The Great Names of Salsa, Mambo, and Bachata
Eleven artists, three dances, cities that echo one another: from New York to Cali, from Cádiz to Milan, here are the people whose biographies tell their stories.
Each profile takes just a few lines, includes a quote from the artist, and links to their full biography. Three history articles round out the page: Fania, Our Latin Thing and Salsa Around the World.
The great names at a glance
The 11 artists
- Eddie Torres : born in New York · Mambo On2 [1]
- Adolfo Indacochea : born in Lima (Peru), based in New York · Mambo On2 [2]
- Bersy Cortez : born in Caracas (Venezuela), based in Málaga · Salsa On2 and AfroMambo [3]
- Johnny Vazquez : born in Guadalajara (Mexico), based near Milan · Salsa LA Style [4]
- Fernando Sosa : born in Montevideo (Uruguay), based in Milan · Salsa On1 [5]
- Adrián y Anita : born in Montevideo (Adrián) and Ponta Grossa (Anita), based in Barcelona · Salsa [6]
- Alberto Valdés : born in Havana (Cuba), based in Cyprus · Cuban Salsa [7]
- Yoandy Villaurrutia : born in Havana (Cuba), based in Barcelona, according to him · Salsa NewStyle [8]
- El Mulato : born in Arauca (Colombia), raised in Cali · Salsa caleña [9]
- Korke y Judith : from Cádiz (Spain), based in Barcelona · Bachata Sensual [10]
- Daniel y Desirée : from Seville (Spain) · Bachata Sensual [11]
The 3 history articles
- Fania : the Salsa label founded in New York in 1964 [12]
- Our Latin Thing : the film of the night at the Cheetah, August 26, 1971 [13]
- Salsa Around the World : fifteen dance films, in 2022 [14]
About this article
This page summarizes our eleven artist biographies and three history articles, all backed by sources: interviews, press coverage, competition archives, and congress programs. Each fact links to the full article, where it is detailed with its sources. The numbers in brackets refer to the notes at the bottom of the page.
Last updated: October 2026.
Contents
- True or false: six misconceptions about the great names
- New York: Mambo On2
- Los Angeles: LA Style
- Europe: Salsa on 1
- Cuba: Alberto Valdés and Yoandy Villaurrutia
- Cali: El Mulato
- Bachata Sensual: Cádiz and Seville
- Who learned from whom?
- The history: Fania, Our Latin Thing, Salsa Around the World
- A timeline in fourteen dates
- Learning Salsa, Mambo, and Bachata in Liège and online
- FAQ: the great names
- Sources and bibliography
“Titles don’t mean nothing really.” (titles mean nothing.) That is what Eddie Torres, nicknamed the Mambo King, says[1].
This page does not rank anyone. It presents eleven artists and three history articles, in order by dance and city, and lets each biography tell the rest.
Fania, Eddie Torres, Korke y Judith… The 6 MYTHS about the great names, TRUE or FALSE
Festival biographies of these artists circulate, copied from one page to another and embellished along the way.[1]
Here are six misconceptions that our articles already correct. Each verdict is reproduced as written in the biography. The details are in the linked article.
❌ MYTH 1 · Did Fania create Salsa?
Fania is said to have created Salsa
✅ Nuanced — Fania was its commercial force: it shaped, produced, and sold it, without inventing it single-handedly.[12]
❌ MYTH 2 · Did Eddie Torres invent Mambo On2?
Eddie Torres invented dancing on 2
✅ False — he codified it, and says so himself: “y yo no inventé nada.”[1]
❌ MYTH 3 · Korke y Judith, the creators of Bachata Sensual?
Korke y Judith are said to have created Bachata Sensual
✅ Needs qualification — the press and their students present them as the creators. They themselves have said both: in January 2020, Korke introduces himself as “the creator of Sensual Bachata” (the creator of Bachata Sensual), and in May 2022 he says that the duo did not call themselves creators and talks about the method they built. They are pioneers of the style.[10]
❌ MYTH 4 · Johnny Vazquez, three-time world champion?
Johnny is said to be a three-time, or even five-time, world champion
✅ Unproven — Johnny and his brother Francisco speak of three victories at the Mayan Club, a Los Angeles competition. No official results confirm them, and nothing proves a world title.[4]
❌ MYTH 5 · Adrián y Anita, champions in Atlanta in 2016?
They are said to have been world champions in Atlanta in 2016
✅ False — Atlanta has nothing to do with their titles. Their sixth title is the one from Madrid, on November 7, 2014.[6]
❌ MYTH 6 · Fernando Sosa, three-time world champion in Las Vegas?
He is said to be a three-time world champion in Las Vegas
✅ False as an individual title — these are team titles: three consecutive Mega Team victories in Las Vegas, with Tropical Gem, in 2016, 2017, and 2018.[5]
NEW YORK, MAMBO On2: Eddie Torres, Adolfo Indacochea, Bersy Cortez
In New York, Mambo On2 has a codifier, Eddie Torres.[1] Adolfo Indacochea became his student and calls him his teacher.[2] Bersy Cortez danced with him as early as 2014.[3]
Eddie Torres
New York · Mambo On2
Eddie Torres is born on July 3, 1950, in New York and grows up in Spanish Harlem. He is the codifier of Mambo On2: he codified it, rather than inventing it, and built a syllabus of more than 500 named steps. With Maria, his wife and dance partner, he dances alongside Tito Puente for twenty-one years, from 1979 to 2000, according to them; the official website, Hutchinson, and McMains date those beginnings to 1980. In 1987, more than fifty street dancers join him onstage at the Apollo Theater in Harlem to pay tribute to Machito: this is the starting point of his company.[1] Among the students who came from another country, he names Adolfo Indacochea, whose talent he quickly recognized.[2]
“Mamá, yo no voy a trabajar con las manos.” — “¿Qué tú vas a hacer ?” — “Trabajar con los pies” (Mom, I am not going to work with my hands. — And what are you going to do? — Work with my feet) — Eddie Torres, DanielCastilloDanza, 2011[1]
Adolfo Indacochea
Lima, then New York · Mambo On2
Adolfo Indacochea is born in Lima, Peru, and is an engineer by training. He takes his first Salsa class in Monterrey, Mexico, and arrives in New York in September 2004, according to his official biography. His first class with Eddie Torres takes place in mid-December 2004; he joins his company in late 2004 or early 2005 and stays until 2006-2007. He then founds the Latin Soul Dancers, lives in Milan, and launches Mamboland, a study festival, in 2017 and the Mambo Virtual Academy in 2020. He is called the “Prince of Mambo”: this nickname comes from others, since at least 2012, and for him, the Mambo King is his teacher.[2]
“Ed and I have a very special relationship. I always say he’s my second father” (Ed and I have a very special relationship. I always say he is my second father) — Adolfo Indacochea, The Felix Ben Show, July 2020[2]
Bersy Cortez
Caracas, then Málaga · Salsa On2 and AfroMambo
Bersy Cortez is born in Caracas, Venezuela, arrives in Spain at 19, alone and penniless, and now lives in Málaga. In 2013, she takes first place in the women’s category at the 4º Campeonato Internacional Pasos Libres La Negra, in Spain. She dances with Eddie Torres as early as 2014, and two videos from 2017 still show them together.[3] In Amsterdam, in 2015, Eddie Torres himself introduces her among the dancers who danced with him that weekend.[1] She gave the name AfroMambo to a style she developed that combines, she says, Afro and Mambo.[3]
“AfroMambo is the name I gave to a new style that I developed which combines Afro and Mambo.” (AfroMambo is the name I gave to a new style that I developed and that combines Afro and Mambo.) — Bersy Cortez, Interview SalsaInfo.org (~2020)[3]
LOS ANGELES, LA STYLE: Johnny Vazquez
LA Style is not a method: it is a blend of swing and lindy hop, hip hop, tap dancing, acrobatics, acting, and Hollywood influence.[4]
Johnny Vazquez
Guadalajara, Los Angeles, then Milan · Salsa LA Style
Johnny Vazquez is born in Guadalajara, Mexico; he dreamed of being a soccer player. Trained in Los Angeles by his brothers Luis and then Francisco, he is one of the three brothers who popularized LA Style, and he himself says he is not its sole creator. Johnny and his brother Francisco speak of three victories at the Mayan Club, a Los Angeles competition. His nickname, El Príncipe de la Salsa, comes from Eddie Torres, in Puerto Rico, around 2000; Johnny says he never gave himself that name. In 2002 he leaves for Europe, and his Johnny Vazquez Dance School is founded in Milan in 2009.[4]
“Johnny Vázquez no existiera si no fuera por mis hermanos. […] Gracias a ellos, yo existo” (Johnny Vázquez would not exist without my brothers. […] Thanks to them, I exist) — Johnny Vazquez, Picante y Diferente, March 2023[4]
EUROPE, SALSA on 1: Fernando Sosa in Milan, Adrián y Anita in Barcelona
Fernando Sosa, born in Montevideo, settled in Milan; he dances on 1.[5] Adrián y Anita, meanwhile, live in Barcelona.[6]
Fernando Sosa
Montevideo, then Milan · Salsa On1
Fernando Sosa arrives in Italy in 1993 to play soccer. It is Alberto Valdés, a Cuban teacher, who changes his path: he becomes his first teacher and takes him to Cuba in 1997. In May 2000, he founds Tropical Gem in Milan with Rafael González; in 2008, he opens the Sosa Academy in Buccinasco, with Tito Petronio. With Tropical Gem, he wins Mega Team in Las Vegas three times in a row, in 2016, 2017, and 2018: these are team titles, not individual titles. He created Salsanamà, a competition of improvised duels, and left the stage in September 2024, but remains a teacher, Tropical Gem choreographer, and Salsanamà organizer.[5]
“si yo no hubiese fracasado en el fútbol no hubiese abierto la puerta del baile” (if I had not failed at soccer, I would not have opened the door to dance) — Fernando Sosa, Diamond Talks interview, July 2026[5]
Adrián y Anita
Montevideo and Ponta Grossa, then Barcelona · Salsa
Anita was born in Ponta Grossa, Brazil, and comes from classical ballet; Adrián was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and comes from music. In 2005, Adrián joins Imperio Azteca, Johnny Vázquez’s company, for a year. They meet at the Salsa congress in Tarragona in 2005 and have danced together ever since. Their six titles come from three competitions: Puerto Rico (2007, 2008, and 2011), Greece (2008 and 2009, according to them), and the World Salsa Masters in Madrid on November 7, 2014. After Madrid, they no longer compete.[6]
“ya fue como un mundo nuevo para mí, empecé tarde, pero ya mi vida cambió” (it was like a new world for me: I started late, but my life changed) — Anita, Almería24hTV[6]
CUBA: Alberto Valdés and Yoandy Villaurrutia
Alberto Valdés was born in Havana and lives in Cyprus.[7] Yoandy Villaurrutia is also from Havana; he says he is based in Barcelona.[8]
Alberto Valdés
Havana, Milan, then Cyprus · Cuban Salsa
Alberto Valdés is a boy from Old Havana who wanted to be a swimmer or wrestler and became a dancer for love. According to his biography, his professional career begins in 1986 in a company in Varadero, then takes him to the Tropicana de Cuba from 1990 to 1995; no cabaret archive confirms this. Based in Milan, he dances with the group Un Solo Pueblo, which becomes Otra Idea; he also sets up a Cuban dance school and a Rueda team there. Fernando Sosa calls him his teacher in more than ten videos posted online between 2009 and 2025. Today, he lives in Cyprus, where he teaches and performs with his wife, Andria Panagi.[7]
“Nunca me paré” (I never stopped) — Alberto Valdés, interview by Franco Rocha, May 2020[7]
Yoandy Villaurrutia
Havana · Salsa NewStyle
Yoandy Villaurrutia, known as Yoyo Flow, is a Cuban dancer from Havana; at a very young age, he enters the theater and dance school of Tony Menéndez, his first teacher. His first trip out of Cuba takes him to Russia: in Moscow, he says, Yoyo Flow’s career really begins. He then moves through Portugal and Italy, around 2017, and says he settled in Barcelona as early as 2021. One day, at a festival, another dancer tells him that what he does is a new style, and the name Salsa NewStyle sticks. His Instagram account now presents him as the founder of Salsa NewStyle; in his interviews, he mainly describes a personal blend, named after the fact.[8]
“no entendían el producto que yo estaba trayendo, porque ni yo mismo lo entendía” (they did not understand the product I was bringing, because I did not understand it myself) — Yoandy, PromoMusic Bcn & Friends interview, March 2021[8]
CALI: El Mulato and SALSA caleña
Cali’s city government describes El Mulato as one of the international promoters of the Cali style; he calls himself the creator of the stage style.[9]
El Mulato
Arauca, then Cali · Salsa caleña
Luis Eduardo Hernández, known as El Mulato, is born in Arauca, in the department of Caldas, and grows up in Cali, in the El Diamante neighborhood. His first artistic steps date back to 1982, in a neighborhood theater. According to him, he travels to Puerto Rico in 1998 with Ballet Azúcar and receives his nickname there. His company, Swing Latino, wins the team division of the World Salsa Championships in 2006 and 2007. On February 2, 2020, in Miami, Swing Latino joins Jennifer López onstage at the Super Bowl halftime show.[9]
“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[9]
BACHATA SENSUAL: Korke y Judith in Cádiz, Daniel y Desirée in Seville
Bachata is Dominican, but the sensual style was born in Spain, in Cádiz, around Korke y Judith.[11]
Korke y Judith
Cádiz, then Barcelona · Bachata Sensual
Korke comes from Salsa, Judith from rhythmic gymnastics and ballet. Korke takes up Bachata between 2001 and 2003, by his own estimates, without a teacher. A student’s question prompts him to investigate how to lead: that research gives rise to a cueing system, then a method, then an instructor training program. Judith joins his Salsa company around 2008-2009, and their Bachata duo dates to 2009-2010, according to Korke. They did not choose the name Bachata Sensual: according to their account, a London promoter gave it to them.[10]
“Dije, yo sé que lo hago, pero no sé cómo.” (I said to myself: I know I do it, but I don’t know how.) — Korke, interview at Masters of Bachata, posted online in 2016[10]
Daniel y Desirée
Seville · Bachata Sensual
Daniel y Desirée are from Seville and dance Bachata Sensual. Before becoming a dance duo, they were a couple. Their first competition is a spur-of-the-moment decision: the night before, a friend of Desirée sees them dancing at a party and tells them to enter. Spanish BachataStars champions in 2010 and European runners-up in 2011, they win the World Bachata Masters in Madrid in 2012 and 2013. They did not create Bachata Sensual: it was born in Cádiz, around Korke y Judith, and they do not call themselves its creators.[11]
“Sensual no es un movimiento. Sensual es la actitud.” (Sensual is not a movement. Sensual is the attitude.) — Daniel y Desirée, Franco Rocha’s show De Tú a Tú, April 2020[11]
Who learned from whom? The CONNECTIONS between them
These are the relationships described in the biographies, and only those. When a biography does not say that an artist was another’s student, we do not say so either.
| Who | What the biographies say |
|---|---|
| Alberto Valdés → Fernando Sosa | Sosa says Alberto Valdés is his first teacher; Valdés takes him to Cuba in 1997. In May 2000, Sosa and Rafael González leave Otra Idea, Valdés’s group, with their teacher’s approval, to found Tropical Gem.[5] Valdés confirms it in his own way: “yo le enseñé algunas cosas” (I taught him a few things).[7] |
| Eddie Torres → Adolfo Indacochea | Adolfo joins Eddie Torres’s company in late 2004 or early 2005 and stays until 2006-2007; he still calls him his second father.[2] Eddie Torres says of him: “yo rápido vi el talento, y le abrí las puertas, y lo ayudé en todo lo que pude” (I quickly saw the talent, opened doors for him, and helped him as much as I could).[1] |
| Eddie Torres and Bersy Cortez | They share the stage and workshops from 2014 onward: at Salentunidos in 2014, in Hamburg and Copenhagen in 2016, and at the World Stars Salsa Festival in 2017.[3] Eddie Torres lists Bersy Cortez among his stage partners over the course of the congresses.[1] |
| Eddie Torres → Johnny Vazquez | Eddie Torres gives him his nickname, El Príncipe de la Salsa, around 2000; for the Vazquez brothers, he is also the one who taught them to count the music.[4] |
| Eddie Torres → Fernando Sosa | Sosa studies with Eddie Torres for seven or eight consecutive summers, according to him, on stays lasting two to five weeks.[5] |
| Johnny Vazquez → Adrián (y Anita) | In 2005, Johnny Vázquez invites Adrián to join his company, Imperio Azteca. Adrián acknowledges his debt: “es una persona que a mí me ha inspirado mucho y he aprendido mucho de Jhonny Vázquez” (he is someone who has inspired me a lot and from whom I have learned a lot, Johnny Vázquez).[6] |
| Johnny Vazquez and Fernando Sosa | Sosa recounts how Johnny put in a good word for him with an organizer; the influence of LA Style on him is established, but he does not present himself as Johnny’s student. Johnny says of him: “Él es mi inspiración” (he is my inspiration).[4] |
| Adolfo Indacochea and Fernando Sosa | They meet in Texas.[2] Adolfo later taught at the Sosa Academy for several seasons, three according to Sosa.[5] |
| Korke y Judith and Daniel y Desirée | On June 5, 2010, in Cádiz, Daniel y Desirée win the Spanish BachataStars final before a jury that includes Korke y Judith. Daniel says in 2020 that Korke has been a warrior who held on and survived.[10] Nothing says they were their students.[11] |
| Bersy Cortez, Yoandy Villaurrutia, and Fernando Sosa | At the World Stars Salsa Festival 2022, Bersy Cortez dances socially with Yoandy Villaurrutia; in 2023, she appears with Fernando Sosa in a show in Madrid.[3] |
| Johnny Vazquez, Adrián y Anita, and Daniel y Desirée | The World Team Project, Adrián y Anita’s network, also brings together the teams of Daniel y Desirée and those of Johnny Vázquez.[6] |
Want to dance Salsa, Mambo, or Bachata?
🎓 Xavier teaches Salsa On1, Mambo On2, and Bachata Sensual at Studio24 in Liège. Or online anywhere in the world through Studio Live.
The HISTORY: La Fania, Our Latin Thing, and Salsa Around the World
Three articles tell the story of the music and its images.
La Fania
New York · 1964
La Fania is born in 1964 in New York: Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci put in 5 000 dollars, 2 500 each. It has signed, recorded, and taken on tour almost every successful Salsa artist of the 1970s. It has been the commercial force behind Salsa, without inventing it on its own.[12]
Our Latin Thing
Manhattan · 1971-1972
On August 26, 1971, the Fania All-Stars play at the Cheetah in Manhattan, before a packed house and cameras. Leon Gast’s documentary, Our Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa), records that night and is released in 1972. According to Gast, everything was filmed in the Lower East Side, with not a single shot in Spanish Harlem. Juliet McMains, for her part, writes that the film combines the concert with “scenes of life on the streets of Spanish Harlem and the Bronx” (scenes of life on the streets of Spanish Harlem and the Bronx).[13]
Salsa Around the World
Ten countries · 2022
In 2022, Fania Records presents fifteen short dance films, posted online from April 1 to October 14. Each episode features a dancer, a couple, or a trio in an iconic location in their city, set to a Fania classic. Johnny Vazquez appears in episode 2, Adrián y Anita in episode 4, and Fernando Sosa in episode 13.[14]
A TIMELINE in fourteen dates
- 1964 — La Fania is born in New York: Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci put in 5 000 dollars.[12]
- August 26, 1971 — The Fania All-Stars play at the Cheetah in Manhattan: Leon Gast films the evening.[13]
- August 23, 1973 — More than 40 000 people come to see the Fania All-Stars at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx; the concert ends earlier than planned.[12]
- 1979 — Eddie and Maria Torres start with Tito Puente, according to them (1980 according to the official website, Hutchinson, and McMains): what begins will last twenty-one years.[1]
- 1987 — More than fifty street dancers take the stage with Eddie Torres at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.[1]
- May 2000 — Tropical Gem is born in Milan, from an idea by Fernando Sosa and Rafael González.[5]
- 2005 — Adrián y Anita meet at the Salsa congress in Tarragona.[6]
- June 5, 2010 — In Cádiz, Daniel y Desirée become Spanish BachataStars champions; Korke y Judith are on the jury.[10]
- February 18, 2012 — First edition of the World Bachata Masters in Madrid: Daniel y Desirée beat five other couples in the final.[11]
- November 7, 2014 — Adrián y Anita win the first edition of the World Salsa Masters in Madrid.[6]
- February 3 to 5, 2017 — First official edition of Salsanamà, the duel competition created by Fernando Sosa.[5]
- February 2, 2020 — Swing Latino, El Mulato’s company, joins Jennifer López onstage at the Super Bowl in Miami.[9]
- April 1 to October 14, 2022 — The fifteen episodes of Salsa Around the World are posted online.[14]
- September 13, 2024 — Fernando Sosa performs his farewell show, The Last Dance, at his nightclub, the Camana Club.[5]
Learning SALSA, MAMBO, and BACHATA in Liège and online
Xavier Colina teaches Eddie Torres’s Mambo On2, Fernando Sosa’s Salsa On1, and Korke y Judith’s Bachata Sensual at Studio24 in Liège.[1]
Xavier trained in the direct lineage of Eddie Torres → Adolfo Indacochea (World Mastery program), and with Fernando Sosa and Korke y Judith.[2]
He attended workshops and a masterclass with Fernando Sosa at the Benidorm Summer Festival, as well as his World Mastery training program.[5] He also attended workshops with Johnny Vazquez.[4] He attended Korke y Judith’s masterclasses and Daniel y Desirée’s World Mastery training.[11]
In Liège, Mambo On2 is danced on Mondays.[2] Salsa On1 is danced on Tuesdays.[5] Bachata Sensual is danced on Wednesdays: each day, Introductory at 6:30 pm, Basics+ at 7:30 pm, and Intermediate at 8:30 pm.[11]
After about a year of practice, it’s time for the Advanced level on Thursdays, which includes Mambo On2 at 6:30 pm.[2] Salsa On1 is at 7:30 pm.[5] Bachata is at 8:30 pm. Everywhere else, Studio Live offers its video classes for you to follow at your own pace.[11]
Want to dance Salsa, Mambo, or Bachata?
🎓 Xavier teaches Salsa On1, Mambo On2, and Bachata Sensual at Studio24 in Liège. Or online anywhere in the world through Studio Live.
FAQ: everything about the BIG NAMES in Salsa, Mambo, and Bachata
🌎 Who are the well-known SALSA dancers?
This page presents eleven artists, without ranking them. Fernando Sosa dances Salsa On1 from Milan.[5] Johnny Vazquez dances Salsa LA Style.[4] Adrián y Anita dance Salsa in Barcelona.[6] Alberto Valdés teaches Cuban Salsa.[7] Yoandy Villaurrutia dances Salsa NewStyle.[8] El Mulato directs Swing Latino in Cali: this is stage Salsa caleña.[9] In Mambo On2, there are Eddie Torres,[1] Adolfo Indacochea[2] and Bersy Cortez, who dances Salsa On2 and AfroMambo.[3] In Bachata Sensual: Korke y Judith[10] and Daniel y Desirée.[11] Each name links to a full biography, with its sources.
🏆 Who are the best SALSA dancers?
This page ranks no one: a biography presents, it does not judge. Eddie Torres himself has never felt comfortable with his title of Mambo King: “people think because they call you the Mambo King that it’s a competitive thing that means you are a better dancer than the next […] by no means” (people think that, because you are called Mambo King, it is a matter of competition, that you are a better dancer than the next person […] by no means).[1] As for competition records, they are reported as established by the biographies: Johnny Vazquez speaks of three wins at the Mayan Club,[4] Fernando Sosa’s titles in Las Vegas are team titles,[5] and Adrián y Anita have six titles, including Madrid 2014, and not Atlanta.[6]
🎵 Who created BACHATA SENSUAL?
The style was born in Cádiz, around Korke y Judith. The press and their students present them as the creators. They themselves have said both. In January 2020, Korke introduces himself this way: “I am the creator of Sensual Bachata” (I am the creator of Bachata Sensual). In August 2020, Judith says: “I always say he was the creator, he created without me” (I always say he was the creator, he created without me) and says she opened up the dance. In May 2022, Korke says, on behalf of the duo: “no lo hemos llamado creadores nosotros mismos de la bachata sensual” (we have not called ourselves the creators of Bachata Sensual) and speaks about the method they have built. They are pioneers of the style.[10] According to their account, the name comes from a London promoter.[10] Daniel y Desirée, from Seville, did not create Bachata Sensual, and they do not claim to have created it.[11]
🕺 Who codified MAMBO On2?
Eddie Torres: he codified Mambo On2, he did not invent it, and he says so himself. At the Palladium and in clubs, many were already dancing on 2, others on 1, 3, or 4. Accounts of the 1-2-3, 5-6-7 count differ: Torres attributes it to June LaBerta, while researcher Juliet McMains sees it as an analysis of his own dancing. His method is also not the only school of On2.[1] And On2 was not born with La Fania: according to Juliet McMains, it marks the Palladium era.[12]
🎺 Did FANIA create Salsa?
No, not on its own. The music emerged in New York in the 1960s from a blend of Cuban son, guaracha, and guajira, with some Puerto Rican plena and música jíbara and Latin jazz. Fania was its commercial force: it shaped, produced, and sold it, without inventing it on its own. The word “Salsa” existed before Fania; Fania popularized it.[12]
🎓 Where can you learn their METHODS in Liège?
In Liège: first trial class for 10€, no reservation needed. Mondays feature Mambo On2,[2] Tuesdays, Salsa On1,[5] Wednesdays, Bachata Sensual: Introduction at 6:30 pm, Basics+ at 7:30 pm, and Intermediate at 8:30 pm. On Thursdays, the Advanced level (about one year of practice) brings all three dances together.[11] Practice in the evening at Puerto Rico Nights. Anywhere in the world: Studio Live — +300 HD lessons, 7-day free trial.[11]
About the author
Xavier Colina teaches Salsa On1, Mambo On2, and Bachata at Studio24 in Liège (Belgium) and online through Studio Live. Trained in the direct lineage of Eddie Torres → Adolfo Indacochea (World Mastery program), Fernando Sosa and Korke y Judith. Learn more →
Sources & Bibliography
- ↩
Eddie Torres :
STUDIO24, 2026. Eddie Torres « The Mambo King » : Biographie, Mambo On2 | Studio24 [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/eddie-torres-roi-mambo-revolution-salsa-new-york/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: origin and dance: the biography’s “in brief” box; verdicts: the part on myths; narrative: sections “SPANISH HARLEM, 1950: born at Tito Puente’s hospital,” “NEW YORK, 1989–1992: television, the MAMBO KING, and President Bush,” “Learning MAMBO ON2 in Liège and online”; quote: Eddie Torres, DanielCastilloDanza, 2011.
Clarification: the beginnings with Tito Puente date to 1979 according to Eddie and Maria Torres, and to 1980 according to the official website, Hutchinson, and McMains (biography, FAQ, and bibliography). - ↩
Adolfo Indacochea :
STUDIO24, 2026. Adolfo Indacochea : Prince of Mambo, âge, mythes | Studio24 [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/adolfo-indacochea-maitre-visionnaire-mambo-new-york-style/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: origin and dance: the biography’s “in brief” box; narrative: sections “WITH EDDIE TORRES: under the master’s wing,” “TEXAS, then NEW YORK: a dream, a restaurant, a Sunday,” “LIMA and FOLKLORE: a childhood where everything is Salsa”; quote: Adolfo Indacochea, The Felix Ben Show, July 2020.
Clarification: the arrival in New York in September 2004 and the first class with Eddie Torres in December 2004 come from his official biography; one variant gives February 2005 (biography, notes). - ↩ Bersy Cortez : STUDIO24, 2026. Bersy Cortez « AfroMambo Queen » : Biographie & AfroMambo | Studio24 [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/bersy-cortez-etoile-montante-salsa-revolutionne-danse-latine/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: origin and dance: the biography’s “in brief” box; narrative: sections “From 2014: EDDIE TORRES, the MAMBO KING,” “2013: CAMPEONA at Pasos Libres, and a style the dance scene did not understand,” “2022: AIX-EN-PROVENCE, a film and a social dance with YOANDY VILLAURRUTIA”; quote: Bersy Cortez, Interview SalsaInfo.org (~2020).
- ↩ Johnny Vazquez : STUDIO24, 2026. Johnny Vazquez (Vasquez) : âge, frères, Prince de la Salsa [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/johnny-vazquez-prince-salsa-revolution-la-style/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: origin and dance: the biography’s “in brief” box; verdicts: the part on myths; narrative: sections “From GUADALAJARA to Los Angeles: the boy who wanted to be a soccer player,” “Studio24’s artistic INFLUENCES,” “EL PRÍNCIPE DE LA SALSA: the nickname Eddie Torres gives him (around 2000)”; quote: Johnny Vazquez, Picante y Diferente, March 2023.
- ↩ Fernando Sosa : STUDIO24, 2026. Fernando Sosa : biographie, âge, Tropical Gem | Studio24 [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/fernando-sosa-tropical-gem-revolution-salsa-mondiale/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: origin and dance: the biography’s “in brief” box; verdicts: the part on myths; narrative: sections “Learning SALSA On1 in Liège and online,” “May 1, 2000: TROPICAL GEM is born in Milan, with Rafael,” “BIZZARRONE, 1993-1997: the evening with Alberto Valdés”; quote: Fernando Sosa, Diamond Talks interview, July 2026.
- ↩ Adrián y Anita : STUDIO24, 2026. Adrián y Anita : six titres de Salsa, vrai ou faux ? | Studio24 [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/adrianyanita/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: origin and dance: the biography’s “in brief” box; verdicts: the part on myths; narrative: sections “2005: IMPERIO AZTECA, JOHNNY VÁZQUEZ’s company,” “MADRID, November 7, 2014: the SIXTH TITLE, at WORLD SALSA MASTERS,” “In SUMMARY: Adrián y Anita’s journey”; quote: Anita, Almería24hTV.
- ↩ Alberto Valdés : STUDIO24, 2026. Alberto Valdés (Valdes) : Salsa cubaine, âge, Sosa | Studio24 [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/alberto-valdes-ricard-maitre-salsa-cubaine-innovateur-danse-latine/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: origin and dance: the biography’s “in brief” box; verdicts: the part on myths; narrative: sections “1997-2000: FERNANDO SOSA, the student who calls him his master,” “OLD HAVANA: a youth on the streets, failed attempts at sports, and dance discovered through love,” “VARADERO, 1986-1987: the first job as a dancer”; quote: Alberto Valdés, interview by Franco Rocha, May 2020.
- ↩ Yoandy Villaurrutia : STUDIO24, 2026. Yoandy Villaurrutia (Yoyo Flow) : Salsa NewStyle | Studio24 [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/yoandy-villaurrutia-new-style-salsa-yoyoflow/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: origin and dance: the biography’s “in brief” box; verdicts: the part on myths; narrative: sections “Tony Menéndez’s SCHOOL: a classmate, a diploma, dance,” “PORTUGAL, then ITALY: starting over,” “HAVANA: Yo-Yo, a neighborhood boy”; quote: Yoandy, PromoMusic Bcn & Friends interview, March 2021.
- ↩ El Mulato : STUDIO24, 2026. El Mulato : Swing Latino, Super Bowl, mythes | Studio24 [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/el-mulato-hernandez-roi-salsa-calena-succes-international/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: origin and dance: the biography’s “in brief” box; verdicts: the part on myths; narrative: sections “ARAUCA and CALI: the boy from barrio EL DIAMANTE,” “PUERTO RICO, 1998: BALLET AZÚCAR, the shock, and the nickname,” “CALI, 1982: the neighborhood THEATER and the first groups (1982-1997)”; quote: El Mulato, El Nuevo Siglo, September 28, 2012.
- ↩
Korke y Judith :
STUDIO24, 2026. Korke y Judith : pionniers de la Bachata Sensual | Studio24 [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/korke-judith-pionniers-visionnaires-bachata-sensual/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: origin and dance: the biography’s “in brief” box; narrative: sections “CREATORS? What Korke y Judith say, what others say,” “CÁDIZ, 2010: BACHATASTARS, who founded it, and what role did Korke y Judith play?,” “LONDON, 2010: where does the name Bachata Sensual come from?”; quote: Korke, interview at Masters of Bachata, posted online in 2016.
VIRAK STUDIO, 2020. Interview w/Korke y Gloria, Kiko y Christina, Kike y Nahir, Virak, Linda (Classe Dance Company) [online]. Virak Studio, January 7, 2020. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKuEWNI1oh4 [accessed October 26, 2026]. Clarification: “Hello, I am Korky and I am the creator of Sensual Bachata.” (Hello, I am Korky and I am the creator of Bachata Sensual) [00:00].
DANCE SPECIFIC TALKS, 2020. JUDITH CORDERO – Cadiz, Prioritizing the Self-journey & Freedom I Dance & TALKS Podcast #16 [online]. Dance Specific TALKS, August 3, 2020. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETiKngbOcd4 [accessed October 26, 2026]. Clarification: the host reminds her that she is recognized as one of the creators; she replies “okay yeah I always say he was the creator he was the he created without me” (yes, I always say he was the creator, he was the one who created it without me) [17:27].
DRAKO, Diego, 2022. Entrevista a korke y Judith..Los creadores de la Bachata sensual [online]. Diego Drako, May 21, 2022. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYtWUSkbq0s [accessed October 26, 2026]. Clarification: “Nosotros nunca lo hemos llamado bachata sensual, no lo hemos llamado creadores nosotros mismos de la bachata sensual” (we have never called it Bachata Sensual, we have not called ourselves creators of Bachata Sensual) [04:12]; he also says he created the technical part of leading with the body (body leading) [04:03].
Clarification: the biography reports the rest of their statements in the section “CREATORS? What Korke y Judith say, what others say” (2013, 2014, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and Instagram profiles from 2026). - ↩ Daniel y Desirée : STUDIO24, 2026. Daniel y Desirée Bachata : biographie et mythes | Studio24 [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/daniel-desiree-magie-bachata-sensual/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: origin and dance: the biography’s “in brief” box; verdicts: the part on myths; narrative: sections “Learning BACHATA SENSUAL in Liège and online,” “2011-2012: from EUROPEAN RUNNERS-UP to the first WORLD BACHATA MASTERS,” “The day before a COMPETITION: SEVILLE, a borrowed costume, then CÁDIZ and a Spanish title (2010)”; quote: Daniel y Desirée, Franco Rocha’s show De Tú a Tú, April 2020.
- ↩ La Fania : STUDIO24, 2026. La Fania : le label qui a fait connaître la Salsa au monde [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/linfluence-de-fania-records-sur-levolution-de-la-musique-latine/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: verdicts: the part on myths; narrative: sections “NEW YORK, 1964: a broom closet at 305 Broadway,” “BRONX, August 23, 1973: Yankee Stadium.”
- ↩
Our Latin Thing :
STUDIO24, 2026. Our Latin Thing (1972) : le film qui a montré la Salsa de New York au monde [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/our-latin-thing-documentaire-salsa-1972/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: key facts: the article’s “in brief” box; verdicts: the part on myths.
SLATER, Russ, 2011. It was our thing, Our Latin Thing: An Interview with Leon Gast [online]. Sounds and Colours, November 29, 2011. Available at: https://soundsandcolours.com/articles/united-states/it-was-our-thing-our-latin-thing-an-interview-with-leon-gast-14738/ [accessed October 26, 2026]. Clarification: Gast says: “It was all shot on the Lower East Side. Not a frame in Spanish Harlem.” (Everything was filmed on the Lower East Side. Not a single image in Spanish Harlem.)
McMAINS, Juliet, 2015. Spinning Mambo into Salsa: Caribbean Dance in Global Commerce. New York : Oxford University Press. Chapter 2, PDF p. 33. Clarification: McMains writes that Gast’s film presents the 1971 concert “interspersed with scenes of life on the streets of Spanish Harlem and the Bronx” (interspersed with scenes of life in the streets of Spanish Harlem and the Bronx); the article on Our Latin Thing gives both versions. - ↩ Salsa Around the World : STUDIO24, 2026. Fania Presents : « Salsa Around the World », 15 épisodes, 10 pays [online]. salsaliege.com. Available at: https://salsaliege.com/fania-presents-salsa-around-the-world/ [accessed October 25, 2026]. Clarification: key facts: the article’s “in brief” box; narrative: sections “2022: CRAFT LATINO and FANIA launch Salsa Around the World,” “EP. 2 | ITALY,” “Fernando Sosa (Episode 13).”
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