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A massive, free salsa party is about to take over the High Line
By
Precious Fondren
Published Aug 17, 2023
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Rowa Lee
By
Precious Fondren
Published Aug 17, 2023
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About a thousand people are expected to party at the High Line Thursday night for ¡Arriba!, an evening of salsa lessons, dancing and live music.
¡Arriba!, a tradition dating back to 2010, is the High Line’s longest running public program, and it returns for the second and last time this summer from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday.
Organizers behind the free event said, while they love welcoming 8 million visitors to the High Line each year, this block party is mainly for New Yorkers.
“It's really a party for the people who live, work, and play in our communities and our boroughs. It's really a chance to come together,” said Alan van Capelle, executive director of Friends of the High Line. “After the last several years, people just really want to move and they want to move with other people.”
Van Capelle said dancers of all levels are welcome. He said newbies shouldn’t feel intimidated since the evening includes free lessons from dance instructor and choreographer George Giraldo and Lilly Colón, who was the first Latina Rockette.
The crowd at a previous year's ¡Arriba! celebration.
Rowa Lee
“In less than 30 seconds any fear melts away because you were with the most beautifully diverse group of people, all of whom are at various stages of their salsa experience and their salsa journey,” said van Capelle.
After the 40-minute salsa class, participants will be able to show off their best moves with music from DJ Mickey Pérez and live music from the all-women salsa band, Lulada Club.
Andrea Chavarro, the band’s leader, said she’s thrilled that a major salsa event will feature female musicians, something she said is a rare opportunity for women.
“I love salsa, but I would go see these bands, like 20-piece bands and I'm like, 'You guys didn't know, not one lady?'” she said. “We've had an overwhelming response of people being like 'I can't believe you guys exist or I'm so happy to find out about you.'”
Preeti Sodhi, director of community and government relations for Friends of the High Line, said part of why the event has endured for over a decade is because of its inclusivity and diversity.
“We work with different salsa clubs and our community partners on the ground to bring them along for this event,” she said. "It's a really diverse group of people from across the city and from our community and really intergenerational as well.”
Registration is closed, but ¡Arriba! welcomes walk-ins! For more information visit here.
Tagged
manhattan
salsa
Precious Fondren
Precious is a former WNYC & Gothamist culture reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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