The photographer Rose Marie Cromwell came across Cali’s vibrant salsa scene almost by accident. “I heard people tell me that Cali was the capital of the salsa,” she said. It was enough to pique her interest.

“I first went to NellyTeca, brought there by a friend in her late 20s,” Ms. Cromwell said. “Even though the salsa scene mostly consists of older people, she knew about this salsateca so she brought us there. It was packed with people and loud with salsa music. Lots of characters, lots of interesting people.”

That first salsateca also gave Ms. Cromwell some of her favorite memories of the assignment. “NellyTeca was so friendly, so close,” she said. “It kind of got rowdy, and I like that energy. I liked the small ones, that was an experience. It’s where two older ladies were having a beer in the corner, and older couples were dancing together on a small floor. It was bittersweet and romantic. It felt like I traveled back in time.”

Mr. Caicedo’s generation was the first to dance in salsatecas. He met his wife at a dance more than four decades ago. As one of the elder statesmen of the form, Mr. Caicedo still prefers the old-fashioned style, free of showmanship. “We dance on the floor — that’s the Cali style, which is the nice one,” he said. “We show our respect to the ladies. She doesn’t have to be dropped on the floor, and you don’t have to take her by her foot to put her in the air.”