Sexy salsa raises cash, temperature

Latin rhythms replaced Christmas carols as guests at Bacardi Martini's Salsa Night found themselves swivelling their hips for a good cause at the Excelsior.

Bacardi's fundraising night at Tott's Asian Bar & Grill raised spirits and more than $100,000 for Operation Santa.

The Excelsior also raised more than $40,000 on the night, with resident manager Kjell Rognoy walking around with a bucket collecting donations, staff selling cigars, face painting and more.

This is Bacardi's third year of support for the fundraising drive, and regional vice-president Robert Furniss-Roe said it wouldn't be the last. 'Operation Santa always chooses what we think are very relevant charities for Hong Kong,' he said. 'They rotate through very different causes but are always eminently suitable for the community.'

As Bacardi is a company with strong Latin roots, Mr Furniss-Roe said the natural fundraiser was a salsa night.

'Bacardi is a Cuban company and there is a huge fascination in Hong Kong now with everything Latin, from Ricky Martin to the Buena Vista Social Club,' he said. 'We figured we'd tap into that.'

Mr Furniss-Roe said the salsa movement was gaining momentum in the territory and more than 20,000 people had caught the fever.