Monday, July 6, 2009

Andre Echevarria RIP 1982-2008

We are coming upon an anniversary that we all never thought would of happened. Our beloved Andres Echevarria left us one year ago on July 8, 2008. It was a very sad day for us in the salsa community. Andre was known to be the one of the most talented dancers and in charge of the Salsa Heat Training and Semi Pro teams for many years. Andre was a unique person and at the same time we all knew what his passion was for dancing and teaching. He is survived by his wife Pamela Franco Echevarria, his parents, his 2 sisters and brother. I met Andre back in 2002 at the BVL Kissimmee, FL Salsa Heat location. My first encounter with him was seeing him practice his spinning. He wanted to be able to spin the most and would do it till he was dizzy. He use to have spinning battles with peeps such as Ralph Irizarry, Ben Cartagena, and even the owner Michael Barbieri. Funny times! He was always happy and could not wait to take his classes. (Yes, Andre did take classes back in my day! All of the dancers did!) Andre quickly moved up the ladder when he started teaching. By the time, my 1st year came up with SH. Andre was teaching Advance II classes in Maitland and was always wanting us to be at our best!

There are so many memories of Andre, that it's hard to try to get them all in this blog. I guess the a few things I just wanted to talk about was his love for Salsa. Andre committed himself to Salsa Heat and made it his career. He loved his students, teams, and loved his family and got everyone involved in it as much as he could. He was the forefront for Salsa Heat. You could always see him at the club distributing flyer's, cards, dancing with just about everyone and letting them know about Salsa Heat dance studios. This guy never got tired. Amazing! He was on the Salsa Heat Pro Team and danced many memorable routines such as the Matrix, Fuerza just to name some. He was always doing showcases with other salseros and the last request he made to do a showcase with was with Masacote last year in 2008. Joel and Ana Masacote dedicated their 2009 Orlando Congress performance to Andre. Which was a phenomenal routine. It brought tears to many people, because of the harsh reality that Andre is gone. Everyone that attended 2008 Congress saw Andre and he seemed happy and energetic. It was a blow to everyone when we heard he was gone 2 days shortly after the congress. I remember I was at home with my boyfriend just about to watch a movie and I received a disturbing call from a friend in Tampa saying that Andre was gone. I couldn't even put it was Andre from SH. I thought it was another Andre. I told him to calm down and I would call him back. I called a few reliable people and when it was confirmed it was one of the saddest moments of my life. I had seen him on the Sunday Party at OSC he was DJ'ing and was with his wife Pam. I hugged him and her and remember him telling me. "When are you taking that private with me." Andre always kept his word. We always helped out each other and he always wanted to make good with me by making sure he gave me opportunity to learn from him. I'm very sad that I never got that last private from him. (Sigh, moving onward) Everyone congregated at the studio where you would always see him. I believe he was there in spirit. We were all there sad, confused but mostly there because we wanted to be where he was most happy. As word spread of his passing many people from the salsa world mourned him. At his wake, people were lined up outside just to pay his last respects. The Echevarria family were very strong and for the ones that were very upset they were there to support them. His wife, Pamela was there and it was very hard of her to deal with her husband's loss. Everyone knew how much he loved her. They were getting ready to do their first performance together and although we have memories of their tech rehearsal. She never got the chance to perform with her partner/husband. After 1 year, Pam is doing well and is performing again which I'm sure Andre would of wanted her to do. She gave a stunning performance at the 2009 OSC. She performed with the Born To Salsa Team. She is a shining star to watch and you can see that she also has the same passion to dance. I would think that was a little part that they had in common that could of brought them together. They will always share that one thing anytime, anyplace.

The teams that he was in charge of were the Semi-pro team and Training teams. He was in the Reality series of Born To Salsa Reality Show, produced by Millo Aldea. The show was a online series where they took you behind the scenes of being on a dance team. The struggles, the triumph and the in's and out's of trying to become a performer on the Salsa Heat Pro team. It was a success and he received a lot of exposure to the salsa world. He was always known to being a perfectionist and when it came down to his teams. When you have Julissa Cruz and Andre together if you didn't know your steps you were going to learn. REGARDLESS! If you have worked with Julissa or Andre you know what I'm talking about!

He also shared his dancing with his little sister Ileana. She was on his Training team and was training diligently and had the same will and drive of his brother. People called her "Lil Dre" who would of known that nickname would be there for the rest of her life. She wears that nickname with pride now and when she dances I swear I see him in her. I love her to death and although she is very young. She is wise and kind and I see her passion to dance. Which will always remind me of him. Ileana is firecracker and it's only the beginning for her. I don't expect her to take over Andre's shoes, but it's always a honor to see her dance. Andre was proud of her as he was with everyone that performed for him. He took a lot of pride and made them feel like family. From going on trips together, to just having a night out with the crew. You can check out anyone picture profiles on myspace, facebook etc. They all will show you how much time he spent with his dancers. It was always something he did to get closer to them and they performed their best, because they wanted to make Andre proud.

I wanted to write this blog to in memory of my friend, instructor, and watched performer. I wasn't his best friend but I feel that I was one of his people he could consider as a friend. I dedicate this to the Echevarria family, Ileana, Ivana, Pamela, Salsa Heat, SH Pro Team (Yahaira, Julissa, Ben C, Julia, Jon, Mari, Ralph, Jackie, Jonathan P, Mike B, Doris, and if I forgot you I'm sorry, I can't remember all of them. My bad.) SH Training team, Salsa Synergy, Vianette Silva, and to everyone who befriended him and loved him.
For those of you who are local. Wednesday, July 8th, 2009. The Echevarria family will be at Andre's resting place to gather in memory of him. If you wish to get more information of time and place. Please communicate with Ileana or Ivona Echevarria on facebook.

Thank you for your time and God Bless.

Salsera_54


"I will always remember you Andre. Rest in Peace my friend love ya.
Judy Armstrong

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)