From 4-6 November 2011, Salsa Bangkok Fiesta brought together more than 400 salsa dancers from around the world. Despite the ongoing floods that continue to affect much of the city and its surrounding areas, they came from near and far to dance the night away, attend special salsa workshops from international dance instructors, and meet fellow salseros and salseras from other countries. The three-day festival featured performing artist from more than 12 countries, including Spain, the United States, India, France, the United Kingdom and from throughout Asia, while international DJ stars from three countries kept the music flowing and the crowd dancing.

In 2011, the Salsa Bangkok Fiesta was undertaken in support of the Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign.”I am proud of our partnership with the UNiTE campaign,” Jost Wagner, the organizer of the Salsa Bangkok Fiesta, said.  “It’s about spreading the word to end violence against women and girls.” To help spread this message, special festival shirts were produced and sold to support this campaign, inviting every Salsero and Salsera to spread the message “Salseros Say NO to violence against women”. The shirts sold out quickly and dance troupes from around the region have already promised to bring the “Salseros Say NO” message and t-shirts to their own countries – illustrating the strong support for the campaign in the Asia-Pacific region. In her speech during the opening ceremony, the regional Campaign Manager for Asia-Pacific UNiTE, Anna-Karin Jatfors, said: “We want to have salseros not just from Bangkok or even Asia Pacific, but from around the world join the UNiTE campaign and say NO to all forms of violence against women and girls.”