Marimba, since it opened in 2008 in downtown Everett, has been a hot spot for foodies seeking the culinary delights of Cuba, Peru, Ecuador and beyond.
Now, however, the Caribbean and South American restaurant will offer more than empanadas, ceviche and tres leches cake.
It’s serving up salsa.
We’re not talking about the sort you pair with tortilla chips, but the spicy-saucy, swivel-hipped Latin dance you do to festive music.
Marimba owners Pedro and Becky Guadamud recently started offering salsa music at 9 p.m. Friday nights and have been hosting live salsa bands about once a month.
Now they’re adding Thursday-afternoon salsa dance lessons with 37-year-old Wendy Messarina Volosin of Marysville. The Peru native also teaches salsa classes to ages 9 and older through Marysville Parks and Recreation.
Volosin, who came to the United States about four years ago, said teaching salsa connects her to her homeland, where she danced every weekend at family gatherings.
“It’s part of our culture,” Volosin said. “You forget about problems, have fun and relax into the music.”
Pedro Guadamud, who came to the United States about four years ago from Ecuador, said business at Marimba was terrible in 2009. Things are picking up now, however, thanks in part to salsa.
The Hewitt Avenue restaurant isn’t large enough to set aside a permanent dance floor.
But its many tables shift easily and elegantly to make room for both dancing and dining on the restaurant’s wall-to-wall wood floors.
Flags from around the world hang from the high ceilings, adding bold colorful accents overhead. Bright paintings and textiles by local artists decorate exposed red-brick walls.
Pedro Guadamud, 31, said the restaurant recently acquired a full liquor license, which allows spirits such as rum, just the thing for traditional Latin drinks like mojitos.
Eric Finrow of Everett, who is taking salsa and other ballroom dance lessons at Oly’s Dance at the Dorothy Jayne Studio in Everett, said a hopping salsa venue is a welcome addition to Everett’s social dance scene.
“You learn, but you’ve got to practice somewhere,” Finrow, 36, said. “It’s a good atmosphere. Energetic. The food’s really good.”
Finrow, like some of Marimba’s other customers, had been nagging the Guadamuds to offer salsa opportunities at Marimba.
Renzo Zegarra, 24, a dance instructor at Arthur Murray Dance Center in Everett, said Marimba is fast becoming a favorite after-work hangout among instructors.
Zegarra came to the United States from Peru more than 10 years ago. Though he enjoys dancing at Seattle ballroom dance clubs, he said Marimba is warmer, closer to the family-oriented settings he knew at home.
“In Latin American culture, if there is a party at a house, it’s not just food and drinks. There’s always dancing,” he said.
“There’s somewhere local now,” Zegarra said. “You can take your family there. Kids can be there earlier. Later on, it’s more like an adult atmosphere. People can hang out and meet and socialize.”
Anya Malakhova, a co-owner and instructor at Arthur Murray in Everett, said the studio routinely takes students out to bars and restaurants to practice all styles of social dancing.
Marimba will definitely become part of the mix, she said.
Salsa, she said, is one of the most popular dances at the studio.
That’s thanks in part to a group fitness class craze known as Zumba, which incorporates not only Latin dance music, but also Latin moves, including some salsa steps.
Malakhova said Americans who vacation in Latin countries have become increasingly interested in learning traditional social dances, but especially salsa.
They want to participate, not just watch in wonder.
“Anytime you go somewhere south of the border, that is what people do,” Malakhova said.
Though Zegarra recommends trying a salsa dance lesson before starting out, he said salsa at Marimba is more about enjoying the music and movement than hitting the steps with precision.
During a recent special event, featuring the New York-style salsa band Conjunto Chevere, all kinds of people packed the place.
Some were polished, professional dancers. Others were clearly beginners, practicing a few basic steps.
“It was just pure social dancing,” Zegarra said. “It’s really cool because it’s in Everett.”
Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037; sjackson@heraldnet.com.
Marimba
1405 Hewitt Ave., Everett; 425-252-3896; www.marimba-restaurant.com
Hours: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to midnight Fridays; 5 to 10 p.m. Saturdays.
DJ salsa music and dancing are offered at 9 p.m. Fridays.
Instructor Wendy Messarina Volosin teaches salsa dancing for ages 9 and older from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursdays at Marimba. Classes are $15 each, or $50 for four classes. E-mail wendymessarina@yahoo.es or call 425-422-9526 to register.
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