Why Henry Herrera did not compete
in the WSF World Championships

By , Co-Founder, SalsaPower

Readers Respond!
Send us your response!	Mr. Altman Responds

I was curious why the best dancer in Miami, Henry Herrera, Director of Salsa Racing Dance Studios, did not compete in this event, so I called him and asked him, point blank, what happened. This is what he said:

The problems between Henry Herrera and Mr. Isaac Altman of the WSF (World Salsa Federation) began at the 2002 Salsa and Hustle Competition in Miami where Mr. Altman, who had selected the "qualified" judges for that event, gave the winning place to Salomon Rivera who was listed on the WSF website as a professional dancer.

Mr. Altman later sent Henry Herrera a letter stating that his judges had made a mistake with the points. Mr. Altman did it again at Bongo's Cuban Café, where he was a judge. Almost everyone who saw the competition agreed that Henry Herrera should have won it, but Isaac gave it to one of his own instructors, Dimitry Pierre Louis, who is an OK dancer, but not even close to the level that Henry Herrera dances. When Henry spoke with Mr. Altman regarding this, Mr. Altman blamed it on one of the corporate sponsor judges from Red Bull. When Henry asked the corporate judges about it, they stated that it had been Mr. Altman who had been responsible for the judges' determinations.

On Saturday, October 12, Henry Herrera and Zumel Michel, competed at the Palladium in the semi-finals of the WSF World Championship and won first place. At that time, both Mr. Altman and the owner of the Palladium, David, asked Henry to promise that if he won he would represent the Palladium in the Championship finals. Mr. Altman gave him a hard time before paying him his prize money, telling Henry that he had to attend the finals at the Palladium.

On October 21st, first Mr. Altman called Henry, then Mrs. Altman called him in two separate phone calls, telling him that for the finals at the Palladium on October 26, Henry could do a showcase presentation for the competition. The rules said that all competitors would dance two minutes together in a group and then each competitor would dance for 5 minutes maximum on their own.

On October 22nd, Mr. Altman called Henry again and told him that since he had been qualified during the International Hustle and Salsa Competition 2002, that it didn't matter whether he won or lost at the Palladium Finals on October 26th, that either way he would be qualified to compete in the final WSF World Championship on November 1st and 2nd. Henry feels that this gave Mr. Altman the opportunity to have more competitors at his final championship without having to give Henry the prize at the Finals held at the Palladium.

On Wednesday, October 23rd, Henry called Mr. Altman urging him to be sure to select qualified judges because Henry was fed up having been disqualified twice before because of supposed mistakes made by judges selected by Mr. Altman. When Henry said that to him, Mr. Altman responded by saying, "Let me talk to Laura, and I'll call you right back." Mr. Altman called him back approximately 15 minutes later and reportedly said that because Henry had been qualified in the IHSC, he was not allowed to compete at the finals in the Palladium. All of a sudden the rule had changed!

Henry then called David, the owner of the Palladium and explained how Mr. Altman was changing the rules on the spur of the moment. David said he had to talk to Mr. Altman because David wanted Henry to represent the Palladium in the competition. David called Henry back on October 24th and according to Henry told him, "Henry, I'm sorry. I talked to Altman because I wanted you to represent my nightclub ...I wanted you competing here. But this is not my competition and Isaac doesn't want you to compete at the Palladium finals."

For this reason Henry Herrera did not compete in the WSF World Championship.

Predetermining the winner of a competition is usually considered unethical behavior, but it appears that Isaac writes his own rules and changes them to suit his mood.

 

Send us your feedback:

Were you there? Have you had other contact experience with Isaac Altman and the WSF? Tell us about it!

We will post your responses and you can read what other readers have to say HERE.

Mr. Altman? Please send us your rebuttal! We'd love to hear your excuses!

Mr. Altman responds: HERE

 

 

All editorials and letters to the editor on SalsaPower.com are personal opinions of those people who write them and do not necessarily reflect the position of SalsaPower.com, Inc.

This page last updated on:  31-Dec-2007