It was my second night in Paris and I decided to go out to a Bachata social. What did I find? Bachata Sensual is definitely on the rise. One room was packed with dancers while the other room was completely empty. That other room? Good guess, it was the Dominican room.
It's good to see Samy El Magico keeping Dominican bachata alive in France. While it's not the norm, it should definitely be available and respected. The festival is also centered around this respect. Samy brought an eclectic mix of bachata artists that dance all different styles.
I really enjoyed the music throughout the festival. The bachata DJs played a good mix of Dominican, Traditional, and Urban. They also had a separate Kizomba and Salsa room.
The thing that stood out for me the most at this festival was the location. Situated two hours East of Paris, the festival was held in the beautiful city of Troyes. The city has flavor, taste, and history. The buildings show age and tell a story. I was able to fly my drone around the city for a few minutes until the police stopped me.
20 minutes outside of the city is a number of champagne/wine vineyards. Unfortunately, we weren't about to go champagne touring(we'll have to save this for next year). Samy has big plans for 2018 and we are excited to return to film another amazing festival!