ABSTRACT
The following memoir is a personal account of salsa's arrival and reterritorialization in the Colombian Pacific Coast port of Buenaventura, from where it spread to Cali. Although it is Colombia's principal port, Buenaventura is also a small town—Arias grew up here and his everyday experiences as a boy and young adult brought him into direct contact with the individuals (or comments about them) mentioned in the chronicle below. Their idiosyncratic activities and involvement with salsa and its roots form part of daily life in this Latin American port. This narrative complements and grounds some of the historical material outlined in chapter 10.
