More than two decades ago, Roberto Perez left his home in Cuba for the freedom to have more opportunities to travel the world and share his love of meeting and connecting with new people.

Now, he’s teaching Latin-style dance throughout the Syracuse community while also pursuing his master’s degree.

After leaving his home country, Perez went to Colombia for five years and eventually landed in Miami in 2001 before relocating to Syracuse. Perez said being in Miami felt like he was still at home because of the city’s large Cuban population along with so many people already knowing Spanish. He wanted to “really live in the U.S.” and said leaving Miami helped him learn English faster.

Two big reasons why people leave Cuba are for religious and economic freedom, he said. That freedom is something Perez said he cares a lot about, and it has given him the opportunity to live his dream of traveling the world.

As a self-proclaimed backpacker, he’s traveled all over Europe, Asia and South America. But to him, Cambodia and Myanmar were the best places he has visited. He said traveling was all about connecting with people.

“What I like here is the freedom that you get to do anything you want,” Perez said. “One of the main things that I wanted is just to be free, to be able to travel the world, not be stuck in one place.”

For Perez, Latin dance was a way for him to stay connected to Cuban culture.

Perez met Brian Bromka in 2004 dancing salsa at the Syracuse Suds Factory, and the two decided to start their own performance dance ensemble. The group is called “La Familia de la Salsa,” and it started with 26 people that included people from all different backgrounds, Bromka said.

After they formed the ensemble, the two decided to start a dance school.

The school offers salsa classes as well as other Latin-style dance classes like merengue and bachata. They’ve been running the organization together ever since.

“Roberto is the most charismatic, energetic person I’ve ever met. He’s fantastic and he brings a lot of authenticity to the community,” Bromka said.

As a student in the languages, literatures and linguistics master’s program, Perez teaches 200 and 400 level Spanish courses. Sarah Lee | Contributing Photographer

While teaching dance, Perez received his bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University in 2007 in political science and international relations. After teaching dance and Spanish in the Syracuse City School District, he was approached by one of the physical education teachers at SU.

With his physical education degree from Cuba, he was asked to teach physical education classes in the I-MOVE program in the School of Education in 2010. He now solely teaches Caribbean-style dance classes at SU.

Perez is currently pursuing his master’s degree in the languages, literatures and linguistics program in the College of Arts and Sciences. Through this program he is required to be a teaching assistant for Spanish classes, and said he teaches the classes himself.

Through his Spanish and dance classes he’s been able to connect with many different people. Perez said that “La Familia de la Salsa” has brought him a great sense of community and that the people who go to his classes all the time become his friends.

“I mean, because you are connecting with all sorts of people all the time, you become friends with them,” Perez said, “and then eventually, some of them say can become part of your family.”

Along with the dance classes, every Friday night the organization hosts a party at Bally Bay Bar on Richmond Avenue – which is proceeded with an introductory class for beginners. The party is usually DJ’d by Perez and it lasts from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Bromka described the event as the United Nations of Syracuse because people from so many different backgrounds come to the event.

Erin Mackie, the chair of the English department at SU, said she has been attending his classes for the past seven years and said that the parties hosted on Friday nights are the “most unique” parties she’s ever been to.

“There’s people from all walks of life, people from lots of different nationalities, lots of different languages, and not just Spanish and English,” Mackie said. “So, different nationalities, different ethnicities, all come together.”

Aside from going to Perez’s classes and having him teach private salsa lessons to her and friends in the past, Mackie said Perez is a generous person, not just to his friends or the Cuban community in Syracuse, but also to her.

Last year, Mackie said her deck and patio were “a mess,” and that she didn’t know how to fix it. To help out, Perez power washed her house, and also extended the favor by repainting the deck. The good deed paid off, as Mackie was able to sell her house afterward.

“He’s a tremendously generous person, and a resilient person. And he’s an incredibly perceptive person,” Mackie said. “He is a great teacher, and I’m pretty sure I imagine that it carries over when he teaches his Spanish language classes as well, because he’s got that charisma.”

Published on September 26, 2019 at 1:05 am

Contact Sarah: srslavin@syr.edu