Street Salsa St. Clair - People!

The sun tried to fry them away, the rains tried to wash them away. Hah!

The sun only had people looking for more musical heat. When the rains came during Lucho de Sedas' set Saturday, umbrellas popped up like mushrooms as hats and sunglasses disappeared. Lucho de Sedas and his Cumbia Crew took it right to the crowd, not missing a beat. Umbrellas and flags surfaced on stage as Lucho & Company dipped into the crowd and brought them up.

The rains simply refreshed them for more music - dance - food - life at the Hillcrest Village Salsa on St. Clair Street Festival. As the rains trickled away, evening twilight brought another energy and an intimacy. The coming night cloaked around people's shoulders and the stage lights drew them in closer.

A festival is people, and over 100,000 turned up through the week-end. Old, young, Anglo, Latino, Asian, African, grandmothers, mothers, children, babes in arms, families all shared the streets, talked, listened to the music and danced. This was the biggest block party that the Hillcrest area has seen in some time.

Salsa, the communal Casino Rueda, Reggaeton, Cha Cha, Merengue and Carlos Cruz' bachata kept people moving day and night - for two days. Dance and music communicate all by themselves. And people were communicating all week-end. Claudia Garcia Huerta, Ismael Cala, and even Tania Villarea could not resist the music's charms movement and dance added to their words.

Roll Call! Ecuador! Chile, Argentina, Columbia, Cuba, Mexico! ... People roared louder and louder as their homeland was recogized! The music, the musicians and the people became one. A true festival, a coming together.