KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Beyond the lights, sparkle and glamour, a certain rhythm and beat helped bring Waldo and Jacqui Solano together.
"Dancing saved my life and helped me to keep going, helped me to meet my beautiful wife and now I have a little son," Waldo said. "All the good things came into my life thanks to dancing."
As business and dance partners, the Solanos created SalsaKnox Dance company over 15 years ago, offering salsa dancing classes and hosting events for anyone willing to learn.
"My parents cannot believe I do this for a living because in Mexico, they know me differently. They know I can dance but they don't know me like a dancer," Waldo explained.
In 2000, Waldo left his life as a lawyer in Mexico and came to the United States. As he worked grueling hours at a factory, he began searching for an outlet.
"I decided to do something," he said. "When I danced again, I felt life again." Waldo quickly went from dance student to instructor and eventually met Jacqui—once his dance student, now his wife and partner for life.
"Salsa was definitely brought into my life by the great Waldo Solano, and we've been doing it every day since," Jacqui said.
For over a decade, Waldo and Jacqui worked to create a space and community unlike anything else in East Tennessee. Throughout the years, Waldo and Jacqui have helped introduce more than 20,000 people to the art of salsa dancing.
It's a dream that brought them to one another while bringing East Tennessee together through Hispanic and Latin American culture.