July

Advanced Salsa Dancers With Superpower

North America / USA /

If you identify as an Advanced Salsa Dancer (ASD), remember that with great power comes great responsibility. When you become an ASD, the superpower than you gain is your awesome dance skills. You can use those skills to further your own pleasure and gain by holding them back from the newer dancers below you. Or, you also can give those skills freely to the new dancers waiting to be inspired.

Photo 1: Advanced Salsa Dancers With Superpower

“Waiting” To Be Inspired

The main reason to be inspired is than most new dancers aren’t actually “inspired” by the dance in a deep and meaningful way. They may love it on first sight the same way you like a thing in a store or a person you are attracted to.

Photo 2: Advanced Salsa Dancers With Superpower

But, just like you don’t know that person, they don’t know the dance yet. You don’t know yet if you want to put in the work to have a relationship. You don’t know if there’s enough to get in return until that attractive person shows you their personality. Yes, there are a few new dancers who ‘get the bug’ and dive deep right away.

But, most new dancers need time and inspiration to really fall in love. It can take you a year or maybe more. You can dance some Latin music before or get caught “Salsa” properly. It must be a combination of community, opportunity, and self-confidence that get you to that point. You need be inspired.

Photo 3: Advanced Salsa Dancers With Superpower

An Artist can make someone at their first congress feel amazing, or feel horrible.

The Superpower

The people who have put in the work to become great Salsa dancers are the people in the best position to inspire others. Their superpower is the ability to make people fall in love with the dance. It’s the reason that international artists can inspire so many.

Photo 4: Advanced Salsa Dancers With Superpower

They’ve put in the work that lets us see the best of the Salsa dance. We are attracted to their dancing, which is the first step, the first movement. An Artist can make someone at their first congress feel amazing, or feel horrible.

If the artist has a disengaged pity dance, their partner may not feel the desire to continue learning the dance. If the artist gives their all, their partner may find a renewed appreciation and desire for more.

Photo 5: Advanced Salsa Dancers With Superpower

ASD do the same thing, but on a local level. They’re generally more accessible than the international travelling pros that put them in a position to immediately influence their local community. An advanced salsa dancer who gives of themselves freely will often find many newcomers who are working to be better.

They inspire a growth mindset in their newcomers. There are many examples of this in their own community. One driven earlyintermediate dancer can pinpoint the exact moment that he/she decided to really give all enthusiasm to Salsa dance. It simply took one motivational sentence and dance from a local teacher.

Passion For Community And Dance

Photo 6: Advanced Salsa Dancers With Superpower

Many hardcore dancers feel passionate about the Salsa dancing style. So, many times they forget that newcomers often don’t know enough about the dance to be passionate about it. Mainly, newcomers become passionate about the community, energy, music, and vibe. They may like the dance, but they simply don’t know enough about it to be in love. ASD, remember that how you make beginners feel will determine how they feel about the Salsa dance.

It’s you who will show them the possibilities they have to grow. Use your superpower for all good; share it with those who need you to be inspired. Sure, in a few years you’ll have the benefits when those newcomers turn into your fellow Advanced Salsa Dancers Thanks to their instructor who you are, their best dancer of inspiration.

Photo 7: Advanced Salsa Dancers With Superpower

Caesar Vera Y Su Sexteto NuevoSon, traditional Cuban music with a touch of modernity

It is very important for us to show and provide coverage to the most important Latin music artists of today in the United States and now it is the turn of Chicagoan musician Caesar Vera, who very kindly accompanied us in this edition of International Salsa Magazine.

Caesar is the current director of Caesar Vera Y Su Sexteto NuevoSon, which we will talk about later along with other equally important issues for the musician’s career.

Caesar with a bongo — Caesar Vera with his bongos some years ago

How Caesar began his journey in music

Although Caesar has developed his professional life in Miami and currently lives there, he was actually born in Chicago and spent the early years of his life there. His parents arrived from Cuba in 1966 in the freedom flights and, once in the United States, the Catholic Church helped them and placed them in Chicago, where he was born and lived until 1978. Later, the couple divorced and his father went to live in Miami, so Caesar spent long holiday periods together with him in that city.

The path with music for Caesar began in high school, when he became very interested in rock music, to the point of creating a band with some of his classmates. He played the drums and was a huge fan of Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Van Halen, and other groups of that style.

The only connection the young man had with Latin music was his grandfather, who loved to dance danzón and always played Orquesta Aragón records so that they could both move to the beat music in the living room of his house. Although these moments with his grandfather were very pleasant, he did not yet like this kind of music, but that would change over the years.

In Miami, there was a time when there were many Latin bands playing, and every corner had a nightclub with orchestras playing. Caesar and his friends used to attend these places a lot, which led the young man to finally become interested in these genres. This coincided with the arrival from Cuba of his uncle who was a musician and had a band there, which they talked about constantly, and he even taught his nephew to play instruments such as the tumbadora, bongos, timbales, and all minor percussion.

In 1987, what happened was a turning point for Caesar musically speaking, as he finally decided to take Cuban music more seriously and study its history to understand it better.

Caesar Vera and Luis Bofill — Singer and bandleader Luis Bofill and Caesar Vera

Groups prior to Caesar Vera Y Su Sexteto Nuevo Son

Before creating his own group, the wife of a friend who had a group invited him to play percussion with them, a proposal Caesar accepted, and he started playing the tumbadora with the orchestra. Something new in this case was that he had never played with an established band in formal performances, so it was something new for him.

By 1992, he had met the famous Cuban bongo player Juan Méndez, who had played with the Roberto Faz Orchestra, Roberto Torres, and Luis Santi Y Su Conjunto. Méndez told him that he needed a bongo player in an orchestra he was forming at the time and asked Caesar to fill the vacancy, to which he answered yes and remained in the group until 2003, that is, for around 11 years.

In addition to that, he was a replacement in various orchestras in Miami for a while, one of which was Gilberto Díaz Y Su Conjunto Los Profesionales. He was with them for two years, but by then traditional Cuban music, more specifically Cuban son, had captured his full attention. It just so happens that one of his orchestra fellows told him that Norberto from the group Norberto Y Marcela Y El Septeto Caribe called him because they needed a bongo player and asked if he was interested in the vacancy. Caesar did not think twice and went to play with the orchestra even though he did not have much experience with the bongos, but he took the risk anyway. It was with this group that he started playing traditional Cuban music and prepared to do the same once he became independent.

Caesar and his bandmates — These are the band members from left to right: bongo player Caesar Vera, singer Billy Velazquez, tres player Roberto Acosta, bassist Arturo Senti, conga player Hebert Garcia, and trumpet player Orlando Fraga

Foundation of Caesar Vera Y Su Sexteto NuevoSon

Still playing with Norberto and Marcela, Caesar started having his own creative ideas on how to lead an orchestra, but he could not carry them out because he was only a musician who collaborated with the orchestra, which started to bother him and cause him enormous dissatisfaction. One day, his wife saw him stressed and frustrated by the situation, leading her to ask him why he did not become independent and create his own project.

That is when he started thinking about it seriously until, in early 2007, he finally founded the group Fusión 4 with Carlos Alberto “El Flaco”, who had previously sung with Fajardo Y Sus Estrellas, Larry Harlow, and La Fania. They managed to play every Saturday at the Deauville Jazz Club for a year.

However, the sextet as we know it today was created just two years ago because it was costing to Caesar much to find work for such a large orchestra, especially after the pandemic when much of the live music scene fell off a cliff.

Today, some of its members are tres player Roberto Acosta, bassist Arturo Santi, conga player Hebert García, trumpeter Orlando Fraga, and singer Billy Velázquez.

Alain Pérez Triumphs in Puerto Rico with a Confident Stride

The exclusive Tropicoro Club at the Fairmont El San Juan Hotel in Isla Verde was overflowing to welcome the multifaceted Cuban musician Alain Pérez, who performed in Puerto Rico for the first time as a solo artist. Before the dance concert, held on Puerto Rican soil, which closed Alain’s first solo tour of the United States, he had performed in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Tampa.

To open the concert, the Cubanísimo concept, led by Puerto Rican bassist and cuatrista Jesús Algarín, set the mood for the audience. The young musician made a confident entrance, accompanying himself with powerful interpretations on his instruments, skillfully directing his own orchestra. Prior to Alain Pérez’s show, the musicians of Cubanísimo—cuatrista, singer, and director Jesús Algarín, trumpeter Miguel Ortiz, vocalists Carmen Jiménez and Gilberto Félix, bassist Félix Juan Algarín, bongos player Freddy Camacho, conga player Jeren Guzmán, and flutist Juan Ortiz—brought to life songs like ‘El yerbero moderno,’ ‘Esa niña,’ ‘El bodeguero,’ ‘La rosa oriental,’ ‘El paralítico,’ ‘Así fue,’ ‘Parampampam,’ ‘Lo que fue no será,’ ‘Que te pedí,’ and ‘El cuarto de Tula.’ Once the musicians, directed by Algarín, finished their set, Alain Pérez made his triumphant entrance.

The singer, bassist, guitarist, percussionist, pianist, orchestra director, arranger, and music producer had been in Puerto Rico on a handful of occasions as a backing musician for artists of the stature of Issac Delgado and Chucho Valdés, to name a few. This time, of course, he arrived as a solo artist and with force, to the rhythm of ‘El cuento de la buena pipa.’ Once on stage, the “guajiro,” who confessed in an interview to having “converted to flamenco,” showed that he felt at home while singing, dancing, guaraching, playing the bass, soneando, and rumbando. Once Alain and his orchestra warmed up the luxurious venue, which was overflowing with people, the virtuous multi-instrumentalist performed songs such as ‘ADN,’ ‘El sabor de mi rumba,’ ‘Amor fugaz,’ ‘Son con moña,’ ‘Hablando con Juana,’ ‘Shorcito,’ ‘Modo avión,’ ‘Batilongo,’ ‘La lámpara,’ ‘Pa’ to’ la vida,’ ‘La moneda,’ the title track from his most recent production: ‘Bingo,’ ‘Andaba solo’—a duet with the “Caballero de la Salsa,” Gilberto Santa Rosa—and ‘Pistolero,’ the latter loudly requested by the elegant audience.

Alain Pérez acompañado de su bajista Mauro Cabrejas

Gilberto joined Alain to sing ‘Andaba solo’ as a duet, but not before giving a “welcome to this beast of music, with whom I had the opportunity to record and whom I had the opportunity to meet in person recently,” clarifying that he already knew him musically, adding that they would sing “without rehearsal, but with affection.”

During the show, the musician who defines himself as a guajiro, sonero, guarachero, and rumbero, delivered fusions characteristic of Alain’s great contribution to Latin music, within Afro-Cuban traditions influenced by his exposure to Hispanic folklore. Pérez built the show using a varied repertoire that included salsa, timba, son, and bolero in interesting fusions. Accompanied by his band—composed of Mauro Cabrejas, Josué Puig, Roberto Medina, Víctor Oliva, Alejandro Sosa, Robelis Arévalo, Julio Puig, Yunnier Stoker, Cristhian Díaz, Darío Andrés, Alejandro Fernández, and Isaac Cambar—Alain Pérez delivered on his promise: “a night full of Caribbean flavor, rhythm, and

energy.”

From the moment Alain started the dance, the energy did not wane. The audience connected with the artist and the person, who visibly emotional, repeatedly expressed gratitude “for the affection received and the nobility perceived,” adding that since setting foot on Puerto Rican soil he has “felt a lot of peace” and that he’s going to have to buy “a little ranch here.”

With the Puerto Rico performance, Alain successfully concluded his first solo tour of the United States with resounding success. That was the idea. Here in beautiful Borinquen, the audience while demanding makes sure the artist feels the love and respect with which they are received and celebrated. Congratulations!

Also Read: Bella Martinez, the irreverent Salsa writer

“An Argentinian with a taste of Cuba,” Rogelio Martínez told Carlos Argentino, the King of La Pachanga

On June 23, 1929, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Israel Vitenszteim Vurm, better known in the music world as “Carlos Argentino,” was born. He was an excellent Argentinian tropical music singer who was part of the Cuban band Sonora Matancera. He was also known in musical slang as “The King of Pachanga.”

Born in the La Paternal neighborhood of Buenos Aires, his parents were in the textile manufacturing business, and from an early age, he showed an entrepreneurial spirit. Despite belonging to a socially and economically well-off family, he worked as a street vendor, selling newspapers, magazines, and even coffee on trams and at racetracks.

Un argentino con sabor a Cuba, dijo Rogelio Martínez a Carlos Argentino, el Rey de La Pachanga Imagen Discogs — An Argentinian with a Cuban flavor, said Rogelio Martínez to Carlos Argentino, the King of La Pachanga Discogs Image

Ignoring his parents’ wishes for his professional future, he ventured into singing under the pseudonym Carlos Torres. In 1946, at just seventeen years old, he traveled to Brazil with an unknown orchestra. Problems quickly arose, as he had to ask for the intervention of the Argentinian ambassador to return to Buenos Aires, with the intention of studying medicine at Otto Krausse University, as his parents wished.

While there, he completed his mandatory military service, and upon finishing it, he returned to the music scene, definitively abandoning his professional career. He joined the orchestras of Luis Rolero and Raúl Marengo, performing in Peru and Chile. He then traveled to Colombia with Efraín Orozco’s orchestra. Something very curious happened on that trip: there was a Colombian singer named Carlos Torres, and to differentiate himself, he added his patronymic, becoming Carlos Torres Argentino, before artistically consecrating himself as Carlos Argentino.

Carloa Argentino También fue conocido en el argot musical como «El Rey de la Pachanga».

In 1952, he also traveled to Havana, where he worked with the orchestras of Felo Bergaza, Arnoldo Nalli, and Julio Cuevas. He studied singing with the Italian professor Eduardo Bonessi.

In June 1954, he visited Bogotá, and in December, he traveled to Medellín. In February 1955, Sonora Matancera (from Cuba) went on tour in Colombia. They met at the Teatro Colombia in Bogotá. According to Carlos himself, Rogelio Martínez, director of Sonora, asked him if he was from Cuba, and Carlos replied, “I am Argentinian!” Martínez retorted, “Well, you’re an Argentinian with a taste of Cuba; you have to get on the vehicle!” “What vehicle?” Carlos asked. “Ours!” Don Rogelio replied and proposed that he travel to Havana, to which he agreed.

After several months of rehearsal, on August 17, 1955, they recorded their first 78 RPM record. His first single was the bolero-tango “Una canción” (by Aníbal Troilo), and on the other side, the guaracha “Las muchachas caraqueñas” (by Billo Frómeta). Later, he would record other songs such as: “Ave María Lola,” “El solterito,” “Cuartito 22,” “¡Ay, cosita linda!”, “Un poquito de cariño,” “Tu rica boca,” “En el mar,” “Boquita golosa,” “El novio celoso,” “Apambichao,” “Lamento náufrago,” and “La mamá y la hija,” among others; in addition to the boleros: “Alma Vendida,” “No pidas más perdón,” “El amor no existe,” “Cruel indiferencia,” and “Cuando tú seas mía.”

With Sonora Matancera, he traveled throughout Latin America and remained with the group until November 1959. In 1960, he left Cuba and traveled to Mexico. After this, in 1961, he returned to Argentina, where he was received with joy. He settled back in his native neighborhood of La Paternal, in Buenos Aires.

As a distinguished horseman, he became the owner of several thoroughbred horses, which he named after his songs: “Pachangueando,” “La Espumita,” and “El Manotón.” Apart from horse racing, Carlos was a football fan and supported his neighborhood club: Argentinos Juniors (the club where Diego Armando Maradona was born), and Boca Juniors, to whom he dedicated “Pachanga de Boca,” celebrating the title the “Xeneize” team won in 1962, and the album Somos la mitad más uno, celebrating Boca’s Metropolitano championship with Maradona in 1981. He also dedicated songs to other teams, for example, “Equipo de José” (the Racing champions of 1966-67); the one he recorded when Estudiantes de la Plata became world champions in 1968, under the technical direction of Osvaldo Zubeldía; or Chacarita Juniors (Metropolitano champions of 1969), among others.

Throughout his life, he resided – in addition to Cuba – in Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela, where in 1978 he performed as a singer with the orchestra Los Solistas de Renato Capriles, and participated in their first two LPs, but he always returned to his Argentina.

On a memorable afternoon, July 1, 1989, he reunited with Sonora Matancera in Central Park, New York, to celebrate the group’s 65th anniversary with his old recording companions. On that occasion, he shared the stage with Celia Cruz, Daniel Santos, Vicentico Valdés, Welfo Gutiérrez, Leo Marini, and Nelson Pinedo, among other figures.

Argentino El Rey de la Pachanga con La Sonora Matancera

It was the last time he would be seen in performances, as on June 20, 1991, he died of a myocardial infarction while watching a horse race in Buenos Aires. May he rest in peace and eternal glory!

Also Read: Argentina y sus géneros musicales de origen y los tropicales

By:

Dj. Augusto Felibertt

Los Mejores Salseros del Mundo

The Night Hector Lavoe, “The Singer of Singers,” Refused to Please Pablo Escobar

January 1, 1981. The air was thick with the scent of a new year, but for Héctor Lavoe, it was anything but celebratory.

In Medellín, at a New Year’s Eve party hosted by none other than Pablo Escobar, the “El Cantante” himself found himself in a terrifying standoff.

This isn’t just a rumor; it’s a chilling anecdote that has cemented its place in music lore. It was a night when the King of Salsa faced down the King of Cocaine, and lived to tell the tale.

The Escape

The story begins with a frantic encounter recounted by a Colombian chronicler, Juan José Hoyos, who heard it directly from a taxi driver. It was well past midnight when a man, impeccably dressed in a suit but barefoot, suddenly appeared on the side of the road. He was clearly terrified, and the driver, unable to ignore his distress, pulled over.

The man, disheveled and without a dollar to his name, begged for a ride to his hotel. He explained he’d been singing at a “mafioso” party, and things had taken a dark turn. “My name is Héctor Lavoe,” he whispered.

Héctor Lavoe: “El Cantante de los Cantantes”

The taxi driver was skeptical. “You’ll have to sing ‘Yo Soy El Cantante’ if you want me to take you to the hotel,” he challenged.

Héctor, now inside the cab, bristled. “My friend, that’s exactly why I’m in this mess! One of those guys made me repeat that song like ten times, threatening me with a pistol! I got fed up and told the orchestra, ‘I’m not singing anymore, shut off the equipment!'”

The driver insisted, reminding the slight man in the suit that he was doing him a favor. Then, a voice, otherworldly and unmistakable, filled the cab:

“🎵 Yo soy el cantante / que hoy han venido a escuchar / lo mejor del repertorio a ustedes voy a brindar. / Y canto a la vida / de risas y penas / de momentos malos / y de cosas buenas. 🎵”

There was no doubt. It was Héctor Lavoe.

The Ordeal, Corroborated

What might have been dismissed as another tall tale from a taxi driver gained chilling veracity when members of Lavoe’s band corroborated the story.

Eddie Montalvo, the group’s conga player, vividly recalled the night. The gig with Pablo Escobar had been arranged by Larry Landa, a music promoter with deep ties to the drug world. The contract stipulated they’d play until 2 AM, but Escobar had other plans, demanding they continue until six in the morning.

“When it was two in the morning, Héctor told the band to stop,” Montalvo recounted. “The organizer threatened them at gunpoint to force them to keep singing. He wanted Héctor to repeat ‘Yo Soy El Cantante.'”

Amidst the chaos, the legendary salsa singer Ismael Rivera, who was also present, bravely stood up to the aggressors. Even the bodyguards got involved. Eventually, Lavoe and his musicians were herded into a small room and locked in for the rest of the night.

After an hour, in a desperate move, Héctor smashed a window. With the help of the other musicians, they slipped out one by one into the darkness, leaving their instruments behind, consumed by fear. “For thirty minutes they slipped and fell until they reached the highway,” Montalvo revealed.

And that’s how Héctor Lavoe ended up in that taxi, on a cold January morning in 1981.

A Strange Resolution

But the saga didn’t end there. The very next day, a mysterious individual visited Héctor and his band at their hotel. He presented them with a check, returned their confiscated passports and retained instruments, and offered a surprising apology.

This dramatic incident remains a stark reminder of the volatile world Héctor Lavoe navigated, and his unwavering spirit in the face of immense danger.

Also Read: International Salsa Magazine showcases important facts about Héctor Lavoe

By:

1) Los Mejores Salseros del Mundo

2) Dj, Augusto Feliberrtt

3) Hector Lavoe – Fans