Interviews

Actress, comedian, and singer Carmen Nydia Velázquez tells us about the best of her career

Through a very kind friend of our editor Eduardo Guilarte, María del Carmen, we have been fortunate to make contact with the extremely talented Puerto Rican actress, comedian, and singer Carmen Nydia Velázquez, with whom we had the opportunity to talk with for our report on Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show.

It turns out that her career is so fascinating that we obviously had to talk to her and know much more about her artistic journey, both in her native Puerto Rico and abroad. Without further ado, these are the highlights of our conversation.

Carmen Nydia cantando — Carmen Nydia Velázquez singing live

Carmen’s education and start in acting

When it came to her academic background, theater always caught her attention, but she also loved to sing. These tastes led her to study drama at the University of Puerto Rico, where she brought out her histrionic talent and showed just how good she would be at doing comedy in the future.

Even before graduating, she already worked in theater and appeared in Francisco Arrivi’s play *Vejigantes*. At that time, she was in her last academic year, and the play was a tribute to the great Puerto Rican actress Lucy Boscana, who had died back then. For many years, Boscana played the character of Toña, and Carmen did the same when it was her turn in this new version, which had so much impact that it led to a film based about the same story.

Then, in the 1970s, she joined the musical group Moliendo Vidrio, led by Gary Núñez, and was there for about 11 years, while doing theater and television. The group took up a lot of Carmen’s time and was part of the New Song movement in those days.

Kiosko Budweiser and Susa Cruz

In 1983, Carmen first portrayed who is still considered one of her most iconic characters to this day, Susa Cruz. Channel 7, known at the time as Teleluz, first aired the comedy segment Kiosko Budweiser, featuring the beloved Susa alongside other iconic characters such as Epifanio, Johnny El Men, Humberto, and El Negrito.

Carmen Nydia and Victor — Carmen Nydia Velázquez (Susa) and Víctor Alicea (Epifanio)

When Teleluz ceased to exist, Carmen took a break from the character to continue her theatrical activities and start singing professionally. However, later, Channel 4, Guapa Televisión, called the actors back to do the segment again, which is when it became a media phenomenon and gave immense fame to the characters, especially Susa and Epifanio.

The high popularity of the show and its stars made them appear on TeleOnce, which continues to air today, and Telemundo, where they are recurrent figures during the regular programming.

People enjoyed Susa and Epifanio so much that they have even hosted a radio show, and both Carmen and Víctor Alicea (Epifanio) will soon celebrate their 38th anniversary as an artistic couple, though they have not yet decided what to do for that day.

Tiempo de Cantar

By the late 1990s, she released an album of boleros titled “Tiempo de Cantar,” which was her first solo production. It all started with a show by Susa and Epifanio in the south of Puerto Rico, where they met a musician friend of hers named Cacho Montalvo.

He has spent many years urging her to go back to singing, but she ws not entirely sure due to all the professional commitments she already had, added to the fact that she did not have very fond memories from the time in which she had to promote her own music of the New Song movement which, being so traditional, did not receive the media coverage it deserved. This killed Carmen’s enthusiasm, as she took for granted that she would never sing professionally again.

However, Montalvo and Carmen’s husband “conspired” to some extent to convince her, and they succeeded. On the album, the artist pays tribute to the songs she grew up with and used to hear on the radio as a child, achieving a result she loved.

Carmen Nydia and Oscar — Carmen Nydia Velázquez y Oscar D’ León

Her solid background in theater gave her the ability to convey her feelings through her voice and expressions, which made her have a wide acceptance. In fact, she is now a member of the Music Hall of Fame in Puerto Rico, a venue dedicated to romantic and bohemian music that hosts live events featuring artists associated with those genres.

Hacienda Susa

Among the many projects she was involved in, Carmen also ran a restaurant and activity center called “Hacienda Susa.” She describes this stage of her life as interesting, yet exhausting and demanding at the same time.

Due to the success she had on television, the project did very well, so she and her team were there doing shows for visitors from all over the island practically every day. The problem was that it was too much work for her at the time, and she told us that sometimes, she had to leave the hacienda to perform a show outside, return to meet her commitments there and then close the venue.

The above, added to the fact that everyday fewer people were coming to the venue and the extremely high rent Carmen had to pay, made her ask herself if it was really worth continuing with the project in exchange for those dividends. That was when she finally got tired of it and decided to close the venue indefinitely to focus on what she was truly passionate about: acting.

Album by Carmen Nydia — Cover of the album ”Tiempo de Cantar” by Carmen Nydia Velázquez

Dominican bandleader and musical director Orlando Santana talks about La Makina and his career in general

Orlando Santana, the bandleader and musical director of La Makina, has made room in his busy schedule filled with studio recordings to talk about the most interesting topics of his career and, of course, the group that has given him more fame.

The Dominican artist has built an interesting career that led to his aforementioned group, which was founded in Borinquén (the name given to Puerto Rico before the arrival of the Spanish). Naturally, the genre by which La Makina is best known is merengue, implying that the Dominican Republic is still present in mind and heart.

Orlando with his saxophone — Orlando Santana with his saxophone

Orlando’s Beginnings in Music

Orlando started his story by saying that music had a significant presence in his life because his father, Santiago Santana, was a music teacher who taught in their own home. He taught all types of instruments such as the saxophone, trumpet, flute, piano, bandoneon, clarinet, guitar, and many more. Additionally, he also knew about harmony, solfège (sung), and solfège (spoken).

This led to his son learning to play instruments at a very young age and being interested in this way of life.

Orlando’s Music Education

When Orlando moved to Miami, he took private piano lessons for a while, just as his father did with his students, but it was from Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz whom he really learned. He attended their church and took advantage of his visits to receive some piano lessons from Richie, while his brother David Santana, who was already a veteran musician, bought him his first saxophone and taught him many other tricks of the trade.

Early experiences as a paid professional

As for the beginning of his professional practice, Orlando, as a 15-year-old boy, started with the orchestra Dioni Fernández y El Equipo, from which the great Sergio Vargas emerged. In fact, they entered together a television channel (Color Visión, Channel 9) on the same day in Santo Domingo. This group is still active today, and Sergio Vargas’s own brother, Caqui Vargas, is currently part of it.

Bobby and Orlando — Bobby Valentín and Orlando Santana

Some time later, he had the opportunity to perform along with Wilfrido Vargas, which he describes as an incredible experience, since Vargas’s orchestra had a very challenging repertoire and he had to prepare himself very well in order to play along with the merengue exponents and his musicians. Orlando came on as a substitute replacing his brother on some tours, where he showed he had the capacity to keep up with their pace and improvise just like Wilfrido did so with ease on stage.

Among the most important things this time taught him, the artist mentioned discipline, the importance of always practicing his instruments, and a permanent focus on what he wanted to achieve. Another thing he mentioned was the significant improvement in his ability to improvise and release new material constantly.

He also learned a lot from Toño Rosario, Peter Cruz, Cuco Valoy, Ramón Orlando, and Elías Santana (Orlando’s first cousin and trumpeter for Conjunto Quisqueya). With all of them, he also came to play both merengue and other genres.

How La Makina Band was founded

Orlando met Fernando Colón in Toño Rosario’s orchestra, while he was a saxophonist, and Fernando entered as a bassist. At the same time, Orlando was writing some arrangements for Los Sabrosos del Merengue, and as it so happens that Fernando was also working with them, so they were always in constant contact.

When Orlando decided to found an orchestra, it was he who called him and accepted his proposal. That was when both artists founded La Makina in 1996, though the process started a year earlier when they set up a company for that purpose.

Orlando and Rafael — Orlano Santana and Rafael Ithier from El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico

His Role as producer and director

Regarding his role as producer and director of La Makina, he points out the importance of preparing and studying to exercise these areas of music. In his case, he had already spent many years working on important record productions, including those he did together with his cousin Cesar Cuesta, with whom he formed a small orchestra that covered songs by very famous bands. He created his own musical arrangements for these new versions to differentiate them from the original songs and wrote scores for other musicians.

In addition, he served as music producer for Grupomanía and wrote songs for artists such as Toño Rosario, Elvis Crespo, Oscarito, Manny Manuel, and many others.

Current Members of La Makina

Of the original members of La Makina, the only one left is Orlando himself, but he has been joined by other equally-talented musicians, including Carlitos Rivera and his own son, Anderson Santana.

Orlando and Johnny — Orlando Santana and Johnny Ventura in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Current projects

This conversation had been delayed a few times due to how busy Orlando was in the studio working on new music, so obviously we had to ask what it was all about.

He told us that he and the rest of the group were working on a remastering of La Makina’s greatest hits, but with other arrangements and a fresh color. They also plan to include songs recorded by other artists but written by Orlando for them. He did not want to say what these would be so they would be a surprise for the audience.

Uruguayan composer and multiinstrumentalist Sebastián Natal and his band Grupo Sensación

After having contact for days and overcoming some pitfalls, we could finally get to talking with producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Sebastián Natal, who kindly attended and revealed his views on the path he has followed to become the great artist he is today.

Sebastián Natal posing for the camera with his instruments

Sebastián Natal’s beginnings

First, Sebastián appreciated our interest in learning a little more about him and began to describe his native country’s musical and cultural context at the time. First of all, the artist was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, where a tropical music movement was established by then, considering many genres from the tropics and the Caribbean, such as salsa, bachata, merengue, cumbia, guaguancó, and many more.

Obviously, these genres did not originate in Uruguay, as bomba is Puerto Rican, salsa is Cuban, and bachata is Dominican. However, there were quite a few groups and musicians who used these tropical roots to create their own identity. Outside of Montevideo, other provinces listened much more to cumbia and charanga.

The orchestras that played these rhythms were dedicated to developing covers of salsa songs, but by bringing them into other genres that were emerging at the time, such as plena, plena danza, and bomba, among others. Sebastián grew up with this sonority in his country, so the whole musical environment he was exposed to abroad became very familiar to him and easy to assimilate. From the early ‘nineties, as a young boy, he began to absorb all the influence from the dawn of romantic salsa and iconic songs such as “Aquel Viejo Motel,” “Cinco Rosas,” “Sin Sentimiento,” “Amores Como El Nuestro,” and many others of its kind.

It is worth adding that Sebastián comes from a family of musicians, starting with his own father, Yeneca Natal, who was the musical director and pianist for Grupo Sensación. Music always surrounded him, so it can be said that he was meant to follow this path.

Sebastián and Yeneca Natal — Sebastián Natal next to his father Yeneca Natal

When and why Sebastián left Uruguay and moved to New York

In 2005, at just 21 years old, Sebastián joined the Sonora Borinquen, which was the most popular orchestra at the time. Thanks to them, he had the opportunity to tour the United States and Canada, where he could see environments and ways of working that were completely different from what he was used to. Two years later, he toured the United States again, but by then he already saw the country as a new destination to advance his career.

Unfortunately, Uruguay was becoming too small for the plans he had for his development in salsa, which sparked his curiosity about the Big Apple and all it had to offer him musically speaking.

By 2008, he decided to move to New York for a few months, but so many doors opened for him that he never left and continues to live there to this very day.

Sebastián, the multi-instrumentalist

The first instrument Sebastián came in contact with was the piano, which he started playing it at age four and from which he graduated at age 11. Since he had not attended high school yet, he could not study a master’s degree to continue his musical education. In addition, he was a child who wanted to play football and do the usual things for his age, so a few years later, his father made him join an Afro-Uruguayan music group. In that orchestra Sebastián played piano and bass, which allowed him to further develop his skills with those instruments.

Sebastián in Panama — Sebastián Natal in Panama City

After that, he began to create his own tropical music band, inspired by the Venezuelan orchestra Los Adolescentes. All the members were minors, and, as well as in the previous group, Sebastián also played piano and bass.

Sebastián as a producer and composer

Regarding his role as a producer and composer, Sebastián confessed that he has no idea how he came to learn these areas of music. He did emphasize that he always lets his music and his feelings flow to deliver the message he wants to convey in each of his pieces. After that, he defines the ideas and adds the music.

He says he greatly admires professional lyricists and composers. He admits he is neither the best nor the worst composer, but he always tries to reach his own heart to convey what he feels.

Sebastián Natal Y Grupo Sensación

The idea of Grupo Sensación started with the orchestra of the same name where his father worked in 1982, but unfortunately the group did not have much impact due to how closed that environment was at the time. There were a number of orchestras that got the best contracts, and it was very difficult for the rest to achieve. Over time, Yeneca left Grupo Sensación and managed to join several of these more established orchestras to gain more reputation.

Soon after, when Sebastián moved to the United States, he almost immediately noted that the Uruguayan community needed a tropical orchestra, but he did not know what name give it. With the passing of his father on October 19, 2010, he chose to use the name “Grupo Sensación” as a way to continue the legacy of his father and the tropical movement born in his country so many years ago.

Sebastián and Pedrito — Pedrito Martínez and Sebastián Natal on stage

Artists he has collaborated with

Sebastián has had the opportunity to collaborate with artists of the stature of Nino Cegarra, Oscar D’León, José Alberto “El Canario,” Domingo Quiñones, Tony Vega, Roberto Blades, Cheo Feliciano, Tito Nieves, Viti Ruiz, and many more. However, few were the ones with whom he has truly been able to have a conversation or a close connection beyond purely profesional relationships.

“You can only say you played with someone if you’ve had a connection with that person. I’ve been able to play with great artists, but many times they don’t even know who I am. That’s why I don’t include them on my resume. Now if they call you back, then you can say you did things very well and that there’s someone really interested in you,” said Sebastián on this interesting subject.

The cases of Bill Murray and Camila Cabello were completely different, as he managed to record songs with them through his friend and fellow musician, Pedrito Martínez, whom he describes as “the best percussionist in the world”. It was also Martínez who connected him with the world-famous composer and guitarist Eric Clapton, with whom he performed at the American Airlines Center in Dallas—one of the most beautiful experiences he has had in his career and his life in general.

Rey Ruíz visits the Salsa Museum and talks about his prolific career

The Salsa Museum is celebrating the tremendous and valuable support of Cuban singer-songwriter Reinerio Ruíz Santiago, known to the world as Rey Ruíz, whom I had the pleasure to interview along with El Rubio Boris on our show Salsamania.

The artist was not only in our facilities to tell us important details about his career and share some of his time with us, but he also granted us the honor of gifting us one of the suits he used to wear for several of his most important shows. We are very grateful for the distinction he has made with us, and now let us mention some of the most important topics we discussed with the salsa singer.

Rey posing for the camera — Cuban singer-songwriter Rey Ruiz posing for the camera

Rey’s life in Cuba

Rey sang since his childhood to the point that his parents said he sang songs without words and started imitating the sounds his father taught him. He began to study music in sixth grade in his native Cuba, but his interest went far beyond simple childlike curiosity, so his parents enrolled him at the music conservatory in Havana so that he could have a more formal training.

Soon after, he appeared on Cuban television and sang for the orchestras “La Riverside” and “Los Dadas” at the then Habana Hilton.

Rey’s beginnings in music

Among many interesting things, Rey told us that he left his country at the age of 24, turned 25 in Miami, and arrived in Puerto Rico at 26. Shortly after arriving in Miami, he took a salsa demo to a record label, since Puerto Rican salsa was experiencing a long boom at the time, so they advised him to choose that genre.

Then, he got down to work with his producer Toby Villarini, recently deceased, to create the album.

Following the success obtained, the record label asked him to move to Puerto Rico, where they got him an apartment for about six months so he could make a life there and focus on his music. He then began working with musical director Guillermo Calderón’s orchestra, until Rey felt confident enough to say that the orchestra was his about a year later.

In 1994, he released his second album ”Mi Media Mitad” and the cover includes a very young Rey on a mountain of salt posing for the camera in a beige outfit and with a big smile on his face. The arrangements were made by Ernesto Sánchez, who also passed away recently at a very young age.

What Ray Ruiz is doing now

When El Rubio and I wanted to know what Rey is doing now, the singer confessed that he had chosen a career in which work never ends and that always makes him seek progress. “You’re always looking for ways to produce something new and show people what you’re doing at the recording and show production level.” In fact, the day after the interview, on February 14, he had a concert to celebrate Valentine’s Day at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in New York City.

Johnny and Rey — Johnny Cruz and Rey Ruiz at the Salsa Museum

He told us that it was the first time he performed as a solo artist at this venue, something he wanted to do for many years and finally got it. Never before has he performed in New York without the company of another artist or orchestra, so he was very happy and excited about living that new experience in his career.

Opinions about the Salsa Museum

Rey Ruiz had to leave soon to make final arrangements for the next day’s show, but we could not let him go without asking for his honest opinion about the Salsa Museum. When we asked him, he told us that he loved the place and that seeing what the museum exhibits was like seeing history. The history of salsa and all the artists who have been part of that genre. He also said that being here was like going to school because, even he who has been in this business for so many years, he has learned a lot from what he has seen.

He concluded by saying goodbye and thanking us for the opportunity to share with us and be on our platform.

Bandleader and bongosero Ray Degaldo is here to talk about his life and career

The talented percussionist Ray Delgado has made room in his schedule to share some time with us and talk about some of the most curious details of his artistic career, which fills us with pride and gratitude in equal measure. The founder of the Ray Delgado Project has many interesting things to say, and we are more than willing to listen.

Ray playing the bongo — Ray Delgado playing the bongo live

Ray’s inspirations to become an artist

Ray grew up in a family with deep Puerto Rican roots and was raised between Puerto Rico and New York because his parents constantly moved from one place to another, which made him feel very fortunate because he was being formed between two cultures that allowed him to listen to all kinds of music. In his time, radio remained extremely popular, so this was his vehicle to travel just by listening to certain songs.

Music in English came from the United States and Europe, while music in Spanish came from Cuba, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and many other countries. Delgado was exposed to all genres, but as a New Yorker, the one that resonated the most with him was salsa and the atmosphere that it brings with it. In fact, he remembers having the joy of seeing the Machito Orchestra, Johnny Pacheco, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, Pete Conde, and many others live.

These great exponents were the ones who sparked off the young man’s desire to pursue music at some point, but his father did not like the idea at all, as he saw the men in this business as womanizers, drunks, and irresponsible. Obviously, no father wants his son to end up like that, so Ray had to wait to become a responsible adult with a steady job to finally realize his aspirations as a kid.

Ray and his father — Ramón Delgado Castro holding his son Ray Delgado and his brother when they were babies

It all started when some older men invited him to play with them, so he found an old bongo drum he kept in his closet and accepted the offer without a second thought.

That was the point of departure for him to play with many other bands in New York, and his consistent work led him to want to be better, to study hard and prepare himself much more.

Ray’s music education

Ray studied at the East Harlem Music School founded by legendary musician Johnny Colón in Manhattan, and focused on timbales with teacher Ray Cruz, but he left the instrument aside for a while when he moved back to Puerto Rico. When returning from the Island of Enchantment, he enrolled at the Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts. He also studied with Professor George Delgado, who is the current conguero for the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. He describes him as an excellent teacher and musician from whom he learned so much.

Additionally, he had the support of many musician friends who also helped him and taught him many things that are not learned in an educational institution, including Luis Rivera, Radamés Rojas, Eric Rivera, and many others. Close contact with other artists and groups made him see that many sounded exactly the same and there was little variety, so he decided to form his own orchestra.

In this way, he also learned percussion, which is the area by which he is best known today.

Joe and Ray — Joe Bataan and Ray Delgado

Ray Delgado Project’s birth

Driven by the lack of musical variety in his environment, he wanted to create his own musical project that included vibraphone, percussion, piano, bass, and vocalist. It all started with a workshop for musicians offered by Ray himself in a community room in the building where he lived and he was allowed to use it. After having played and experimented with different styles, the group was getting smaller until all the musicians who signed up ended up leaving.

From there, at every show and opportunity he had to meet new musicians, he would ask for their numbers to recruit them and achieve a chemistry and combination, resulting in the sound he wanted. Ray was in that process from 2009 until now. About three years ago, in 2023, he finally got what he was looking for.

This group was called Ray Delgado Project, which takes up a huge amount of time and effort. However, the musician says that the New York where his youth was spent, which offered lots of places to go dancing, no longer exists, so there is not much work as back then.

Today, they play many covers of great hits from the 1970s, but they add their own touch to stand out with completely new arrangements. Not so long ago, they released their new version of “Lo Que Traigo es Sabroso,” a hit by Eddie Palmieri, and adapted it to their own style and arrangements. It can be found on Spotify and the main digital platforms.

Ray and his orchestra — Ray Fuentes (piano), Abraham Saenz (bass), Danny Sieber (vibraphone), Ray Delgado (director and bongo), Rhadames ”Randy” Rojas (lead vocals) Izzy Diaz (congas), and José ”Cheo” Colón (timbales)

Ray is so happy with what he has achieved so far with their orchestra that ensures that when God calls him, he will be calm and happy to have been able to play and make audiences dance during his lifetime. God willing, we wish him many more years playing with the Ray Delgado Project, enjoying life and bringing joy to those who have the pleasure of listening to him.