RICHMOND, Va. -- Angel Rodriguez uses his talent and his extra time to teach others about the diverse Latin community.
"I've neem dancing since I was 14," Rodriguez said.
The man, known as the Salsa Guy of Richmond, never imagined he would be connecting people to Hispanic cultures and traditions while spicing up the dance floor with his partner William "Stop The Madness" Estremera.
"I teach Latin dance, I teach ballroom, I teach a little bit of Argentine tango and anything that has to do with folk," Rodriguez said.
"It's crazy the diversity of the people that come to this type of event. It's just mind-blowing and it feels good that we are sharing that Latin genre with so many people that want to learn how to dance salsa, bachata, merengue and they want to feel that groove," William said.
The two teach and perform at events around town.
"Corporate events, private events, churches and different organizations that want to be able to share with people the different culture," Rodriguez said.
Their performances aren't just about rhythm and beats.
"I take the opportunity when I present these dances to not only show people the costumes or whatever, but I actually give them the background of what it is that they are seeing because when you start understanding and seeing that, you start relating to it and then you realize the color of the skin is just a coincidental kind of thing," Rodriguez said.
The team takes pride in bringing the Latin experience to Richmond because they know it brings the community closer together.
"I think it's extremely important because people have hungered to be able to know because the more you know about something, the less you are afraid of it," Rodriguez said.
The Salsa Guy and the Puerto Rican and Mexican folk characters and Mexican folk characters will be performing on Saturday night at the Richmond Kickers' game. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. at Richmond's City Stadium.
