Where’s Oscar? What time will he arrive?
Is he already here? Where’s the orchestra? And did the musicians
come? This doesn't look good at all, they lied to us! It was a scam!
These were some of the various comments that were heard in Oasian
Restaurant Bar, after a long period of uncertainty and doubt that
all those present experienced on Sunday November 4, as they awaited
the presentation of Oscar de León; and unfortunately, it
all had a sad ending. And the outcome was negative for all parties
involved in the presentation of this renowned salsa artist.
Of course this all affects everyone associated with the show, beginning
with the artist, since most people start to wonder and often accuse
him. Representatives’ and managers’ image and reputation
are damaged for future presentations, given the skepticism generated.
At the same time, promoters only gain the public's distrust for
all their events. And the media dosen’t escape unscathed,
providing press coverage and advertisement for events that ultimately
are not realized. And painfully, the public recieves “insult
on top of injury” as not only have they been let down but
their pockets have been hit directly.
As a renowned news media of the international salsa community,
AmericaSalsa has the obligation to properly inform the events leading
to this unfortunate mishap. Based on direct interviews with the
manager of the club, organizers and Oscar de León’s
Northwest representatives, we have concluded the following.
There are several factors involved. The root of the problem begins
with the fact that the main organizer does not reside in Seattle,
and lacked the necessary knowledge regarding the salsa community
of the Northwest. The presentation of a salsa artist requires a
promotional campaign that prioritizes targeting the salsa community,
since salsa is not yet part of the mass market of the city of Seattle.
For those who were directly in charge of the promotion and organization
of this event, this sadly escaped their hands. As we mentioned previously,
they did not approach the community salsa carefully, and as a result
many people were not aware that Oscar was going to perform. Without
a doubt, Oscar generates a great affluence of fans in any part of
the world, but in Seattle they should have known how to seek that
audience.
Additionally, they lacked strict control at the entrance on the
day of the event. For many people it was “open doors”,
since it was enough just to say: “I’m accompanying the
musician”, “I’m helping with the instruments”,
or “I’m a friend of the friend of etc....
Regarding the venue, we could say that it was completely adequate
for the presentation, given its capacity of eight hundred people.
Nevertheless, it’s not well known by many despite of its good
location and its hosting of “Latin Salsa Nights” every
Fridays; in other words, again a lack of proper marketing to the
salsa community.
Last but not least, in other occasions not only Oscar has visited
us but also other great salsa artists; however, they were brought
directly by representatives in the West Coast and the Northwest
region. These previous presentations were fully sold out, and the
public was a hundred percent satisfied. It should now be the responsibility
of these capable representatives to work directly in future presentations,
without delegating major tasks to third parties, that at the end
for some reason or another, cannot fulfill to their expectations.
In conclusion, damage has been done to the Latin music community.
This type of mismanagement creates nothing but distrust and a bad
image.
On the positive side, the only good thing that the bitter night
left us was the presentation of Orchestra New Era that, as always,
they fulfilled the public’s expectations, giving their best
music and their great energy in their presentation. Congratulations
again to Steve Guasch and all the Orchestra New Era members.
We will be awaiting future presentations and of course, the expectation
of healing the wounds of the hurt salsa public of Seattle and the
Northwest Region.
 November
2007
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