Candado
Cuban casino / rueda de casino partner figure ('padlock')
RuedaLevel: Improver2 min read2 citations
Candado is a hooking, "locked" partner figure of Cuban casino, danced most often within the rueda de casino — the circular, caller-led form in which every couple performs the same announced figure simultaneously. Its name is literal: candado is the Spanish word for a padlock,[1] and the figure takes that name from the closed, interlaced arm shape the couple briefly forms before unwinding. Like the rest of the casino repertoire it belongs to a round rather than a line: rueda de casino is itself named for the Spanish rueda, a wheel or circle — the formation that arranges the couples so they move as one to the caller.[2]
Execution
In a common reading of the call, the leader draws the follower across the center in an enchufla-style cross, turns her to re-face, then hooks the clasped hands so an arm wraps and the pair is momentarily "locked." That closed shape is held for a beat before the couple resolves with the dile que no, the figure that reopens the partners toward the circle and resets them for whatever the caller announces next. The footwork mirrors between the two roles, and the move is danced a tiempo, stepping to the downbeat rather than in the On1/On2 counts of linear slot salsa.
Name and usage
Because rueda keeps its call vocabulary in Spanish wherever it is danced, "candado" travels as a single shared name across Cuban-, Miami-, and European-style scenes rather than being translated into local equivalents; a caller in any room can announce it and be understood. The exact sequence behind the call varies by tradition, but the defining gesture stays constant — joined hands hooked into a brief padlock that releases into the dile que no.
How it's danced
Lead and follow cues
CountA tiempo (Cuban casino timing): partners break on count 1 and again on 5, stepping 1-2-3 / 5-6-7 across two measures; the wrap forms over the second measure and resolves with the dile que no. Casino is rarely framed in On1/On2 slot terms.
Lead
On the caller's count the leader keeps an open hold and breaks a tiempo on 1; over 1-2-3 he leads an enchufla, drawing the follower across the centre and turning her to re-face. Breaking again on 5, over 5-6-7 he hooks the clasped hands and wraps his arm to close the 'lock,' holds it a beat, then unwinds and leads the dile que no to reopen toward the circle. His back-step on 1 is on the left foot.
Follow
The follower breaks a tiempo on 1 and, over 1-2-3, answers the enchufla by crossing the centre and turning to re-face the leader. Breaking again on 5, over 5-6-7 she lets the joined hand be hooked and her arm wrapped into the locked shape, keeps her own frame, then unwinds and steps the dile que no back into the circle. Mirroring the leader, her back-step on 1 is on the right foot.
Song timingComfortable at typical casino/timba social tempos, roughly 150-185 bpm; the wrap-and-unwind reads cleanly in the mid range and tightens toward the 190+ fast end, while slower son tempos give more room to settle the lock.
Learn first
Prerequisites
- guapea / casino basic step
- dile que no (the casino resolution)
- enchufla
- open-to-closed hold changes
- following a caller in the rueda
Watch out
Common mistakes
- Forcing the wrap before the enchufla cross completes, so the lock snags instead of closing cleanly on 5-6-7.
- Losing frame during the hook, which collapses the padlock shape.
- The follower powering across the centre ahead of the lead rather than waiting to be turned.
- Skipping or rushing the dile que no, leaving the couple closed instead of reopened to the circle.
- Breaking off the caller's count, so the couple falls out of unison with the rueda.
- Gripping the hands too tightly, which snags the unwind.
Don't confuse with
Easily confused moves
- Setenta (70) — another wrapped casino figure with an arm lock, frequently confused with candado but a distinct, longer sequence.
- Sombrero — a casino wrap taken over the head, not the hand-hook of candado.
- Enchufla — candado contains an enchufla-style cross but is not the enchufla itself.
- 'Candado doble' / extended candado — a separate, longer called variant, not this base figure.
- 'Paso cruzado' / 'cruzado' — names a crossing step (footwork), not the candado figure.
- The everyday Spanish 'candado' (a literal padlock) — the figure is named after it but is not it.
Around the world
Other names
Cuba (Havana / Santiago — Cuban-style casino & rueda)
Candado
the source Spanish call; 'padlock,' for the hooked, locked arm shape
Miami-style rueda (Salsa Rueda de Miami)
Candado
same Spanish call retained; the exact sequence under the name differs from Cuban-style
International casino/rueda scenes (US, Europe, Latin America)
Candado
rueda calls are kept in Spanish worldwide, so the figure name is not localized
References
- 1.Muestra gélida de poesía inconsecuente — Santos, José E., 1963-, 2009, contents (El candado)
- 2.Muestra gélida de poesía inconsecuente — Santos, José E., 1963-, 2009, contents (La rueda)
How to cite this article
Choose a style and copy the citation.
Bailar Editorial Team. (2026). Candado. Bailar Biblioteca. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://bailar.site/biblioteca/move/rueda-candado
Bailar Editorial Team. “Candado.” Bailar Biblioteca, 2026, bailar.site/biblioteca/move/rueda-candado. Accessed 29 June 2026.
Bailar Editorial Team. “Candado.” Bailar Biblioteca. Accessed June 29, 2026. https://bailar.site/biblioteca/move/rueda-candado.
@misc{bailar-move-rueda-candado, author = {{Bailar Editorial Team}}, title = {{Candado}}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {Bailar Biblioteca}, url = {https://bailar.site/biblioteca/move/rueda-candado}, note = {Accessed: 2026-06-29} }
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