Frankie Martinez - Abakua - After Hour Funk

The Abakua Dancers performed at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center on June 21st 2008.
(www.mambonyc.com)

[@crafty4u]

Here I am again watching it December 19, 2020! My 62nd birthday!!

[@crafty4u]

I don't get tired of watching this vid! The girls were working it too!!!

[@DonVaillancourt]

I can't stop watching this video.

[@crafty4u]

I loved it regardless... Abakua or not Abakua. Now I'm going to learn about this dance. Check out his facial expressions... amazing!!

[@theettabell153]

This was choreographed to the theme of the music Welcome the party,it wasn't suppose to be mambo Number. Did a hell of a job makes you want to get off. Whole theatrical piece

[@Rafito74]

Welcome to the party(song) Frankie is the truth!

[@TheMr007247]

@vangelis1978 Frankie never was a "ballroom dancer". He took his first mambo lessons at a ballroom studio. Shortly afterward he met Eddie Torres and that was the end of that. He's not using his shoulder in this number because the music doesn't call for it.

[@summmit1]

Amazing video.

[@Maikel84917]

Frankie Martinez 's students told me that he took few classes of Ballroom (but not a lot). HE studied also at the Joniba Academy and contemporaney dance, just a bit. It s very important to understand that he was a great martial art athlet and he was one of the best on the Kata discipline.

[@ChrisWiniarski]

yes, its all the Abakua dance group:)

[@booloo3287]

Frankie Martinez has never studied contemporary dance or at the Joniba Academy. He did study Shotokan Karate for over twenty years. I have been a student of his for 7 years.

[@PrimaveraBailando]

is one of the girls Lori Perez? awsome dancer, very charismatic

[@selenerising]

My fucking hero!!!!

[@lapingademandinga]

@Laurisilvaoboe El tema se llama Welcome to the party de The Har-you percussion group =)

[@PANTHER4874]

Bravo !!!

[@TheMr007247]

This is what Frankie himself told me, close to 10 years ago. What the students say is just heresay. He studied shotokan karate.

[@granzein]

@PrimaveraBailando the one to the right

[@curiotivity]

@vangelis1978 hahaha... you must be joking. It's obvious he is intentionally keeping the body movement minimum. If he wants to, he can move, but that's not the look he wants to achieve here. You can disagree with me, but I'm trained under one of the names you mentioned, and I remember him telling me how great Frankie moves his body.

wuauuu que ricooo esta esto mann

[@granzein]

@vangelis1978 He didn't start his dancing career as a ballroom dancer. where do u get ur info from? i know after mambo he started taking ballet and that changed the way he moves. in my opinion he moves better that all the other guys u mentioned.. simply u just don't like his style. no need to criticize

[@ChrisWiniarski]

Ok that's big names - and I watched this video once again - Ure right - in this performance Frankie doesn't use his shoulders - i dont know why - He s teaching on his DVD how to do that - but he has veeeeeery fast feet and great hand s movement. Are U sure about his ballroom career? How do U know that? Yeah - all the Abakua Dancers Rocks! :)

[@Laurisilvaoboe]

the name from the song??? Me encantaaaaaaaaa

[@ChrisWiniarski]

"this Dude" U mean Frankie? Haha - ok thats Ur opionion and U can have it but do some research in YT and find the other movies if him, mmmm??:)

[@2525Anu]

Does know if Abakua or Frankie Martinez has an instructional DVD?

[@ChrisWiniarski]

Ok so show me a mambo dancer who has "movement and flexibility in his shoulders" in Ur opinion:)

[@Sabroso63]

no soporto ese estilo de baile sin ningun tipo de sabor,no hay un movimiento de hombro,cintura,que frialdad mama mia.un estilo para no ver jamaz.SOY CUBANAA

[@freeobo85261]

WHERE IS THIS FRANKIE MARTINEZ FROM, THERE IS NOT A SINGLE ABAKUA DANCE PERFORMED IN THIS VIDEO, ABAKUA ORIGINATES FROM NIGERIA IN A PARTICULAR FORM, HOW EVER, AFRICAN SLAVES TAKEN TO CUBA BY THE SPANIARDS, CONTINUED PRACTICING THEIR RELIGION ABAKUA, THE DANCERS ARE CALLED IREMES (GHOSTS) THE DANCE IS LIKE NO OTHER DANCE, AND IT IS NOT EVEN CLOSELY REPRESENTED IN THIS VIDEO. ABAKUA MASTER CLASS- HAVANA EN BELGRADO, CHECK OUT THAT VIDEO FOR A DEMONSTRATION OF ABAKUA DANCE.

[@pandasut]

abakua is the name of his dance company. i think you missundertood and thought it may mean they are dancing abakua but thats the name of the dance company...abakua dance inc.

[@freeobo85261]

Yes sir, I may have missunderstood , but as per your explanation for which I am most appreciative, the name Abakua is still the name of a particular religious dance from a people originated from Nigeria, it was kept alive by the Afro-Cubans, and it is not in good taste to have some people take the name and use it to represent another dance. No matter how you look at it, it is the same thing that has happened to the people of Africa through out history, every thing has been taken from us and made out to be that of some one else. We as Africans and descendants never ever even try to take anything, music no dance, we are contempt with our own, Can't we just be left alone on this. Go and create your own like we do. I am sensitive about this, cause we have been so abused and used that it is shameful. I know that I would not go off and start a dance company and call it La Bomba or La Plena, those genres belong to P.R. and I am sure they are proud of it and would not like it at all.

[@freeobo85261]

This goes to prove that all things come best and worst, the advent of the internet is great beyond description, yet it too fall into the best and worst, Abakua, is something that as a little kid in Havana in early 60s, I, along with my little brother and older sister had the pleasure of seeing being played behind closed doors, I remember looking through a hole on a wooden door and watching the Diablitos (iremes) dancing when one of them looked towards the hole on the door and was running to it, all I can remember was my sister running down the street with both of us in each of her hands, there was a certain mystery about the diablitos, it was a secret thing. It has been through the internet that I have been able to once again connect with this part of my childhood, it does buther me to see someone come along and take a part of something that is not theirs and claim it, this is the bad part of the net and there is nothing that can be done to stop it, it is only going to get worst, there are enough people out there with out respect, pride or dignity, cause if you are gonna go around talking about how great your culture is and then turn around and steal from another, your honesty is suspect. Anyway, I thank you for your respond.

[@AfroMalaya]

Absolutely no Abakua dance movements in this. How did you get into the conclusion? They just put the name Abakua cause they think it's cool. Go do research on Abakua

[@roxycamilo]

what ????? Akabua, there no abakua at all !, already everywhere is the same, people improvising any dance and calling it columbia, guaguanco and now abakua ? por favor, que esto de abakua no tiene nada !

[@AfroMalaya]

Chris and poster, take a look at Havana Rakatan, and see the differences. Observing that, the Rakatans outclass Abakua dancers many times, dun spam me, go take a look yourself. The soul is missing of the rumba and son is missing, and there is a major distinct male and female in latin styling and motions which is again missing greatly by Abakuan dancer. U get a male abakuan dancers and he movements are copycat of the ladies. Need to relook at the styling foundation. Nice try though.

[@bbaffoe]

Abakua in Italy! youtube(dot)com/watch?v=RdvzitFv2hw

[@CarlosRamirez009]

Doesn't have much to do with Abakua... shouldve probably been named something else.