About 6500 of the anticipated 10,000 crowd braved one of the hottest days of summer – 29 June 2003 – to participate in what was tipped as one of the hottest events of the summer: the Latin Splash Latin music festival in Clapham Common, S. London. With 12 non-stop hours of live music from some of the best names in salsa, several world-class dance acts, all-day dance workshops, a children’s tent, Latin American food specialities and World Cup Colombian football hero Carlos Valderrama, the event was destined to appeal to dedicated salseros and London’s resident Latin American community alike.

The word 'salsa' refers to both the music and the dance of salsa. It is the same word in Spanish for 'sauce' or 'spicy', because like a sauce, salsa is a mixture or fusion of many different elements that combine to create a unique sound and dance form that is certainly hot and spicy.

The stairs on the old balustrade in the square reeked of urine. Two women, one dressed up in a black sequinned cocktail dress with dangerously high-heeled sandals and the other in a simple flowered cotton day dress and espadrilles, made their way carefully down the staircase. The street was lined with potholes and rubble, so they had to step slowly to avoid twisting their ankles.

Jane Cahane interviews the very busy and enterprising Joe Davids of Latin8 to find out about his plans to expand the salsa universe