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Arte Fest's Recipe: Just Add Salsa

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By STEVE KORNACKI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 4, 2007

Updated: 11/03/2007 11:55 pm

TAMPA - Candy and Terry Jiovani found themselves chuckling after their salsa lessons. The Largo couple were among those learning the Latin dance Saturday on the bricks of the Riverwalk at the Arte 2007 celebration of Hispanic and Latin arts.

"We got tied up and didn't know how to get untied," Terry Jiovani said. "But, you know, we don't dance enough and know nothing about Latin dancing. This is something we can do together that is fun."

They talked about taking lessons with instructor Simone Amaral, who has Simone Salsa dance studios in Tampa, Brandon and Clearwater.

Amaral smiled, saying, "If you learn to dance, you will never be alone."

Exposing Latin dance, music and arts to non-Hispanics and allowing Hispanics to experience cultures outside their own country are among the goals of Arte, a biannual festival that kicked off Saturday and continues over the next two weeks at more than 30 Tampa Bay area venues.

The events are organized by Tampa's Creative Industries office and have numerous civic partners and sponsors, including The Tampa Tribune.

"Arte was created to bring in events unique to Tampa and connect it to economic development," Paul Wilborn said. He helped start the event when he was the city's Creative Industries manager and remains on the event's executive committee.

Event Coincides With Conference

Wilborn, now executive director of the Palladium Thea- ter in St. Petersburg, said the dates of Arte 2007 coincide with the National District Export Council Conference, which brings 500 delegates to Tampa's downtown Hyatt Regency on Wednesday through Friday.

"This shows that arts can be an economic development player," Wilborn said. "The delegates will experience Arte while they are here and enjoy it."

About 200 turned out at the Riverwalk to see a cooking exhibition by Food Network chef and Colombia native Ingrid Hoffmann, watch a children's marionette show, and listen to Miami musician Javier Garcia and his band play a mix of rock, hip-hop, calypso, funk and tropical rhythms.

Event director Nancy Kipnis said the attendance doubled from the 2005 kickoff event. "It's growing," she said.

'People Are Surprised'

More than 1,200 turned out at Leto High School in Tampa for a separate event that also was under the Arte 2007 umbrella. The Hispanic-American Inter-Cultural Workshop and Taller Inter-Cultural Hispano-Americano presented an all-day festival of music, dance, food and the arts.

There were 38 vendors representing everything from individual Latin American countries to Jesus Lopez's "Paper Money of the World" exhibit displaying money from 22 countries.

"People are surprised by all this," said Lopez, of Pinellas Park. "I have 1776 money printed in New York and Connecticut, Cuba, everywhere."

Back on the Riverwalk, Hoffmann cooked a chipotle tamale pie in cornbread and made raspberry lemon margaritas. Then she posed for photos and spoke Spanish while signing autographs for fans.

"She gave great cooking tips and related to our culture," said Maria Elana Elisalde of Tampa, who is from Ecuador. "She threw salt behind her shoulder for good luck. You know, the Latin culture is very superstitious."

The events took place behind the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, and, like Jerry Jencen of Tampa, many simply enjoyed the sounds and sights along the Hillsborough River. He focused on his wife of 47 years, Esther, who was born in Cuba, learning to salsa dance.

"It was fun," Esther Jencen said. "Why didn't Jerry join me? Ah, he can't dance for beans."

Reporter Steve Kornacki can be reached at (813) 731-8170 or skornacki@tampatrib.com.

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