In the salsa scene, people know him as “Kat” or “El Gato.”  They know him as a fun loving guy, who likes dancing and making people laugh.  What many do not know is that his real name is David L. Jackson and he has an incredible story that spans three continents with a story so compelling that he has been on 60 Minutes and The Oprah Show. Although Paramount Pictures wanted to do a movie about him, it was ultimately the BBC that produced a documentary series, The Boy David.

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with David to talk about where he has been, where he is now and where he is headed.

David was born in the Andean jungle of Peru.  As an infant, he was bitten by a sandfly and contracted a disease: leishmaniasis, which caused the destruction of David’s face when he was only a few months old.  A world renowned Scottish cranio-facial surgeon, Dr. Ian Jackson, came across David, during a visit to Peru.  He was asked to help this small boy and could not say no.  With the help of many people and several organizations, Dr. Jackson had David flown into Scotland, where he began the first of many surgeries.  To this day, David has had over 100 surgeries.

During his time in Scotland, David stayed with Dr. Jackson and his family, who later adopted him.  He moved to the United States, after his father took a job opportunity here. David started off in Minnesota and, eventually, ended up in Michigan.

It was in Detroit that David began to develop a passion for Latin music and his Latino background, after getting into art and meeting a friend at college.  He dabbled in salsa dancing in Detroit, but didn’t really start to develop, until he moved to Los Angeles.  David began to make his way into the Latin dance scene by picking up moves and learning new styles by watching other dancers. Anybody who knows David knows how much he loves Latin dancing, especially salsa.

David says,  “Dancing provides a way to express myself and create art on the dance floor.  It allows me to just be me.”

It was in L.A., where his friends began to call him Kat because his hairstyle was reminiscent of Lion-O from ThunderCats.

“The name suits me because I have almost died five times.  Just like cats have nine lives, maybe I do too,” he said with a deep chuckle.

After living in L.A. for five years, David returned to Detroit and its salsa scene.  Most recently, his peers have recognized his dancing by nominating him for the first ever Detroit Salsa Awards, as “Best Male Social Dancer.”

On hearing about this, he said, “I feel humble and grateful.  I just love dancing.  I don’t mind, if you are a beginner or expert, as long as you can smile and have fun with me.”

The awards will be March 5, 2011.  For more information, you can visit: http://www.detroitsalsaawards.com/.

Dancing is just one art form that David is passionate about.  He also draws, paints, mixes music and does graphic design.  Many don’t know that David holds a Fine Arts degree from the College for Creative Studies and is an amazing painter.  I am lucky enough to have seen several of his paintings.  If you thought he was good at dancing, wait until you see his paintings.  David’s paintings use a lot of texture, color and energy.

“I use texture because I am textured and I want to show this in my pieces.”

David’s paintings draw you in and some take you on a journey through many of his life experiences.  He has recently been working on some new drawings and paintings and hopes to do an art exhibition within the next year or so.

In the next five years, David hopes to be either engaged or married and to be known for his art.  In addition, he would like to become a motivational speaker and continue to inspire people that he encounters.  David dreams of one day owning a chain of salsa clubs, being on Dancing With The Stars and writing an autobiography.

People who know him understand that he finds the beauty in everything.  Whether it be experiences or people, he always seems to find the positive.  This is perhaps why he is such a great artist and able to connect so well with people.  When I commented on this, he let out his contagious laugh and said,  “I don’t try to be anything but me.  Once people get past wondering what happened to me, they see I am just me.”

David is truly an inspiration.  He is a man who has experienced more than most people. Those who know his story might think that he is lucky to be where he is.  I, on the other hand, think that anybody fortunate enough to meet him is the lucky one.

To find out more about David and his upcoming projects, you can join his Facebook fan page David L. Jackson-Public Figure.  His goal is to reach over 1,000,000 fans worldwide.

Author: Renée Rodrí­guez
Photos: Nibras Abboud • http://www.flickr.com/photos/irocky/sets/

Dancer in the photograph (small): Erika

Dancer in the photograph (large): Rubi