For this episode of Creative Tea Podcast we have Anacristina Ramirez, known as AC, Director of El Flow Dance Studio and a San Diego local with over 12 years of experience in Latin dance. Cuban by heritage and raised with deep ties to Puerto Rico, AC discovered the broader salsa and bachata community during her time at San Diego State University (SDSU), a moment she describes as life-changing. In this conversation, she opens up about preserving the cultural roots of bachata and salsa, the commodification of art, and why she believes AI has no real place in a dance form built entirely on human connection.

Creative Tea Takes

• A Culture, Not Just a Hobby: AC traces her connection to Latin dance back to her Cuban upbringing, but credits discovering SDSU’s salsa and bachata club with revealing just how universal and far-reaching that community truly is.
• Protecting Bachata’s Roots: AC’s hot take centers on how bachata and salsa are increasingly commercialized and stripped of their Dominican and Cuban origins, comparing the shift to what happened to hip-hop as it moved from the streets into the mainstream.
• Art Shouldn’t Be for Sale: She argues that much of today’s dance and music scene prioritizes marketability over genuine artistic intention, and that creators should be making work because they love it, not because it’s commercially optimized.
• No Room for AI on the Dance Floor: AC is candid about her discomfort with AI-generated dance content and music, arguing that the soul and partner connection central to Latin dance simply can’t be replicated by technology.

Listen to the Full Creative Tea Podcast

From Family Tradition to Global Community

AC’s relationship with dance began at home, growing up Cuban in San Diego with strong ties to Puerto Rico, where salsa and gathering as a community were simply part of daily life. It wasn’t until she joined a salsa and bachata club at SDSU that she realized this wasn’t just a family tradition, but a global community she could tap into anywhere in the world. That realization, she says, reshaped how she understood her own culture and ultimately shaped the mission behind El Flow.

Preserving Bachata and Salsa’s Cultural Roots

A central theme of the conversation was AC’s concern that bachata and salsa are losing touch with their origins as they become more mainstream. She describes a “game of telephone” effect, where dance styles get reinterpreted further and further from their Dominican and Cuban roots until the original identity starts to disappear, a pattern she compares directly to what happened with hip-hop as it moved from street culture into commercial product. For AC, honoring tradition doesn’t mean dance styles can’t evolve, but she believes too many studios and dancers skip paying homage to where the art actually came from.

The Commodification of Art

AC’s hot take extends beyond dance into creative culture more broadly: she sees a growing trend of art and music being made to sell rather than to express. She pointed to dance socials billed as authentic cultural experiences that end up prioritizing commercial appeal over the music and traditions they claim to represent, arguing that genuine creative work gets lost when profit becomes the primary motivation.

Where AI Fits, and Where It Doesn’t

Asked directly about AI’s impact on the creative community, AC didn’t hold back. She’s noticed a rise in AI-generated music and even AI-rendered videos of people dancing salsa and bachata, which she finds unsettling given how much of the art form depends on human connection and improvisation with a partner. While she acknowledges AI could be useful for sterile, organizational tasks, she firmly believes it has no place replicating the spirit and connection at the center of partner dance.

The Future of El Flow

Looking ahead, AC shared her vision for El Flow: continuing to educate dancers on cultural history while empowering them to improvise and express themselves rather than simply imitate choreography. The studio is expanding its international trips, having already visited the Dominican Republic this year, with the Dominican Republic and Colombia both planned for next year. She also described San Diego as something of a “cultural desert” at times, a gap she’s actively working to fill through community and connection.

Upcoming Festivals

AC closed the episode with details on two upcoming events hosted by El Flow: Dale Flow, a Cuban festival in early October featuring Afro-Cuban social dancing and reparto,  a high-energy, Cuban street dance style currently going viral, and KELOKE Bachata, a bachata weekender co-hosted with instructors Junior and Carolina, featuring workshops, culturally rooted cuisine, and community celebration.

Connect With AC

Find AnaCristina Ramirez on Instagram @anacristinaram, or follow El Flow Dance Studio on Instagram and at elflowdance.com for class schedules and upcoming festival details.

Want to Be Part of the Creative Tea Podcast?

Are you a designer, writer, artist, creative, dancer? Want to share your hot tea? Join us for Founders Cafe or Community Co-Working Days at the Consultancy to be part of the podcast. Follow us at @sdfounderscafe or @consultancy.at.merrimac