Reve scheduled to appear at this year’s Salsa Rueda Festival in SF

To Reve or not to Reve….The 12th Annual Salsa Rueda Festival is taking place this week from Thursday, Feb. 13th through Sunday, Feb. 16th at the Hotel Withcomb, 1231 Market Street between 8th and 9th St. in San Francisco.  The scheduled headliner Cuban powerhouse Elito Reve Jr. Y Su Charangon.  There is a lot of behind the scenes work spearheaded by attorney/events advocate Bill Martinez to secure the visas necessary for Reve to enter in the country.  Despite massive amounts of support from the arts, members of government and the City of SF, the necessary permission hasn’t been granted yet.  Hopefully these hurtles which are now commonplace during the Trump Administration era will be cleared by showtime on Saturday evening, Feb. 15th.  I’ve caught Reve in their first SF appearance at Roccapulco several years ago and at the Havana Jazz Festival in 2018….they are simply incredible!

The husband of wife team of Serena Wong and Nicolas Van Eyck of the dance company Salsa Vale Todo have been instrumental in bringing top headliners such as El Nino Y La Verdad, Pedrito Calvo, Mayito Rivera, Tirso Duarte and  Samuel Formell among others to SF Salsa Rueda Festival audiences.  This year’s fest will also feature the hot local sensation Mario Y Su Timbeko on Friday, a rumba presentation featuring all star musicians including Javier Navarette, a mega Rueda and a Timba DJ showdown on Sunday night.  The festival will go to 4 am on Friday and Saturday and until 5 am on Sunday night with DJ afterparties.  The festival also offers over 50 dance classes by expert dancers from around the world specializing in Cuban dance.  For more information, visit www.salsaruedafestival.com