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Ocean Dreams cruise liner passengers are currently sailing Caribbean waters, and they have found in the salsa lessons offered by eight dancers from Cali the best way to enjoy while they travel from port to port. The Salsa Viva school dancers from the capital city of Valle del Cauca went on board the ship on May 7th and, since then, they are performing for the passengers, in addition to their dance lessons including salsa and other Latin rhythms. As part of its promotion activities of Colombia as a world-class tourist destination, PROCOLOMBIA found an opportunity to show international tourists another face of the country that goes beyond the products sold in Cartagena when the ships dock.
" Our first lesson was in the disco on the ship and we had about 45 people on the dance floor and about 50 in the audience. The word spread on the ship, then we gave a presentation of a song at night and now they all want to see the dancers in action&rdquo , said Edwin Chica, director of the dance school, also on board.
In addition to spreading the Colombian rhythm around all of the tourists, the intent of the salsa sessions on the ship is to promote Cali, Valle del Cauca and the Colombian Pacific Coast as world class tourist destinations.
" We have done a lot of advertising, people approach us to talk a lot, and you know how joyful the guys are, we are already friends with everybody&rdquo , said Chica
The salsa lesson project on board the ships is a joint effort with Colombia Pacific Travel, a newborn tourism network promoted as part of the PROCOLOMBIA corporate networks program. The goal is to take this experience to other sailing routes on cruise liners in Europe.
Cali is the world capital of salsa, not only because its dancers have constantly been world champions, but because of the large social, cultural, artistic and industrial impact it generates on the entire salsa cluster. Caleñ os have developed a fun and hedonistic culture, in harmony with their natural environment and countryside lifestyle.
The capital city of Valle is one of large spaces for tourism and recreation with places of historical value and venues for daytime and nighttime fun, making it a mecca of tourism. It also has enormous potential for MICE or corporate tourism, not only because of its large events center, hotel and gastronomic infrastructure and tourist attractions where the salsa experience is offered as a great distinguishing factor for meetings, incentives, congresses and events.
The city is one of the main economic and industrial centers in the country, and the main urban, economic, industrial and agricultural center of the Colombian southwest.
