Bassist Alex Torres has a few interesting things to tell us, so we greatly appreciate that he took the time to talk with us about his career, his personal life, and the band he currently leads.
Here are the most important things that Alex had to say in our pleasant and cheerful conversation.
Alex’s beginnings in music
Alex recalls that, since he was about four or five years old, he always listened to music from vinyl records his parents had in the Bronx, where the family was living at the time. He recalls his mother stepping towards the four-legged console radio in the living room and playing 45-rpm records, which made him stare at the interior of the machine and wonder how it was possible that this black circle had a band playing inside.
That innocent idea of a child makes him laugh a lot today, but it was the beginning of a passion for music that kindled when he was a little kid. In addition, his mother always used to take him to see live performances at the Boulevard Theater, which was the favourite location in the area to enjoy great live music. So each Friday, she gave her son fifty cents to go to the record store and pick out the ones he liked the most, which was what made him become a music fan.
Among the artists he saw live was Antonio Aguilar. His mother loved mariachis and Mexican music in general, so they went to see him sing, and little Alex even had the chance to tripped on the stage to take a closer look. They also went to see Willie Colón, who performed there very often.
Musical education
While still in elementary school, Alex was playing the trumpet and taking music class there. At his former school, he and his classmates used to play very cheerful music, which was not the case here. At this new academic institution, they had to play music for the soccer team’s marching band, so he asked his teacher if he could play something different. To this he replied: “You will not tell me how to teach my class.” Alex was so upset that he answered back really rude, causing him to be sent out of the classroom.
From then on, he only went to school, but not to music class. When he explained to his mother what happened, she told him that tears would not get him anywhere and now he had to prove to that teacher what he was capable of doing. That was when, in 1980, he founded his own orchestra, taking inspiration from that unpleasant episode he experienced and the chance to prove to that man what he could achieve.
His own orchestra
Regarding his first attempt to start his own project, Alex contacted his friend Roberto López, who is from San Sebastián, a town in Puerto Rico. The point is that Roberto did not play the guitar or the Puerto Rican cuatro, as well as Alex did not play the guitar or the bass, but that did not stop them from coming together to teach each other, play together, and form a band.
To learn how to play the bass, he played a guitar and played the four top strings, until he could buy his own bass with much effort. It has been 46 years since all that began.
Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra
Alex told us that he never had the need to be in other groups before his and that he always aspired to have his own band. The only difference is that he had to modify the name a bit due to the problems it has put him and his bandmates through at the time. It turns out that the band was called Alex Torres & The Latin Kings (“The Latin Kings” being the name of a very famous criminal gang in the United States and around the world), causing them to be pulled out of the boarding queue to be questioned and strip-searched at time of travel.
To spare themselves, Alex and the rest of the guys agreed to remove the word “kings” so they would no longer be seen in a bad way, especially when it comes to traveling. That was how they changed their name to Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra, which is how they are still known today.
Major performances
Alex and his orchestra can boast of having performed for important personalities such as Bill Clinton, his wife Hillary Clinton, George Pataki, Eliot Spitzer, and others. Alex describes these opportunities as a product of his work and that of his team.
One of the things he thinks has made him worthy of his achievements is punctuality. If a performance is scheduled for a certain time, they always try to be on site an hour and a half earlier to fine-tune all necessary details. They also give great importance to clothing and personal appearance to make a good impression on the audience. This has helped create a good reputation over the years and has made more influential people to hire them.
Arts-In-Education Program of New York State
Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra is also part of the Arts-In-Education Program of New York State, with which the artist and his colleagues seek to teach schoolchildren and college students about cultural diversity, music, instruments, and rhythms associated with the music they perform. They also discuss geography and Afro-Caribbean percussion, including instruments such as the güiro, bongos, maracas, and timbales. All this is done with the purpose of ensuring that young people have respect for musicians, culture, and all that it implies.
Read also: It is a pleasure to welcome Erim Kardes and Gustavo del Pino from Los Calicubanos to ISM
