15 Year Celebration of Summer Breeze Salsa Dancing Part 2

This is the second part of the exclusive interview Mimo Argam had with OnlineSalsa.com in which he reminisces on the 15 years of his Summer Breeze Salsa parties. The first part can be read here. We continue with Mimo being forced to stop his Salsa and Latin dance activities quite abruptly in the Vondelpark in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Mimo commented on the reasons and the conditions of his departure from the Vondelpark, “Five years ago, Roel Veldhorst past away and the 'Uitmarkt' – a professional theatrical events company – took over the organization of the events held in the open theatre at the Vondelpark. They told me that there was no room for  Salsa in their program because – in their own words - “Salsa is not Theater”. The disillusioned Salsa party organizer continues, “The Uitmarkt also canceled the highly successful children's program held on Wednesdays, and they managed to stop a much loved snack bar after 25 years of service to the public. Uitmarkt struck a deal with a large beer  company who took over all of the catering activities around the open theater. But, I do not hold a grudge.”     

I asked Argam about his time at the Westergas terras. He said, “I have been working together with the organization of the Westergas terrace from the moment I stopped at the Vondelpark.. The location was still being rebuilt when I started with my Salsa dance activities. They have been very kind to me, and they also gave me a free hand in doing things. Westergas made it possible for me to organize the big Fania Salsa parties and create extra options like an extra dance floor outside the building with extra DJ equipment.”

Contrary to common believe,the free Salsa party organizer of Moroccan descent does take some time to rest once in a while. His motto's are “Be humble, be honest, enjoy freedom and dance for your freedom”. Also, “Everything works if we work together” and “something has to be done right or not done at all.”

Video clip of La Excelencia performing their hit “Salsa Dura”.

On August 22, Mimo will organize a Salsa matinee on the boat “Lisboa” at the end of the boat event “Sail Amsterdam” with Salsa dancing on the upper deck and with a Salsa band in the lower deck. Furthermore, he will also organize the “Kijk op de Wijk Festival” taking place on Sunday, September 12. The party celebrating the 15th anniversary of Summer Breeze at the Westergas terras on August 26 is the only one Mimo organizes with a (steep) entrance fee. Mimo, “Eric from the 'Most Wanted' Latin record store has connections with the booking director of La Excelencia in Europe, so we could arrange the band for a lower rate than usual, but it is still a large sum of money to pay without additional funding. But, the raw and pure Salsa sound of La Excelencia is worth every penny.”

For more information: www.mysummerbreeze.nl