The Salsa Museum and myself, Johnny Cruz, are pleased to welcome the former life partner of maestro Johnny Pacheco, María Elena Pacheco, better known as Cuqui Pacheco. The artist’s widow spoke exclusively with me and Rubio Boris about the new book by Juan Moreno-Velázquez entitled ”Johnny Pacheco: tres de café, dos de azúcar y ¡ponle salsa!”
The maestro’s artistic and personal life continues to venom a particular interest to his biggest fans, so you can’t miss this spectacular compilation of some of the most interesting anecdotes of Johnny Pacheco’s career. Below, we will discuss some of the topics covered in the written material.
What are the book’s main objectives?
What Moreno-Velázquez looks for in the first place with this book is to do justice to the life and work of the world famous musician by describing some of the most important stages of his life, so that his loyal public will know far more about the record businessman and producer.
One thing we want to point out in the story is that there were many things that led Pacheco to the place he obtained in the industry, such as the influence of his father Rafael Arias Pacheco, his percussion studies, his ability to perform and the talent for arranging he found out he had.
After going down all that path as a musician, the artist began to develop a much broader and deeper vision of everything about the industry, to the extent that he became one of the greatest music entrepreneurs and forever changed the way businesses were run in showbiz.
The book also aims to shed as much light as possible on Pacheco’s work, as the subject has been little documented. It could be said that one of the few documentaries that addresses the subject of the flutist and the stars who have been part of La Fania is ”Yo Soy La Salsa” whose trailer can be found on the YouTube platform. However, ”Johnny Pacheco: tres de café, dos de azúcar y ¡ponle salsa!” will surely expose unpublished or little-known aspects.
In addition to this, the book memorialized the explanation of how Pacheco managed to turn salsa into some kind of Caribbean identity that made millions of Latinos identify with a single emotion no matter in which country they were born or where they currently live.
Issues raised in the book
Before becoming the mogul he came to be, Pacheco had already demonstrated his creative skills with rhythms he popularized thanks to his talent, such as the pachanga and the charanga Pacheco. The book gives a very interesting account of facts, persons, circumstances, coincidences and anecdotes that are little mentioned publicly, which increases its value at a bibliographical level in the eyes of any student of salsa or Latin music in general.
Moreover, the text also refers to the impact Pacheco had on music as a result of some factors among which we can mention his experience, musical sense, leadership and great interpretation of the experiences lived by other orchestras.
The importance of this book lies in the exaltation of Pacheco’s work and the legacy left by him after his tragic death on that fateful day of February 15, 2021. It is sure to become an obligatory reference for anyone who wishes to learn more about the story not only of this musician, but of salsa in general.
Read also: Willie González supports the Spanish Harlem Salsa Museum
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