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Jul 17, 2020 14 tweets 5 min read Read on X
Today in pulp... I dance the Cha Cha!

Everybody's doing it... #FridayFeeling Image
The Cha Cha (or Cha Cha Chá if you're feeling energetic) was the Cuban-inspired dance that caught the world's imagination in the mid 1950s. We were Cha Cha Crazy for it! Image
Taking its cue from the Mambo, the Cha Cha was a slightly more relaxed affair: slower and less syncopated. Image
It's name comes from the shuffling sound of the feet as they dance the last three steps: one-two-cha-cha-cha! Image
However the Cha Cha is anything but a simple dance: hot hop action and a lightness of step is needed to master it. Image
Enrique Jorrin was the father of the Cha Cha, and in 1953 he and the Orquesta America released the first recorded compositions. The sound swept Cuba, then Mexico and then the world. Image
Cha Cha fever led to a range of 1950s albums trying to cash in on the new scene. Some took it seriously... Image
...some not so seriously... Image
...and some confused it with the polka. Image
Either way the Cha Cha was the soundtrack of mid-modernity, and no party was complete without it! Image
Cha Cha is still popular in competition ballroom dancing, though the range of steps required is not something I'll ever master!
Sadly the Cha Cha was overshadowed in 1962 by the Twist, and soon it faded from popularity. It was what your parents did at weddings to show off, not what the young folks wanted to strut 'in da club.' Image
But latin dancing will never die, and wherever people gather to drink mojitos, wear slit skirts and listen to good music the Cha Cha will always be there.

Enrique Jorrin - pulp salutes you! Image
(Pulp tip: always wear stockings when dancing. It stops you overheating #truedat) Image

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More from @PulpLibrarian

Oct 31
Time once again for my occasional series "Women with great hair fleeing gothic houses!"

I assume everyone's doing it this #Halloween ? Image
The Legend Of Crownpoint, by Monica Heath. Signet Books, 1974.

A lot of moss on that heath... Image
The Legend Of Holderly Hall, by Kate Cameron. Leisure Books, 1974.

This is number one in a series of four novels, proving that nobody really reads Trip Advisor hotel reviews... Image
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Oct 28
In January 1919 a new magazine heralded the dawn of the Weimar era. Its aesthetic was a kind of demented Jugendstil, and its stories were dark gothic fantasies.

This is the story of Der Orchideengarten... Image
Der Orchideengarten: Phantastische Blätter (The orchid garden: fantastic pages) is probably the first ever fantasy magazine. Published in Munich by Dreiländerverlag, a trial issue appeared in 1918 before the first full 24 page edition was published in January 1919. Image
"The orchid garden is full of beautiful - now terribly gruesome, now satirically pleasing - graphic jewelery" announced the advanced publicity. It was certainly a huge departure from the Art Nouveau of Jugend magazine, which German readers were already familiar with. Image
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Oct 22
Time for a pulp countdown now, and today I'm looking at my top 10 animals in pulp horror! Image
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Oct 15
If stock photography has taught us one thing it's how to recognise a hacker! But how much do we really know about these shady characters, with their ill-fitting balaclavas and their Windows 7 laptops?

Here's my essential stock photography guide to cybersecurity... Image
First things first, hacking has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years. Backing up your sensitive data on C60 cassette and labelling it "Flock of Seagulls Megamix' is no longer enough to keep your information safe! Image
And hackers are actually very hard to spot. That's because they dress head-to-toe in black (or very very very dark grey) since they live on the Dark Web and want to blend into the background. Image
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Oct 5
Time once again for our occasional series "Women with great hair fleeing gothic houses!"

And today I count down my Top 10 of most gothic goths a' fleeing... Image
At No 10: The Unlamented, by Dorothy Daniels. Pocket Books, 1975. That's a great goth coat! Image
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Sep 1
Today in pulp, one of the most influential and outrageous illustrators of the Italian Italian fumetti scene: Emanuele Taglietti!

This will be interesting... Image
Emanuele Taglietti was born in Ferrara in 1943. His father worked as a set designer for director Michaelangelo Antonioni, often taking Emanuele with him on set. Image
In the 1960s Taglietti moved to Rome, where he studied stage design. He began a successful career as an assistant art director, working for Federico Fellini and Marco Ferreri. Image
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