The Political Lessons to Be Learned in Dance Class

I’ve twirled through many a salsa club in my day, but I had never seen the type of dancing performed recently at Bolero, one of L.A.’s newest Latino nightspots.

The classy club was crowded that evening with sexy, expert dancers who took command of the floor to strut their stuff. The men formed a long row of surging testosterone; the women in tight dresses made a long-legged line facing them.

Amateurs like me watched as they flashed fancy foot routines to pulsating rhythms. Then a couple broke ranks to swing together down the center of the formation.

Surprisingly, the duo came from the same side of the aisle. They were two men wearing sport coats and holding each other arm in arm, toe to toe. Then two more men took the spotlight, spinning each other merrily while the women waited their lovely place in line.

I was so stunned my toe stopped tapping. But the rest of the all-Latino audience appeared completely unfazed by this un-macho display of male togetherness.

I can’t tell you who the dancing guys were, but their performance made an unmistakable statement about the open-minded mores of this young segment of the Latino public. In a culture that’s supposedly conservative, Catholic and aggressively heterosexual, today’s salsa crowd is decidedly live-and-let-live.

Art Pedroza Jr. of Santa Ana isn’t known for tripping the light fantastic, but he recently reminded me of my salsa night out. Pedroza is a family man, raised Adventist and registered Republican.

And fundamentally anti-gay.

He made a point of this recently by organizing a protest against gay rights bills percolating in the Legislature. The measures would ban discrimination against homosexuals, bless gay marriages and extend health benefits to the “domestic partners” of state employees.

Opposition to gay rights is not uncommon. What struck me about Pedroza’s strategy was his rationale and his stated target: Lou Correa, the newly elected Latino assemblyman from Orange County.

Two weeks ago, Pedroza and fewer than 20 others held a candlelight vigil outside Correa’s Santa Ana district office on the eve of a vote in the assemblyman’s committee. Protesters knew the freshman politician was sympathetic to the domestic partners bill due to be considered.

“Lou Correa is finding out that he cannot support the homosexual agenda without incurring the wrath of Latino families,” Pedroza later said.

I’m troubled by these oft-heard generalities lumping together all Latino public opinion. Based on what? The most Pedroza can say, based on a 1996 voter exit poll, is that pushing gay rights is not high on the list of concerns of most Latinos.

Judging by the meager protest turnout, campaigning against gay rights is not a Latino priority either.

The Santa Ana contingent had help from a conservative lobby in Sacramento, Capitol Resources Institute, which is targeting other “anti-family” legislators.

Anti-family? Correa is married and has three sons. He regularly attends Mass with his family at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Anaheim.

For him, the issue is civil rights. Latinos have suffered too much discrimination to start discriminating against others. Besides, Correa says critics can’t press politicians on one aspect of Catholic dogma and ignore others, such as the Vatican’s opposition to the death penalty and the mistreatment of immigrants, even illegal ones.

Moral issues, he says, can’t be chosen a la carte: “Are we Catholics by menu?”

The last time a politician tried to cherry-pick church teachings to attack a Latino opponent, the strategy bombed. Last year, former Rep. Bob Dornan pushed abortion as a wedge issue with Latino voters, but they overwhelmingly backed the pro-abortion-rights winner, Rep. Loretta Sanchez.

And Latino culture didn’t stop Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa--father of four and co-author of the domestic partners bill--from speaking out recently in support of gay marriages.

Now I have a confession to make. I’ve danced with another man too. His name was Marlon from Ecuador, and he was good. He was my first salsa dance teacher and we partnered only in class. Marlon later married the voluptuous Anna, his blond partner from Holland, where they’re running a dance studio and raising their child.

Dance class is a good way for some of us to get over that funny feeling of intimately touching another man in public. And you come to admire those guys who can do both parts, dancing the male role in reverse.

Salsa, by the way, also makes for good lessons in politics.

Agustin Gurza’s column appears Tuesdays. Readers can reach him at (714) 966-7712 or online at agustin.gurza@latimes.com.