Samantha Brava
Manager and General Partner

Samantha is the Manager and General Partner of the Seattle Salsa Congress. She is also one of the Creative Directors of Rumba Brava Dance Academy. Samantha's three sons are all world-class championship dancers. Samantha was the first instructor in Seattle to teach ladies' styling. Samantha and her husband Rico are also the Creative Directors for the Rumba Brava performance team. When watching Samantha dance, you'll understand why many people call her the “Queen of Salsa.” Samantha has been teaching salsa in Seattle for over 10 years.

Bee Fong
Director Of Operations

Bee was born and raised in San Francisco, California and graduation from Lowell High School and UC Davis, with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Child Development. Bee has had many varied work experiences including working with youth at summercamps, as a nanny, and in residential homes for severely, emotionally-disturbed youth. She’s been the personal assistant to an local independent musician and now works for local event planning company, Gen Con and merchandising company. Off the Grid.
Bee discovered her passion for salsa dancing in February of 2006 and has been dancing non-stop ever since. She currently trains and performs in Johnny Bravo Dance Company. She has volunteered in various roles for La Rumba del Barrio in Seattle and Portland and at last year’s Seattle Salsa Congress.

Rico Bravo
Manager and General Partner

Rico is a true Renaissance man and brilliant strategist. By the age of 10, he was national chess champion of Peru. His dance choreography has won many awards and put the Northwest on the salsa map. Rico was a pioneer in the Seattle salsa scene and has trained many championships dancers. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA in 1992 and works as an aerospace design engineer. He has received recognition for his contributions to the NASA space shuttle and the international space station. And he is currently working on the new 787 Boeing airplane. But his true passion is salsa. Rico is an accomplished instructor and choreographer who has lived and loved salsa for most of his life. Rico is founder and creative director of Rumba Brava Dance Academy and Rumba Brava Dance Company. He has been involved with congresses for many years and has extensive connections with some of the best performance groups, bands, and instructors in the world.

Steve Fellows
Financial Officer

Steve is currently the the Head Of Strategic Planning for Cargo 360, Inc. He also has over 20 years of experience on Wall Street with Bankers Trust, Barclays Bank, and Wasserstein Perella. He holds an M.B.A. from the Graduate School of Management, UCLA
with a concentration in International Finance and Chinese Language. He also holds an M.A. in Applied Mathematics from UCLA. Steve has a strong background in salsa and is cofounder of Picante Productions, a Hong Kong salsa and latin dance company.

Noel Djimtoloum
Director Of Strategic Business Planning

Noel possesses a unique blend of technical, manufacturing, marketing and sales experience. All these elements give him a well developed business sense. He is known as a strategic thinker regarding products/services, market position, and opportunities. Noel possesses valuable international business experience. His professional and personal life spans Europe, Africa, the Middle East and North America. He also speaks French, Italian, Russian, Hebrew, and Arabic. He has been featured in a Los Angeles Times article, in Sound and Light International Magazine (published in the UK) and SONO, a French publication, for innovation in audio engineering and design technology. He is also a software engineer, musician, filmmaker...and salsa dancer.

Roger Rumba
Production Manager

In 2003 Roger put his very first salsa event together and that's how he became a Latin Event Promoter. August 29, 2004 was the turning point when along with his business partner, Rose Bonomo, he put together the biggest salsa festival in the Pacific Northwest "Salsa En La Calle - 2004" with an attendance of 4,500 people. The event has grown each year. Roger Rumba has the skills to put together a quality experience: Great sound, lighting, and operations to make this an experience you'll look forward to year after year.

Gustavo "El General"
Master of Ceremonies

We couldn't imagine the Seattle Salsa Congress without Gustavo "El General". He's a Northwest salsa institution. Gustavo is far more than just the most experienced MC in the scene. He has over 40 years of authentic dance experience. And he is the most experienced salsa/latin DJ in the northwest. He enjoys educating and exposing people to ALL forms of latin dance and music. Gustavo has been the premier MC, for the most notable local, national, and international entertainers in the world. He has performed for over 30 years at hundreds of clubs, businesses, and institutions along the West coast, Panama and Canada. The Seattle Salsa Congress is honored to have him MC the most exciting salsa celebration the Northwest has ever seen.