SALSA IN IRAQ

20 AUGUST 2004 | TOMASUSMC

[TomasUSMC]

FROM THE TROOPS AT THE FRONT:

The article on Salsa in Baghdad is quite amusing, more so because as a US Army Reservist/Salsero currently deployed to Baghdad, Iraq I would like to inform you that we DO have Salsa over in this wonderful desert paradise.

I was actually quite pleasantly surprised to find Salsa in Iraq, but the large number of Mexican/Puerto Rican/Latinos in the US military tend to have SOME kind of Latin dancing whenever they are stationed together in large numbers, so it was an inevitable that eventually Salsa would find its way into this joyful desert paradise now that Mr Saddam has taken up residency elsewhere. Kinda like cell phones - they were illegal under Saddam, now everybody friggin has one .. I personally use mine to call my friends back in the States when we are getting bombed or shot at - they like explosions and stuff.

Myself and other Salsa lovers have organized a Latin dance night every other Friday and a class on the off Friday's. It is by far the most popular event for military and civilian personnel stationed around BIAP (Baghdad International Airport). The building we use is a small ballroom near one of Saddam's palaces, complete with ceiling ventilation in the form of rocket and bullet holes. I have also been teaching some of the female soldiers the basics in order to satiate my quite unquenchable Salsa thirst.

Speaking of bombs and stuff, I actually had a fairly exhilarating Salsa experience the first night I discovered Latin dance over here. I borrowed a hummer from my boss and a female soldier to witness (and relay) my dance skillz back to other females in my unit, and drove to the camp with the Latin Night. As we approached the gate, the guard alerted us to the fact that the area was currently under attack by insurgent forces: the bastards decided that Latin Night was a good time to fire mortars into the camp.

We were informed that 4 or 5 mortars had already struck the immediate area, but we were still authorized to enter as the gate had not been shut down. Needless to say, the prospect of superheated mortar shrapnel ripping through my limbs (my body armor would protect my chest and back) was a little less than spectacular... but in the end my insatiable Salsa thirst won out, plus I'll be damned if I let those bastards dictate when I get a chance to go Salsa!

I've also taken some pictures of myself dancing over here, for any disbelievers amongst Salseros and friends back in the States.

Insofar as dancing with the local females, you can pretty much forget it. They avoid us to their utmost ability, as the Muslim culture has a very strong taboo against any female-male interaction before marriage, dancing is completely out of the question unless it is at certain social events and then only with a brother or father. There is no such thing as a nightclub or dance event in their culture. Even though the people here have much more freedom than under their former wonderful ruler, it is still too dangerous to be out at night due to the insurgent's violence.

I work with many Iraqi contractors, one or two of them are female, so I learn quite a bit about their customs. I asked one of them to join in a lesson when I was teaching a fellow soldier and she looked at me like I was quite the devil incarnate. Any willing/continued physical contact would have shamed her: woman in their culture who are known to have associations with men are outcast. Going so far as to get pregnant is a very likely a death sentence - imposed by the woman's family .. Not the most hospitable environment for Salsa.

My nickname on my base over here has become Sgt SalsaMan, since everyone knows about my obsession with Latin dance. I actually yell at the lower ranking soldiers if they don't call me that - call it abuse of authority if you will, but I don't care: it's a combat zone so we get away with a lot.

Anyways, I've been on holidays over here for about 3 months now, 9 more to go. The Military has extended the majority of the soldiers that were scheduled to leave after their 12 month tour was finished. They usually have to stay for another 30-90 days, but we get paid an extra grand for each month that we are extended... on top of Hazard Pay, Imminent Danger Pay and Combat-zone tax exclusion, it adds up to a pretty penny and that somewhat alleviates a longer duration over here.

The things I miss most are alcohol, Salsa and the other physically taxing interpersonal activity (s e x). But at least now we have a Burger King, which I promptly ate for days straight and am now disgusted at the sight of it.

E-mail is one of the most fabulous things around here after Salsa and Burger King so if any of you Salseros want to hear more or just wanna say "Hola", drop me an e-mail why don't ya?

Just wanted to share a fellow Salsero's experience, have a great day!

Sgt SalsaMan masterbry@hotmail.com

[TomasUSMC]

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