North America

Son Del Monte’s musical director and timbalero Manuel Rivera

Who is ”Manny”

Manuel ”Manny” Rivera is the musical director and timbalero of the Son Del Monte Orchestra. We had the great opportunity to have a friendly conversation with him to know in detail his beginnings, career, groups, role as musical director, among other things.

Manuel ''Manny'' Rivera tells us his interesting story — Manuel ”Manny” Rivera tells us his interesting story

Time in the Yambú Orchestra

After apologizing for his deficits in the Spanish language, he continued by thanking us for the opportunity to tell his story and describe his time in the Yambú Orchestra, which was the first group in which he could start developing his talents in the 70’s. ”what we wanted to do at that time was make a mix between jazz with typical music because the pianist, who was of African descent, was who wrote the music with musical director and bassist Ramón Rodríguez”. It is presumed that the pianist focused a lot on these genres because of his roots, but his colleagues were fine with it.

Although he loved jazz, Manuel began to notice that it was not very danceable for the audience, which is what caused him to become interested in charanga, a genre that was already very famous in New York City in those years. That’s how he decided to immerse himself in this set of rhythms because he liked to see people go to the dance floor and enjoy themselves.

He also liked Yambú’s style a lot, but felt he had to take a more accurate path for what he was feeling at the time.

Similarities of Son Del Monte with other jazz big bands and members

I was a bongo player, but I started playing timbales because they are widely used in charanga. What I was looking for was to do a similar thing to what Eddie Palmieri did with La Perfecta, who used trombones and a flute mixed with timbales to achieve a charanga sound” said Rivera on this subject. He also added that ”I also wanted to avoid monotony of charanga so I also started using trombones, violin and a flute. This is what I have baptized as chajunto, a mixture of charanga with the characteristics of an ensemble (conjunto in Spanish) ”.

He also pointed out that New York does not have an orchestra like his because he did not want to do the same thing that all groups of this kind do, but something different and novel. ”Son Del Monte is charanga with something more for the people, not only violin and flutes,” said the artist. ”I have three singers with three different styles and they are Puerto Rican Luis Ayala, Colombian Armando Son Giménez and Puerto Rican-Dominican Luisito Soto Junior,” he added.

The Son Del Monte Orchestra also features from the talent of flutist Mauricio Smith Junior, violinist Erick Salazar, trombonist Juanga Lakunza, trombonist Charlie García, bassist Bert Castro, conguero Joe González, pianist Andy Colón, among others. This is the group that has stuck by his side for more than six years in spite of the storms and they always perform together.

All members of the Son Del Monte Orchestra

Opinion on the academic training of musicians

Rivera was one of the best students at Harbor’s Conservatory of Music in Manhattan, New York and he thinks that institution had done so mucho good for folk music because of all the talent that graduated there. After studying there, he began to read percussion music and learned to play batá, tumbadora, Colombian rumba, guaguancó, yambú, and so on.

The musician stresses the importance of studying, as this knowledge helps to understand the clave, the moment to start playing an instrument, the chime, the reading of music, discipline and many more. Before this, Manuel played led by the spirit and sensations, but his teachers at the conservatory taught him to have the technical tools necessary for being even more professional.

What is more important, experience or studies?

”Definitely experience. I have seen many great artists learn to read music without going to a conservatory and a great example of that is Roberto Roena, who did not need that learning to be who he was. However, that is something that not everyone can do” said Manuel. I can also mention the case of Tito Rodriguez who was not a musician guided by the lyrics, but he knew very well what he wanted. These are some of the many examples of privileged artists who only needed accumulated experience to achieve wonders with their work”.

However, this does not mean studies are not important, as they can teach things that can be useful later on and under some circumstances.

Front cover of the Son Del Monte Orchestra's album ''Una Charanga Con Algo Más'' — Front cover of the Son Del Monte Orchestra’s album ”Una Charanga Con Algo Más”

Covid-19

”The pandemic did not let us do anything on stage. The guys went to the studio from time to time or we met virtually, as we do now. It was so sad because there are many venues that have failed to open their doors again. Since the pandemic started, we have not seen as much activity in New York as it used to be before” expressed the artist sadly.

Also of concern to the musical director of the Son Del Monte Orchestra is that this situation has put many musicians out of work, at least in the industry. Active musical groups have very few members in the vast majority of the cases, contrary to his and the orchestra he conducts. He hopes that it will improve with time.

Salsa singer Angel Rumba and what he has to say

Interview with Angel Rumba

Angel Manuel Ramos Sanchez, better known as Angel Rumba, is a New York singer of Puerto Rican descent with whom we had the great opportunity to talk about several issues of importance such as the beginning of his career with Pancho Bongó Y Su Orquesta, his debut as a soloist, the meaning behind his lyrics, among other things. It is a pleasure for us to have talked with this Latin talent and to bring the story to all our readers of International Salsa Magazine.

His beginnings

Ramos Sanchez was born in New York City in the 1980s, when there was a well-established salsa movement in New York City and the United States in general. Evidently, little Angel could not be left out of this trend, especially if we take into account that through his veins ran Latin blood.

In addition, his father was a singer, musician and guitarist, so he always listened to salsa, merengue, bolero and other genres at home. It was at the age of seven when he started playing güiro, bongo and conga due to the curiosity generated by his father’s work, who spent a lot of time teaching his son to play as many instruments as possible.

In 1992 when Angel was 12 years old, he started playing with an orchestra called Projecto 3 in the city of Allentown, which represented his first opportunity to be on stage and show his face to an audience waiting to see what he could offer. It could be said that this was the beginning of what would become his life’s work.

Moving to California and Pennsylvania

Given that Angel’s father was a truck driver, the family had to move around a lot until 2003, the year in which he moved to Puerto Rico and lived there for three years. In 2006, he moved permanently to Pennsylvania, where he has been living until today.

Release as a solo artist

When asked about his release as a solo artist, Angel stated that ”my beginnings were with merengue, but salsa always fascinated me because I really liked soneros such as Ismael Rivera, Gilberto Santa Rosa, El Canario and many more. I saw them improvising on stage and I always wanted to do the same.”

In 2014, he was given the chance to belong to the group Pancho Bongó Y Su Orquesta, which he was a member of for more than seven years until he wanted to make his own project in 2020. He felt he had the experience and took all the necessary stages to get to that point. In addition to that, being subject to command of a musical director greatly limits the creativity of the artists and the New Yorker singer no longer felt comfortable with what he was doing at that time.

The singer is also a composer and was not allowed to play his own music with the orchestra, which also led him to seek new horizons and, in turn, record his first solo track.

While acknowledging that this was no easy decision, he says that he has no regrets about it and all that he has been given from then until now has been a blessing for him and his family.

Obstacles during his solo career

On this subject, he confessed that many of his orchestra fellows were not happy with his decision to leave the group and he even felt that certain figures tried to put obstacles in his way so that he would not succeed in the way he wanted to. This is one of the reasons why he prefers not to show so much about his work and future projects to the public to avoid problems.

”Mi sentimiento En Rumba”

The process of making this album was not easy, since the artist had to knock on many doors until making contact with Rafael Lozano, who arranged the first song ”Sin Un Amor”. This was a cover of a song by Los Panchos, so we can say that it is a tribute to the group in a totally different genre.

We went looking for musicians from several countries to work with u among whom was Angel Guzman, who plays trombone, baritone, saxophone, trumpet and many more. He also told us about sound engineer José Guerrero, who makes the mixing and mastering of the songs.

The album includes six songs composed by Angel himself and three that were adapted such as ”Perfidia” in a bolero version as a gift for fans of musical trios.

In total, the whole project has two merengues, two boleros and the rest are salsa songs.

Angel Rumba's last album ‘’Mi Sentimiento En Rumba’’ — Angel Rumba’s last album ‘’Mi Sentimiento En Rumba’’

Salsa in a market dominated by trap and reggaeton

”Every genre has its audience and every artist has his fans” was what the singer answered when asked about the challenges facing a salsa singer in these times. With this, he shows that it does not bother him in the least that there are more popular genres than salsa and that every artist could have a strong fan base without this meaning involving damage to another one. He says that he will continue to create music with his favorite rhythms in spite of passing trends.

One thing he did emphasize is that there should be more artists who focus on writing and creating original music instead of doing so many covers. A lot of creativity is needed.

The importance of continuing to promote romantic love in the lyrics

The salsa exponent says that it is very important that music continues to promote romantic love and bring positive messages because unfortunately there are many genres focused on negative stuff such as disrespect for women, drugs, violence and much more. The salsa singer seeks to make his contribution to creating a better society in these hard times.

”The lyrics of the songs have always influenced society because their meanings anchor in the minds and the message endures” said Angel about this issue.

Are we really what we listen to?

Music and personality

There are many things to say about music and what it reveals about people who listen to it, especially when we are talking about certain musical genres in particular. It has been said that fans of a certain genre behave in a certain way and fans of another have a totally different behavior, while there are others who say that you can’t judge a person based on musical tastes, but how true is the latter?

There have been many studies showing this alleged relationship between the kind of music we enjoy and our personality and the way we are, but there are many who claim that this is a mere myth and that someone should not be analyzed based on the music they listen to. In this material, we will try to shed a little bit of light on this interesting and topìcal issue.

Why do we like one genre or another?

Something very important to know to better understand this topic is that the music we like now was not a product of chance, but of a number of factors to consider and one of them is the power and presence of music in our lives. It seems that every moment or situation we live has a soundtrack that fits perfectly well in what we are experiencing and feeling. We can all link one or several songs with something we are living, whether a party, social event, religious ritual, mourning for the lost of a loved one, love breakup, work stress, among other things.

Is that all of us have listened to music practically from pregnancy, at which time sounds are already familiar to human beings. Since then, our brain begins to associate all this information sonically speaking and translates it as memories or feelings in the future. That is why a certain cong can get us to remember past experiences, whether a person or a situation that made us feel a certain way.

What happens is that this piece of music leads our neurons to make very special connections that would not occur in another situation. Of course, the same piece would not evoke the same memories and sensations for everyone, as each case is very particular and specific. A song or melody can make someone look back on a failed love relationship, while another person can reflect on the value of friendship. It is all about understanding the environment and personal experiences.

Who are we based on our musical tastes?

One of the most important aspects to consider is that we are not going to choose the same kind of music for a party as we would listen to staying alone at home on a rainy afternoon, as well as we do not usually like just one kind of music, but many. It all depends on the occasion and state of mind in at the moment. However, everyone has a special interest in certain genres people listen to spontaneously and without impositions. These genres are usually associated or resemble each other, so it is not uncommon for a salsa lover to also like merengue and bachata.

In a 2007 study conducted by psychologists Adrian C. North and David J. Hargreaves from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom entitled ”Lyfestyle Correlates of Music Preference: 1. Relationships, Living Arragements, Beliefs, and Crime”, it is suggested that musical tastes may be indirectly related to individual lifestyle.

In this study, 2532 volunteers replied to a questionnaire asking them to indicate their musical tastes in a very specific way and talk about their lifestyles, interpersonal relationships, living conditions, economic situation, moral values, criminal record, vices, among other things. After analyzing the responses, we can see that there is an intimate connection between what respondents listen to and the way they live.

In the end, it was concluded that musical preferences can be taken as a means of discriminating between diverse lifestyles and liberal or conservative beliefs. In the vast majority of cases, ”liberal” music fans should have liberal lifestyles and customes, some of whom may become antisocial. In the opposite case, classical music lovers disployed much more conservative lifestyles and even showed more respect for the law.

Of course, these results cannot be taken as an absolute truth, as not everything is written on this subject. It is important to pursue research on this subject to reach further conclusions and take into account the new tools provided by science and technology.

Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa and his interesting career

José Flores Pérez

Jose Flores Perez, better known as Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa, is a salsa singer who was born in the town of Cidra, Puerto Rico, but currently resides in Georgia. We have had a very pleasant conversation with the salsa exponent, in which we have touched on certain various professional and personal tissues never mentioned before. It is a real pleasure for us that he has agreed to talk with us and tell a little more of his personal story on this platform, which is International Salsa Magazine.

Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa was born in Puerto Rico, but now lives in Georgia, United States

Origin of his artistic name

”Chevy” is a nickname his parents and friends always gave him and ”pitirre” refers to a Puerto Rican bird with very short dize, but a very strong character. Maestro Felix Ortiz name him ”El Pitirre” because of the way he sings and improvise in the stage and the trust between them was such that he even became the music director of his orchestra. This combination of nicknames was what made Flores start to become known by that way during the last four years of his career.

Influences and predilection for salsa music

The reason Chevy opted for salsa was the great influence from his family. His father was a salsa singer for local orchestras in Chicago, which made him listen to various Puerto Rican genres such as salsa, bolero, jibaro music and trova throughout his childhood.

There were years when he really enjoyed listening to hip hop and rap in the late 80’s and early 90’s, but it didn’t take long for him to reconnect with salsa when he started listening to Héctor Lavoe, Ismael Rivera, Sammy Marrero, Bobby Valentín, Cano Estremera, among others. Listening to all these idols and what they achieved led him to take salsa much more seriously.

Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa performing on stage

His time in the military and formal beginnings in music

During his time in the military, he performed in different orchestras and accompanied various artists throughout Atlanta. Although this was a demanding career, he organized himself to pursue his interest in music. When he leaves the armed forces, he went to Puerto Rico, where he lived for a great deal of time until he moved to Georgia in 2016.

His current residence is still in this state for professional reasons totally unrelated to music, but he had been there around the time he served in the army, so this part of the United States was not unknown to him. It is there that he resumesd his musical career after so many years.

In 2017, he began to compose, but it was not until two years later when he decided to launch as a soloist, make his first single ”Instrumento de amor” and carry out his first independent musical project entitled ”Entre el amor y el vacilón”.

In this same year 2019, he took advantage of the internet and social networks to become known at an international level and released his second record production during the pandemic, but the singer does not think this situation has hurt his carrer. On the contrary, he believes that social media and digital platforms gave him the push he needed to promote his artistic proposal.

Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa recording in the studio

Recent projects

One of his most recent projects was carried out in 2019, is titled ”Atacando en Navidad” and was born from the songs ”Arbolito de Navidad” and ”Compay no se me raje”. The first is written by Chevy, but the latter was composed by the legend Johnny Vega. At some point, the artist decided that these two singles were not enough, so he created a full album based on the Puerto Rican parranda he always enjoyed as a child. The result is a mix of nostalgia, sadness, love and joy. He tells how Christmas was celebrated at home, his childhood dreams, what this time meant to his family and the sadness when a loved one dies that year.

One of the most significant songs is ”Navidad Sin Parranda”, which was written a year before Chevy’s mother died. She was so ill at the time that the whole family thought she suddenly would lose her life, but fortunately she did not. Back then, the salsero was beginning to imagine a life and a Christmas without his mother, as she kept the family together and her house was the meeting place for all the important dates.

It just so happens that Venezuelan musical arranger Willy Melo lost his father within a few days of receiving the song, so he was very connected to that same pain around the same time.

Broadcaster and host of Con Sabor Y Amor Latino Tatiana Mezarina

We talked with announcer Tatiena Mezarina

The world of broadcasting is of utmost importance to the promotion of Latin music and today we are talking to one of its greatest exponents. We are talking about Peruvian broadcaster and host of the show ”Con Sabor Y Amor Latino” Tatiana Mezarina, who very kindly agreed to talk to us about her career and current projects.

Tatiana began by thanking us for inviting her and telling us how she became interested in the world of radio. All this enthusiasm for this interesting world of communication began since she was very little in her native Peru, at which time she worked as a school correspondent for one of the most famous newspapers in Latin America, ‘‘El Comercio”. On the radio, she began on the radio station Radio Libertad, specifically in a program show ”Viva Juventud”.

Since a very early age, Mezarina was very involved on all types of media, both print and audiovisual. Then, she had the opportunity to work in television with a show dedicated to music called ”El Mañanero”, which was in charge of broadcasting all kinds of artists and rhythms in her country.

When he started working for ”Canal Global”, he received a scholarship to study Communication Sciences in Germany and worked in German media such as Deutsche Welle and Berlin Channel. Both there and in the United States, she has had many shows linked to social causes and dedicated to informing her listeners about important issues.

Tatiana Mezarina talking to Luis Enrique

How ”Con Sabor Y Amor Latino” started

In the case of her most recent project ”Con Sabor Y Amor Latino”, Tatiana wanted to work on all these issues and give a friendly voice to help Latinos living in the United States so that they know that we are the largest ethnic minority in this country, so we should not be harassed by anyone. At the beginning, this show sought to keep the Latino community informed, but as time went by, it also wanted to offer good music. This is how Tatiana began inviting Latin artists from all over the world and of all musical genres, but she always had a special tendency to salsa because it is her favorite type of music.

In September 2019, the announcer decided to create ”Con Sabor Y Amor Latino”, a name inspired by how delicious Latin food is and how loving much of us Latinos are. This was her first project of this type since arriving in New York and arose from the need for Latinos to have a window through which they could communicate in their native language and feel comfortable to express themselves.

Music has been very important as dancing and joy are part of our identity. Music is part of our DNA and salsa has always identified with the Latino.

Is academic training important for communication?

Mezarina states that she has no problem with communicators without any training long as they do this job responsibly. However, she also argues that a person with training tends to offer a higher quality work, but this is not always the norm.

The communicator confesses that she herself took a radio and television course there in New York, which was aimed at people who had never done radio before, but wanted to learn about this profession. This is how she became interested in this branch of communication and is the one she currently works in.

”There can be all kinds of communicators, but it’s up to to everyone to decide who to follow and what to listen to,” says the announcer.

Tatiana Mezarina with Grammy-nominated Colombian percussionist Samuel Torres

Non-recommendable behaviors in communicators

When asked what behaviors which no communicator should have, Tatiana says that ”unverified information should never be disseminated. When we stand at a microphone, we have the responsibility to be careful with what we say because we reach thousands of people in a matter of seconds. If things are not done right, we confuse people and do not honor the truth.”

Future projects

As for her future projects, the communicator has said that she would never want Con Sabor Y Amor Latino to be cancelled, as she considers that much remains to be done from that platform. Unfortunately, she has been unable to dedicate 100% of her time to the radio show, but she hopes to be able to do so in the future. Similarly, he also hopes his content will be broadcast on one of the major television networks in the United States.

Meanwhile, the goal of Mezarina and her team is to keep the community informed on everything a Latino in the United States need to know to avoid inconveniences and to give publicity to artists from all genres who are unable to make their talent public through traditional radio stations and channels.