� At the age of 10, he won a �Lambada� children�s dance contest in the City Festival (Guayaquil, Ecuador)
� At the age of 12, he won a �Sopa de Caracol� children�s dance contest in the City Festival (Guayaquil, Ecuador)
� At the age of 13, he and his friends formed a breakdance dance group and performed at parties, �dance fights� in clubs, and participated in different contests.
� He learned to dance salsa/cumbia style at the age of 14 from his aunt Mercedes Peralta, who won a TV national competition in Ecuador impersonating �Juana la Cubana� from Las Chicas del Can.
He moved to West New York, New Jersey at the age of 16. Always searching for new dance moves and ways of improving his dancing, he began video taping TV dance programs and contests that he�d see on TV, from salsa/mambo, cumbia, quebradita, to ballroom, jazz, ballet and tango. Combining these moves, he developed a very unique style, winning two amateur dance contests in different clubs in New Jersey.
One night at a nightclub he frequently visited, he met these people that had a dancing style that he had never seen before. They were dancing �mambo On2.� The leader of this group approached him and gave him his business card. He told him to go check out his class, and so he did.
On October of 1998, he started taking classes with Manny Ramos and Monica Maruri at J&L dance Studio in North Bergen, New Jersey (ex Caribbean Soul and Fuerza Latina Dancers). In his first class, Manny asked to the class, �Who is here today for the first time?� So, Betto and a couple of people were separated from the rest of the class. He debated the instructor (Manny) for placing him in the beginners� class arguing that he knew all the basic moves. Manny observed his dancing and decided to give him a chance. And so he got to stay in the intermediate class. Manny was really impressed that Betto could keep up with the class; even though, he was showing some of his most advanced shines (footwork) and turn patterns that even made some of the regular students struggle. Once the class was over, Manny asked him, �Are you sure you haven�t taken a class before?� They made a deal, Betto would stay with the beginners for a couple of weeks to learn the fundamentals of mambo, and then he could join the intermediate class. Manny kept asking, �Are you sure you haven�t taken a class before?�
On April of 1999, he attended a club in Union City, New Jersey. A dance contest was being held that night. As he viewed the competition, he repeated to himself, �Man, if I only had a dance partner, I know I could win this!� He didn�t count on what he was about to witness. The last competitors were presented and started dancing. They were extraordinary, executing some funky, sexy and very acrobatic moves, and they always seemed to end these moves in the right count of the music, never getting lost. He said to himself, �I have to find out where these guys are from?� At the end of the contest, they undoubtedly were proclaimed the winners. Betto approached them and complimented them, and asked them �Where did you guys learn to do all those tricks, flips, and turns?� The guy answered, �Anybody can dance like that and do those moves, it just takes practice.� Betto said, �I have never seen anybody dance like you! At the moment, I�m taking classes with Manny and Monica. Do you know them?� He answered, �Manny! I know him, he took classes with me.� Then he presented his card. It read, �Caribbean Soul Dance Company, Director: Ismael Otero, City Limits, Jersey City, NJ.� He gave him a call and since then he started taking his class until he joined the military in January 31st, 2000.
Once in the Marines, his frustration for not dancing salsa/mambo was growing every day. To give an end to this, he decided to teach a beginner class, in the Marine Corps Air Station New River Enlisted Club. On January 2001, he started a class for the services members and their dependents. He had a big turn out; however, it came to an end when in May the Club management changed. They had different plans for the club cutting him out. The frustration was back in his life once again.
In July of 2001, a friend of his told him about this Latin club in Durham. He said, �You must go there! I saw some people that seem to dance like you. Specifically this blonde girl, which I believe could dance perfect with you.� The following Saturday, he drove 2 hours to this club, it was called �Montas International Lounge�, and he was looking for the blonde girl his friend told him about. He found the wrong one; however, he kept on visiting this club. Finally, one Saturday night, he met the right �Blonde�, while dancing with her he was thinking, �WOW! This girl can really dance.� Her name was Joy Manning. They had a lot of fun dancing together that night. In one of their conversations, they found out that they knew the same people in the New Jersey dance scene. Since then, they have stayed in touch with one another and go out to dance every weekend. They help each other on their technique and style, which has helped them tremendously in developing their dance skills.
� On October 13th of 2001, they participated and blew away other competitors at the �Annual Fiesta Latina Festival 2001� dance contest in Winston-Salem, NC.
� On October 20th of 2001, they also participated at Elon University dance contest winning a courtesy gift (since nobody wanted to compete against them after watching them dance).
� On October 30th of 2001, they performed for the MCAS New River Hispanic Heritage Month, in which they were awarded with certificates.
� They taught a Mambo/salsa class during Bio Ritmo performance at the International Festival in Raleigh, NC.
� Since February of 2002, they have been teaching together at Montas International Lounge.
They visit New York City when time allows and attend the different salsa/mambo events. At these events, they have received numerous compliments for their style, energy and the unique turn patterns that together they have developed.
