|
||||
|
| ||||||
|
The Los Angeles Mayan Nightclub The Most Historical, Unbelievable, and Mystical Nightclub in the World.
Mayan website: www.ClubMayan.com
There are is one place that tops every Salsa nightclub in the world. It is located in the heart of Los Angeles, California. It has proven to be one of the top – if not “the top” Salsa nightclub in the world. There is no place on earth like the Los Angeles Mayan nightclub. Absolutely nothing compares.
The Mayan is one of the most incredible places on earth to dance Salsa. It has withstood the test of time, week in, week out, delivering the world’s best in Salsa Music and Live Orchestras. It’s not the type of nightclub to open one month and shut down the next. The amount of financial backing this place has is unsurpassed. On the weekends it is used as a nightclub, and during the day, hosts events such as conventions, parties, and major motion pictures such as The Bodyguard starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner and Toys starring Robin Williams.
No matter what, you are taken aback and impressed beyond your wildest dreams just walking into that place. Every time I walk into the Mayan my heart skips a couple beats. It is almost overwhelming. There are three dance floors. The dance hall on the 2nd floor and the hall in the basement hosts techno and Spanish Rock. The main room hosts Salsa – a real treat for the average Salsero who always seems to get the smaller rooms in large nightclubs like this.
It’s crazy how much you appreciate things more once they are no longer “readily available” or “always around”. Having traveled to over 50 countries and hundreds of cities throughout the world in my career as a Salsa instructor, I’ve seen just about all there is to offer as far as Salsa clubs worldwide. When I get back to LA, I can’t wait to come back just dance my butt off at the Mayan. It’s now a personal treat for me - a fantasy. I’ve come to need it. I’ve come to crave it; at times just to get the taste back in my mouth again. The Los Angeles Mayan nightclub is truly what a sophisticated, beautiful and glamorous Salsa nightclub “should be”.
The Mayan is a converted three-story theatre with its interior décor made up of deep, dark and mystifying Mayan architecture. There is a mirrored dance ballroom ball hanging from the cathedral ceiling the size of a mini-Volkswagen bug. It is the largest mirrored ball I’ve EVER seen in a nightclub – probably the largest mirrored ballroom dance ball in the world.
The sound system is nothing short of high-quality state-of-the-art. The quality of the sound system and DJ equipment is a major part of what makes the Mayan one of the most famous nightclubs in the world. The DJ booth itself looks like Command Central at NASA. Only the best of the best can manage literally the hundreds of buttons, knobs, computer screens and sound mixing equipment that the Mayan management and clientele of Los Angeles expect – nothing but the absolute best.
As the night roars on, three larger-than-life projection movie screens depict past Mayan competitions and music videos synchronized with the music. The DJ orchestrates a nightly laser light show complete with multi-colored neon lights. Smoke machines fill the air giving the Mayan its magical and mystical ambiance.
The beautiful wooden floors are PERFECT for dancers. Not too slippery, not too sticky – just PERFECT fast dance floors the way I like them. Unbelievable.
Every year the Mayan gets more and more breath-taking. It’s quite an emotional experience, even for those of us who have been patronizing it since its inception in the early 90’s.
One of the smartest things they ever did was provide an entire Espresso Café bar larger than most Starbucks in the outside lobby entrance. I wrote about this in my “Club Owners - Listen to Your Clientelle!” article I wrote years ago. Maybe they took my advice, maybe they didn’t, but a few months after I wrote that article, voila, a world class Espresso Bar for the patrons suddenly appeared. Every time I arrive, there is a line for coffee.
The managers of the Mayan understand that there are some people in this world like me, who would never spend four dollars on a beer, but if there’s a Café Late around, I’ll spend more than that on a few of them to last me throughout the entire evening! Next thing we need is warm soup to be served at the end of the night. I’d put a five dollar bill down for some warm tomato soup for my trip home! No problem!
The “Best of the Best” Salseros in Los Angeles congregate by the bar called “The Cave” near where the orchestra plays. There is where the “Mystical Magic of Salsa” is magnified and displayed with all the passion and energy you can possibly imagine. Being there on a Saturday night, when the best of the Los Angeles Salseros show up around 11pm, is a drug-like experience that is difficult to put into words. Dancing Salsa and experiencing that “high” is amplified 100-fold at the Mayan at that specific time. The atmosphere is extraordinarily mystifying – to say the least. I used to tell myself, “OK Edie, you can die now… you’ve experienced ecstasy right here at the Mayan,,.. there’s nothing more to live for. God, take me now…”
I was astonished the first time I saw the place. It was a high - beyond high, I’ll never forget that night. It was my first “week” of my Salsa dancing experience back in 1994. A friend invited me to go. I got there around 10pm. The band Latin Fusion was playing that night. They were on fire. The Mayan nightclub’s atmosphere just intensified their playing. It was like being in a dream.
I walked up near the stage, and noticed Alex Da Silva with his partner Mariella dancing up a storm forming a circle of onlookers around them. I was blown away with his amazing tricks and Tango styling. Then, I saw Luis Vazquez with his [then] fiancé Joby Martinez at the time, dancing with both he and Janette Valenzuela. The trio was invited on stage with the band to dance. Then Alex was invited on stage. There wasn’t enough room for all of them so the Vazquez trio went down to the floor in front. A crowd of onlookers started forming a circle… waiting and watching in astonishment.
Then the battle started.
The Vazquez circle, consisting of Luis Vazquez, Joby Martinez (now Joby-Brava) and Janette Valenzuela were smoking the floor with their amazing style, flair, flash and moves that could make Michael Jackson and Fred Astair blush. When Alex saw this, he stepped off the stage with Mariella and starting tearing the floor IN HALF with his own technique of tricks, lifts, and Tango moves that would put the show “Forever Tango” to shame. The entire battle between dance couples was nothing short of amazing. The music intensified as their moves intensified. Alex and Luis both showed off every move and trick in the book to “beat each other out” at getting applause from the astonished onlookers. They had everyone watching both speechless and shocked at what was actually happening. Who could win the crowd, who could grab their attention. With Alex, it was his tricks. With Luis, it was his style and flair. Watching both of them and trying to compare was like trying to compare apples and oranges – completely different styles, yet they are both unbelievably amazing in their own rights.
I was mesmerized by what I just saw. Two of the most incredible live, impromptu, unrehearsed performances battling for attention like nothing I’ve ever seen since. It could have made an amazing movie.
The heat of the moment was so intense it even lit the band on fire. Everyone in the Mayan was cheering them on. It was a moment I’ll never forget.
The battle only lasted until the end of the song - no more than a few minutes. Those memorable minutes forever etched in my mind – and everyone elses’ for that matter. Anyone who witnessed that night experienced a raw passion and fire like none other. It was forever in our souls. I know for a fact, that night changed all of our lives from that point on – for the better.
After that incident, I was hooked, and hooked for good. My future career solidified at the Mayan. My quest to learn and master Salsa Dancing started right there, that night. I had no idea that Salsa dancing would magnify worldwide as it has, and I never would have dreamed this would eventually travel the world training, performing, and educating people about this industry.
I believe it is the combination of the atmospheric lights, sound system, excellent wooden floor, the outside air circulating in, Circles of stars with the likes of Legends like Francisco Vazquez, Rogelio Moreno, Rudy Zalez, Alex Da Silva, Jose Luis, and others flaunt the latest in style, speed, spins, and smooth grace p- so typical of LA Style - The style that Francisco Vazquez and Alex Da Silva created and then Luis and Johnny Vazquez later refined and perfected.
Every spring, the Mayan hosts one of the most famous International Salsa Competitions in the world. Prizes range from $5000 to $10,000. People from all over the world can watch the competition via live video streaming at www.clubmayan.com. The minute their website opened up years ago, I placed their URL reference on www.SalsaWeb.com. That’s when the entire Salsa world got a chance to see amazing Los Angeles competitors strut their best routines.
The Mayan’s got the business-end figured out. Their trick: Get regular Techno club-goers who spend money on alcohol “hooked on Salsa” by simply exposing them to it. Some hard-core Los Angeles Salseros don’t like going to the Mayan because of the amount of Reggae ton and Spanish Rock that is played, but in fact what actually happens as a result of the alternative music being played is quite extraordinary. When the Salsa music is played, it is an excellent opportunity for those “on the fence” per se to see amazing Salsa dancers dance. They “see” the Salseros actually “holding” the girl, while dancing with them (main objective here – to actually put your hands on a girl without any objection), instead of trying to edge-in on a circle of girls huddled together and dancing together to techno music. The guys (and gals for that matter) actually “get a visual” of Salsa dancers actually touching and holding each other during Salsa dancing. Some erotic, some sensual, and most having the time of their lives.
Experiencing the Salsa dancers actually motivates the non-Salseros to learn Salsa. This method of playing a bit of alternative music actually CREATES budding Salseros AND gets the non-Salseros to buy drinks during the Salsa music period, while the Hard Core Salseros drink during the Techno and Spanish Rock music.
Everyone wins. The club owners, the dancers, the growing Salsa scene, the promoters, the Salsa instructors… literally everyone.
Playing alternative music at the Mayan has been the answer to the age-old problem of “Salseros don’t drink so let’s shut down the club” problem. The Mayan’s got it figured out. They provide an unbelievable service to the Hispanic community in Los Angeles. They need to open more franchises all over the world!
My hat goes off to the Mayan club of Los Angeles. if you want to see one of the most incredible Salsa clubs in the world the Mayan is a MUST EXPERIENCE at least once in your lifetime. It will absolutely blow your mind, guaranteed. There is nothing, and I mean “NOTHING” like it.
Edie The Salsa FREAK is one of the most sought after instructor / performers in the world. She can be found at
www.SalsaFREAK.com
Contact: wowedie@yahoo.com
|
