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Congreso Bacardi de la Salsa
El San Juan Hotel and Casino
July 29, 1999

There are no pictures of the Congreso on this day. This is due to the justsalsa.com photographer having been in an automobile accident on the evening of the July 29th, 1999. Luckily no one was seriously injured in the accident and all three occupants of the rental jeep were able to attend the rest of the evenings performances and workshops.

The accident occurred in the South-West of Puerto Rico in a small town called Lajas after returning from a most beautiful Caribbean beach. It occurred at dusk (the most dangerous time for driving) while it rained lightly. The driver was not at fault for losing control of the vehicle and was quite skilled in being able to get the jeep back on the road. The road had been flat and open - traversing across agricultural fields for about twenty minutes. Without the benefit of a warning sign there was suddenly a series of curves as the road went down along the side of a hill. The driver monetarily found herself on the shoulder. While tiring to get back on the asphalt she lost control of the vehicle and it started to continue sideways down the hill and almost off the edge of the road and over an embankment that would have surely meant death or serious injury for all three occupants of the vehicle. The vehicle came to rest after smashing head on into a telephone pole. The air bags deployed and saved the two women in the front seats from going through the windshield. There injuries were caused by the airbags and shoulder harnesses that saved there lives. Our photographer was in the back seat and only smashed his face into the hard headrest of the drivers seat. He cut and broke his nose and smashed his forehead (really and eight-head).

Sorry for the lack of photographs of the wonderful performances given on this day.

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