Tennessee Salsa Congress

Maybe if we had a Salsa Congress in Nashville instead of the General Assembly, this state might not provide as much material for the Huffington Post and The Daily Show. Just think how much more seriously Stacey Campfield and Bill Dunn would take their legislation if they had to mambo or tango to get a bill introduced—it might make them think twice.
So hopefully this weekend’s Tennessee Salsa Congress at Cocoa Moon on Market Square and the Knoxville Convention Center is the start of a grassroots political movement, the Latin Occupy Nashville of 2012. Even if it’s not, the four-day event will still be a big statement, bringing dozens of instructors and performers from across the Southeast and as far away as Ohio—not to mention hundreds of students and amateurs—to downtown Knoxville. It’s such a big party, in fact, that it needs two official kickoff parties: at Meksiko Cantina in Farragut on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 9 p.m., and at Cocoa Moon on Market Square on Friday, Feb. 24, at 9 p.m. The main action moves to the Convention Center after that, with workshops from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, and Sunday, Feb. 26, and performances and parties after. (Matthew Everett)