Rueda Hand Signs (Part 10) Coca Cola (Con La Mano Izquierda)

Coca Cola is one of the oldest moves in Cuban salsa and one of the elementary moves that need to be mastered before moving on to more complex turns as it is part of many advanced moves such as Abanico Complicado Y Coca Cola, Kentucky Complicado, El Matrix, La Cuadra, etc.
There are many debates around where the name for this move comes from but it is generally accepted that it was called “La Botella” in Cuba originally which means “the bottle” in Spanish. Many Cubans will still call this move Botella although internationally the move has become better known under the name Coca Cola. One of the origin stories of the move name proposes that it comes from the way the second C is written in the stylised brand name of the drink Coca Cola as it follows closely the pathway the follower takes when doing the move.

Coca Cola, despite being an elementary move, is one of the hardest moves to grasp initially and it is often done wrongly even by advanced dancers. Both leaders and followers struggle with this move for different reasons which is why we only teach it at level 3 at Tiempo España Dance Academy rather than level 2 together with most of the other elementary moves such as Vacilala, Exhibela and Enchufla.
It is the most that followers will have to turn in the initial stages but what makes this move difficult for a lot of people is the fact that followers will have to turn and travel at the same time rather than just turn on the spot. Turning & travelling is nothing special in Cuban salsa, on the contrary, it is one of the key elements that distinguishes Cuban salsa from other types of dance and specifically Cross-body salsa where on the spot turns are much more common. However, it is one of the things that many people need to get used to first and the move Coca Cola is usually the introduction to this concept. Similarly, many leaders will just lift their hand expecting the follower to turn while hardly moving themselves, however, to do Coca Cola well they should follow their partner around while doing the move instead of staying on the spot.


The hand sign for Coca Cola Con La Mano Izquierda uses the left hand forming a fist with the thumb and little finger pointing away from the fist to symbolise a (coke) bottle. The fist is slightly tilted so that the little finger points upwards and the thumb point towards the caller’s mouth at which point the hand is shaken (it is irrelevant how many times you shake the hand) to symbolise someone drinking a coke.

To see a video of the move Coca Cola as well as the hand sign, please click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzNsHZ68SjE

Feliz Navidad

Christmas celebrations officially ceased in Cuba when Fidel Castro declared the country an atheist state in 1969 and banned this festival from being celebrated. When pope John Paul II visited Cuba in January 1998, after Fidel Castro had visited him in the Vatican two years earlier, relations significantly improved between the catholic church and Cuba. Despite Catholicism being repressed initially in the aftermath of the revolution, Cuba is the only communist country with which the Vatican never broke off diplomatic relations. As a symbolic gesture to honour the pope’s visit, Castro decreed Christmas a national holiday for the first time in nearly 3 decades after the Vatican increased the pressure on the Cuban government to do so. John Paul II’s spokesman who spoke with Fidel Castro personally said that when Fidel Castro finally agreed to celebrate Christmas as an official holiday in Cuba he added that it might be for 1998 only as the holiday would be difficult to uphold due to the fact that it fell into the middle of the sugar cane harvesting season. This was the official reason given for suspending the holiday originally as the Cuban government insisted that the Cuban Revolution never had an anti-religious spirit. However, years later, the holiday is still officially celebrated although it remains somewhat in the shadow of the New Year’s celebration which coincides with the commemoration of the Cuban Revolution.

Cuban salsa is in many ways connected to the history and culture of Cuba and as such has seen various influences from the way Christmas has been treated in Cuba. While Christians continued to celebrate Christmas in Cuba even when it was not an official holiday, its importance declined and the majority of Cuban traditions and songs that influenced Cuban salsa are therefore from the pre-revolutionary period. During the time where Christmas was no longer a holiday in Cuba, Santería became more important and its influence on salsa can be seen in many ways (more on this to follow in later posts). As Cuban salsa was still in its infancy before the Christmas ban, Christmas songs from this period are usually centered around other dance styles such as Son, Guaracha, Rumba and Cha Cha Cha such as the famous album by La Sonora Matancera ‎– Navidades Con La Sonora (Christmas with the Sonora).

In recent years, Christmas has gained in popularity and importance in Cuba, partly due to tourism but also due to the relaxation of political tensions between the U.S. and Cuba so new Christmas influences can be expected to leave their mark on future Rueda moves, timba songs and the general culture surrounding Cuban salsa.

Tiempo España Dance Academy Social Events

Last Sunday we had a Christmas party at Carlton village hall to spend some time with our students and celebrate together before our winter break around the Christmas period. This was the first social dancing event we have organised and given how fast we have been growing over the last year and how good our students are becoming we are eager to organise many more opportunities for social dancing in 2017.
While we may not be able to give students the chance to dance socially in all our locations we are keen to offer regular salsa events and workshops in the future in various locations so that everyone gets the chance to practice their moves without having to drive too far.

Given we have only been teaching Cuban salsa in Yorkshire for just over a year we are extremely proud to have so many students already who are as passionate about Cuban salsa as we are and it is nice to see that more and more people are getting ready for social dancing. It was very nice to see how easily our students from all our classes mixed and that everyone was happy to dance with each other which made for a great atmosphere. Pictures and videos of our first event can be seen on our facebook group page.

Our aim is to bring Cuban salsa dancers in Yorkshire together on a regular basis while keeping the entry prices low so that it remains affordable for people in our community. While we may use a different structure for special events and workshops, our events will be based predominantly on Cuban salsa although elements of other Cuban dances such as Son or Rumba may be introduced over time.
Most events will start with a Rueda class which will be a 1h workshop where we will teach predominantly new moves which we do not teach in any of our ordinary classes. These classes will be a great way to warm up for the social dancing afterwards and they will generally enhance the training received in our regular classes.

There are no plans at the moment to provide classes for absolute beginners at our social dance events as complete beginners can join our weekly group classes at any point for free. This being said, our Rueda classes at the start of most social events will be suitable for all students at any level as long as they are happy with Paso Casino, Di Le Que No, Enchufla and Vacilala. That is, any advanced level 2 to level 7 student will be able to join the Rueda class at the start of our events and learn some new moves that we do not normally teach in class.

Dancing socially is a great way to meet new people and find out who else is interested in Cuban salsa in the region. It is one of the key components to becoming a good dancer in addition to taking regular classes. We will try our best to accommodate our students by providing more social dance opportunities in the future that will enhance their dance training and allow them to practice what they have learned in class.