Artists

Compay Segundo The Eternal Patriarch of Cuban Son

Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz better known as Compay Segundo (1907-2003) The voice that conquered the world in the nineties.

Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz, globally known as Compay Segundo, is one of the most emblematic and essential figures in traditional Cuban music.

Born on November 18, 1907, in Siboney, Santiago de Cuba, his life was a dedication to music that culminated in a late, but well-deserved, global fame before his passing in Havana on July 13, 2003.

Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz, known worldwide as Compay Segundo

Origins and Musical Training

Compay Segundo was raised in a highly musical and manual environment. His father, Máximo Repilado, was a bricklayer and a great lover of traditional santiaguera music, while his mother, Caridad Muñoz, provided a strong cultural influence.

Coming from a large family, his brother Lorenzo Repilado was also an active figure in the Santiago music scene.

His beginnings were typical for the era. Compay started his career as a clarinetist in the Santiago Municipal Band, consolidating his training by later joining the Army Band. In the 1930s, he migrated to Havana, a crucial step that fully integrated him into the capital’s professional circuit.

Compay Segundo se crio en un ambiente musical y manual

Los Compadres and the Birth of the Name

The stage that would give him his artistic name and national fame was the formation of the Dúo Los Compadres in the 1940s alongside Lorenzo Hierrezuelo.

The Nickname: The name “Compay Segundo” (Second Compadre) arose because Máximo Repilado always sang the low harmonic or “second” voice (segundo) in the song, while Hierrezuelo performed the main voice. Hence, the affectionate Cuban diminutive “Compay” (short for compadre) plus “Segundo” (Second).
National Success: The duo became a sensation throughout Cuba, leaving behind unforgettable classics of son oriental such as “Macusa,” “Mi Son Orientál,” and the early version of what would become his most famous song: “Chan Chan.”

Compay created the armónico, a hybrid between a Spanish guitar and a Cuban tres, with 7 strings

The Armónico: His Instrumental Contribution

One of Compay’s most unique contributions was the invention of the “armónico,” an instrument he designed himself. It is a seven-string hybrid, halfway between the traditional Spanish guitar and the Cuban tres. This instrument allowed him to simultaneously execute bass lines, harmony, and melody, creating a unique sound that became the foundation of his style.

The Buena Vista Social Club Phenomenon

When it seemed Compay’s career was waning, destiny reserved the most glorious stage for him. In 1997, at the age of 90, he was invited by American musician Ry Cooder to participate in the recording of the album “Buena Vista Social Club.”

Global Fame: The success of the album and the subsequent documentary directed by Wim Wenders catapulted him to worldwide fame.
The Anthem: His unmistakable voice and the magical rendition of the song “Chan Chan” turned him into an international superstar, leading him to perform on the world’s most prestigious stages and bringing Cuban son to audiences of all ages.

Legacy and Family Continuity

Compay Segundo left behind a repertoire of songs considered national treasures. His most prominent tracks include “Chan Chan,” “Sarandonga,” “Las Flores de la Vida,” “Orgullecida,” and the popular bolero “Veinte Años,” which he popularized.

Compay was a father to at least nine children. His musical legacy not only lives on through his recordings but also through the activity of his descendants:

Basilio Repilado (1954–2012): Founder and arranger of the Grupo Compay Segundo.
Salvador Repilado: Upright bass player and current director of the Grupo Compay Segundo, the official international touring ensemble.

Furthermore, the younger generations (grandchildren and great-grandchildren) such as Yohel, Alejandro, and Yurisley Repilado continue the tradition in Havana with the ensemble “Los Herederos de Compay Segundo” (The Heirs of Compay Segundo), ensuring that the unmistakable sound of the Patriarch of Cuban Son continues to resonate in Cuba and the world.

Collaboration:

Sr. Eduardo Guilarte

Also Read: Son Cubano is one of the most popular musical styles in Cuba and Kiki Valera is one of its leading exponents

Dámaso Pérez Prado and the Succession of the “Mambo King”

Dámaso Pérez Prado was a Cuban musician, composer, arranger, and orchestra conductor, known worldwide as the “Mambo King.”

On December 3, 1983, Pantaleón Pérez Prado, an excellent bass player and composer, passed away in Milan, Italy. He was born on December 27, 1926, in Matanzas, Cuba.

Pantaleón’s Beginnings and Career

Pantaleón followed in the footsteps of his famous older brother, Dámaso Pérez Prado. At age 18, he formed his first orchestra, which he left in 1950 to join Dámaso’s group as a double bassist, accompanying him for several years.

He also played for a short time in Havana with the Laito Castro Orchestra. In the mid-1950s, Pantaleón Pérez Prado went independent and traveled to Europe, where he led an orchestra of Cuban musicians. This group achieved great success performing the songs that Dámaso had popularized.

Dámaso Pérez Prado and the Succession of the King of Mambo

The Legal Dispute

In 1956, a dispute between Dámaso Pérez Prado and his younger brother, Pantaleón (1926–1983), led to an unusual legal conflict. Dámaso sued his brother for $500,000, accusing him of impersonation.

In Hispanic culture, it is common for children to receive both parents’ surnames. In this case, the brothers’ birth names were Dámaso Pérez Prado and Pantaleón Pérez Prado, respectively, with Pérez being the father’s surname and Prado the mother’s.

In Portugal, the song Pantaleón performed, “Mambo del Estudiante” (Student’s Mambo), became the “official anthem” of the University of Coimbra. He also succeeded in Spain, France, and Italy, where he was introduced as “Pérez Prado, Rey del Mambo” (King of Mambo), which produced intentional confusion with his brother Dámaso.

Dámaso initiated legal action that concluded with Pantaleón being prohibited from using the title “Mambo King,” while also being required to use his full name. Some suggest that, beyond the lawsuit, there was a tacit agreement between the two brothers, based on the fact that Dámaso visited Europe infrequently, focusing his activities in the Americas, while Pantaleón permanently settled in Milan.

Name Confusion and The Conflict’s Revival

Originally, RCA credited the recordings to Dámaso Pérez Prado. However, when his records began appearing in the US, the record company shortened his name to the more alliterative Pérez Prado. In 1955, Dámaso dropped his full name and legally changed it to Pérez Prado.

Around that time, Pantaleón, who played bass with his own group, appeared at the Alhambra theater in Paris under the name “Pérez Prado, el Rey del Mambo.” Pantaleón was subsequently restricted by court order from passing himself off as Pérez.

However, hostilities resumed when an angry French visitor called the Hollywood Palladium, where Pérez Prado was performing, and yelled at the management for featuring an “imposter,” claiming he had danced with the “real” Prado (actually Pantaleón) in Deauville a few weeks prior.

Dámaso Pérez Prado fue un músico, compositor, arreglista y director de orquesta cubano, conocido mundialmente como el Rey del Mambo.

The ensuing lawsuit effectively put Pantaleón out of commission, but the younger brother had a form of posthumous revenge. When Pantaleón died in 1983, a widely circulated obituary was headlined “Mambo King Dies in Milan,” leading many people to (erroneously) believe it was Dámaso who had passed away.

Pantaleón’s Career and Legacy

Pantaleón Pérez Prado performed in Greece and traveled to Iran at the invitation of the Shah himself and his wife, Princess Soraya. He remained active until shortly before his death in 1983.

Dámaso Pérez Prado’s Notable Hits

Dámaso Pérez Prado’s best-known songs include:

“Mambo No. 5”
“Qué rico el mambo” (also known as “Mambo Jambo”)
“Mambo No. 8”
“Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White,” which was a number one hit in the United States.
“Patricia,” which was a worldwide hit and was included in Federico Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita.

Legacy: In addition to his recordings, Dámaso Pérez Prado participated as an actor and musician in several Mexican films. His music was key to the international popularization of the mambo, and his style remains influential in Latin music and jazz.

Collaboration:

Los Mejores Salseros del Mundo

Dj. Augusto Felibertt

Also Read: Israel “Cachao” López, a Cuban musician and composer, has been hailed as “the Inventor of Mambo

Raúl Eliza: from the army barracks to the stage and recording studios

It is increasingly common to find Puerto Rican artists who have had something to do with the United States Army, and our guest today is yet another example of how the music scene is not entirely separate from the military world. Bandleader and drummer Raúl Eliza has told us his fascinating story, focusing on his most important facets: military and art.

Puerto Rican bandleader and drummer Raúl Eliza playing live at Christmas

Adolescent musical tastes and the beginning of military life

In the 1980s, Raúl was a young resident of the Fairview neighborhood, located between the city of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, who was an obsessive fan of rock music. Of course, that was until he turned 19, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in search of his purpose in life.

According to his own tale, his poor academic performance and lack of interest in other disciplines led him to join the navy, where he would love his profession shortly after. At first, he and a group of friends joined up to opt for a different alternative to the one they had, move forward from the stalemate, and be able to travel the world, but in his case, he ended up in love with this world.

In fact, a short time after entering military service, he was involved in the Gulf War, which consisted of the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait and its subsequent liberation by a US military coalition. During those days, Raúl realized that he was into something greater than himself and that the shallowing mindset with which he chose that life could turn into something bigger.

So, the then-soldier dedicated himself to doing his work as good as possible, bringing with it rewards like the opportunity to go to college, become an officer, receive medals, and much more.

Introduction to salsa

After three or four months of enlisting, he started to feel a wave of nostalgia for his country. He wanted to see his family and missed the music and food of his homeland. Then his sister sent him a package with two cassettes, one by Frankie Ruiz and the other by Eddie Santiago, which he says changed his life completely. He used to listen to them on old-fashioned players with headsets while cleaning the boat or doing the rest of his other assigned tasks.

Raúl Eliza in his uniform — Raúl Eliza in his service dress uniform

Subsequently, his brothers sent him cassettes by La Fania, Alex D’ Castro, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Cano Estremera, and many others. This made him reconnect with his roots and realize that he wanted a career in music at some point, which he would end up doing years later.

Raúl’s role as the United States representative for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe

As the end of his military career approached, Raúl was designated as the United States representative for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (military wing of NATO) during President Donald Trump’s first term.

This was a tough stage of his service, as the president had a lot of run-ins with other member countries due to the excessive economic and armament burden borne solely by the United States. For this reason, every time he made some sort of announcement about that, Raúl received thousand calls from representatives of other countries asking him for explanations. He had his own office and received orders directly from the Pentagon.

Thanks to his position, he had a lot of freedom, so he always played salsa music in the background, and when his officers got into his office, they laughed and danced along with the tunes Raúl was listening to at that moment. Everyone knew that when he was in charge, there was always salsa music playing in the room.

Raúl in front of a tank — Raúl Eliza in front of an army tank while on duty

The beginning of his musical career

Finally in 2018, Raúl retired from military service, but already in 2017, he was making arrangements to devote himself to music once his duty with the army had been fulfilled. Specifically, he was in talks with Puerto Rican artists who were sending him samples and demos based on original songs that he had previously sent them. He was also writing his own lyrics and taking bass lessons to get ready for the future.

Once in Puerto Rico in 2018, he released his first single with his orchestra Conciencia Clásica, which is so named because his music was intended to raise awareness to his fans on social issues such as war, the injury suffered by the civilian population during periods of armed conflict, post-traumatic stress in soldiers, and racism, to name a few.

Artists he has collaborated with

Throughout his short career, Raúl has been blessed to count on the support and collaboration of music greats like Andy Montañez, Willito Otero, Jerry Medina, Carlos Esteban Fonseca, Medina Carrión, among others. While it is true that they all had much to contribute to the Puerto Rican artist at the level of knowledge, Montañez wrote him a song he dedicated to his Dominican wife called “Quisquellana,” which he is enormously thankful for.

He also has songs with Choco Orta and those already mentioned above. Raúl came into contact with these figures thanks to his music producer Manolo Navarro, who was the guy who introduced them to the project and managed to get them to collaborate.

Conciencia Clásica's third album — Cover of Conciencia Clásica’s third album ”Conciencia Clásica 3”

La Nota Band showcases the best of Venezuelan talent

We are proud to introduce the talented Venezuelans Rebeca Rodríguez and Armando Montiel, who are members of the group La Nota Band, which we will talk about in the following lines.

After thanking us and clarifying that they are both partners and share the direction of the band, they proceeded to tell us a bit about their origins, professions, band, and current careers.

Rebeca and Armando in 2018 — Rebeca Rodriguez and Armando Montiel at the Latin Grammys 2018

Rebeca and Armando’s beginnings in music

Armando began his story by telling us that, in his case, he has always loved music and enjoyed listening to it live. In his native city of Maracaibo, there were many street concerts featuring national and international artists, which sparked his interest in joining his school’s marching band between the third and fourth grade. This, in turn, led him to participate in some intercollegiate gaita festivals, which are very popular in many cities of the South American country.

This love for music took shape when the young man moved to Caracas and began his percussion lessons to finally have more formal training in this art. However, his parents made him promise to study a “real” career and then do whatever he wished for. He did so and studied civil engineering at Nueva Esparta University, but he has never practiced it, as music has always been his profession.

Rebeca also loved music, and from an early age, was always reciting poems, learning songs, and singing them at full blast. Then, as she grew up, she slowly built her career and made decisions based on that goal. Just as Armando, she participated in her school’s gaita festivals and took singing and dancing lessons, which led her to join bands in Caracas and become a backup singer for great artists.

Like Armando, she also studied a university degree, but in her case it was social communication at Andrés Bello Catholic University. She does not practice it either, although she does use her knowledge in favor of her artistic career.

Armando playing live — Venezuelan percussionist Armando Montiel playing live

Groups prior to La Nota Band

Armando said with a laugh that he could not mention all the bands and artists he has worked with because there are too many, but the most important ones were Ricardo Montaner, Chino y Nacho, Víctor Muñoz, Elvis Crespo, Guaco, Treo, Mermelada Bunch, and a few others.

Meanwhile, Rebeca pointed out that they met playing for Son Bubalú in Caracas and continued to share experiences in a certain way. While Armando was Chino y Nacho’s percussionist, Rebeca was hired as their backup singer, so they continued to live together and grow as artists in the same environments.

Their professional relationship developed at such a level that they ended up moving to the United States together in 2014 to take advantage of some work opportunities that arose. Among the artists they were able to play with in the United States are Gloria Estefan, Wisin y Yandel, Daddy Yankee, Luis Enrique, José Alberto “El Canario,” and many more.

Already in the year 2016, both realized that they loved collaborating with music greats, but also wanted to start their own business so they would not have to rely on what others wanted for them. That is when La Nota Band was born, with support from family and friends who were willing to help them on this new path.

Rebeca and Yandel — Puerto Rican singer Yandel and Rebeca Rodriguez at the Premios Lo Nuestro gala

The beginning of La Nota Band

In addition to being on their own, another thing Rebeca and Armando wanted to do was to offer employment to other musicians who were in the same situation as them years ago. This was the case of Armando’s twin brother, who was about to go to the United States and also devoted himself to music on percussion. Then, he bought a drum set so he could become the band’s drummer and his brother could take his place as a percussionist.

From the beginning, they have always focused on pleasing both Anglo-Saxon and Latin audiences, so they have been working to fill their repertoire with songs in both English and Spanish in order to enliven events where the two cultures come together.

What they have learned from the artists they have worked with

Of all the great artists Rebeca and Armando have been fortunate enough to work with, there are a number of things they have learned and applied to their own careers. One of these was the use of playback, as it is an extremely common and necessary resource in modern music. There are also other elements used to increase the sound quality of their performances.

Similarly, the discipline, professionalism, and perseverance necessary to manage this business are things they have seen in other artists and that have helped them get the place they want in the industry, which they also expect to achieve.

The Venezuelan musicians always keep their eyes and ears open to capture what can work for them and apply it to their own project.

La Nota Band and Chino y Nacho — Part of La Nota Band with Chino y Nacho at the Premios Lo Nuestro gala 2016

Dreams fulfilled

Among the many dreams come true thanks to music, Rebeca and Armando appreciate being able to travel regularly to many countries, even if their professional activities prevent them from sightseeing as they would like. This is something they would not have accomplished with other kinds of work, which they are enormously grateful for.

In addition to that, they are pleased to have been able to perform on big and famous stages such as Crypto.com Arena, formerly known as Staples Center, and Madison Square Garden in New York, something they never would have thought possible in their early years in Venezuela.

And last but not least, their talent and hard work have also led them to perform in important award ceremonies such as the Latin Grammys, Premios Juventud, and Premios Lo Nuestro.

Cache Live Music puts Miami to dance to traditional Latin music

Roland Cache graced this edition with his presence to tell us about his beginnings, the subsequent creation of his band Cache Live Music, and his current career. The American of Cuban descent honors his roots with the music he and his collaborators play to delight their fans at any event they are hired, indicating the pride he feels in representing his parents’ country and how passionate he is about his craft.

Roland shared many interesting details about his musical life, and we are more than happy to share them with our readers in the following lines.

Roland Cache playing drums live at an event

Roland’s musical beginnings as a teenager

As a child, Roland lived in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where some high school friends convinced him to play drums with them. Their favorite genre was the rock of the day, which was the 1960s. A few years later, specifically in 1973, another friend took him to a salsa concert at Madison Square Garden, and he liked what he heard so much that he became more involved in Latin music and left American music aside.

Seeing great artists such as Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, and other artists of Puerto Rican descent, he learned to play timbales, tumbadora, and bongos, which allows him to play a combination of conga, timbales, and clave at the same time.

Orchestras prior to Cache Live Music

Before creating his own band, Roland was part of other projects that were training him for what was to come in his career later. One of them was a band from New Jersey, whose members formed La Charanga Casino, which became very popular in that city.

Some time later, Roland could not play for a while, so he has been throwing himself into selling cars and other area businesses. Then, in 1998, he returned to music and created an American band that played rock and jazz with a touch of Latin music.

Roland Cache and the rest of the band — Roland Cache and the rest of Cache Live Music

Creation of Cache Live Music

Eventually, he left the American band and founded a Latin band called Cache Live Music with a group of musicians, some of whom remain alongside Roland to this day. He met most of them through another musician friend who introduced them so he was knowing other artists who joined his project.

Cache Live Music was officially started in 1999, and according to its founder, the hardest thing about keeping a band like this together for so long was the search of opportunities in clubs and other kinds of places. However, Roland says that his experience as a salesman and negotiator has helped him a lot in winning contracts and the best conditions for him and his bandmates.

Current status of Cache Live Music

Today, the core of the band consists are three of its members: the guitarist, the bassist, and Roland, who is a multi-instrumentalist. More recently, Cache included a flutist, a trombonist, and sometimes a singer. This is how, depending on the requirements for a particular event, the group’s leader decides which members and instruments to include for every occasion in order to offer something different.

Cache at an Amazon event — Cache Live Music at an Amazon corporate event

Regarding the repertoire, they only perform covers, but they ensure that each and every song has their personal touch so that they resemble as little as possible to the original versions.

Anyone who wants to hire Cache Live Music can do so through its profile on The Bash by making a deposit and sending a contract to agree on the conditions of the event. However, it is important to note that they are already booked for December and January with corporate parties and weddings, for which we wish them every possible success because they already have the talent.