After the dance contest, the audience moved toward the dance floor, squatting around its perimeter for a better view, awaiting Cuban Pete and Mille. I was at a table with my parents, equally eager to witness the upcoming performance. After the opening acts, the emcee announced “and here they are again, the ones you have been waiting for, Cuban Pete and Millie.” To thunderous applause, and vociferous cheers, they hit the stage. I will never forget their performance, or the exuberant audience reaction. Cuban Pete was wearing a blue brocade jacket and black tuxedo pants that emphasized his lithe slim body, his hair slicked back. Millie was wearing a matching blue brocade dress with a trumpet flare that hugged her curves, and her trademark high-heeled pumps.

(Millie never wore dancing shoes; ditto Pete). They performed a sizzling Mambo, marking the music with the clave, utilizing several of the steps conceived by Cuban Pete, still the standard of today, i.e., the cross body lead, the Susie Q, the kick tap tap, etc.They received a standing ovation. The emcee then announced that Cuban Pete and Millie would conclude with a Guajira, a danceconceptualized by Pete

The audience cheered, aware of the unique experience that would ensue.

The music was a special arrangement by Joe Loco of “Love for Sale”. The tempo was slower than Mambo, danced belly-to-belly, showcasing voluptuous bends, dips, and undulating hips. It was fabulously creative, and suggestive, but in good taste. It was the sexiest performance I had ever witnessed. The audience went wild.

After numerous bows, applause, and whistles, general dancing resumed, to the incredible
live music of the big three and other guest orchestras.

No one ever missed a Wednesday night at the Palladium; it had become a New York institution.

More than 40 years after its closing, people still idolize the Palladium, either from direct personal experience or by stories passed down to younger generations. It was a mythical time.

What made it so extraordinary, so memorable? The music for one was staggering in its scope, written and played in layers, with broad areas of improvisation. The orchestras utilized the traditional Latin instruments, bongo, claves, guido, maracas, etc., clearly marking the clave for the dancers to follow. Tito Puente brought the timbales to the front of the band; percussionists originated the use of 3 and sometimes 4 congas. The montuno sections of the music were fiery and prolific, providing vast harmonious improvisations, for themselves and for the dancers.

The dancers did not count; they listened for the clave and stepped out. They danced inside the music, synchronizing their steps with it, frolicking, teasing, and tantalizing it, utilizing its intrinsic rhythm. It was electrifying to “see” the music.

Various Latin tempos and “en clave” dance styles blossomed at the Palladium, the Bolero, Guaracha, Guaganco, Montuno, Son Montuno, Rumba, etc., Mambo being the most popular. Several were crafted, beside the Mambo, most notably, the Double Mambo, Cha Cha Cha, Pachanga and of course Cuban Pete’s Guajira.

If I close my eyes I can still envision it, feel its pulses, and the subliminal heat generated by the music and the dancers. What a grand and glorious era.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be published, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the author, Barbara Craddock. bmc3336@aol.com

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CUBAN PETE & BARBARA CRADDOCK RECEIVING 2007 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS AT MS. LATINA INTERNATIONAL PAGEANT

November 17, 2007 at Gulfstream Park, Hallandale Beach, FL

Ralph Mercado, Mike Ramos, Cuban Pete, and Freddie Rios at T he Lincoln Center

Cuban Pete next to an original poster from the heydey of the Palladium at the Museum of the City of New York, Raíces Collection

MIAMI…Cuban Pete and Barbara Craddock, two names synonymous with authentic Palladium style Mambo and Latin dance, will receive prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2007/08 Ms. Latina International Pageant, Saturday, April 5, 2008, at Gulfstream Park and Casino, 901 S. Federal Highway, Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Pageant organizers, Angela & Al Posillico, will make the presentation, honoring the duo’s outstanding contributions to the entertainment industry in the Latin community. Cuban Pete and Barbara will also serve on the judging panel for this year’s event. TVA Productions, in conjunction with Craddock Management LLC, will film the gala.

TVA Productions and Craddock Management LLC are bringing to the screen the life story of Cuban Pete, “A Dancer’s Life en Clave.” Excerpts from the Pageant will be included, as will historic Latin greats of New York’s world famous Palladium Ballroom era.

Now in its fifth year, the Ms. Latina International pageant will have lovely Latina women from around the world vying for the coveted title, and will feature many Latin celebrities. The Ms. Latina International Organization is more than just a pageant; it is a “Way of Life” for young Latina women. Empowered through education, each year winning contestants have received four-year scholarships toward their education from many of the leading colleges in the community. In addition to the scholarship fund, the pageant is a fundraiser for their charity of choice, “Hope Hunger Crusade for Children.”

Mayela Rosales, the talented and beautiful Executive Vice President of Azteca America, will host this year’s pageant. Scott Grossman, official choreographer for the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, will head the choreography. Azteca America will televise this year’s event.

For further information on pre-pageant events, the final show, and tickets, please contact the Pageant headquarters at 954-227-6915, or visit our website at www.mslatinainternational.com.

For information on Cuban Pete and Barbara Craddock, call Craddock Management LLC at 305-931-3336 or visit their website at www.salsapower.com/cubanpete.

For driving directions to Gulfstream Park and Casino, visit www.mapquest.com.

Cuban Pete & Barbara Craddock
www.salsapower.com/cubanpete

Learn to Dance Mambo-Salsa “Inside the Music”
with Legendary Latin Dancers

Cuban Pete & Barbara Craddock

Miami…Learn to dance Mambo-Salsa “inside the music” with legendary Latin dancers, Cuban Pete and Barbara Craddock at Dancer’s Dream, Inc. in Pembroke Pines, Florida, on Saturday, January 19, 2008, at 2:00 PM. During the all-level class, students will learn to hear and identify clave, the metronome of Latin dance and music, and apply it in basic and advanced patterns, shines, turns, distinctive body and hand movements, without counting.

Cuban Pete and Barbara Craddock, authorities and visionaries of clave-based Latin dance and music, are known for their talent and passion for the mambo genre. With a combined 55+ years of professional dancing, they have choreographed and consulted on original Latin ballet productions, forever immortalizing clave in dance annals, and have produced and directed successful Latin dance series and lectures.

Barbara Craddock, long a believer in the purity of the clave, has spent countless hours imparting her knowledge to fellow dancers. She has produced and directed original Latin revues in New York, New Jersey, and Florida. She performed with La Plata Sextet, the Machito Orchestra under Mario Grillo, Bobby Sanabria, the Tito Puente Orchestra under Jose Madera, Tito Puente Jr. Orchestra, Andy Harlow, Fajardo, Johnny Conga, Edwin Bonilla, and Jose Alberto. She is a gifted expert on the history of Latin music and dance, and lectures extensively at universities, museums, libraries, and other venues including dance congresses. She continues to share her mastery and love of authentic Latin music and dance, especially Mambo, while infusing her own sizzling passion and style on the dance floor.

Cuban Pete, referred to as the Agreatest mambo dancer ever,” credits Miguelito Valdes with steering him away from boxing and onto the dance floor. Through his long professional career, he has invented over 100 dance movements and hand embellishments now seen as standards of Latin dance. In the 1950s, he created magic by choreographing a sensual breakthrough, the guajira danced to ALove for Sale,@ which made him the most sought-after dancer of the era. He worked with major Latin bands: Machito, Tito Puente Orchestra (under the direction of Tito Puente), Eddie Palmieri, Tito Rodriquez, Miguelito Valdes, El Gran Combo, Fajardo, and Noro Morales to name a few. Modern audiences may know Pete best for the work he did behind the scenes, as choreographer and consultant for the hit movie Mambo Kings, whose stars B actors Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas B were his willing pupils. To this day, Cuban Pete does not rest on his laurels but continues to make significant contributions to Latin dance culture.

Dancer’s Dream, 7909 Pines Blvd, is proud to offer the best dance atmosphere available. Its studio features cushioned real oak dance floors, 180 degrees of full-length mirrors, 500 watt, 17 speaker surround sound system, C/D burners, dancer’s stretch bar, large dressing room and waiting area, digitally controlled A/C, and chilled spring water fountain. For additional information, please contact 954-966-3838 or visit www.dancersdream.net.

For additional information on Cuban Pete & Barbara Craddock, please contact Craddock Management LLC at 305-931-3336 or visit www.salsapower.com/cubanpete.

Cuban Pete & Barbara Craddock
www.salsapower.com/cubanpete

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