North America

Añá The Divine Voice of the Batá Drums and Their Ancestral Heartbeat

In the vast universe of Afro-Cuban spirituality and Yoruba tradition, batá drums are not merely musical instruments: they are living, consecrated entities.

Tambores Añá La Voz Divina de los Batá y su Latido AncestralTambores Añá La Voz Divina de los Batá y su Latido Ancestral

The soul that resides within these sacred drums is known as Añá (or Aña), the deity (orisha) of divine sound and primordial vibration. To speak of the Añá drums is to enter a direct channel of communication between the earthly realm and the spiritual world.

Origin: The Secret Born in Yoruba Land

The presence of Añá dates back to the ancient Yoruba Empire (in present-day Nigeria and Benin). In Yoruba mythology, the deity Añá represents the divine voice and breath through which Olodumare (the Creator) ordered the cosmos.

To encapsulate this force, a sacramental trio of hourglass-shaped, hand-carved wooden drums was structured:

Iyá: The mother drum, lowest in pitch, responsible for leading the liturgy and performing improvisations.

Itótele: The medium drum, which engages in a direct dialogue with the Iyá.

Okónkolo: The smallest drum, responsible for holding down the rhythmic foundation.

Consecrating a set of batá drums with the fundamento (sacred core) of Añá requires strict liturgical rites involving sacred botany (omiero), prayers, and offerings so that the deity takes permanent residence within the wood. Only sworn priests, known as Omo Añá or Oluwos Batá, are authorized to play these sacred instruments.

Evolution: The Transatlantic Journey and the Cuban Flourishing

Through the transatlantic slave trade during the colonial era, Yoruba scholars arrived in the Caribbean primarily in Cuba under the Lucumí designation. Despite the oppressive conditions, practitioners fiercely preserved the secret of Añá.

Toward the second half of the 19th century, in the town of Guanabacoa (Havana), the first set of Añá drums consecrated on American soil was consecrated and baptized. In this new sociocultural environment, the ancestral rhythms remained intact within the liturgy of Regla de Ocha (Santería).

The drumming patterns evolved into a complex system of tonal languages where the drum does not merely accompany, but speaks to and summons each orisha through specific rhythmic phrasing.

Significance: A Tonal Language Between Humanity and Orishas

The importance of the Añá drums lies in their mystical function: they serve as the sacred bridge that harmonizes the Ori (an individual’s head and destiny) with the deities and ancestors.

In Lucumí cosmogony, Añá’s vibration possesses the power to alter the state of consciousness of the initiated, facilitating spiritual trance or possession through which the deity descends to earth.

“Añá does not play to entertain the human ear, but to summon the spirit and maintain cosmic balance through sound.”

Furthermore, on a musical level, it represents one of the most complex rhythmic legacies on the planet. Its polyrhythmic technique has had an immeasurable influence on the development of Afro-Cuban music, Latin jazz, and salsa.

Present Day: Preservation of Faith and Global Expansion

Today, the Añá tradition experiences a dual phenomenon: the rigorous preservation of its rituals and a remarkable global expansion.

Although the secrets required to consecrate a legitimate Añá remain closely guarded under strict priestly discretion, Santería worship and admiration for batá percussion have transcended the borders of Cuba and Nigeria.

Today, there are consecrated Añá drum sets established by babalawos and Omo Añá in countries such as the United States, Venezuela, Mexico, Spain, and Puerto Rico.

Los Tamborea Bata son entidades vivas y consagradas

While non-sacred batá drums (known as aberikuló, which do not carry the secret of Añá) are used freely on secular stages, true Añá drums remain reserved exclusively for private ceremonies, keeping alive the voice of an ancient deity.

To visually understand how the drum’s sound articulates the liturgical call within the tradition, check out the resource “The Function of Añá Within Batá Drums.”

Also Read: Pancho Quinto Is Considered One of Cuba’s Great Rumberos

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Añá Loógúnsi Fundamento Drum

It is a pleasure to welcome Erim Kardes and Gustavo del Pino from Los Calicubanos to ISM

We are very happy to share a little with musical director, Erim Kardes, and pianist, Gustavo Del Pino, of the band Los Calicubanos, from whom we had the pleasure to hear a bit about their individual careers and the foundation of their current group.

The interview, conducted in both English and Spanish, touched on some very interesting topics about music in general, and we hope all who read it will enjoy it.

Erim and the rest of the band — From left to right Jim Miranda on Congas, Arturo Ramirez on Timbales, Erim Kardes on bass, Mark Trejo on Trumpet, Andy Garcia on Trombone, Gustavo Del Pino on piano, Marisol Echegoyen on Vocals, Luis Jimenez on vocals

Erim and Gustavo’s beginnings in music

The first to take the floor was Gustavo, who told us that he started playing piano at the age of six. His father played the saxophone and his mother played the piano, but they saw music only as a hobby and were not professional musicians. Throughout his childhood in Peru, he listened to a lot of Latin music at family gatherings, so six years later, at about age 12, he was already performing in front of crowds. Among his family’s most loved artists were El Gran Combo from Puerto Rico, Héctor Lavoe, and Rubén Blades.

After that, he studied classical music in a conservatory, and when he finally moved to the United States and met Erim and the rest of his bandmates, he studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston.

In Erim’s case, he said he started playing the guitar when he was 14 years old in Turkey, the country where he grew up. Like Gustavo, no one in his family was a musician, but that did not stop them from listening to Turkish music all the time, and it was from there that he started to like it beyond entertainment.

By the age of 20, he became interested in Latin music and began experimenting with it. He was in graduate school studying engineering in Los Angeles, where he had been living for some time, and taking some jazz courses at the University of California. One of his professors was the one who finally introduced him to Latin music, and he liked it so much that he never separated from it again. One of his most important teachers was legendary bassist from the band Weather Report, Alphonso Johnson.

Erim and the band — From left to right: ERNESTO VALENZUELA on Congas, Joseph Dubois on Trumpet, Andy Garcia on Trombone, Marisol Echegoyen on Vocals, Arturo Ramirez on Timbales, Erim Kardes on bass, Gustavo Del Pino on Piano, Luis Jimenez on Vocals

Professional start for both

Coming back to Gustavo, he told us that when he completed his studies at Berklee, he began to get his first jobs as a professional musician. He started making small tours with some of the classmates alongside whom studied there and was involved in the recording of a few albums, but as a session musician. He did not yet have a formal band to be part of, but he did play with some Argentine, Colombian, and Peruvian artists and musicians. Some of them were Colombian singer Alejandra Jimenez “Alea” and the Peruvian band Perú Meztizo.

On the other hand, Erim told us that he first played bass in rock bands in college. He also played funk and jazz in Los Angeles for some time.

Foundation of Los Calicubanos

Erim created the idea of Los Calicubanos and eventually founded the band. The group, as it is known now, was officially launched in August 2025, i.e. that this month would be its first anniversary. Once he knew what he wanted, he placed online ads looking for a pianist to join him, which is when Gustavo contacted him and was tested until finally staying with the job.

At that same time, he met percussionist Arturo Ramírez, so the three of them got together in June 2025, and officially launched Los Calicubanos in August of the same year. They were later joined by conga player Jim Miranda, singer Luis Jiménez, singer Marisol Echegoyen, trombonist Andy García, trumpeter Mark Trejo, and trumpeter Joseph Dubois.

Musical director Erim Kardes — This is music director for Los Calicubanos Erim Kardes

Erim has been in California for the last 25 years and also traveled twice to Cuba, which led him to discover rhythms that fascinated him and changed his perspective on music completely. Therefore, he decided to combine “California” with “Cuba” because of the mix he wanted to make as a result of the music he discovered in both places.

Upcoming events

Los Calicubanos do not have any tours scheduled at this time, but they do have many important performances, such as the LA Jazz Festival, concerts at restaurants, and a few private events.

As for new releases, they are currently writing completely original music and making new arrangements, but they want to have a fair amount of material ready before entering the studio to record.

Hector Rivera ‘‘Riverita’’ tells the story of how he created Riverita Y Su Orquesta Noche Caliente

After several attempts, we finally managed to meet with bandleader and saxophonist Héctor Rivera, known in the industry as Riverita, and ask him all kinds of questions about his artistic career and his current group, Riverita y Su Orquesta Noche Caliente.

Here are some of the most important issues we touch with the artist during our pleasant conversation:

Riverita’s inspiration to become a musician

Despite not having musicians in his family, Riverita remembers growing up in an environment where music was always very present. He was born in New York, but spent long periods living with his grandparents in Puerto Rico while his parents settled down and eventually moved to the “Island of Enchantment” to give their son greater stability.

At his grandparents’ house, he used to listen to great artists of the time performing their unforgettable hits on the radio and one of them was Mon Rivera Y Su Orquesta performing “Karakatis-ki,” a song he never forgot, along with so many other musical pieces that gradually got him interested in this world. When his parents returned to Puerto Rico and he returned to live with them, he started listening to Cheo Feliciano, Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez, Felipe Rodríguez, and many others.

All these rhythms led the boy to play a sort of percussion on the table, a biscuit tin, or anything else that served as an instrument for him at the time.

His passion for music grew to the point that he began studying music education at the Escuela Libre de Música in Ponce and, subsequently at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico in San Germán, where he studied for only about two years. Although he did not complete his studies, this helped him to understand even more the profession and apply what he learned during those years.

Danny, Riverita, and Jose — Riverita with two maracas

Being in Puerto Rico, he played with a merengue orchestra whose name he does not remember, but with which he learned to play alto saxophone professionally. After that, he moved to the United States permanently.

Year 2013

As he moved to Virginia, he took a long break from music until 2013, which is when his cousin, Michael Valladares, asked Riverita to found an orchestra, which was not in his plans. However, he accepted the challenge and carried forward the project.

Back then, the artist worked as a mailman at a post office, making it difficult for him to reconcile his previous professional activities with the direction of an orchestra. Still, he did not allow that to discourage him and chose to give priority to this new ensemble.

It all started when Michael was looking for an orchestra to perform at a gala event to celebrate 500 years of the city of Melbourne, Florida, so he contacted Riverita and proposed him to create an orchestra in which he would serve as musical director for the sole purpose of performing there. That was when the saxophonist set about finding musicians and producing a repertoire, which was not easy, since he did not know any professional musicians and did not have any arrangements he could use.

He was so distressed that he spent sleepless nights thinking about how to proceed to complete the mission entrusted to him. With three months to go, he had no time to spare. That is when he managed to make contact with a group of musicians of different nationalities, of whom only the singer, José Reyes, continues to work with him.

Finally, he relaunched the project with a new group of musicians—since the previous ones had left and called it Orquesta Noche Caliente, a name that it still bears today.

Among the most frequently recurring members, we can mention singer José Reyes, singer Danny Rivera Jr., pianist Kevin Figueroa, and trombonist Derick Harris.

To date, they have recorded three CDs and 26 songs. Some of them are “Noche Caliente,” “En Tiempos de Bolero,” and “Mi Linda Música.” They are also preparing their Christmas song several months in advance and will name it “Rabito de Lechón.”

We’ve talked with Elizabeth Meeker Howard, one of the members of Las Sabrosas Latin Orchestra

On other occasions, we talked to all-female musical groups to promote the tremendous female talent we have in Latin music. The amazing artist we talked to this time is no exception.

We are very happy to chat with trumpeter Elizabeth Meeker Howard, who told us about her fascinating project, Sabrosas Latin Orchestra, and some other aspects of her career worth mentioning.

Elizabeth posing for the camera — Trumpeter and music teacher Elizabeth Meeker Howard posing for the picture

How Elizabeth started her career

The artist began her story telling us that some members of her family are involved into arts as is the case of her grandmother, who was a professional musician. Similarly, her parents instilled in her a love for music, so the young girl developed an appreciation about this world from an early age to the point that she joined the school band in fourth grade. She and her classmates were given the opportunity to choose their own instrument, so she chose the drums, but she soon discovered that it was not what she wanted to play.

When she was about nine years old, she began playing the trumpet and a little piano, but she would never use the latter professionally.

In adulthood, she began studying classical music, specifically, classical trumpet, at Yale University, but she knew she wanted to do something that would appeal much more to the public and make people dance and have fun, which is when salsa came into play. During her academic training, she experimented with other genres such as pop and its derivatives, but that was not what she was looking for her professional future. Today, she plays salsa, funk, rock, and even mariachi quite skillfully.

She also earned her bachelor of music in the área of classical trumpet from Boston University, and later earned a master’s degree in the same subject from Yale.

The members of Sabrosas Latin orchestra and Manny Cepeda — The members of Sabrosas Latin Orchestra with composer, percussionist, and singer Manny Cepeda

Beginning of her professional career

Elizabeth’s professional career as a musician began in high school, as she was hired for various small events. In college, she played with various bands and on projects of others, but she was not a regular member of any of them, and that situation continued even after she graduated from college. At that time, she was already working with salsa orchestras.

Once in San Diego, he learned everything he knows today about salsa, as this genre unfortunately is not taught in conservatories, as it happens with classical music and jazz. He added that “the only way to know salsa as a musician is to play in salsa bands. That’s how I learned: joining these groups.”

She does not deny that classical music offers a solid musical training to anyone who wants to study it, learn how to read music, transcribe it, and play the trumpet. If someone gives her a score, she is perfectly capable of playing that music, but it is also important for her to learn how to play that specific style. In the case of salsa, the artist says that it has some nuances that cannot be read in a score, so the attention should be paid to many details such as the joints between notes and the quality if the sound, which are only learned by listening to records and playing with musicians who are good at that style.

Elizabeth and the rest of the orchestra — From top to bottom: Elizabeth Meeker Howard, April Leslie, Shirley Coggon, Monica Saenz, Tomo Vida, Justine Dolorfino-Thieman, Mariela Contreras, Alyssa Keene, Monette Moreno, and Janet Thornton Realtor

Las Sabrosas Latin Orchestra

One of the things that spurred the creation of Las Sabrosas Latin Orchestra was the small number of women playing salsa, especially together, so she and other like-minded female artists began meeting up to rehearse and see how they sounded. At first, they were not sure enough how large or small the group would be, but eventually the girls who were already involved invited others to join, which resulted in a large salsa orchestra. Their official debut was scheduled for shortly before the pandemic, so it all got delayed a bit, but once the restrictions of that time fell, they were more than ready to start playing.

Something Elizabeth wanted to emphasize is that people have always been very supportive of them and showed much interest in the project due to the novelty of what they offered and the quality of their performance, which remains even today.

Music teaching

Besides being part of an orchestra, Elizabeth also teaches music at the university level and has led numerous student bands and ensembles, which has given her the experience needed to serve as musical director for various projects. Thanks to what she learned, she knows what can make a group succeed or fail.

Teaching and her work with Sabrosas complement each other perfectly, and one helps her be better every day at the other, which is why she speaks about both activities as a whole in her career.

Salsa Fitness

North America / USA / California

Salsa fitness includes all the elements of an effective aerobic workout while performing movements related to the hot style of Salsa. Salsa is actually a dance style created specifically for Salsa music.

In general, salsa dance is oriented as a partner dance style, however, Salsa is often performed solo as well and has become increasingly popular throughout the health and fitness industry. Salsa dance movements are similar to those of the Mambo style of dance.

TYPES OF MOVEMENTS

Salsa dance style always consists of three weight changes (steps). The three weight changes, or steps, are performed in a four-beat measure. If there is no weight change, there may be a tap or kick. A break step may be performed, which is slightly longer than the previously mentioned steps.

The movements require the participant’s upper body to remain level and unaltered throughout the various weight changes, which is ideal for core training and conditioning. The hips move quite vigorously, allowing the gluteals and the hip flexors to achieve a phenomenal workout. Your arms will also receive a solid workout while they help to communicate the leads in the Salsa dance movements.

The arms will typically be in an open position, and with a partner will be continuously used during movements that include turns, twirls, and for moving one another in unison across the dance floor. However, solo Salsa dancing requires less arm movement, thus providing less of an arm and upper body workout.

While it is true that it will require some time to proficiently learn the various steps and movements associated with Salsa, the process of learning the movements and performing the dance routines will provide a fairly high rate of caloric expenditureand tone most major muscle groups at the same time.

SALSA DANCE CLASSES

Many fitness centers offer Salsa dance-oriented aerobic classes. Individuals without a partner can team up with another participant or perform the movements by themselves.

Typically, the classes are offered in three separate experience levels: beginner, intermediate and expert. This format allows anyone to choose their personal experience and fitness level and participate at their own pace.

Beginner Salsa classes tends to focus more on the actual steps and the process of keeping your body in the correct form. Individuals that have never participated in a Salsa dance style may find that it is tougher than it first appears, as you will have to keep your upper body level and in the correct form throughout the entire routine.

Intermediate Salsa classes focus more on putting the steps together with the dance. There are slight risks associated with learning Latin and Salsa movements, as coordination and balance are required to keep from falling. It is recommended that you perform some type of warm-up and stretching routine first to allow your muscles to properly ready them before you actually perform the dance routine. As always, consult your medical professional prior to beginning any aerobic fitness routine, especially if you suffer from any type of chronic condition.

Expert Salsa classes consist mostly of dancing and moving at a much faster pace. No matter what skill level you choose, every class offers a workout that will prove to be very effective at burning calories, improving cardiovascular endurance, increasing muscle tone and improving balance and coordination.

TARGETED MUSCLES

Salsa classes focus on exercising virtually all major muscle groups, including the heart. The gluteals, hamstrings, quadriceps, calves and core area will be exercised relatively aggressively in order to perform the various step sequences.

The upper body and arms must maintain specific positions, so they will receive a workout as well, albeit to a lesser degree.

The types of movements associated with the various Latin and Salsa dance styles will also improve flexibility, balance and coordination. Increases in flexibility will promote improvements in blood and oxygen flow into the muscle tissue and the flushing of toxins, essentially helping to cleanse your body.

Gains in balance and coordination are beneficial in performing daily tasks and other physical activities with less effort and a reduced probability of injury.

AEROBIC EFFECT

One of the greatest health benefits associated with performing Salsa dance classes is the improvement to the cardiovascular system. Most individuals will achieve an aerobic effect rather quickly while performing a Salsa dance class. More specifically, you will achieve your target heart rate and maintain that level for a minimum of 20 consecutive minutes. By doing so, you will have achieved an aerobic effect.

Required Equipment

The only equipment required to successfully perform Salsa classes are the appropriate footwear and dress attire. In addition, always remember to bring a water bottle to ensure adequate hydration and a towel to wipe off the sweat throughout the exercise class.

BENEFITS

As previously stated, the main health and fitness benefits associated with regularly performing a Salsa dance-oriented class are improved cardiovascular endurance, increases in muscular tone, reductions in excess body weight and improvements in coordination and balance.

Salsa dance classes provide an excellent means for increasing your caloric expenditure. More specifically, creating a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories will eliminate 1 pound of excess body weight. A typical individual weighing 150 pounds can expect to burn between 175 and 250 calories per every 30 minutes of performing a Salsa dance-oriented routine.

In addition, you will increase your overall body strength and sculpt and tone your muscles. If you combine aerobic exercise with anaerobic exercise, which means exercising faster and with a greater level of intensity (gasping for air is a good indication), you will achieve an excellent workout.

The continuous movement of Salsa is what promotes improvements in cardiovascular endurance, increases in muscular tone, improvements in structural bone strength and density, and the elimination of excess body weight.

Typical Salsa dance classes last approximately 60 minutes, with classes open to all levels of participants. In introductory and intermediate classes, the classes are instructor intense as the instructor will interact with each of the participants to assist them in understanding and perfecting the various dance movements.

Salsa dance-oriented aerobic classes can sometimes be difficult to keep up with the pace of the class. With a little persistence, you will likely come to master the moves, enjoy the classes and improve your overall fitness level at the same time.