Q:
Dear 100 Hour Board,
Why do latinos have more rhythm than Caucasians, and why do they dance salsa like it was ballroom?
--Rhythmic latino
P.S. "They" meaning Caucasians (white boys/girls)
Dear 100 hour Board,
Why do latinos have more hips or bigger hips than white girls?
--mr. bagger vance
A:
Dear Rhythm,
As you probably know, there was a Latin-Pop dance at the KMB last Saturday night. I looked around quite a bit, but was surprised to note that I was the worst white dancer around, which fact I found perturbing because I've been dancing since grade nine, and was much better than many of the latinos that I saw, which disproves your theorem that latinos have more rhythm, and which also segues nicely to the next answer. The reason that bilagannas dance like ballroom is because that's how most of us learned; whether through movies like "Strictly Ballroom," or dancing classes, it's just what we grew up with. You, on the other hand, were more likely raised in a society where dancing was prized more.
--The Scot
A:
Dear Rhythmic Latino,
Great question! I've wondered that myself, and I've come to two conclusions. The first is that it's in latino's blood. I've seen little kids that can hardly walk dance and move to the music. But I think the bigger influence is the cultural factors. Latinos dance from childhood on, whereas most Americans find it somewhat embarrassing and unnatural. If gringos started dancing at the age of two, I suspect that they would have almost as much rhythm as latinos. For the matter of dancing salsa like it was ballroom, I don't know if I agree with you. Have you ever been in downtown Miami? That doesn't look like ballroom to me.
--Benvolio el Gringuito
A:
Dear Rhythmic Latino,
I think the main reason is that Caucasians (i.e. white people with no rhythm) were in the bathroom when Heavenly Father was handing out rhythm genes. They tend to dance salsa as if it was ballroom because the have no idea what it is, and the only ones that have ever heard of it served foreign missions and can't dance anyways, therefore causing a large amount of pathetic dancing. We're hopeless when it comes to rhythm. Another really funny example of that is white people trying to hula dance. That's quite comical. It makes the trip to Hawaii worth it just to laugh at the tourists.
--PEZkopf
A:
Dear mr. bagger vance,
Are you concerned about the hips of latinos or latinas? I'll assume latinas. I don't know if this is the absolute answer, but I once read a paper that theorized that the more society values a woman's role as a mother and child-bearer, the more larger hips will be considered attractive. You know, all that stuff they say about childbearing hips having a certain ratio to the waist or so. Because our culture is focusing more and more on women as workers and doctors and lawyers and all that stuff, slimmer hips have become more valued, as they are less "feminine" than large hips. The paper only looked at Latino and white cultures, so the results aren't that conclusive. Feel free to expand the research into Europe, Asia, and Africa.
--Der Berliner
A:
Dear Bagger,
Well, technically they can't have MORE hips than anybody else due to their bone structure. They have the same amount as anybody else. And I wouldn't go so far as to say that they have bigger hips either, just that they know how to use them better (going back to the rhythm question) and therefore make them a more pronounced feature. White girls, on the other hand, hide them under Abercrombie and Fitch jeans, and so they're not quite the salient feature. Trust me, I've seen some whities with monster hips (and thighs, I might add).
--Hipster
I wanted to apologize for the assortment of bizarre people who seem to think that the 100-hour-board staff is "lazy" and doesn't do any real "research" about questions (i.e. Disenchanted in Board Question #27113.) Personally I think that a lot of effort was put into my question about medical experimentation in the Third Reich and the ethical debate (Board Question #27101) surrounding using said data. Thanks guys. Some of us appreciate the amount of work you put in despite the fact that you don't get paid.
--Centiplegic Centipede