Faith In Carlos Gomez: A Memoir Of Salsa, Sex And Salvation

by Samantha Dunn

The author of Not by Accident and Failing Paris describes how her growing passion for salsa transformed her life as she immerses herself into the salsa culture--language, music, dance, fashion, and more--and enters into an unusual relationship with her dance instructor, a local salsa celebrity. Reader's Guide included. Original.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

213 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2005

About the author

Samantha Dunn is the author of Failing Paris (Toby Press), a finalist for the PEN West Fiction Award in 2000, and the memoir, Not By Accident: Reconstructing a Careless Life (Henry Holt & Co.), a BookSense 76 pick. Her most recent memoir, Faith in Carlos Gomez: A Memoir of Salsa, Sex and Salvation, is published by Henry Holt & Co.

Samantha's work is anthologized in a number of places, including the short story anthology, Women on the Edge: Writing from Los Angeles (Toby Press), which Dunn co-edited with writer Julianne Ortale.

Dunn's essays have appeared in numerous national publications including the Los Angeles Times, O (Oprah) Magazine, Ms., and Shape. In 2000 Dunn received the Maggie Award for Best Personal Essay in a Consumer Publication. A widely published journalist, Dunn's bylines are regularly featured in InStyle, Glamour, SELF, Men's Health and a variety of other consumer magazines. She has also written for the stage, as a co-creator of the show "American Ese." Dunn teaches in the UCLA Extension Writers Program and is a writer-in-residence at the New York State Summer Writers Institute.

Dunn lives in Southern California with her husband, musician/politico Jimmy Camp and their son Ben.

Reviews

[Sargon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The steps of the salsa dance are living threads of what comes to us from the tropics, back to the Iberian peninsula, and still back to Africa. The rhythm mirrors the chants and prayers made to ancient African gods whose names are unknown - thats how long ago the prayer rhythms originated!
Salsa is a blend of 'son from Cuba and merengue from the Dominican Republic mixed with jazz. Hence, the name salsa. The steps are small because the African slaves in the caribbean could only make small powerful steps as they were chained together. Therein lies the longing nature of the dance. The yearning of what once was (a homeland) but no longer is or what can never become.

[Rebecca · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm kind of embarrassed to put this book up--I got it for inspiration in my salsa career, and all it taught me was to sleep with my dance teacher and hope for a perfect man to walk into my life one day. Hmmm.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a bad book at all so I don't want my 2-star review to sound misleading. It is well-written and original. Still, I wasn't sure about what was the point of the whole thing. I gave it 2 stars because it is very different from what I usually read. Dunn is talented and it's an easy, relaxing read, good for vacation and plane rides.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun writer, quirky memoir. It delivers on the Salsa and on the Sex in the subtitle but... I'll leave it at that.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG – Sam Dunn was just so spot-on describing every aspect of our salsa days from catching the salsa bug to private classes, group classes, dancing in clubs and attending congresses to the shattered hopes with men and romance. I will always have such fond memories of my salsa years.

I just loved the book – so incredibly well-written – and it brought all of those memories back. If anyone ever wanted to understand my life during my mid/late 30s, all they would need to do, literally, is read your book. There will always be a special place in my heart for those years.

She nailed all the dysfunctional habits of salseros and salseras – horrible sleep and dating habits that I have not kicked to this day. Yet we were, in many ways, more family than our blood, even if we only knew each other by face and maybe first name.

Still, 20 years later, I have faith in Carlos Gomez!

[Dena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed how Ms. Dunn connected Salsa dancing with learning to trust.

[JHM · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book -- although I suspect I would not have enjoyed it quite as much at a different time and place in my life.

In this memoir, Samantha Dunn tells the story of how she was introduced to salsa by a lover, and how it remained a passion long after the love affair faded. It's also the story of her love of her horse, Harley, and how her disastrous accident with him -- which nearly resulted in the loss of one of her legs -- continues to shape her life and her relationship with her body.

The importance of her relationship with her horse is so great that I would have replaced "Salvation" in the subtitle with "The Love of a Good Horse."

One of the measures of a books' quality is the degree to which it has an impact on your life, and this book has inspired me to sign up for ballroom dancing classes. Samantha and I have enough in common that it was easy to think "If she can try this and have a transformative experience, despite being a lifelong klutz, then maybe so can I."

[Andrea Schoellkopf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those of you from NMSU may recognize the author, Samantha Dunn, as a friend of mine from the Round Up. My contacts with her these days are about once every few years. However, this is her third book, mainly in a memoir style. Her previous writings, Failing Paris and then Not by Accident, have sort of the well-thought-out intentional prose that is seen in White Oleander, which shouldn't be too much of a surprise as Janet Fitch is in Sam's writing group in L.A. However, the Carlos Gomez book seems more carefree, like she's more liberated in her voice.
For me, it's a way to catch up with a long-lost friend in what's been happening with her life, catching a few names from the past.
Now I want to take up salsa! Seriously, it was enjoying to read this, especially after reading her Not by Accident book and understanding what she had to overcome (although it's easily a stand-alone book).

[Sneha · Rating 3 out of 5]

samantha dunn is a likeable narrator—and her determination to learn salsa, even though she's a klutz with a titanium rod in her leg, inspired me to give it a fair, sweaty shot (i may very well be more klutzy, but i cannot trump titanium).

the through line of her memoir is to move outside of our comfort zones and see ourselves transformed, one basic step at a time. she communicates this with a light touch.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say I very much enjoyed this book. I'll also admit that I am highly biased as an undeniable salsa fanatic. What touched me about this book is that way that Samantha Dunn perfectly captured so many aspects of the dance, how it can become part of you and shape you as a person. She accurately describes salsa as more than just a hobby, but also as a subculture with it's own set of rules, archetypes and societal structure. An excellent read for any lover of salsa.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book