Willie Estrada is a former National IT Manager/Director who worked for several Fortune 500 companies in and around the Wall St. area for 20 years. However, once upon a time during his youth, he was a leader of The Imperial Bachelors gang. During the summer of 1974 Willie and his friends hosted Hustle parties at St. Mary’s Recreation Center, his gang’s home base, as an alternative to violence. His book, The Dancing Gangsters of the South Bronx, tells this story, and he is now producing a documentary film based on the book. Willie Estrada is one of the original pioneers of the Latin Hustle during the early 1970s. Later, Willie led a Rock dance team called “The Rock Masters.” He gained city-wide fame winning numerous dance contests with his first Rock Partner Willie (Whip) Rivera during the early 1970s. Willie went on to work as a club promoter – during the late 1970s and into the 1980s, “Willie Estrada Presents,” became a household name for many Disco party-goers in New York City. At the close of the “Disco Era,” Willie became a booking agent and promoter for some of the most prominent Latino Music talents. In 2009, Willie returned to the dance scene and started sharing stories about dance culture and gang life experience. He started teaching Rock and Hustle dance in and around New York, and in 2011 he was invited to tour throughout Europe with the Rock Steady Crew doing workshops and teaching the Latin Hustle and Rock cultures of the early 1970s. He has now travelled all over the world. Most recently, Willie worked as a Technical Consultant for the Netflix series, “The Get Down” in which he portrayed “Papa Fuerte’s” (Jimmy Smits) right-hand man. As a history-keeper, Willie will continue to develop his film, “Rise of the Latin Hustle” and to tell the stories of St. Mary’s Park.
