Born Pedro Aguilar on June 14th, 1927, in Peurto Rico, "Cuban Pete" is a legendary dancer known worldwide for his talent and passion for the Mambo. He has been the choreographer and consultant for such hit movies as "The Mambo Kings" and won scores of prizes for his innovative movements which have become standards in Latin Dancing. He has been immortalized by Desi Arnaz & Lucille Ball on "The Lucy Show", as well as by Jim Carey in the hit movie, "The Mask". Meet the real "Cuban Pete" and his partner Barbara Craddock as they chat and "chick chicky boom" with DanceScape...

We all know you as the "King of the Latin Beat," the "Maestro of Mambo," and the "The Prince of the Palladium". As well, you have been immortalized in the movie "The Mask" where comedian Jim Carey sang a tribute to you, "Cuban Pete". But like all successful people, you had to overcome many challenges early in your life.

Cuban Pete: Yes, I had an extremely difficult childhood. I lived in an orphanage, a hospital and many different foster homes as a child. In fact, I was tormented by physical and psychological abuse from one horrible foster mother. But I survived the pain through my passions - first, for boxing, and then later for Latin dancing. Boxing was how I earned my respect and protected myself. It was how I was able to release a lot of my pain and anger at the time.

How did you discover your passion for Latin Dancing?

Cuban Pete: My mother, and god bless her. She taught me how to dance socially for every party that was held on the weekend at one of my six aunt's house. I learned the Danzon and Bolero from her. She started me off on this, and watched me always. My mom said to me, "Peter, you sure can dance, yes you can dance." Ever since then, nobody can tell me how good I dance - it's all my mom - since she is the one that taught me.

But it was my good friend Miguelito Valdez who encouraged me to give up Boxing and start Dancing. He entered me in a dance contest in 1950 and I won $1,000. It was at this moment that I discovered that I could make money and change my life with what I loved to do most!

Do you ever experience stage fright? How do you cope with it?

Cuban Pete: No. Never. As a fighter, I could never get nervous, so I took that to the dance floor. I like to dance and I don't do tricks - I am rhythm only. But for people who do get stage fright, my advice: count to ten, pick it up and carry it with you, concentrate on it. One must focus and be focused at all times. I always check out the audience first and by the feel of the audience I know how sexy to be or not to be on stage.

What was one of your most embarrassing moments as a dancer?

Cuban Pete

: I was at a theater dancing with my wife and dance partner at the time, Millie. We were in the dressing room talking before our performance. A knock at the door and it was time to go on stage. I went to the men's washroom first and quickly rushed on stage. I grabbed Millie's hand and realized that the whole audience started laughing. I didn't know what was so funny, until I turned Millie around and noticed that my shirt was sticking out of my fly. I fixed the problem and the applause carried me on.

You have made great contributions to the world of dance in your lifetime. What are some of your memorable or rewarding experiences to date?

Cuban Pete: I have always considered myself lucky because I had a hard childhood, and I found what I love. I am 77, going on 80 and I can still do what I love, without knowing what is going to come next. I became called Maestro, which means master in Spanish. Everybody knows me as the Master of the Clave. I will always remember that. In Mambo, I established the forward and back movement of the dance, which I carried over from being a boxer. In 1952, in New York at Palladium, I started dancing and everybody wanted to copy my movements. Then, Mambo took life and went around the world. I also will always remember dancing all around the world, and dancing for the Queen of England.

The King of the Clave

You have said that in Latin Dancing, it is so important to understand the difference in various basic rhythms.

Cuban Pete: Yes, I learned the Latin Rhythms, Cuban Rhythms, Rhumba, and Bolero from my friends, Miguelito, Machito, and Tito Puente, may god bless his soul; Tito stayed on my back like a stick! They taught me the importance of dancing to the "Clave", it is our metronome, and I mastered it! And then people began to know me as the master of Clave on the dance floor!

Please explain more about the Clave and the importance of its rhythmic patterns in Latin Music and Dancing.

Cuban Pete: All of the rhythms of Latin music carry the Clave. You have to know how to dance to its beat. Everybody must take Clave 101 because it is like the foundation they put on the Empire State Building to build it, students need that foundation and knowledge in order to learn and apply steps to the dance. This is something that you need to know, or else you are out of it. Latin has so much music going on at the same time and some people cannot even know which sound is from a harmonica.

The basics of Latin Dancing is that it goes to the five clicks of the Clave, which fall within eight counts of music. Everybody now depends on certain steps that they like to show in competitions, but to me that is not dancing at all. I don't like when people focus more on their steps than the rhythm. Dancing is about rhythm and the music tells you how to do it. Your ear is your third leg on the dance floor - without you even knowing it.

Can dance exist without music then?

Cuban Pete: Like my dear friend Tito Puente always said, "Without the dance, there is no music, without the music, there is no dance" and I agree.