style  Reggaeton & Bachata

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style  Cuban - NY - LA

If you hear faint drum beating in the distance, that is the call of La Carlota. Around this time ( MAY ), the Drum beating City of beauty and Dance of the Philippines celebrates the Pasalamat Festival and it isn't a surprise if the samba beat is being felt by the whole country right now. During the Pasalamat Thanksgiving Festival, La Carlota is transformed into one beating heart with the rhythm of the drums of its many tribes, the samba steps on its crowded streets and the united vision and dreams of its people.
La Carlota City is roughly 45 kilometers or approximately an hour's drive from Bacolod City. It's sweet success is largely attributed to its sugar cane plantations. In fact, La Carlota is among the major sugar bowls of the country.
La Carlota has a long, illustrious history from its early settlers to its more recent political and cultural figures. Among them is Nonoy Jalondoni,Jr., a major political figure and celebrated percussionist. He was the man who started what can be one of the most original fiestas in the Philippines.
Meant to be a show of gratitude for an abundant harvest, the Pasalamat Festival started as a lone drummer's call to unite his people. From a simple public performance on a makeshift stage in front of the City Hall, Nonoy Jalandoni,Jr.'s gift of music to his beloved city became its greatest expression of gratitude to the Giver of ALL Things.
First of all, the Pasalamat Festival is a thanks-giving to God but it is also La Carlota's grand festival of talents. One of the most coveted achievements during the festival is the grand prize in the Bahandi ni Nonoy Jalandoni Rhythm Competition. Tribus, or drumbeaters of every barangay both young and old, congregate at the heart of the city with their carabao-skin drums, congas and cowbells to face off and be recognized as the true culture bearers of the Drumbeating City.
The most important day of the Pasalamat Festival is May 1. The morning kicks off with a Grand Parade of floats, street dancers, drumbeaters and beauty queens.
After that the entire city gathers at the plaza for the Street dancing Competition and the Pawasak. Garbed in elaborate and colorful costumes, dancers of the Tribus of La Carlota face off in a display of skill, creativity and unity.
The Pawasak, on the other hand, is the merriest moment during the festival. Music and drum beating would seem to go on forever and the dancing on the streets would seem to shake the entire Island of Negros. La Carlota's Pasalamat Festival is the true Mardi Gras celebration in the Philippines and if you plan to join the amazing people of La Carlota, paint your face, wear a colorful costume and get ready to samba. During the Pasalamat Festival, everyone's moves to the rhythm of the La Carloteño drum.
Last year ( 2004 ), La Carloteños celebrated the Silver Anniversary of the Pasalamat Thanksgiving Festival through an elaborate showcase of its drum-beaters, dancers, homegrown talents, beauty queens, and sportsmen. But more than individual achievements, the festival was a grand display of the La Carloteño passion and creativity.
Such an original festivity could only spring from a singular experience, one which the entire city shares. And that experience is the joy of music and dancing.

These short paragraphs are a quick guide to those who are coming to the Philippines to stay at the Dursit Hotel where the first Philippine Salsa congress will be held.

The Dursit Hotel has an impressive looking lobby with some excellent restaurants but it is mainly all show.

The room I was given had faulty equipment ( the buttons on the tv were missing ), no air conditioning, just a fan, ( this will be okay in December as it is colder ), dirty drapes, ( gray instead of white ) . The bath room looked like something from South America. The standard of the bath room was sub standard for a five star hotel.

The room had no iron which is something I would expect in a five star hotel. No ice in the mini bar. There was no radio just a tv with a limited range of shows.

The staff at the Dursit ranged from the helpful to the really rude. I am able to understand Tagalog & some of the local dialect languages.

Overall I was not impressed with my stay at this hotel. For a weekend it would be fine. You get what you pay for here.

Restaurants & bars inside this hotel

Benjarong Royal Thai Restaurant

I have got to say what a pleasure it was dining in this restaurant. The staff were very helpful, polite. The menu list was large. The food was excellent.
A great place to dine. Inside the front door of this restaurant there is a table with a flyer with their monthly specials.
The dishes in this restaurant are usually shared so 2 or more people should dine here.
For inquires and reservations phone 867-3333 extension 3351

Benkay Japanese Restaurant

As I have dinned in  some of Japan's top restaurants I was not impressed with this restaurant. The food was average. The staff were not the best & it was the most expensive place to dine in the hotel. Not recommended.

Thien Duong Vietnamese Restaurant

Never got time to eat here.

The Lobby Lounge

Only sat in this area to watch for my friends & family who were coming to get me at this hotel. This area is served by the San Miguel staff.

Fiesta San Miguel Restaurant

This is an okay restaurant for lunch & dinner. The best meal is lunch where you can get Grilla' Mania which is an excellent all you can eat type of dining. You can choose from seafood or meat or both & they just keep on filling the plate again. It takes 15 minutes to replace the dish so keep that in mind. The Earth and Sky iced tea was excellent.

I sampled several types of San Miguel beer. Some were okay but there was nothing that really struck my plate as being great.

The Cafe

For breakfasts this was great. Be advised there are many people who come to this hotel on the weekends for breakfast so they sometimes ran out of food. The service was not as good on the weekends. You serve yourself to what you want.

The San Miguel Bar

This is an excellent bar. I had a great time on several nights. There were some great bands. One we did not stay for as they could not sing but were great looking.
The staff were mainly very helpful. This will be an excellent Salsa dance bar. Good wooden floors.

The Salsa bars around Manila

This is a very small bar which has a very large outdoor court yard so you can sit outside. There is security in this outside area so it is reasonably safe. On safety I must say Manila is not a safe city to visit. You really need to be careful about where you go & with whom. Do not go off with any strangers. Lock the doors of your car. Do not carry too much money or anything you can lose. In saying this if you are sensible you can have a great time here. Try to go around in a group or with locals you can trust.

I can recommend this taxi driver Roberto, ( or dodong in the local language ) as we went to all the Salsa clubs together & he looked out for me in all the tourist spots we went to as well. He will let you know if you are being ripped off.
If you ring this local number 5410296 there may be someone home who can speak English who will be able to arrange for Roberto to pick you up.
Getting a safe taxi driver in Manila can be a task so be careful.

But back to the Cafe Havana Greenbelt. The greenbelt area is an upmarket tourist area so it has great shops & bars one of which is the Havana cafe. This is a small cafe which serves okay food but it's band is excellent. The music was mainly Cuban with Salsa NY & Merengue. The service is excellent. I must point out this is a bar for foreigners ( there was only 3 or 4 ), it would appear to be a pick up bar for the locals as well. There were lots of single girls, some of whom could dance & others wearing very sexy clothes which were there to pick someone I guess as the clothes were not suitable for dancing, Great to look at. I meet a Salsa teacher from Sydney here who was visiting.  I had an excellent time at this bar. Well worth visiting. This bar is visited by the local professional Salsa dancers.

This also is a very small bar which was playing terrible music on my visit. It plays better music on other nights I have been told. The food was bad. The drinks were good. It is in a rougher part of town but you will be safe inside the bar. This bar is for smokers with a very small closed off section for non smokers. It may improve in the night as the local salsa dancers arrive. This is the bar for the local social Salsa dancers.

This is across the square from Café Havana Malate

Very small bar on the first floor. Very small dance floor. It has great food, good drinks, excellent & very helpful staff. This is a great bar.

If you are coming to Manila & want to Salsa dance try & contact Ares Andrés who is a major member of the local Salsa community. You should also visit
http://salsa.meetup.com/135/   for updates on local Salsa events..

There are Salsa dancers from all round the world who visit Manila so the standard ranges from very high to beginners. The guy in the above photo is one of Enio Cordoba's students from LA in California .I can recommend Manila as a place to shop & dance Salsa.

The following videos are of the Salsa Congress in Manila & of Salsa in Manila. There are many more online.