Candado complicado

Salsa casino / rueda figure

SalsaLevel: Intermediate1 min read3 citations

See it danced

Video demo

Demonstration tutorial on YouTube.

Candado complicado is a casino and rueda de casino figure in the Candado family, whose name refers to a “padlock” image produced by locking and releasing crossed handholds.[1] In the commonly documented family structure, Candado begins from a two-hand Enchufla Doble base, then adds chained arm changes and a leader hook-turn pathway before resolving into Dile Que No or a short promenade-like exit.[2] The complicated version is widely attributed to Henry Herrera and was circulated through Salsa Racing DVD Vol. 5, released in Miami in 2002, a source line that helped export Cuban-style figures beyond Cuba.[3] Mechanically, the figure keeps casino’s two-measure pulse: in an On1/a-tiempo count the leader and follower break away on opposite feet on 1, reconnect and turn or redirect through 2-3, then use 5-6-7 for the next lock, release, or exit phrase. Its rotation is not a single spin: the couple typically opens about a quarter turn during the Enchufla entry, reorients through the leader’s hook-turn passage, and completes only enough shared rotation to face the next partner or close the rueda phrase.

How it's danced

Lead and follow cues

CountCasino a tiempo / On1 phrasing: one break per measure. Measure phrases use 1-2-3, pause/transfer on 4, then 5-6-7, pause/transfer on 8. Leader breaks back left on 1 and back right on 5 as the pattern requires; follower mirrors with right on 1 and left on 5. The figure is normally called across several two-measure phrases rather than as a single eight-count unit.

Lead

On 1, break back on the left while maintaining a two-hand connection; on 2-3, redirect the follower into the Enchufla Doble entry and begin the first arm lock. On 5-6-7, preserve the two-hand frame, release only the pathway needed for the next lock, and finish the first measure facing the follower. Repeat the locking phrase for the complicated sequence; when the hook-turn passage is called, rotate through the leader’s own pathway in stages rather than pulling the follower, then resolve the final 5-6-7 into Dile Que No or the called rueda exit.

Follow

On 1, break back on the right in mirror to the leader; on 2-3, return forward into the Enchufla Doble pathway and allow the joined hands to shape the left-turning entry without collapsing the elbows. On 5-6-7, continue the redirected walk and settle the arm lock without forcing extra rotation. Through the repeated complicated phrase, keep steps compact and follow each lock-release as a staged reorientation; on the final 5-6-7, travel into Dile Que No or the called rueda exit as the leader opens the pathway.

Song timingBest at moderate casino social tempos around 150-185 bpm, where the locks and releases can land cleanly on 1-2-3 and 5-6-7. At 190 bpm and above it becomes a fast-end figure requiring compact footwork and very clear hand changes.

Learn first

Prerequisites

  • Casino basic / guapea timing.
  • Enchufla.
  • Enchufla Doble.
  • Dile Que No.
  • Two-hand connection changes.
  • Leader hook turn.

Watch out

Common mistakes

  • Treating the arm lock as a hand knot instead of a body-position pathway, which blocks the next 5-6-7.
  • Breaking on both 1 and 3 within the same measure instead of keeping one break per measure.
  • Having the follower step forward on count 1; the follower’s travel enters after the back break, not before it.
  • Forcing a single large rotation instead of staging the Enchufla entry, hook-turn passage, and exit reorientation separately.
  • Letting the elbows collapse behind the shoulders during the lock, which makes the release late or unsafe.
  • Calling the figure in linear LA/NY slot vocabulary and then trying to preserve a fixed slot, which conflicts with the circular rueda formation.

Don't confuse with

Easily confused moves

  • Candado: the parent padlock figure; Candado complicado is the expanded variation.
  • Enchufla Doble: a prerequisite entry, not the whole figure.
  • Dile Que No: the common resolving figure, not the Candado lock itself.
  • Cross-body lead: a linear salsa slot exchange, not the casino rueda pathway used here.
  • Paso cruzado / cruzado: Spanish terms for cross-step footwork, not attested names for this figure.

Around the world

Other names

  • Cuba / casino and rueda de casino

    Candado complicado

    Spanish casino name; treated as a complicated variation in the Candado family.

  • Miami / Salsa Racing, Henry Herrera line

    Candado Complicado

    Documented in the Salsa Racing DVD vocabulary associated with Henry Herrera.

  • International rueda workshops and video-based casino scenes

    Candado Complicado

    Generally retained as the Spanish call rather than translated.

References

The bracketed numbers in the text show which source each fact comes from. Tap or click one to jump to that source in this list.

  1. 1.only-dance.com
  2. 2.salsaselfie.com
  3. 3.salsaselfie.com

How to cite this article

Choose a style and copy the citation.

APA

Bailar Editorial Team. (2026). Candado complicado. Bailar Biblioteca. Retrieved October 13, 2026, from https://getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/salsa-candado-complicado

MLA

Bailar Editorial Team. “Candado complicado.” Bailar Biblioteca, 2026, getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/salsa-candado-complicado. Accessed 13 October 2026.

Chicago

Bailar Editorial Team. “Candado complicado.” Bailar Biblioteca. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/salsa-candado-complicado.

BibTeX

@misc{bailar-move-salsa-candado-complicado, author = {{Bailar Editorial Team}}, title = {{Candado complicado}}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {Bailar Biblioteca}, url = {https://getbailar.com/biblioteca/move/salsa-candado-complicado}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-13} }

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