Salsa
Juana la Cubana
Juana the Cuban. A signature named combo that flows a hammerlock through an overhead drape into a sweeping finish.
What This Move Is
Juana la Cubana = "Juana the Cuban woman" — a named multi-part casino combo in the tradition of Evelyn and Gloria, borrowing its name from the well-known song. The standard reading chains familiar modules into one flowing showpiece: a Setenta-style hammerlock that travels into a sombrero drape and sweeps out through a presented turn to resolve. Because the name labels a house combo rather than a fixed step, exact club choreography may vary — verify against your teacher's version.
Key Points
- Lead: Join the modules into a single line — low hammerlock, clean lift into the drape, then sweep the follow out to the resolution without a dead beat anywhere in the chain.
- Follow: Travel through the wrap, give overhead room for the drape, and follow the sweep out — let each section be led and stay soft through the transitions.
- Timing: Multi-phrase: hammerlock on the first 8-count, sombrero drape across the next, sweep and resolution on the following 8.
- Common mistake: Letting the combo break into separate calls so the flow stalls between the wrap, the drape and the finish — the whole charm of a named combo is its continuity.
Style Notes
A signature named combo of the Setenta/Sombrero family — one of casino's celebrated woman's-name showpieces. A break-section flourish for when the music opens up; treat the exact sequence as house-specific.
A video walkthrough for this move is on the way.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Type
- Wraps & Locks★ Signature
- Frame
- Open
- Style
- Cuban
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