The ‘Mambo Man’ of Valley Stream

Salsa devotee Guy Ferrara is still dancing at 80

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Ferrara demonstrated salsa technique in his kitchen.
Ferrara demonstrated salsa technique in his kitchen.
Nick Ciccone/Herald

 

Gaetano “Guy” Ferrara, 80, sat in the kitchen of his house on Grant Drive in Valley Stream recently with the bearing of a celebrity, wearing sunglasses and a shirt printed with palm trees and sailboats.

“My friends don’t really know my salsa background,” he said. “This is going to really shake them up and, I hope, knock their socks off.”

Most Valley Streamers know Ferrara as the president of the village’s Historical Society, or as a longtime member of the civilian patrol. But he is also a professional salsa dancer, entertainer and bongo player who has performed alongside many popular Latin musicians in New York City since the 1950s. He will share his dance wisdom with attendees at the Historical Society’s Sept. 21 meeting, teaching them the steps of salsa and line dancing.

“We’ve got a lot of surprises,” he said. “For instance, nobody in my Historical Society — we have 200 people, the average age is 85, 86 — they don’t know what salsa is. So I’m bringin’ my drums, and I’m playing this wild Cuban-Latin music, and when they walk in the door they’re gonna be — boom — with that music.”

Ferrara, who grew up in Brooklyn, was first exposed to salsa as a child, when he accompanied his parents to nightclubs in New York City. His parents met at the Roseland Ballroom, he said, and were “dance champions.”

After World War II, servicemen came back to the U.S., he said, and taught people how to properly dance the mambo, the cha-cha and the meringue — skills they’d learned overseas. In New York, jazz musicians would sit in with up-and-coming Latin percussion bands, which, Ferrara said, “really spiced up the music in the 1950s.”

The resulting mixture, or “sauce,” became known as salsa music — borrowing from popular music in the Caribbean, Latin America and the immigrant communities in post-war New York City. “It was in my soul because of my parents,” Ferrara said. “Because they loved Latin music.”

In his 20s, he danced at the Palladium in Manhattan. He and his late wife, Carmel, often saw their favorite bandleaders perform in the city. “She was a gorgeous girl,” Ferrara said. “She was a show-stopper.”

She died four years ago, of cancer, he said, but they continued to go to nightclubs later in life.

Ferrara said he often socialized with bandleaders after their shows, and even befriended mambo musician and Latin jazz composer Tito Puente — he and his wife’s favorite musician. “Tito would always sit down at our table and talk to us,” he said. Just before Puente’s death in 2000, Ferrara said, he invited him on stage as a guest performer. Ferrara’s dancing had earned him the nickname “Mambo Man.”

Through his connections in New York City, Ferrara danced and played bongos in different bands over the years. Two years ago, he said, a highlight of his life was when he danced at the Copacabana alongside a few of the Radio City Music Hall’s Rockettes. “I danced with all four of them on the dance floor, mixing it up, going around, spinning this one, catching this one, grabbing that one,” he recounted while demonstrating the moves in his kitchen.

Ferrara keeps a set of bongo drums in his living room that is portable enough for when he plays gigs with his band. He insisted that although bongos comprise only two small drums, they require a high level of skill. “He can make a hundred different sounds on these two drums,” he said, pointing to a photo of a bongo player.

He continues to learn by observing great dancers, he said, noting that popular television shows like “Dancing With The Stars” have spurred interest in Latin music and traditional dances.

Ferrara still manages and performs with the Bronx-based Orlando Marin Band. “He’s got a great spirit,” said bandleader Orlando Marin. “This is a rhythm that’s very spiritual. Guy is a part of this history in New York.”

Marin, 81, said that he shares Ferrara’s zest for life. “Guy is one of those people that keeps me going,” he said. “I wouldn’t be anywhere without people like Guy.” Marin has toured the world and appeared on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” He has spent much of his career performing for those who could not go to see him — hospital patients, inmates at correctional facilities and nursing home residents throughout New York.

Ferrara said he met Marin about 25 years ago at the Limbo Lounge in New York City, and after Marin saw him dance, he asked him to perform with his band.

“Being in a Latin band where they all sing in Spanish — I’m not so good in Spanish,” Ferrara said. “I sing with them, [but] I have no idea what I’m saying.”

He said he hoped the September meeting of the Historical Society would attract new members, and spread the music and culture he loves. “As soon as they sit down I’m gonna play a hot number on my bongos,” he said. “I’ve got some beautiful ladies coming.”

His sneakers squeaked on his kitchen floor as he demonstrated a few more moves he planned to show off. “I spend a half hour waxing my shoes so I can slide,” he said. “Sometimes my partner is 20 feet away, and she knows what I’m gonna do. My father taught me that.”

The free event is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. at the Firemen’s Field Clubhouse, at 120 Abermale Ave.

Comments about this story? Nciccone@liherald.com.