Place of Birth - Jacksonville, Florida. (My parents are from the Philippines)

Occupation - Good question! I wear a number of different occupational hats: college student, website developer, salsa promoter, entrepreneur, graphic artist... I like to refer myself as "professional bum" seeing I can't ever stick to one thing.

A little bit about myself... Believe it or not, but I was a Hospital Corpsman (a medic) in the U.S. Navy for 6 years!! The military was an interesting experience that I would highly recommend. After 2-3 months of seeing nothing but the deep blue sea, you'll understand why pirates use to plunder cities when they reach port.

How did I discover salsa? - While stationed in Camp Pendleton, California, a buddy of mine took me to this place in downtown San Diego called Cafe Sevilla. When the live salsa band started, I immediately went to the bar for a beer. Then I noticed this couple dancing in front of the bar.

The woman I watched was wearing this sexy black skirt that was practically nothing and the way this guy moved was soooo smooth. He made these complicated turn combinations look like they required no effort! The two had this connection through eye and hand contact that even though they were dancing, they seemed as if they were somewhere else. I sat there in complete awe of the couple and when the song came to the end, the guy dipped the woman on his knee and the woman's legs went flying up in the air! From that moment, I decided "this is what I want to do" and the rest is history.

What do I enjoy most about salsa dancing? First, I love the music. Secondly, I love the atmosphere, the club culture, and the interesting people that I meet through salsa dancing. From all my travels, I have never seen anything that brings together so many people from different ethnicities like salsa dancing. It still amazes me today.

Future goals - I am going to invent a job that will support me so I can move on to more fun things: like more salsa!

Favorite quote - "The most important thing about dancing is to have FUN. If you're not having fun, then you're definitely not dancing!"