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2007

Jay Ruiz, singer-songwriter, From the Sultana del Oeste, Mayagüez – Puerto Rico

North American / Puerto Rico / Puerto Rico 

Jay Ruiz is the stage name of Jonathan Camacho Ruiz, a singer-songwriter born in La Sultana del Oeste, Mayagüez, but raised in the Pueblo de Rincón neighborhood, the westernmost municipality of La Isla Del Encanto.

Jay Ruiz Photo
Jay Ruiz

Among his ancestors, Jay Ruiz, highlights his paternal grandfather Antonio Camacho who was a musician and troubadour, in his native Rincón.

Jay Ruiz’s musical beginnings date back to his short 5 years, when he sang in the choir of the Presbyterian church he attended. However, he would later become involved in sports, which would keep him away from music until he was 11 years old, when at the middle school where he was studying, the teacher promoted him as a soloist in a 24-member choir group.

Jay Ruiz and his team

He also stands out as a percussionist, performing skillfully on the bongo, the congas and the drums; instruments that he would learn to play by ear when he was 8 years old.

When he turned 12, the guitar and the bass would be the instruments that would captivate him and to which he would dedicate his time.

When he turned 15, he decided to form his own Christian music group: this is how the New Creation group was born, in which he developed as a drummer and singer.

A year later, while he was a member of the baseball team that represented Puerto Rico, he was about to be signed by the University of Cleveland, but in the process he was diagnosed with neck and throat cancer.

Jay Ruiz photo

He traveled to Maryland to undergo exhaustive examinations at the John Hopkins Hospital, the same ones that would determine that he would undergo six months of chemotherapy and subsequent radiotherapy, treatments that he would receive at the San Jorge Children’s Hospital (Santurce, Puerto Rico).

Before the radiation treatment he was warned that he would lose 85% of his vocal abilities, however, the story was different: August 12, 2001, he would finish the treatment for his illness and five days later, for his birthday, he meets in his town -Rincón- to the entire community in a musical activity in which he would play, sing and give testimony of his case.

Thinking about his future, he studies at the Interamerican University, San Germán Campus, where he obtains a bachelor’s degree as a Physical Education teacher for children with disabilities.

The illness of his father, who lived in New York, forces him to cross the pond to take care of him, until his death, five years later.

In 2011 he returned to Puerto Rico, and enrolled in the Ponce Paramedical College at the Mayagüez Medical Center, to continue studying Physiotherapy, however, he became involved again in music participating in the famous franchise IDOL PUERTO RICO, ranking among the 32 last finalists. He continues his academic life and at the same time, works as a chef in a restaurant, a situation that would lead him to serve a musical entrepreneur based in New Jersey (United States) who was visiting the island, and with whom he would start a friendly relationship first, that would turn into work a few months later, when the businessman invited him for an audition in the neighboring municipality of Cabo Rojo.

After that meeting, in 2014, Jay Ruiz would pack his bags again to settle in Newark (New Jersey, USA) from where he would launch his career as a performer of the bachata genre, and that he would have on the songs “Ven A Mí , Girl” and “Culpables” two singles of wide diffusion and consideration in the international radio circuits, to the point of having disputed with the last mentioned cut, the category of Favorite Tropical Song of the Latin American Music Awards between great personalities of the music like Víctor Manuelle, Prince Royce and Gente de Zona (feat. Marc Anthony).

In 2017 he becomes independent, returns to Puerto Rico and decides to promote his career, but this time as a salsero, recording the single “Lo Sé”, of his own, under the production of maestro Nino Segarra.

Two years later, he brings us this new single, of which he is also the author, both of the lyrics and the melody.

The following staff participate in this single:

Lyrics, Melody & Interpretation: Jay Ruiz

Arrangement: Ceferino Caban

Complete Percussion: Rafael “Tito” de Gracia

Bass: Alexis Perez

Trumpets: Luis Aquino

Trombones: Jorge Dobal

Choirs: Norberto Vélez Curbelo, David Carrero & Ceferino Caban

Piano & Keyboards: Ceferino Caban

Mastering: Esteban Piñero

Jay Ruiz
Jay Ruiz

Johnny Pacheco, presents “Orquesta Primera Clase” from Maracay-Venezuela

The title of this album speaks for itself; the hand of the transcendental Dominican musician is introduced in this album.

El Zorro de Plata Pacheco appears as executive producer of the album, although we do not discard that he also participated in part of the musical production, due to the way the orchestra was structured and the style in which the arrangements were given; it is something that we can hardly notice when listening to the album, it is evident the great similarity to “Pacheco y su Tumbao”; four excellent trumpets with sonorous arrangements.

Johnny Pacheco, presents "Orquesta Primera Clase" of Maracay-Venezuela
Johnny Pacheco, presents “Orquesta Primera Clase” of Maracay-Venezuela

The predominance of Teo Hernandez (R.I.P)’s vocal style and register in the nasal coros, fits perfectly with the “Tumbao Añejo” that we have always been accustomed to from maestro Johnny Pacheco (R.I.P).

Although the album was backed by the Fania label and is loaded with a cheerful and swinging flavor, we think that it went somewhat unnoticed by the music-loving public.

The reasons could be several, we must remember that in those times in the 80’s the merengue rhythm was beginning to penetrate with a lot of strength.

Johnny Pacheco, presenta la Orquesta Primera Clase
Johnny Pacheco, presenta la Orquesta Primera Clase

Although we could also add the little interest that the public of the capital (Caracas) had for the groups of the regions or interior of the country, and although it seems ironic to say it.
Another possible reason could be linked to the inclusion of only unpublished songs (it is well known that in those times, they supported copies more than creativity); these are only conjectures of this server, however, they do not escape the reality of that time.

Teo Hernández (R.I.P)
Teo Hernández (R.I.P)

As for the musical themes, we have already pointed out that all of them are original and very well compensated with their arrangement; In particular there are two songs that I like very much, one of them is “Negro Nací”, written and sung by Orlando Sanoja, is a very happy song dedicated to our black race of the danceable in his music, “Si negro nací nací nací, blanco no puedo ser”, The other song of my predilection is “El Sabio”, composition and lyrics by Jorge Compres and vocalized by Teo Hernández, with great diction, good phrasing and those tasty choruses that accompany him.

Orlando Sanoja
Orlando Sanoja

It is worth mentioning that the excellent La Orquesta Primera Clase is still in force with a musical staff of the new generation maintaining its original sound with its lead vocalist Orlando Sanoja.

It is another good Venezuelan album that you should have in your personal CD library.
Johnny Pacheco presents “La Orquesta Primera Clase” (1982) Fania LPS-66506

SIDE A

1.- NEGRO NACÍ (Orlado Sanoja) Sings: Orlando Sanoja/ Arrangements: Nicomedes López
2.- ME SIENTO MUY FELIZ (Al mMaro Ríos) Sings: Orlando Sanoja/Arrangements: Bolívar Javier
EL ANIMAL (Jorge Compres) Sings: Teo Hernández/Arrangements: Jorge Compres
4.- TODO TIENE SU FINAL (Bolívar Javier) Sings: Teo Hernández/Arrangements: Bolívar Javier
5.- LLEVAME CONTIGO (Almaro Ríos) Sings: Teo Hernández/Arrangements: Bolívar Javier

SIDE B

1.- EL SABIO (Jorge Compres) Sings: Teo Hernández/Arrangements: Jorge Compres
2.- A MARACAY (Orlando Sanoja) Sings: Orlando Sanoja/Arrangements: Jorge Compres
3.- EXTRANJERA (Phorto Jacquez) Sings: Teo Hernández/Arrangements: Jorge Compres
4.- VIVA MI GUAGUANCO (Jorge Compres) Sings: Teo Hernández/Arrangements: Gilberto Riera
AY QUE HUMANIDAD (Orlando Sanoja) Sings: Orlando Sanoja/Arrangements: Jorge Compres

Personnel:

Pastor Rodríguez (1st Trumpet)
Henry Kamba (2nd Trumpet)
Gustavo Nieves (3rd Trumpet)
William Fermín (4th Trumpet)
Armin Kail (Piano)
Carlos Fagúndez (Bass)
Harold Josef (Congas)
Edgar Aponte (Timbal)
Félix Benítez (Bongo)
Teo Hernández/Orlando Sanoja (Singers)
Bolívar Javier/ Nicomedes López/ Jorge Compres/ Gilberto Riera (Arrangements)
Teo Hernández/Orlando Sanoja/Edgar Aponte (Chorus)
Johnny Pacheco (Executive Producer)
Carlos Guerrero (Recording Technician)
Luis Arismendi (General Recording Supervision)
Recorded at Fidelis Studios
Alejandro Pérez (Art and Design)

How Jacira Castro and Salsa Power changed the Latin music scene

How did Salsa Power start?

Latin culture, specifically the musical part, has had a large group of unconditional allies who have promoted it worldwide through their work and platforms, being Chilean-American Jacira Castro one of the best known. Jacira is a salsa casino-style salsa teacher and web designer who had the dream of spreading the typical rhythms of our countries, but she did not figure out how until she came up with a revolutionary idea: Salsa Power. 

Salsa Power was born in 1999 as part of an initiative created by Castro and graphic designer Julian Mejia, who practically became her partner until the moment when the page stopped working. From that year on that the dance instructor began to generate contacts and develop human networks with people inside and outside the world of music, especially from the salsa genre. A particularity of this system devised by Jacira was that it was fed by the information received from people from anyqhere in the world about everything related to concerts, festivals, press conferences, autograph signings and much more.

Jacira Castro
Dance instructor and web designer Jacira Castro

How did this project work?

Thanks to the technology that was advancing little by little in all this time, there were many more contact ways and social media came along to facilitate these activities. The website grew to such an extent that it came to have more than 300 correspondents in over 60 countries, many of whom did not even have professions or occupations related to music, but wanted to strive to make the initiative successful and Latin artists and orchestras have a dependable space to promote their work.

Contrary to what many readers may have thought, everyone involved in this project never received a single cent or publicity in return for all the work being done. In fact, it was Jacira herself who had to pay for all the expenses related to Salsa Power such as plane tickets, travel, lodging, food, wardrobe, among other things. Not to mention the website maintenance and other hosting costs for the domain to work properly.

Fortunately, all that effort and money were worth it because Salsa Power rose to become the largest salsa website on the internet and a true reference for any independent media planning to do anything remotely like that. Much of the fruits harvested by this beautiful project can still be found on the internet and consist of articles, interviews, event coverage, videos and many other things.

The name Salsa Power was so respected that you could not talk about the Latin salsa scene in the United States without mentioning it, especially in South Florida, a place where competition for the first places was at its higuest. This competition was not only between artists and musical groups, but also between media, associations and academies, triggering some inconvenience and regrettable situations like the one experienced by Jacira and Julián a few years ago.

Jacira paid for all the expenses related to Salsa Power
Jacira paid for all the expenses related to Salsa Power

Controversies

Jacira has had run-ins with some important personalities of the Latin music community in Florida because of her political positions, which went against the current of a large number of Latin artists and dancers at that time, especially those who are part of the Cuban exile. Her attitudes towards the political situation in Cuba have been highly controversial, mainly those related to the U.S. economic embargo on the Caribbean country and the limitations on free cultural exchange between both nations. Both Castro and other leaders of the entertainment industry were opposed to the decades-old blockade, which has been maintained until today.

This caused the dance teacher to make some enemies in the Miami music scene, which led to the hacking of Salsa Power with the caption ”This is a communist website” in big red letters along with a message whose author calls Jacira ”communist” and ”pro-Fidel Castro”. Obviously, she got worried and immediately called Julian to bring down the page.

As they began to diagnose the issue and its possible causes, they concluded that those responsible were part of an association composed of a dozen dance schools in Miami and its sorroundings called Salsa United. Around the same time, this organization had just created its own website, which published content very similar to that of Salsa Power, so much so that its principal spokesperson Jolexy Hurtado and Jacira came to have some arguments and run-ins due to how much alike the interviews were in both websites. The conflict reached at such a level that Jacira states that Hurtado told her she was messing with the wrong guy.

Undoubtedly, this whole situation was a big headache for the web designer, but has never let any of this daunt her or make her feel inadequate. On the contrary, she has grown before adversities and has faced them with the gallantry that has always characterized her, since she knows what her work is worth in terms of quality and globality.

However, there comes a point when the effort and time invested are not enough, so it is time to be realistic and assume that everything has its end, as the great Héctor Lavoe would say.

Jacira and Larry
Jacira Castro with producer, composer, and pianist Larry Harlow

Farewell to Salsa Power and Jacira’s current life

After 22 years of operation of the Salsa Power project, many of the correspondents who provided information for the page got married, had children, studied, moved and pursued other professional opportunities that did not allow them to continue their work. For the same reason, Jacira had no choice but to terminate the project that was her life for more than two decades and publish a farewell message thanking all her readers for their support over the years and assuring that she will continue to travel and enjoy salsa and dance.

In spite of abandoning her duties as administrator of Salsa Power, the great impact of the Chilean-American’s work on those who have come to know her and collaborate with her cannot be denied. On her LinkedIn profile, there plenty of favorable reviews about her professionalism and commitment in every activity she makes.

From International Salsa Magazine, we wish her the greatest success in every project she undertakes and that she enjoys all the stages that are to come.

Read also. Pacifica Radio, history, shows and controversy

Tito Puente Bio

Tito Puente (Ernesto Antonio Puente, Jr.)

He was born on April 20, 1923, in the section known as Spanish Harlem in New York City. Shortly after his birth, Puente’s parents had left their native Puerto Rico to settle in the east side of Harlem known as “El Barrio” for its large Hispanic population. While his father, Ernesto Antonio Puente Sr. worked as a supervisor at a shaving machine company, his mother, Ercilia Duente, was the first to notice her eldest son’s musical talent, signing him up for piano lessons for 25 cents when Tito was seven years old.

Tito also attended dance school and played baseball before severely injuring his ankle in a bicycle accident. Although Tito received his formal music training on the piano, he always took an interest in percussion. Wanting to emulate his idol, drummer Gene Krupa, Puente began studying drums and percussion at the age of ten.

I was always playing on snares and in the window of his house,” he once admitted in an interview with Edmond Newton of the New York Post. He was also a member of a quartet in school and grew up listening to a variety of music, including Latin artists such as Miguelito Valdez and jazz musicians such as Stan Kenton and Duke EIlington.

Early in his teens, Tito began playing on weekends near his home. “My dad would take me to the dances,” he said in an interview with Larry Birnbaum of Down Beat. I was asleep by midnight. At the age of 15, Tito dropped out of school to take a job in the winter with an orchestra in Miami Beach, where he played the Miami Beach, where he played Americanized Rumbas and a variety of Latin American rhythms, including Tango, Waltz, and paso doble.

When he returned to Manhattan, Tito got the opportunity to work playing drums with the orchestra of Moro Morales and Jose Curbelo, who later became Manhattan’s first Mambo King.

Tito Puente - Photo
Tito Puente

His career as a professional began in the Noro Morales Orchestra. His first big break came when the United States entered World War II; he became the regular drummer in Machito’s famous Afro-Cuban band and was then drafted into military service where he got the opportunity to showcase his talents. Tito showed early signs of his notorious sense of showmanship while playing in the band led by swing celebrity Charlie Barnet, revitalizing the band by playing drums standing up, instead of sitting down as usual.

Tito Puente - 1 discography
Tito Puente – discography

Tito’s touring with the band came to a temporary halt when he received his call-up to the armed forces; for the next three years. Tito served on a U.S. Navy carrier in the South Pacific. In 1945 Tito was discharged from the Naval Forces and received a commendation in recognition of being in nine battles.

His military stint, however, provided several positive experiences. Not only did he get the opportunity to learn the saxophone – which he learned on his own while on the ship – but he got the chance to further his education through the G.I. Bill.

In what was cited as one of the best decisions of his life, Puente enrolled at the Julliard School of Music, where he studied composition, orchestration, and conducting while working with a variety of Latin bands in New York.

He played and absorbed the influence of Machito, who was successfully combining Latin rhythms with progressive jazz. “My time with Machito was a very important time for my career, because they were one of the best groups at the time,” said Tito in an interview with New York’s Martinez de Pison. “I started with them in the early 40s, and I stayed with them until the late 50s, here in New York.

It was an orchestra where I got a lot of experience playing primarily the most popular Afro-Cuban rhythms of the time like the Mambo, the Cha-Cha-Cha, the Guajiras, as well as what they call today Latin Jazz. It was a great experience because it was a band that created many musical arrangements, and I learned a lot from recordings.

Puente quickly became known as a fabulous arranger. He was hired by promoter Federico Pagani after seeing him playing with a group of musicians from Pupi Campos’ band, and called them the Piccadilly Boys.

Tito Puente and colleagues
Photo by Tito Puente and colleagues

Forming the nine-piece Picadilly Boys arrangement in 1947 and then expanding it to a full orchestra two years later, Puente recorded for Secco, Tico and eventually RCA Victor, helping to grow the Mambo craze and give him the unofficial name that lasted his entire life, “El Rey del Mambo” or just “The King”. With his early hits on Tico Records such as Ran Kan Kan, Abaniquito, El Yoyo, and Picadillo, Puente “electrified dancers across America and catapulted him to the forefront of Latin bandleaders” according to Birnbaum.

By the mid-1950s, Puente had been successful in winning a large Hispanic and Anglo fan base. In 1956, in a poll conducted by the New York newspaper El Diario La Prensa, Puente was selected as “El Rey De La Música Latina” (The King of Latin Music), beating out his competitors Prado and Rodriguez. Two years later, RCA released Dance Mania, which became a perennial international best seller. “It was the dance explosion,” Puente said. “Remember, the Palladium was a great place to dance.

I’ve always said that without a dance the music couldn’t be popular people started to know about this new dance – El Mambo – that it was fashionable to learn to dance Mambo no matter what part of society you came from. And then here we would have a place the Palladium, where many people could come to dance or learn to dance the Mambo.

Dance studios would send their students to the Palladium, where they could learn and see great ballet star dancers, Broadway stars, expert Mambo dancers – all in one place – and I would direct my music to these people.”

Tito Puente Photo2
Photo 2 of Tito Puente

Puente also helped popularize the cha-cha-cha during the 1950s, and he was the only non-Cuban to be invited to a government-sponsored “50 Years of Cuban Music” celebration in Cuba in 1952. Among the high caliber conteros who played in Puente’s band in the 50’s were Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, Johnny Pacheco and Ray Barreto which resulted in some explosive percussion performances. Tito hosted his own show, “El Mundo de Tito Puente” on Spanish-language television in 1968 and he also served as the Grand Marshal of the Puerto Rican Parade.

Puente unexpectedly entered another genre of music in 1970, when California rocker Carlos Santana turned one of Puente’s old songs, “Oye Como Va” into a top 40 hit. “Oye Como Va is a composition of mine that Santana recorded 12 years after me,” Puente said in an interview with New York’s Javier Martínez de Pisón, “But he did it with the rhythms of the time, which were rock with organ, drums, and guitar, and it was a sensational piece that made it very popular worldwide.

“Seven years later the two came together for a memorable concert in Manhattan. As Pablo Guzman described it in the Village Voice, “Puente led his orchestra ole fifteen pieces, while playing timbales, with rapid head gestures and arm signals; at one point, when he signaled with his characteristic gesture of putting the stick above his head, the entire brass section, spread out in a line to his left, and went up to the beat and played in opposition to each other. The audience was in an uproar.”

Tito Puente - Photo 3
Photo 3 of Tito Puente

Among the best musical periods of all time was his collaborative work with Celia Cruz, whom he considered to be the most important figure in Latin music in the world. Equally well known was his work with La Lupe, a singer who had a gypsy-like passion. With La Lupe, he recorded songs such as Puente Swings, My Fair Lady Goes Latin, Tu y Yo (Tito Puente and La Lupe) or a tribute to Rafael Hernandez, a famous Puerto Rican composer.

Credited with introducing the timbal and vibraphone to Afro-Cuban music, Puente also played drums, congas, claves, piano, and occasionally, saxophone and clarinet. While Puente was perhaps best known for his best-selling 1958 album Dance Mania, his eclectic sound has continued to transcend cultural and generational boundaries.

Photo by Tito Puente and Celia Cruz
Tito Puente and Celia Cruz

In 1979 Puente won his first Grammy Award with a Beny Moré tribute, Homenaje a Beny. That same year, he established a scholarship fund organization at Juilliard to recognize Latin percussionists in the United States.

The Tito Puente Scholarship Found Foundation “gives young Latin percussionists a chance to get an incentive or learn how to read the music, so when you go into a recording studio, you know what you’re doing,” as Puente explained to Birnbaum. “Puente continued to strengthen his commitment to the future of Latin Music by performing regularly at colleges and universities across the country.

The new generation of students from Central and South America want representation,” Puente told Fred Bouchard of Down Beat.

As he continued to produce solid albums, including the unparalleled 100th album in 1992, Puente became more visible or a more mainstream audience. In addition to performing at the White House since the administration of President Jimmy Carter, who introduced him as “The Ambassador of Latin American Music”, Puente became the first Latin artist to perform on the popular television program “The Bill Cosby Show”, made several appearances on “The David Letterman Show” and appeared in such films as Woody Allen’s “Radio Days” and “Armed and Dangerous” with the late John Candy, and played his own musician in the film The Mambo Kings, an adaptation of Oscar Hijuelos’ Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, and was honored with a star in the Hollywood Hall of Fame.

In the 1980s, he received his first honorary doctorate from the College at Old Westbury.

In 1992, he received his second honorary doctorate from Hunter College in New York and was inducted into the National Congressional Record. He received an honorary degree from Columbia University in 1999, and the Latin Grammy Award for Best Tropical Traditional Performance for “Mambo Birdland” in 2000.

Despite being in his 70s in the early 1990s, Puente – who with his wife, Margie Asención, had three children – maintained a busy touring schedule that took him to Russia, Japan, and Puerto Rico. But in January 1994, he told Vionette Negretti of the San Juan Star newspaper that he planned to slow down: “There are a lot of young people who need to develop their talents and old people like me need to give them their space.

Tito Puente was internationally recognized for his contributions to Latin music as an arranger, bandleader, composer and percussionist. Tito Puente did more than just earn the top spot among Latin jazz musicians, working continuously from 1937 to 2000. Known as the Mambo King, he recorded more than 100 albums, released more than 400 compositions, and earned five Grammy Awards.

Tito Puente’s good will, talent and spirit led him to close racial, cultural and generational gaps.

Puente passed away after undergoing heart surgery on May 31, 2000, in New York. He was 77 years old.

Oscar D’ León Bio

Born in 1943, Oscar D’ León is one of the references when it comes to salsa music. In his beginnings, and influenced mainly by Benny Moré and by the Cuban sound that since he was a child was already part of his life because of the records his father listened to all day long; Oscar was an amateur singer while he earned his living working in his cab and in the General Motors factory in Caracas.

In 1973 he created with trombonist Cesar Monge his first band, La Dimensión Latina, where Oscar started singing and playing bass, and had a big hit: “Pensando En Ti”. In their first album the songs were not enough, so they had to record a shared album with El Clan de Victor Mendoza.

In 1976 he formed Salsa Mayor and then settled down with his big band Oscar D’ León y su Orquesta. Since then Oscar has not stopped performing all over the world, improvising on any line of any melody, and recording many of the best albums in the history of salsa.

Great singer, improviser of inspiration, stage beast, perfectionist: Venezuela’s greatest star combines musical talent and human qualities unanimously celebrated: the substance with which the greats are born.

It was at the wheel of his cab, or at the General Motors factory in Caracas, who employed him until 1967, or perhaps in the popular Antimano neighborhood of Caracas, where he saw the day for the first time on July 11, 1943, that Oscar Emilio León Dionisia, alias El Diablo de la Salsa, alias El León, launched his first songs, and sharpened his vocal cords.

Coming from a modest background, he is also a self-taught musician who starts on other strings, those of the double bass: watching the musicians play and playing over the records.

Still today, Oscar is faithful to him and his double bass is never far from him when he is on stage. He sometimes takes over a bar, a solo, a few dance steps or a turn on the dance floor, as if this old accomplice were a source of resources for him.

It is possible that the Latin Dimension project was born, founded in 1972 by Oscar D’Leon, percussionist Wladimir Lozano, percussionist José Rodríguez and trombonist Cesar “Albóndiga” Monge, where the arrangements will make the ensemble thunder.

The group sounds like a New York salsa, its impact is strong and Dimensión Latina quickly makes a name for itself in the clubs of Caracas. The success is so fast that there are only a few numbers left to record and the group has to share their first album with Victor Mendoza. It is also the time of the first hit number, Pensando en ti.

But it is in 1977 that Oscar D’ León truly emancipates himself and founds La Salsa Mayor: a group cut to his measurements, with which he records in 1977 his first real album.

His singing, influenced by the greatest Cuban soneros (and especially by Benny Moré, great among the greats) is supported by a brass section that evokes the good old New York salsa (dominated by Fania) and Puerto Rican (Gran Combo); a big gulp of swing learned from listening to the great Cuban orchestras of the 50s: now Oscar D’Leon’s style is forged and his talent is mature and preceded by his album El más grande (which covers such pearls as Mi bajo y yo, El baile del suavecito, Bravo de verdad), the Leon feels ready to challenge New York in 1978… who knows how to appreciate his courage.

The continuation of his story is a flawless career and Oscar D’ León will be rewarded with the recognition of all. Cuba makes him triumph when he visits the island in 1986, the gold discs are chained one after the other and the honors are lined up… until that distinction of the city of New York, who dedicates him a day, March 15, 1998!

And on stage, the Lion roars even louder. It is there that his qualities of improviser find the measure and take all the forces, for concerts of high rank where the generosity and the energy deplored by Oscar D’Leon bring immediately the adhesion of the public.

Today Oscar appears on a good fifty albums and his name is affixed next to the greatest: Celia Cruz, Tito Puente… USA, Mexico, Latin America, Japan, Europe… the former General Motors worker conquered the world.

 

 

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International Salsa Magazine (ISM) is a monthly publication about Salsa activities around the world, that has been publishing since 2007. It is a world network of volunteers coordinated by ISM Magazine. We are working to strengthen all the events by working together.