North America

Master Timbalero Luisito Quintero

North America / United States / New Jersey

Master Timbalero Luisito Quintero hails from Caracas, Venezuela.

Where his father, a respected percussionist in his own right, tutored and encouraged his son to become one of music’s best percussionists.

Luisito comes from a long line of outstanding musicians including his uncle, Carlos Nene Quintero and cousin Robert Quintero.

He studied at the respected Orquesta Sinfonica de Venezuela (The Symphonic Orchestra of Venezuela) and his percussion technique soon garnered attention from his colleagues.

Master Timbalero Luisito Quintero – Photo

Luisito joined the popular music ensembles Grupo Guaco and Oscar D’Leon, where he enjoyed worldwide acclaim.

Luisito Quintero has worked and recorded with many of music’s legends including The Rolling Stones, Vanessa Williams, Paul Simon, Santana, Jack De Johnette, David Sanborn, George Benson, Joe Sample, Bill Cosby, the late Celia Cruz and Tito Puente, Cachao, Eddie Palmieri, Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan, Richard Bona, Ravi Coltrane, Nathalie Cole, Diana Krall, Giovanni Hidalgo, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Spanish Harlem, Willie Colon and countless others. One of his recent projects finds him as musical director for Louie Vega and the Elements of Life Band, as well as extensive work with Jack DeJohnette’s Latin Project. He has also had the privilege to tour and record with the Tony & Grammy award winning Jazz artist, Dee Dee Bridgewater.

Quintero himself has earned more than thirteen Grammy certificate awards for his participation in numerous recordings.

Luisito Quintero has two solo projects under Vega Records/BBE, entitled “Percussion Maddness” and “Percussion Maddness Revisited”.

Timbalero - Luisito Quintero — Master Timbalero Luisito Quintero – Photo

Scheduled for release in the spring of 2013, his upcoming production entitled “3rd Element”, features guest artists Gato Barbieri, Oscar Hernandez, Doug Beavers, Richie Flores, Steve Khan, Reynaldo Jorge and his cousin Roberto Quintero. Currently, Luisito is the touring & recording percussionist for the legendary jazz pianist Chick Corea and for Spanish Harlem.

California Directory / 2023

333 S Alameda St Suite 115 Los Angeles, CA 90013	740 S Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90014	1038 S Hill St Los Angeles, CA 90015
3040 W Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90026	1020 N. Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90029	1253 Vine St Los Angeles, CA 90038
5332 Stevens Pl Commerce, CA 90040	8555 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048	11301 W Olympic Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90064
8782 W Sunset Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069	14239 Hawthorne Blvd Hawthorne, CA 90250	2640 Main St Santa Monica, CA 90405
115 Pine Ave Long Beach, CA 90802	23527 Calabasas Rd Calabasas, CA 91302	6101 Reseda Blvd Tarzana, CA 91335
342 S Thomas St Pomona, CA 91766	5060 E Montclair Plaza Ln Montclair, CA 91763	342 S Thomas St Pomona, CA 91766
17 S 1st St Alhambra, CA 91801	353 5th Ave San Diego, CA 92101	3567 Del Rey St San Diego, CA 92109
12409 mariposa rd Victorville, CA 92395	1870 Harbor Blvd Costa Mesa, CA 92626	4647 Macarthur Blvd Newport Beach, CA 92660
2733 E. Main Street Ventura, CA 93003	736 W Dana St Mountain View, CA 94041	400 Castro St Mountain View, CA 94041
1153 Valencia St San Francisco, CA 94110	3380 19th Street San Francisco, CA 94110	3140 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110
2424 Mariposa St San Francisco, CA 94110	3200 Fillmore St. San Francisco, CA 94123	550 Dance Fridays 550 Barneveld Avenue San Francisco, CA 94124 +1 415-309-1284
850 Montgomery St San Francisco, CA 94133	2410 San Ramon Valley Boulevard San Ramon, CA 94583	2112 N Main St Walnut Creek, CA 94596
510 Embarcadero West, Oakland, CA 94607	19 Grand Ave Oakland, CA 94612	305 Harbor Dr Sausalito, CA 94965
	15 N Santa Cruz Avenue Downtown Los Gatos, CA 95030

Vancouver Directory / 2023

Mangos Kitchen Bar — 744 Mt Pleasant Rd Toronto, ON, Canada M4S 2N6

Studio Nightclub — 919 Granville street Vancouver, BC, Canada V6Z 1L3

Toronto Directory / 2023

2075 Winston Park Dr Oakville, ON, Canada L6H 6P5	430 College St Toronto, ON, Canada M5T 1T3	1585 Dundas West Toronto, ON, Canada M6K1T9
155 York Blvd Richmond Hill, ON, Canada L4B 3B4	1855 Dundas St E, Mississauga ON L4X 1M1	744 Mt Pleasant Rd Toronto, ON, Canada M4S 2N6

Willito and Japhet from La Sonora Ponceña

The stories of two great musicians

The island of enchantment, Puerto Rico, has been one of the places with the most talented musicians in Latin America, so it is always worth mentioning some of the most important names in the music scene in this beautiful land. Today it is the turn of talented musicians Willito López Vázquez and Japhet O. Rodríguez from the world-famous orchestra La Sonora Ponceña.

Next, we will talk a little about both salsa exponents’ stories separately so that our readers can get to know these great personalities of the entertainment world who are not so famous for some.

Willito López

Wilfredo López Vázquez, artistically known as Willito López, is a famous percussionist whose career over time has been brilliant and has countless great collaborations with other exponents of the genre such as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Nieves, Jerry Rivera, Luis Perico Ortiz, Lalo Rodríguez, Bobby Valentín, among many others.

One of the instruments that makes this musician excel more than another is the conga and it is present in several of the greatest records of La Sonora Ponceña, the orchestra to which the artist currently belongs.

Willito playing the conga — Willito López playing the conga during a performance

In one of his last interviews, he talked a bit about maestro Ángel ”Maldonado” Maldonado, of whom he cherishes fond memories after his unfortunate death a few years ago. He mentioned that the sonero lent his support to him when he needed it most and was very grateful for that, while regretting that he was already no more in this world.

Undoubtedly, he is a pride to his family and the artists who have had the opportunity to feature his talents for any project in the past. He has always left everything on stage with each of his works and we have no doubt that he will continue to do so as long as his arms allow him to delight the audience with his talent.

Japhet Rodriguez

Japhet Rodríguez is also a talented Puerto Rican-born percussionist who has a very interesting career behind him.

The artist was initially invited by La Sonora Ponceña to participate in some projects in 1998, but after having shown what he was really made of, he continued working with the orchestra for years to come.

Japhet with his timbales — Japhet Rodríguez with his timbales

It was in 2007 that he became an official member of the group and thanks to which he became popular all over the world while serving as the timbalero of La Sonora Ponceña.

While it is true that he has reached a huge popularity worldwide thanks to the aforementioned Puerto Rican orchestra, Japhet has been part of many other important names in Latin music such as Sabor Ponceño, La Terrífica de Ponce, Costa Brava, Moncho Santana, Los Hermanos Moreno, Willie Crespo, Camilo Azuquita, Impacto CREA, Raphy Leavitt Y La Selecta, Manix Martínez, Rafy Class, Conjunto La Perla, La Tropicana de P.R., and Homenaje Matancero.

Something very interesting about the musical career of this great artist is that all these groups to which he has belonged have not only been from Puerto Rico, but also from countries such as the United States, Panama and Colombia. This shows that his talent has not only shone in his native country, but also in other latitudes.

In next editions, we will be talking a little more about other salsa exponents who have left our music in high, so you can not miss the section of Johnny Cruz in coming months.