickest way is by asking the wrong salsera to grindchata to the wrong bachata, at the wrong time. If a salsera has come with her husband or boyfriend, no grindchata. If a salsera has come with her mother or aunt, probably no grindchata. If you really must dance with forbidden salsera », it is best to acknowledge her partner or guardian before and after the dance.

2. Avoid impulsive behavior; don’t hurry.
It can be a feeding frenzy at times, with salsa gigolos competing for trophic level » 2.0 and 4.0 salseras, but a salsa gigolo can do well by taking a wait-and-see approach. It is instructive to watch a salsera dance with another salsa gigolo, to see how she moves and connects, and to make sure she is not forbidden. It also doesn’t hurt for her to see you dance with another salsera, so she can see your stuff. When the right song comes on, and if the trophic level 2.0 salsera is free, go ahead and ask her to dance. For trophic level 4.0 salseras, conserve your energy and wait for her to ask you to dance. If she likes your stuff enough, she will find a way to free herself from the feeding frenzy.

3. Know your stuff.
In the beginning, a salsa gigolo will fear that he doesn’t know any stuff, so he will quickly try to learn all the stuff. As time goes on, a salsa gigolo will learn that he only likes some of the stuff, and this is the stuff he will know and call his own. He will realize that salseras will grindchata with him, because of the stuff he calls his own, even if he uses the exact same stuff with every salsera he dances with. Knowing this, he will respect other salsa gigolos for the stuff that they call their own, and appreciate all the variety that salsa has to offer.

4. Get the information.
There is a lot of information out there, and a salsa gigolo will eventually learn to separate the good from the bad. A good place to start is by watching other salsa gigolos, both on and off the dancefloor. The salsa gigolos you like to watch the most will likely be able to lead you to some good information. Caution: novice salsa gigolos watching a dancefloor can experience information overload and be overwhelmed if they forget to perceive, believe, and then act. Perceive that even the most experienced salsa gigolos make mistakes.

5. Commune with the dead.
By watching the dancefloor, a salsa gigolo can also learn from his fellow salsa gigolos’s mistakes, and how they get into trouble. It’s almost impossible to watch the dancefloor, and not see a salsa gigolo getting into some kind of trouble, somewhere. Dealing with rejection poorly. Causing pain or injury. Taking too much from a salsera, too quickly. The root cause of most trouble is a salsa gigolo’s ego. To avoid making the same mistakes, or to at least lessen the severity of the mistakes he will inevitably make, a salsa gigolo would do well to educate himself and control his ego.

6. Be humble.
A salsa gigolo’s ego is both a fragile thing and a scary thing. When ego rears its ugly head, there are all kinds of opportunity for trouble. With time, a salsa gigolo learns that humility is better than hubris, and he would do well to continuously strive to rediscover sincerity » in his salsa. This constant striving for salsa sincerity will make for a long and healthy life as a salsa gigolo.

7. When in doubt, bail out.
It is better to make a small mistake than a big mistake. It is easier to get out of a little trouble than a lot of trouble. He who grindchatas and runs away, will live to grindchata another day.

Leave a comment