Cedar Rapids man aims to connect people through dance

Edwin Valladares wants to bring people together through dance.

Valladares, 39, who DJs as Edwin Alvarado, started a free summer salsa dancing series, Sunset Salsa, in 2012 in Iowa City. The program came to Cedar Rapids in 2013, starting on the lawn in front of NewBo City Market on Thursday nights. This year, it moved to the roof of the downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library to avoid conflicting with NewBo's Meet Me At the Market.

Popularity has steadily grown, and Valladares, originally from Honduras, hopes it helps people engage with each other across cultural lines.

'One of my goals has always been community inclusion,” he said. 'With salsa, you connect with people, you communicate. The only way we can grow as a community is by sharing our ideas. If we don't communicate with each other, we're going to be segregated into our corners.”

The next program in Iowa City, on the Pedestrian Mall near the fountain, takes place from 6-10 p.m. Saturday. The next program on the library roof in Cedar Rapids takes place from 5-7:30 p.m. July 14.

FROM HONDURAS TO IOWA

Valladares came to Iowa in 1994 and has also lived in Canada. He briefly moved back to Honduras after attending Kirkwood Community College, but ultimately decided to return to Iowa.

He now lives in Cedar Rapids.

'Everywhere I go, I have to come back to Iowa. Iowa has become home,” he said.

He works as voter outreach coordinator for the Linn County Election Services Department and owns J & E Entertainment, which does sound and lighting for events. Last year, he became a U.S. citizen. On Tuesday, he came up short in a Republican primary bid for the District 3 supervisor seat in Linn County.

'The community has been good to me. The community has given me so much, I felt I had to do something in return,” he said.

Salsa has been part of his life for as long as he can remember.

'In Honduras, what you hear is merengue, salsa, cumbia - I've heard it all my life,” he said. 'Salsa dancing is something you can find anywhere in the world. I like that it's an international dance.”

Valladares is hoping to expand into the Quad Cities. Last year, he also hosted Sunset Salsa at Gateway Park in Waterloo, but it is on hiatus in the Cedar Valley for now due to budgetary concerns. He had been paying for things like sound expenses - sometimes paying people to help set up and tear down - and marketing out of his own pocket, but in 2013 Veridian Credit Union became a sponsor.

SHALL WE DANCE?

The first 45 minutes of each Sunset Salsa event is a warm-up with zumba, led by instructors, followed by open dancing, featuring salsa, merengue, cumbia, bachata and cha-cha. People don't have to come with a partner - anyone can ask anyone to dance. Valladares emphasizes that, in this context: asking someone to dance does not equal hitting on them - it is about sharing the dance.

'Social dancing is a matter of networking and making friends and making connections,” he said. 'I feel you don't need a dance partner, You can ask anybody to dance.”

Those who want to learn the steps are welcome at free lessons held at 8 p.m. Wednesdays at La Cantina, 102 Second St. SE.

Valladares said more experienced dancers can lead novices through the steps during Sunset Salsa events. All levels are welcome. 'It's honestly a language. You communicate through the music,” he said. 'And this is not ‘Dancing With the Stars.'

'You don't have to be scared.”

If you go

What: Sunset Salsa

Where: Cedar Rapids Public Library rooftop, 450 Fifth Ave. SE, Cedar Rapids

When: 5-7:30 p.m. July 14, Aug. 18, Sept. 15, Oct. 6

Where: Iowa City Pedestrian Mall, near the fountain

When: 6-10 p.m. June 11, July 9, Aug. 13, Sept. 10, Oct. 1

Info: Search Sunset Salsa Iowa City-Cedar Rapids Corridor on Facebook