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On February 2, 2020, in Miami, Swing Latino joins Jennifer López on the stage of the Super Bowl halftime show. Four days later, its director, El Mulato, tells the Cali newspaper El País: “Esos 30 segundos definieron toda la noche.” (Those 30 seconds defined the entire evening.) — El Mulato, El País, February 6, 2020 ^[4].

Thirty seconds for an entire lifetime. Behind them are a boy from a poor neighborhood in Cali, a neighborhood theater in 1982, a school set up in a living room, a stage style invented by two people, championships, an American television show and a cabaret built stone by stone. And, at every step, the same fire, which he sums up like this: “La salsa se baila con pasión, porque hay que vivir, respirar y sentir la música” (Salsa is danced with passion, because you have to live, breathe and feel the music) — El Mulato, El Nuevo Siglo, September 28, 2012 ^[4].

El Mulato is often presented as the king of Salsa caleña, the creator of the Cali style or a fourteen-time world champion. These phrases are widely repeated. Eight of them deserve a closer look first; then comes his journey, year by year.

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TRUE or FALSE: examining the 8 myths about El Mulato

Before telling his life story, a necessary stop. Festival biographies, collaborative encyclopedia pages and promotional texts about El Mulato circulate, copied and sometimes contradictory. Eight claims keep coming up. Which ones hold up? The verdict at a glance, then the details in the section indicated.

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ARAUCA and CALI: the boy from the EL DIAMANTE neighborhood

El Mulato is a dancer, choreographer and director of Swing Latino, a Salsa company and school in Cali, Colombia. He also runs a cabaret, El Mulato Cabaret, which presents itself as the official home of the company ^[3].

His legal name is Luis Eduardo Hernández ^[1]. His stage name is El Mulato, or simply Mulato; his company is called El Mulato y su Swing Latino. His verified Instagram account is @luiselmulatomulato ^[3].

He was not born in Cali: he is born in Arauca, a corregimiento (a rural subdivision) in the municipality of Palestina, in the department of Caldas, the coffee region. He then grows up in Cali, in barrio (neighborhood) El Diamante ^[4][5][6]. He was born in 1968, according to him: the ages he gives in his interviews, from 2012 to 2020, all point to that year ^[4].

El Diamante was then, he says, the last neighborhood in Cali before the district of Agua Blanca. No drinking water, no public utilities: “no había energía, era con los mechones y petróleo” (there was no electricity, we used wicks and kerosene for light) ^[4].

He is the youngest in the family, the “payasito” (the little clown) of the house. He owes his first dance steps to an uncle, then to an older brother who practiced at home before going out dancing: “Mi hermano […] fue una ficha fundamental para que yo aprendiera a ejecutar pasos” (My brother was a key part of my learning to perform steps). His mother, meanwhile, takes the lead on their street: she runs the parish prayer group and finds food for neighbors who are even poorer ^[4].

In that neighborhood, you earn respect with your fists, and he makes no secret of it: “yo no robaba, no metía vicio, pero sí era pandillero” (I did not steal, I did not touch drugs, but I was in a gang) ^[4]. Who got him out of there? When asked, he answers directly: art ^[4].

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CALI, 1982: neighborhood THEATER and the first groups (1982-1997)

It all starts with an escape. One day, to avoid being chased off the neighborhood sports field, he slips into a small group of people who are talking. It is the teacher Orlando Cajamarca, who is forming a theater group there, Esquina Latina. The boy stays: his first artistic steps date back to 1982, in Orlando Cajamarca’s Programa El Diamante ^[4][5][7].

He spends eight years in theater and becomes, he says, “primer actor” (leading actor). But during the last three years, he discovers that he dances Salsa well and that dance might earn him more ^[4]. He then puts together his first dance group, without knowing about choreography ^[4][5][7]. In 1982, he founds the school Los Pibes de la Salsa; his first performance, at the girls’ normal school in Cali, takes him a year to prepare: he wants to do things very well, and to do that, he says, “hay que demorarse, hay que mirar con la lupa” (you have to take your time, look through a magnifying glass) ^[4][5].

At the time, calling yourself a dancer “era un pecado mortal” (was a mortal sin) ^[4][5]. His mother does not believe in it either: he tells her he will make a living from dance, and she replies that he will never manage it, because you cannot make a living from dance ^[4].

According to him, he also serves in the army. In 2020, he recounts doing his military service while already leading his group, wanting to become a reserve officer, and forming a dance group with soldiers there ^[4]. When he returns, everything changes: “Todo cambia cuando voy para el ejército” (Everything changes when I leave for the army). He resumes leading his group with a new sense of discipline ^[4].

He counts the years himself: thirty years of dance in 2012, thirty-four years in December 2016, thirty-six years of artistic life in 2018, thirty-eight years in February 2020, then more than 38 years of work for dance and the caleño style in March 2020 ^[2][4]. All five durations point to 1982.

He passes through several groups before Swing Latino, with no precise dates. His group wins the dance contest on the television show Estrellas del Pacífico, and the dancer Evelio Carabalí, then a major name in Cali, invites him to join Rumba Rumberos. He also spends time with Ballet Azúcar, directed by Liliana Salinas ^[4][5]. His first group went by other names before Swing Latino: Los Pibes de la Salsa, then, he says, Los Ases del Ritmo and Los Inquietos de la Salsa; its members were very young ^[4][5]. He then chooses Swing Latino, a more international name ^[4].

Evelio Carabalí is one of his idols: he describes him as “el mulato de la época” (the Mulato of the time). But the young man makes a decision: “decidí no vivir el mundo de la salsa como ellos lo estaban viviendo” (I decided not to live in the world of Salsa the way they were living it) ^[4].

Liliana Salinas, former director of Ballet Azúcar, describes his style as a fusion of baile caleño (Cali dance) and the techniques learned during his stay in Puerto Rico ^[4][5].

For nearly seven years, he works for a man who teaches him about nightlife and takes him dancing in Juanchito. He learns a lot, earns almost nothing and consoles himself in his own way: “yo todo el tiempo ando pensando en sembrar, sembrar, sembrar, sembrar, y después voy a recoger” (I spend my time thinking about sowing, sowing, sowing, sowing, and then I will harvest) ^[4]. Then he changes course. He says it himself: “comienzo a cambiar el chip de la cabeza y tengo la fortuna de encontrarme con mi esposa” (I start to change the chip in my head and I am lucky enough to meet my wife) ^[4]. Her name is Martha Lucía Montañez, and she has just joined Ballet Azúcar, the company where he dances ^[2][4].

Did he learn everything on his own? A 2011 profile says he learned everything in nightclubs and during his time in Puerto Rico; the press notes in 2020 that he studied neither ballet nor choreography ^[2][5]. Yet his background includes a neighborhood theater, groups in Cali, and a stay in Puerto Rico: the label entirely self-taught is therefore too simple. He himself says in 2020 that his teaching was “empírica” (Empirical). In February 2020, on a local TV news program, he says: “a pesar de que no hemos ido a la universidad, el conocimiento está claro” (Even though we have not been to university, the knowledge is clear) ^[4].

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PUERTO RICO, 1998: the BALLET AZÚCAR, the shock, and the nickname

Puerto Rico is the turning point in his story. In 1998, according to him, the organizers of the island’s first Salsa congress are looking for dancers from Cali: Cali is called the world capital of Salsa, and they cannot understand why no Caleño is there. They invite the Ballet Azúcar, which he belongs to, but without paying for anything ^[4]. Researchers Juliet McMains and Priscilla Renta date Puerto Rico’s first World Salsa Congress to 1997 ^[1].

To raise the money for the trip, the troupe sells empanadas and sancochos and dances at red lights; nine dancers eventually make the trip ^[4]. He bought his dance shoes secondhand and painted them himself: the spray explodes during the show, and they end up black.

There, no one had seen Caleños dance. Performers can only appear on one day; they dance for five days. The shock goes both ways. They dance to a Richie Ray record from beginning to end, nearly six minutes; the Puerto Ricans cut the music after a minute and a half. Without speaking English, he also discovers what the “business” of dance is. “Fuimos en el 98, fuimos el boom” (We went there in 98, we made a big splash) ^[4].

That is where his nickname is born. According to him, in 1998, at a Salsa congress in Puerto Rico, he dances to El Mulato, a Richie Ray record. A man congratulates him, his fellow dancers pick up the word, and the nickname sticks. He tells the story three times (2016, 2020, 2023), and in 2020 and 2023 he specifies that he was there with the Ballet Azúcar ^[4]. Before that, he says, people called him “el Loco” (The madman): in Agua Blanca, “me conocen como el loco, no como el mulato” (they know me as the madman, not as the Mulato) ^[4].

A 2011 profile tells a different origin story: the singer Laíto, from the Sonora Matancera, reportedly gave him the name in 1988, after seeing him dance at the Baracoa nightclub in Juanchito. He does not confirm this account ^[5].

He stays on the island for about four months, working to pay for a ticket: he dreams of staying in the United States. He already has children to feed and, he says, “la cosa estaba complicando […] la piña se estaba agriando” (things were getting complicated, the pineapple was turning sour) ^[4]. Then he returns to Cali and, for a few days, resumes his job as a driver for a pediatrician who has been telling him for years that he is an artist ^[4]. One morning, he makes his decision. He goes up to the office, hands back the keys, and announces: “me voy a dedicar a bailar” (I am going to devote myself to dance) ^[4].

When did all this happen? He places his first congress in Puerto Rico in 1998, with the Ballet Azúcar, before his return to Cali and the championship that follows ^[1][4][5][7].

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CALI, 1998: MARTHA LUCÍA, the first championship, and the STYLE they invented together

In Puerto Rico, Martha Lucía Montañez is part of the same group, the Ballet Azúcar. She is not yet his partner: “no era mi esposa cuando vamos a Puerto Rico” (she was not my wife when we went to Puerto Rico) ^[4].

Back in Cali, he learns that the first national Salsa championship is being prepared, organized by Corfecali ^[4][5]. He wants to compete. She is not his first choice: he thinks she is too new, “muy nueva apenas” (she was only just starting out), and prefers other dancers. But the other couples leave him out ^[4]. So he goes to find her: “me iba a buscar a la que es mi esposa ahora, pues a Martha Lucía, para decirle que nos metiéramos a concursar en el primer campeonato que había de salsa aquí en Cali” (I was going to find the woman who is now my wife, Martha Lucía, to tell her we should enter Cali’s first Salsa championship) ^[4].

They win. He speaks of it with pride: “vine a competir […] y nunca nadie me pudo ganar” (I came to compete […] and no one was ever able to beat me). Later, after one last national championship at Cristales, which he does not date, he stops competing in Colombia: “decidí comenzar a buscar el mundo” (I decided to start seeking out the world) ^[4].

Martha Lucía is not his first great love, and he makes no secret of it. He talks about a first marriage that ended badly: he says he was cheated on. On a Telepacífico set, he is asked whether he has ever had his heart broken. “Uy, pero muchas” (Oh my, many times), he replies, and recounts how much he cried then. Then he adds: “No me da miedo decirlo. No me da pena decirlo. Para poderme formar como soy, para poder ser quien soy, tuve que haber pasado por todas” (I am not afraid to say it. I am not ashamed to say it. To develop into the person I am, to be who I am, I had to go through them all) ^[4].

Baile caleño is the way Salsa is danced in Cali. It existed long before El Mulato. A 2013 article traces the birth of this Colombian style to Cali in the 1940s and describes its flourishing in Juanchito in the 1980s ^[2]. The tradition is therefore older than he is. According to researcher Alejandro Ulloa Sanmiguel, this classic Cali style emerged among social dancers in the 1940s-1950s; it retains traces of Son, Swing, and the fox-trot, then of the guaracha and Mambo danced in Cali, “influenced by the Mexican pachucos” (Influenced by the Mexican pachucos) seen in movies ^[1]. El Mulato also says, in 2016, that the style’s roots come from Mexico, from the films of Tin Tan and Cantinflas ^[4].

He acknowledges this himself. In 2020, he mentions the competitions of the 1960s and 1970s and pioneers such as Amparo Arrebato, Jimmy Boogaloo, Evelio Carabalí, and Félix Veintemillas. He then places his own generation later: “Desde 1998 surgió una generación que yo lidero en la que apareció el furor internacional” (Since 1998, a generation that I lead has emerged, in which international enthusiasm has appeared) — El Mulato, El País, February 2, 2020 ^[4].

His contribution is a stage version. He calls it CLA in 2012, then CYLA in 2020: baile caleño with a touch of Los Angeles style. In 2020, he explains: “entre el estilo caleño tradicional y el estilo de Los Ángeles” (between traditional caleño style and Los Angeles style) — he says “caleño y Los Ángeles” starting in 1998 ^[4]. It is different from the very fast traditional caleño style of earlier times: with his wife and partner in dance and management, Martha Lucía Montañez, he added steps and acrobatics from Los Angeles. He sums it up: “Es un estilo creado para competir y para espectáculos” (It is a style created for competition and performances) — El Mulato, El País, February 2, 2020 ^[4].

They invented this style together, and he repeats it from one interview to the next. As early as 2012, he talks about a style that “we” invented in 1998: “un nuevo estilo que lo inventamos mi esposa y yo en el año de 1998” (a new style that my wife and I invented in 1998) ^[4]. On the radio, in 2016: “mi esposa y yo somos los creadores de este nuevo estilo de baile” (my wife and I are the creators of this new dance style). And in 2018: “mi esposa y yo creamos ese estilo e hicimos que pudiéramos vivir del baile” (my wife and I created this style and made it possible for us to make a living from dance) ^[4].

He takes pride in it: in 2025, he says he secured recognition for caleño style as “el quinto estilo de baile” (the fifth dance style), after those of New York, Los Angeles, Cuba, and Puerto Rico ^[4]. In 2018, he responds to critics who say he has damaged caleño style: “lo que hacemos en el escenario nunca lo hacemos en la pista de baile” (What we do onstage, we never do on the dance floor) ^[4].

Where did he discover Los Angeles style? His account changes. In 2012, he says he studied the way people danced extensively during a stay in the United States. In 2020, he places the discovery in Puerto Rico, in 1998: “El estilo nace en 1998 cuando voy a Puerto Rico. Allá conocí el estilo de Los Ángeles o LA” (The style is born in 1998 when I go to Puerto Rico. There, I discovered Los Angeles style, or LA) — El Mulato, El País, February 2, 2020 ^[4].

He says he was inspired by a leg move by Johnny Vazquez, which he reproduced with the other leg: he talks about it in filmed interviews posted online in 2020 and December 2025 ^[4]. In a filmed interview posted online in April 2013, he also felt that the Vazquez brothers had taken steps that Caleños were dancing at the time and then transformed them in their own way ^[4].

Others describe this stage version. In her 2015 book, researcher Juliet McMains speaks of a cabaret version of Salsa caleña and cites Colombian researcher Alejandro Ulloa’s definition: agility in the legs, daring in lifts and aerial moves, speed in the feet, and sophistication in improvisation ^[1]. A 2014 academic article notes that acrobatics and frenetic movements are now considered elements of caleño style ^[1]. In 2013, Cali’s city government credits him with a style of his own that revives the tradition of caleño dancers of the 1970s, based on foot speed ^[6].

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SWING LATINO: the school in the living room, a foundation, a disputed date

Swing Latino refers to three things at once: a dance company, a school, and a foundation, the Fundación Escuela de Baile Swing Latino, which began in the San Pedro Claver neighborhood. In 2012, El Mulato explains that young people join as early as age 7 and move through groups such as Nueva Raza, Mini Swing, or Reyes del Swing before joining the company ^[4][5].

At first, the school is the living room of their house: “la sala en nuestra casa era la escuela” (the living room of our house was the school). Eighteen dancers rehearse there for lack of anywhere else; when he wants to try moves, he heads to the soccer field ^[4]. For years, the house is also the rehearsal room: no more privacy, an empty fridge, clothes going missing ^[4].

When did Swing Latino begin? The texts give 1995 for the neighborhood foundation in San Pedro Claver, 1998 for the start of Swing Latino, and 1999 for the school or foundation. He dates the birth of his style to 1998 ^{[1][4][5][6][7]}. His reference points for the company change: he says 18 years in August 2013 (which means 1995), 22 years for the name in February 2020 (which means 1998), then around 20 years in 2021 ^[4]. In 2025, he places the moment when his first group becomes Swing Latino even earlier, around 1985 or 1987: “primero fueron los Pibes de la Salsa, luego los Ases del Ritmo, después los Inquietos de la Salsa, hasta llegar a Swing Latino” (first the Pibes de la Salsa, then the Ases del Ritmo, next the Inquietos de la Salsa, and finally Swing Latino) ^[4]. What emerges is a neighborhood foundation in San Pedro Claver, established in the 1990s.

Swing Latino is also a social project, and a project built by a couple. In a September 2012 interview, El Mulato describes their activity as independent social work ^[4]. He works with young people from the age of 7 and is calling for more public support at the time. The foundation is presented as having been created to improve the lives of vulnerable young people ^[5]. When he talks about those whose lives dance has changed, he says: “ese es el objetivo principal de mi esposa, y el mío es hacer proyectos de vida, cambiarles la mentalidad de la gente” (that is my wife’s main goal, and mine is to build life projects, to change people’s mentality) ^[4]. And in 2012: “Me siento muy comprometido con el proceso que hemos estado haciendo con mi esposa en el distrito de Agua Blanca” (I feel very committed to the work my wife and I are doing in the district of Agua Blanca) ^[4].

In 2020, he says he wants young people in Cali to know they can choose this career. He also wants to open a Mulato Cabaret in the world’s major cities. He dreams of a Salsa university in Cali, modeled on what Incolballet does for ballet ^[4]. In 2018, he says his dancers must do well at school: anyone who fails a subject cannot continue dancing with them ^[4].

In May 2017, the University of San Buenaventura in Cali publishes a video about him. In it, a voice from the company can be heard saying that the university helped them “a organizar bien nuestra empresa” (To organize our business well). The video also presents him as a Salsa caleña workshop instructor, sometimes at universities ^[5].

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PHILADELPHIA 2004, LAS VEGAS 2006, ORLANDO 2007: the era of TITLES

The word world causes confusion because two different competitions use it. The World Salsa Championships are championships organized by Albert Torres and the Salsa Seven, broadcast on the American channel ESPN between 2005 and 2009. The Festival Mundial de Salsa de Cali is a municipal festival that has existed since 2006 ^[6][8]. To write world champion accurately, you therefore need to name the event.

Before the titles comes a first trip. The company dates its first trip outside Colombia to 2003, for the San Juan congress ^[6]. He recounts, without giving a date, taking fourteen of his dancers abroad. They have to come up with every possible way to pay for the tickets: raffles, tombolas, parties. For many, it is the first flight of their lives, and the moment stays with them: “lloramos, o sea, para mí ha sido una parte de mi vida que yo no la puedo olvidar nunca” (we cried, it is a part of my life that I will never be able to forget) ^[4].

Then comes the couples title. He competed at the Puerto Rico congresses with his wife five years in a row, without ever winning: according to him, the island would not let anyone else win. Another competition is then organized in Philadelphia. According to him, they win it in 2004: “el Mulato y Martha Lucía quedan de campeones” (the Mulato and Martha Lucía are champions). A couple from Philadelphia comes second, another couple from his school third. This victory earns them a three-month contract in England ^[4][5][6][7].

In July 2004, at the Puerto Rico Salsa Open, El Mulato finishes sixth in the couples competition with Martha Lucía Montañez, and his group third ^[5]. The judging panel for this final includes Eddie Torres, “The Mambo King,” who traveled to the island especially for the event ^[5]. In 2018, he also recounts a victory with his wife in Philadelphia, without specifying the year or the organizer ^[4].

In 2006, the company first wins in Cali, at the first Festival Mundial de Salsa (groups). Then they have to go to Las Vegas, and money is short. The group stops in Miami, twenty days before the competition, with no money to pay for the tickets. “Ella se fue a trabajar a los hoteles con otras bailarinas” (She went to work in hotels with other female dancers), he says of his wife; others teach classes, others wait tables, and a restaurant lends them its dining room in the mornings to rehearse ^[4].

Three days before the competition, he changes the choreography: that, he says, is when acrobatics enter the world of Salsa. His dancers come from the neighborhoods, and this is how he trains them: “lo que formo son primero seres humanos, pero lo formo duros guerreros” (what I train are human beings first, but I train them to be tough, to be warriors). They win: “ganamos el primer puesto” (we won first place), and “el mundo se vuelve loco con Swing Latino” (the world goes crazy for Swing Latino) ^[4].

This is confirmed by third parties. In December 2006, in Las Vegas, Swing Latino wins the team division of the World Salsa Championships ^[5][8]. In her book, Juliet McMains writes that the Cali school Swing Latino, directed by El Mulato, won the team division in 2006 and 2007, and she illustrates the 2007 victory in one of her figures ^[1]. Researcher Alejandro Ulloa Sanmiguel writes, for his part, that Swing Latino, directed by El Mulato, won the group category and second place in couples, cabaret division, at the World Salsa Championships in Las Vegas in 2006, then “took the top awards” (Won the top prizes) in Orlando in 2007 ^[1].

The following year, the title has to be defended. Before leaving, he recounts, he is excluded from the Salsódromo, the parade that opens the Feria de Cali, because he refuses to audition: “yo dije yo no hago audición” (I said: I don’t audition). He then decides to go and defend his title in Orlando ^[4]. This time, he takes forty dancers, all staying in a single house. In December 2007, in Orlando, the company wins again, ahead of Pioneros del Ritmo and Ases del Ritmo, two other teams from Cali ^[5][8].

At the Festival Mundial de Salsa de Cali, the company wins in 2006 (groups, first edition), in 2011 (cabaret groups, sixth edition), and in 2018 (elite cabaret groups, thirteenth edition) ^[5][6]. In 2011, its youth group, Mini Swing Latino, also wins the cabaret category for younger dancers ^[6].

December 2009. At the championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Swing Latino finishes third in the team division of the World Salsa Championships ^[8]. The company’s website says something different: first in cabaret groups, in Orlando, with the choreography Bemba Colorá ^[7]. Only the company and the pages that copy it mention a first-place finish ^[5]. Yet that evening’s cabaret competition was for couples, and it was a couple from the school, Jonathan Landa and Jenny Rodriguez, who won it ^[8].

The company’s website announces other titles: at the Festival Mundial de Salsa in 2012, 2016, and 2017, among others. For 2012, the press only writes that it reached the podium in the orchestra ensemble category ^[4][7]. A group title in Miami is also mentioned, in 2005 or 2006 depending on the text ^[5][8].

How many titles in all? It all depends on the source and the date. Here is what has been written:

• March 2011 — A press profile mentions five world titles ^[5].
• September 2012 — In his interview, El Mulato says he has given the country seven titles ^[4].
• August 2013 — From Oslo, he speaks of seven titles, “han sido, por el corazón, luchados, peleados” (they have been fought for, contested, with the heart) ^[4].
• July 2014 — A Cuban newspaper describes them as seven-time world champions ^[5].
• May 2017 — A video posted online by the University of San Buenaventura describes them as nine-time world champions ^[5].
• January 2020 — The recorded introduction to his show announces eleven-time world champions ^[5].
• January 2020 — A Colombian radio station writes seven-time world champion ^[5].
• February 2020 — A television channel cites him in the plural: fourteen world Salsa championships ^[5].
• December 2021 — A press release reported in the press describes them as twelve-time world champions ^[5].
• February 2025 — Two official pages contradict each other: seven on the Marca País Colombia page, thirteen in the company’s press kit ^[7].
• December 2025 — A dancer says the company has just won “este año” (This year) title number 14 ^[5].
• October 2026 — Swing Latino’s Instagram account announces 14 world Salsa champion titles ^[3].

No public list details these totals. The company won the team division of the World Salsa Championships (ESPN) in 2006 in Las Vegas and in 2007 in Orlando, as well as titles at the Festival Mundial de Salsa de Cali (group in 2006, cabaret group in 2011, elite cabaret group in 2018). It announces 14 world titles, a total that remains the company’s own.

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LOS ANGELES, 2010-2012: Q’VIVA, Marc Anthony and JENNIFER LÓPEZ

Jennifer López’s name comes up often in his career. In the 2020 interview, El Mulato says he met her in 2010, at the time of the reality show, and that Marc Anthony was the first to come looking for them ^[4].

In 2018 and then in February 2020, he recounts the selection process: the production team spots them on YouTube, calls them by videoconference, and brings them to an audition in Medellín, where Marc Anthony comes in person. He had not planned to dance; in front of the star, he puts on a little black jacket and throws himself into the choreography. According to him, his company is selected along with another group from Medellín and leaves for Los Angeles, where the reality show lasts six months. In 2020, he adds that the team had first contacted his manager and that he had refused ^[4]. The dates do not quite match: the show airs in 2012 ^[4][8].

¡Q’Viva! The Chosen is a show by Jennifer López, Marc Anthony, and Jamie King. Univision airs it from January 28 to April 28, 2012. A version on Fox is canceled on May 14, 2012, after six episodes ^[8]. Swing Latino takes part in the show ^[4][8]. For him, those six months are an education: “seis meses que yo me dediqué como un vampiro a aprender cómo era la producción de un espectáculo” (six months in which I devoted myself, like a vampire, to learning what producing a show involves) ^[4]. One day, a simple bout of feeling unwell — “un soponcio” — is enough to start a rumor that he is dying. He finds it amusing: “yo feliz” (me, delighted), it makes him more famous ^[4].

In late May 2012, a show is announced in Las Vegas: it brings together 42 artists, including 11 from the Swing Latino school, and is promoted by Jennifer López, among others ^[5]. It apparently takes place on May 26, at Mandalay Bay ^[8]. In this show, he says, he is the only character who speaks, and he speaks about his country: “el único personaje que habla es el mulato y habla del país” (The only character who speaks is the Mulato, and he speaks about the country) ^[4]. According to him, the year-long tour that was supposed to follow does not take place ^[4].

But the door remains open. According to him, Jennifer López keeps him by her side as choreographer for the Latin part of her shows, and then takes him to Venezuela and later to Chile ^[4].

Swing Latino takes part in Q’Viva. In an interview published in 2012, El Mulato claims that his company won the show; the newspaper repeats that claim. The show’s Wikipedia page gives neither a ranking nor a winner ^[4][8].

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2012-2013: AMBASSADOR of salsa, the Festival’s tribute and CELIA CRUZ

In late May 2012, the mayor of Cali, Rodrigo Guerrero, presents him with a plaque and calls him an “Embajador de Cali ante el mundo” (Ambassador of Cali to the world) ^[6].

The Cancillería, Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then includes Swing Latino in its plan to promote Colombia abroad: a Eurasian tour announced in late September 2012 (Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, then Central Asia and Mongolia), followed by a European tour in May 2013, with an evening at the Casa de América in Madrid on May 22 ^[5][6]. In its September-October 2012 press review, it includes a report by the channel CM& that says of the group, after its members were decorated by the deputy minister: “Embajadores de la salsa colombiana ante el mundo” (Ambassadors of Colombian salsa to the world) ^[6]. In a video posted online in August 2013, speaking from Oslo, after Stockholm and before India, he thanks the Cancillería and the embassies for having requested their presence ^[4]. The plan is mentioned again in 2018 by an Indonesian newspaper ^[5].

In July 2013, at the World Games in Cali, he is co-choreographer of the opening ceremony, according to Spanish-language Wikipedia. On July 19, 2013, Colombia.com announces that the choreography for the Salsa dancers will be in his hands ^[5][8].

In August 2013, the VIII Festival Mundial de Salsa de Cali pays tribute to El Mulato. According to the city government, the festival’s conceptual committee chooses him unanimously. At the closing ceremony, on Sunday, August 11, 2013, the secretary of Culture describes him as one of the international promoters of the caleño dance style, and says he represents the struggle and success of young people from his neighborhoods ^[6]. He is not alone on the tribute stage: the presenter calls up “nuestro director y maestro,” along with his wife, Martha Lucía Montañez, and the group ^[5].

Other honorary titles circulate. According to him, the Cancillería named him “embajador de la salsa colombiana” (Ambassador of Colombian salsa); he says this in August 2013 ^[4]. The exact wording on the website, Embajador de la Salsa Colombiana en el Exterior, appears in the company’s texts and in the presenter’s announcement at the August 2013 tribute; the title of first international judge of Salsa caleña, however, appears only in the company’s texts ^[5][7].

In October 2013, for the opening of Bailá en Cali, he presents Cabaret Evolution Dance, with 52 dancers and the Orquesta Casablanca. He says he wants to show a little of what a cabaret in Las Vegas is like ^[6].

In November 2013, at the American Music Awards, Swing Latino dances in the tribute to Celia Cruz with Jennifer López ^[5]. In 2020, he says he had already danced with her in previous performances ^[4]. In 2018, he recounts that the singer called him “para que sea su coreógrafo” (so I could be her choreographer) for that evening, and that he sent two dancers to work with her fifteen days in advance. In Los Angeles, when he enters the rehearsal room, the choreographers of major stars stop: someone calls out “The Best,” then, he says, “llegó el tipo, el mejor” (here’s the guy, the best). On the day of the show, emotion overwhelms him: “yo casi que no puedo salir, pero porque lloraba y lloraba de la emoción” (I could hardly go out, because I kept crying and crying with emotion) ^[4]. Dancers from the company confirm that this evening was the tribute to Celia Cruz ^[5].

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LOS ANGELES, 2017: WORLD OF DANCE, a division win, a third-place finish

World of Dance is a dance competition on the American network NBC. Its first season airs in 2017, with Jennifer López among the judges. Swing Latino joins after a call from the production team on June 6. According to the company’s director, it was Jennifer López, one of the judges, who took the initiative to invite them ^[5][8].

The 16 dancers leave for Los Angeles on June 12. Their performance to Bemba colorá, a song by Celia Cruz, airs on June 13; they then make it through the June 20 duel and The Cut round on July 18 ^[5][8].

On August 1, Swing Latino wins its division ahead of the group Kinjaz: 94,7 points to 92,3 ^[8]. Their performance opens with Gracias a la vida, then moves into Latinos, by Proyecto Uno ^[2][5]. This victory takes them to the world final.

On August 8, 2017, at the world final, Les Twins win, Eva Igo comes second and Swing Latino third. The Colombian and American press report the same result ^[5][8]. He does not experience it as a failure. As for the million dollars, he says, “yo no lo llamo perdido porque, vuelvo y repito, para mí, yo estoy sembrando” (I don’t call it lost because, I repeat, as far as I’m concerned, I’m sowing seeds) ^[4].

Where does the confusion come from? From shortcuts. He won his division becomes he won World of Dance, and one photo caption even says second place, while the text says third place ^[5][9]. Swing Latino finishes third in the first season of World of Dance (NBC, 2017), behind Les Twins and Eva Igo, after winning its division (teams) on August 1. Never the winner.

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The CABARET, 2017: a place to build, stone by stone

In Salsa, cabaret is a stage genre: Salsa with lifts. According to Juliet McMains, this category appears as early as 2005 in Albert Torres’s championships; she traces its origins to Augie and Margo, from the Palladium, in the early 1950s ^[1].

In December 2016, he says on the radio that he is the artistic director of the Salsódromo, the parade that opens the Feria de Cali, with more than 1 500 dancers under his responsibility ^[4].

His own cabaret, El Mulato Cabaret, is in the El Cedro neighborhood of Cali. An initial venue has existed there since 2010, according to the cabaret’s website. A Caliescribe report already mentions a cabaret run by the company in December 2013 ^[5][7]. In December 2016, he says he presents the show once a month in the El Cedro neighborhood, near the Pascual Guerrero stadium ^[4]. In a video from the Université San Buenaventura posted online in May 2017, the company speaks of plans to build a new headquarters ^[5]. A new cabaret opens in December 2017, according to the company’s website and the press ^[5][7][9].

He builds this place through sheer hard work. On the very street where his school stands, he buys two neighboring houses, knocks down walls, and opens before everything is finished: without a roof, with moldy walls hidden behind makeshift coverings. The construction work swallows the couple’s savings. He says it without holding back: “yo aquí he sufrido las verdes y las maduras, he llorado lo que usted no se puede imaginar” (here, I’ve been through it all, I’ve cried more than you can imagine). And he adds: “ahora me han salido todas las enfermedades del mundo […] porque yo sacrifiqué toda mi vida” (now every illness in the world has hit me […] because I sacrificed my whole life) ^[4].

On the walls, photos of worn-out shoes. Soon, he says, at the entrance, a brick wall and a battered shoe. “Esas paredes transpiran puro sacrificio” (These walls exude pure sacrifice), he says, and asks: “¿Cuántas suelas no he dañado yo para hacer esto junto con mis bailarines?” (How many soles have I worn out to do this with my dancers?) To a young person from the neighborhood visiting the place, he wants to say one thing: “si yo puedo, él también lo puede hacer” (if I can do it, he can do it too) ^[4].

He initially opens it on Sundays, for people from his neighborhood: “yo no me olvido de mi gente, por eso yo abro los domingos” (I don’t forget my people, that’s why I open on Sundays). In 2018, he says he opens only on Sundays, as a dance hall, with an upper section he calls El Diamante, after his home neighborhood ^[4]. According to the company’s marketing director, in a video posted online in January 2020, the venue opens Friday through Sunday, with a “domingo social” (Social Sunday) featuring traditional Salsa ^[5]. The stated capacities vary from one text to another.

His dream goes further: “yo soñar no cuesta nada, el sueño mío es comprarme la manzana” (dreaming costs nothing, my dream is to buy the whole block), and to build a hotel there ^[4].

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MIAMI, 2020: the SUPER BOWL, Swing Latino with Jennifer López

In 2019, the company goes on tour with the singer across the United States, then as far as Europe, he says ^[4]. Accounts give different numbers of performances. This is the It’s My Party tour, for the singer’s 50th birthday (summer 2019): four couples from the company take part for nearly two months, with a stop at Madison Square Garden, according to dancers ^[5].

On February 2, 2020, at Super Bowl LIV in Miami, the halftime show also brings together Shakira, J Balvin and Bad Bunny. Swing Latino joins Jennifer López for the Salsa section, to Aguanile, a song by Héctor Lavoe ^[2][8].

Several newsrooms and the EFE agency announce the company’s participation, as does English-language Wikipedia ^[2][5][8]. El País (Cali) writes that the 24 dancers were directed by El Mulato: this is the role the press attributes to him. The newsroom published a page to relive this performance: ¡Puro sabor! (February 2, 2020).

El Mulato says he proposed more than ten choreographies to Jennifer López, who made her choice ^[4]. According to him, the routine is put together with the 24 dancers between December 14 and 23, 2019, then rehearsed with the singer starting on January 6 ^[4]. On February 5, 2020, El País (Cali) publishes a video in which dancers from the company recount the evening. One says he lifted the singer and helped her change costumes during the show; for them, he adds, “no puedo no existe” (“I can’t” doesn’t exist) ^[2]. In a radio interview posted online on February 4, he describes two stages: a first trip in December to put together the center section, then a second starting on January 6. This time he speaks of almost ten choreographies, many of which the singer rejected ^[4].

The overall credits for the singer’s segment name other people: Tabitha and Napoleon D’umo as creative directors, and Tabitha D’umo and Parris Goebel as choreographers ^[8]. These credits do not name Swing Latino. El Mulato directs the 24 Swing Latino dancers who accompany Jennifer López; he is not among the segment’s credited choreographers. In February 2020, he describes himself as “el coreógrafo de ella en la parte latina” (Her choreographer for the Latin section): this is his own statement, which does not change the official credits ^[4].

In the days that follow, joy prevails. “Mi gente está feliz, todos estamos felices con eso” (My people are happy, we’re all happy about it), he says. He knows what the event means: “esto es una experiencia que jamás se va a olvidar” (this is an experience that will never be forgotten). And he thinks of all the others: “la motivación debe ser grande, no solamente para mis bailarines, sino para otros bailarines de Cali, de Colombia y del mundo, hermano, si se puede” (the motivation must be great, not just for my dancers, but for other dancers from Cali, Colombia and the world, brother, yes, it’s possible) ^[4].

He also recounts a more intimate moment. After the final rehearsal, Jennifer López thanks all the dancers; when she reaches El Mulato and Swing Latino, she bursts into tears. She tells him she loves him very much and thanks him because, whenever she calls him, he is there: “que nunca he abandonado” (that I have never abandoned). For him, that means a lot ^[4].

In Cali, the governor of Valle del Cauca comes to welcome him at the airport, something that had never happened to him before. In February 2020, she announces university scholarships for the company’s dancers on the Red+ channel ^[4][5]. His first reaction is for his wife: “le decía a mi esposa, yo ahora sí me siento un verdadero artista” (I was telling my wife: now, yes, I feel like a true artist) ^[4].

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CALI, March 10, 2020: the country’s first EMBAJADOR NARANJA

On March 10, 2020, the vice minister of Creativity and the Orange Economy, Felipe Buitrago, presents him with the title of Primer Embajador Naranja del país (the country’s first orange ambassador, a title linked to the orange economy) ^[2]. His response sums it up in one sentence: “por más de 38 años, he trabajado incansablemente por el baile y nuestro estilo caleño” (for more than 38 years, I have worked tirelessly for dance and for our caleño style) ^[2].

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CALI, February 2021: EL PEDAZO, an apology and a response to his critics

In the midst of the pandemic, the cabaret can no longer welcome guests as before. It “reinvents” itself: he turns it into a restaurant, knowing nothing about the business, then opens a terrace, El Pedazo, dreamed up with his dancers. On Friday, February 19, 2021, the opening draws far more people than he had imagined: the weather looked threatening, and he thought no one would come ^[4].

A few days later, he posts a video on the company’s channel. He thanks the public, says the biosafety protocol was in place, asks those who attended to isolate for fourteen days (he keeps the guest list), and apologizes: “pedirles disculpas por lo que pasó el viernes. Lo lamentamos mucho, no pensamos que eso fuera a causar tanto alboroto” (to ask your forgiveness for what happened on Friday. We deeply regret it, we didn’t think it would cause such an uproar) ^[4].

Then he responds to those calling for his establishment to be closed and calling him “analfabeta y bruto” (illiterate and a brute). He recalls where he comes from: “Yo no vengo de familia rica. Yo vengo del distrito de Agua Blanca. Es mi esposa y yo, junto con algunos de mis bailarines” (I don’t come from a rich family. I come from the Agua Blanca district. It’s my wife and me, along with some of my dancers). He says he owes no political debts: “yo no le debo favores políticos a nadie” (I don’t owe political favors to anyone). And he concludes: “yo soy parte de la solución, yo no soy el problema” (I am part of the solution, I am not the problem) ^[4].

He also defends himself as an artist: “mi vida ha sido empírica, he aprendido con los golpes de la vida” (my life has been empirical, I’ve learned from life’s blows). And he sums up his journey in one sentence: “Yo soy artista, y me estoy volviendo empresario” (I am an artist, and I am becoming a business owner) ^[4].

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2022-2026: the film, the orchestra and the American dream

In July 2022, he presents the show Dime si soy latino in Bogotá, at the Teatro Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, with several dozen dancers ^[5].

On a Telepacífico program, he tells his story with humor. His life, he says, “va calmando” (is calming down). His health is “bastante complicadita” (quite complicated), and what he wants now is to “viajar con mi esposa” (travel with my wife), and enjoy himself. He jokes: he has signed a contract to die at 98, “con mis cinco sentidos” (with all five senses) and still dancing; his only concern is that his wife cannot die before him ^[4].

He is then asked how he built his career with his partner, Martha Lucía. His answer bursts out: “a esa mujer hay que hacerle un monumento” (a monument must be built for that woman). He explains: “es el ser humano más maravilloso que tengo en la tierra, es el núcleo, es lo más importante que tengo en mi vida” (she is the most wonderful human being I have on earth, she is the core, she is the most important thing I have in my life) ^[4].

In October 2024, the Telepacífico channel broadcasts The Best (El Mejor), a documentary about him by Miguel Ernesto Yusti, on Saturday, October 26 at 5:30 pm, during the Festival Mundial de Salsa. The director concludes that there was no secret other than persistence to achieve perfection ^[2]. The film is nominated for the 2025 India Catalina awards for best documentary and best musical production; the announcement is dated March 29, 2025 ^[5].

A show with the Cali Philharmonic Orchestra is announced for November 21, 2025: 62 musicians and 40 dancers led by El Mulato, under the musical direction of Paul Dury. The idea is a tribute to Cali and its culture ^[2].

In a long filmed interview from 2025, he looks back at the history of his cabaret and names the woman who built it with him: “mi coequipera, la mejor que me ha mandado Dios” (my teammate, the best God has sent me). Then: “toda la historia del Mulato se construye con Martha Lucía Montañez, todo lo que sigue es con Martha Lucía Montañez” (the whole story of El Mulato is built with Martha Lucía Montañez, everything that comes next is with Martha Lucía Montañez). And again: “yo no me veo mi vida sin Martha Lucía Montañez, […] es mi núcleo, es mi vida, es mi inspiración, es todo” (I cannot see my life without Martha Lucía Montañez, […] she is my core, my life, my inspiration, everything) ^[4].

Their shared project? He spells it out: “El objetivo primordial y el proyecto principal de Martha Lucía Montañez y Luis Eduardo Hernández es comprarnos la manzana” (The primary goal and main project of Martha Lucía Montañez and Luis Eduardo Hernández is to buy the block), to build a large hotel there. And the end of the story? “El final de la historia del Mulato es en los Estados Unidos” (The end of El Mulato’s story is in the United States), with four Mulato Cabaret venues. “Ese es mi sueño. Y sé que lo voy a lograr” (That is my dream. And I know I will achieve it) ^[4].

The Mulato Salsa Fest program announces a public gathering at his cabaret in Cali on August 28, 2026, with him and Adolfo Indacochea ^[10].

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His METHOD: costume first, discipline every day

How does El Mulato create? He starts with the costume. He explains in 2020: “Antes de montar una coreografía tengo diseñado el vestuario y así sé qué coreografía voy a hacer para los movimientos y los pasos” (Before putting together a choreography, I have already designed the costume, and that way I know what choreography I am going to create for the movements and steps) — El Mulato, El País, February 2, 2020 ^[4]. He also says he uses very cheerful colors and dares to combine them. He recalls replacing fringe with tailcoats, ties, and linen, and insists: “nosotros somos color, color, color, color” (we are color, color, color, color) ^[4].

Onstage, he wants to show where they come from: “Cuando estoy en una pista, quiero demostrar de dónde vinimos, que somos caleños” (When I am on a dance floor, I want to show where we come from, that we are caleños) ^[4].

As for rehearsals, he says in 2012 that the company constantly holds Salsa laboratories and rehearses every day ^[4]. Angie Osorio, a dancer with the company, describes in 2020 a method that is always the same before a performance, pushing the dancers to give their all ^[4]. This is an account from inside the company and should be read as such. In 2018, he says the discipline is almost military: “aquí esto es militarmente” (Here, it is military). Eight days before a final, he says, the dancers enter “acuartelamiento de primer grado” (First-degree confinement to barracks); he says he teaches and creates “desde las nueve de la mañana hasta las nueve de la noche” (From 9:00 am to 9:00 pm). In May 2020, he speaks of rehearsals “de 8 de la mañana a 5 de la tarde” (From 8:00 am to 5:00 pm), every day, and says he confined his dancers to barracks “como era militar” (Since I was in the military) ^[4].

He sees dance as a real profession: his daughter, he says, became a doctor, and Salsa can offer a young person an equally dignified profession ^[4]. His philosophy comes down to a few words. In 2012, he says that you are born with dance or train in it, but that in either case you need desire and plenty of perseverance. Dancing and dancing well are two different things, he adds, and Salsa is danced with passion: you have to live, breathe, and feel the music ^[4]. What sets his team apart, he says, is “el amor con que se hace este trabajo” (the love with which this work is done) ^[4]. And in 2020: “Yo creo que vine a este mundo con una misión, que es la de servir a la gente, hacerla feliz” (I believe I came into this world with a mission, which is to serve people, to make them happy) ^[4].

He describes himself frankly: his worst flaw, he says in 2020, is wanting to be perfect at what he does ^[4].

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What RESEARCH says: McMains, Cali, and Salsa on 1

Academic studies discuss Swing Latino or Cali style. In Spinning Mambo into Salsa (Oxford University Press, 2015), Juliet McMains writes that Colombian dancers dominated the team and cabaret divisions of the World Salsa Championships between 2006 and 2009, and that Colombia became a leader in competitive Salsa. She then cites the Cali school Swing Latino, led by El Mulato, which wins the team division in 2006 and 2007 ^[1].

The article from Universidad Santiago de Cali, 40 años bailando salsa en Cali (2014), cites Swing Latino among the schools at the opening of the 2012 Feria de Cali. It says the school was founded in 1999 and that acrobatics are now elements of caleño style ^[1].

Cali style is danced on 1, write Simpson-Litke and Stover in Music Theory Spectrum (2019). According to these researchers, however, it tends to avoid forward-and-back movement, favoring steps in place, side steps, or cumbia steps ^[1]. Ulloa Sanmiguel writes the same thing in Salsa World (2014): in classic Cali style, you do not start on count 2 but on the first count of the rhythmic cycle; the fourth count is a pause, marked by a light placement of the foot or another gesture ^[1].

These texts discuss his 2006 and 2007 titles, his school, and his style. His life is recounted by the press and by the man himself ^[1][4].

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TITLES, COUNTRIES, and FIRSTS: three common misconceptions

The 130 countries. The figure changes over the years and across sources: more than 36 countries in 2013, more than 50 in 2014, then in a video from Universidad San Buenaventura in 2017, 109 in El Mulato’s presentation in 2018, around 100 in 2019, more than 80 in the presentation of his show in January 2020, then 130 in February 2020 in El Mulato’s answer (picked up by EFE and Instagram), 138 on television less than a month later, 138 again in his February 2021 video, “130 y pico” (130 and a few more) in a filmed interview from 2025, and more than 120 in the 2025 press kit ^[3][4][5][7]. This figure is a reference point for the company: according to him, 130 countries in 2020.

The firsts. Several descriptions claim symbolic firsts: the first Salsa group from Colombia at an event of this scale (2020), the first Latin American group in the World of Dance final (subtitle of a 2017 article), Colombia’s first Latin cabaret (the company’s description). The text of the 2017 article says only that no Latin American group had passed the auditions before ^[5][7]. As for the cabaret, he cautiously uses the description himself in 2018: “yo creo que en Colombia no lo hay tampoco” (I believe there is not one in Colombia either). A television channel repeats it in 2020, and a dancer adds South America in 2025 ^[4][5]. These descriptions remain claims.

The king of swing. An article headline calls him the king of swing in 2011, as does the headline of a 2025 column, and a page promoting Colombia speaks of a king of the new generation of dancers ^[5][7]. These are column headlines or promotional titles, rather than a ranking: there is no criterion for this word.

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Studio24’s artistic REFERENCES

El Mulato’s Salsa caleña is one more style among those presented on this blog. Other biographies recount other ways of dancing Salsa: New York Mambo On2 with Eddie Torres and Adolfo Indacochea, the LA Style of Johnny Vazquez, the Cuban Salsa of Alberto Valdés. Each of these profiles can be read separately.

All the blog’s profiles are collected on the page about the great names in Salsa, Mambo, and Bachata.

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Learn SALSA in Liège and online

Xavier Colina discovered El Mulato and Swing Latino on social media: the World of Dance show, Nuevotec videos, and the world championships, then his Cali cabaret on Instagram.

Cali style is danced on 1, researchers write (Simpson-Litke and Stover in 2019, Ulloa Sanmiguel in 2014). Salsa On1, which Xavier Colina teaches at Studio24, is also danced on 1.

In Liège, Salsa On1 is danced on Tuesdays: Introduction at 6:30 pm, Basics+ at 7:30 pm, Intermediate at 8:30 pm. After about a year of practice, it is time for the Advanced level on Thursdays at 7:30 pm. Everywhere else, Studio Live offers video classes to follow at your own pace.

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FAQ: everything about EL MULATO

🌎 Who is EL MULATO — the real story?

El Mulato is a dancer, choreographer, and director of Swing Latino, a Salsa company, school, and foundation in Cali, Colombia. Born in Arauca (Caldas), he grows up in Cali, in the El Diamante neighborhood, and gets his start in neighborhood theater in 1982. With his wife and partner, Martha Lucía Montañez, he invents a stage style. His company wins the team division of the World Salsa Championships in 2006 and 2007, finishes third on World of Dance in 2017, and dances with Jennifer López at the Super Bowl in 2020. He also runs El Mulato Cabaret.

🎂 How OLD is El Mulato?

He was born in 1968, according to him: that makes him 58 in 2026.

💃 Who does he dance with ONSTAGE?

With his wife, Martha Lucía Montañez, his dance and management partner since 1998. It is with her that he says he invented his stage style, won Cali’s first national salsa championship, and, according to him, a couples title in Philadelphia in 2004. On major stages, he directs the Swing Latino dancers who accompany Jennifer López, whom he says he has known since 2010. ^[4]

🏆 Is El Mulato really a 14-time WORLD CHAMPION?

That is the total announced by the company’s Instagram account in 2026. Independent sources confirm the team division of the World Salsa Championships (ESPN) in 2006 and 2007, and titles at the Festival Mundial de Salsa de Cali in 2006, 2011, and 2018. Other totals circulate (5, 7, 12, 13): they remain claims.

📺 Did he WIN World of Dance?

No. Swing Latino won its division on August 1, 2017, then finished third in the world final on August 8, behind Les Twins and Eva Igo.

🏈 Is he the Super Bowl CHOREOGRAPHER?

No. On February 2, 2020, the 24 Swing Latino dancers join Jennifer López for the Salsa segment of the halftime show, and El País writes that El Mulato directs them. The credited choreographers for the singer’s half of the show are Tabitha D’umo and Parris Goebel.

💃 What is SALSA CALEÑA?

It is the way Salsa is danced in Cali, with fast footwork and, onstage, lifts and acrobatics. Researchers write that it is danced on 1. El Mulato’s stage style blends baile caleño with a touch of Los Angeles style: he calls it CLA in 2012, then CYLA in 2020.

🏫 What does SWING LATINO mean?

Swing Latino is El Mulato’s company, school, and foundation in Cali. Its beginnings are dated to 1995 (the foundation), 1998 (the start of Swing Latino), or 1999 (the school, sometimes the foundation), depending on the text; El Mulato dates his style to 1998.

🎭 What is EL MULATO’s cabaret?

El Mulato Cabaret is a performance venue in the El Cedro barrio in Cali, the company’s official home according to its Instagram account. According to the cabaret’s website, an initial venue has existed since 2010; a new cabaret opened in December 2017.

🌍 How many COUNTRIES has Swing Latino visited?

According to El Mulato, 130 countries in 2020. The figure was more than 36 countries in 2013, and more than 120 in the 2025 press kit. Take it as a reference point from the company, not as a measurement.

🏷️ Where does the nickname EL MULATO come from?

He says on three occasions that he received it in Puerto Rico in 1998 while dancing to El Mulato, a Richie Ray record, with Ballet Azúcar. A 2011 profile gives a different origin: the singer Laíto, of Sonora Matancera, reportedly gave him the name in 1988 at the Baracoa nightclub in Juanchito.

📱 Where can you FOLLOW El Mulato?

On Instagram: El Mulato @luiselmulatomulato (verified account), the company @swinglatino_cali and the cabaret @elmulatocabaret ^[3].

🎓 Want to dance SALSA ON1? Where should you start?

With the foundations — that’s where it all happens. Xavier Colina teaches Salsa On1 at Studio24 Liège. In Liège: first trial class for 10€, no reservation needed. Just starting out? Come on Tuesday at 6:30 pm for Introduction. Then, Basics+ at 7:30 pm and Intermediate at 8:30 pm. On Thursday, the Advanced level includes Salsa On1 at 7:30 pm. Practice in the evening at Puerto Rico Nights. Anywhere in the world: Studio Live — +300 HD lessons, free 7-day trial.

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Sources & Bibliography

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