Uruguay is Latin America's Last Hope at FIFA WSC

Salsa & Zouk Dance instructors giving early Summer Courses, and their female students have a big problem: the FIFA World Soccer Championships. The instructors gambled on the European and the United States national soccer teams getting booted out early on in the tournament. This in turn would encourage the disappointed men to follow their dance classes.

Latin America, and its countrymen and women living abroad, were pretty sure that the World Cup Championship title would go to them. Much to their surprise, the team of Uruguay – the second smallest country in this tournament - is the only one out of the four qualified South American teams which is still competing for the cherished title. Tomorrow, July 5, 2010, most Latinos will be praying for Uruguay to win the semi-final against the favorite Dutch national team. This outcome has not been predicted. The millions of jubilant fans flocking unto the streets of Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Asuncion and – of course - Miami after the four South American teams advanced unbeaten to the quarter finals for the first time in history are now silent or complaining. 

The soccer team of the United States acted as expected, but the national teams of the former World Cup winner Italy and the French & English “executions” came as a total surprise. So the problem of the lack of men at Salsa Dance courses, workshops, parties, and Salsa Festivals is partially solved in these countries. Now the hopes of most Latinos living in these countries rest solely on the fifth place qualifier among the five South American national soccer teams. Diego Forlan outlasting Diego Armando Maradona came as a big surprise to nearly all Latinos, including many Uruguayans.     

The Latin languages Spanish and Portuguese became dominant during this World Cup, with the world news headlines being dominated by Kaka, Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Forlan and Maradona. Argentina, who won all of its games through the round of 16 and leading the the tournament in total goals scored, seemed practically unstoppable. Brazil's “Golden Canaries” was looking like Brazil despite of Dunga's increased hammering on more defense. Argentinian and Brazilian fans had already started to buy expensive tickets for the semifinals and the final match. The fact that no European team has ever won a World Cup off European soil made it look like the South Americans were heading for a great final week.

And then came Friday..

Brazil lost 2-1 to the Netherlands. “Vaya con Dios”, Kaka. The Zouk and Brazilian parties in the Netherlands were understandably not as cheerful as they have always been. The Argentinians gloated and celebrated the demise of their longtime nemesis only to weep the next day after Germany clobbered Argentina in a 4-0 victory: Argentina had its last Tango. Saturday night was also dramatic for Paraguay: the favored Spain needed only one goal to defeat Paraguay. The Spanish victory was expected, but it still ruined the celebrations for many Latin Americans. Uruguay's survival came after a highly controversial match against Ghana – the African Hope – that ended in Uruguay winning the penalty kicks.      

After all of the dazzling dribbling & ball possession, Maradona's charms, and all the celebrations of Latin American flair, it is now looking like the World Cup will go into the hands of a European team. Tomorrow's semifinal in Capetown will have the Netherlands as favorite against Uruguay, and Germany will go “mano a mano” against Spain in the Wednesday semifinal held in Durban. A European team will make history by winning a World Soccer Championship trophy outside its continent if Uruguay does not have another surprise up its sleeves.
After that, it is 'Salsa and Zouk business as usual'. 

The following clip was filmed on April 17, 2010, when Strictly Street Salsa (based in Houston, Texas) performed using the song "Unidad" at the 2010 Houston International Festival. "Unidad" means unity, and the song inspired this Casino Rueda routine, in which the team dances together dressed in jerseys of several national Soccer teams.