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Search Results for: All Stars

The Club de los Soneros Dorados The Orchestra of the Stars

The Club de los Soneros Dorados The Orchestra of the Stars, where great stars and legends of Cuban music meet

Two years ago, an orchestra made history. For the first time in Cuban music, the greatest legends, singers, and instrumentalists were united in a single project, their songs quickly transcended the world and occupied places in the charts.

The Cuban’s Golden Club
The Cuban’s Golden Club

The Golden was born from the hand of the young composer Carlos Sanabia from Santiago de Cuba. The Golden Soneros club  (La Orquesta de las Estrellas) was one of the most awaited realities for all of Cuba.

The news of its 3rd record production is one of the best news in the musical world, its title will be MAESTROS DEL SABOR and it will count with the presence of several international guests, among them the living legend of Salsa Bobby Cruz, will consist of 21 themes in total divided into 3 volumes of 7 Songs Individually.

With a more modern and youthful style, the songs were specifically designed by Sanabia to capture the attention of the dancing public by inserting them in the popular taste.

The Cuban’s Golden Club
The Cuban’s Golden Club

With elements of Rumba, Salsa, and Timba and Occurring and Sticky Phrases from the day to day life of the Cuban people.

With the presentation of new talents, singers, and musicians in the Orquesta de las Leyendas, Sanabia insists on the purpose of bringing the secrets of its music to the new generations and thus guarantee the new formation of future stars in the new talents that abound on the island.

They have not yet entered the studio to record and this third album by EL GOLDEN has already made the news. Thanks to Carlos Sanabia and his Soneros Dorados, “Salsa is in fashion again.

The Cuban’s Golden Club
USA Tour The Cuban’s Golden Club

Several established musicians played at the club during the 1930s and 1940s, including bassist Cachao López and bandleader Arsenio Rodríguez.

According to Ry Cooder, “Cuban and Caribbean society and even New Orleans society, as far as I know, was organized around these social clubs.

There were cigarette wrappers clubs, baseball players clubs, and they played cards and sports and had their pets, like dogs.

In the case of the Buena Vista Social Club, there were musicians there, like in the clubs in the United States.

Rodriguez’s pianist, Ruben Gonzalez, who played the piano on recordings in the 1990s, described the 1940s as “an age of true musical life in Cuba, where there wasn’t much money to be made, but they played because they really wanted to.

That era saw the birth of jazz-influenced mambo, charanga, and dance forms such as pachanga and cha-cha-cha, as well as the development of traditional Afro-Cuban musical styles such as rumba and son, which was later modified by Arsenio Rodríguez’s use of additional instruments to become son montuno.2 Son, described as “the foundation of Cuban music,” has transformed much of Latin American music in the 20th century.

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Find out all you want at the Love Sensual Festival

Europe / Croatia

Very seldom do we get places and festivities that have everything we like on one occasion.

As it turns out, they do exist, but we must make efforts to look for them, even in the locations we never expected.

One example of this is the spectacular Love Sensual Festival, which includes everything you can expect from an event of its stature. This great show will have as point of the beginning a series of celebrations that you will not believe. Not to mention that they will be held in the most spacious halls you can imagine and with the best artists and dancers of the time.

Love Sensual Festival in Croatia
A group dancing and singing at the Love Sensual Festival

If you thought that the foregoing was not enough, the event will also offer a set of concerts and dance classes that will awaken your taste in contemporary African music.

The Love Sensual Festival includes the newest African rhythms of today, among which we can find kizomba, urbankizz, semba, zouk, and many others.

Workshops:

1) URBANKIZZ / KIZOMBA / SEMBA / ZOUK

2) BACHATA: MODERN / SENSUAL / FUSION / DOMINICAN

3) SALSA ON1 / ON2 / CUBANA / RUEDA / MAMBO

Location: Valamar Diamant Hotel. Brulo bb, Porec

Porec, Istarska Zupanija, Croatia

Date: from April 30 to May 5 2021.

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Willie Colón The “Architect of Salsa” Enters Immortality

February 21, 2026, will be etched into the history of Latin music as the day the “street trombone” fell silent to become an eternal echo.

A Sorrowful Farewell: February 2026

After several days of uncertainty and reports regarding his delicate health, the passing of William Anthony Colón Román was confirmed in New York City at the age of 75.

Willie Colón, the Architect of Salsa, Passes into Immortality
Willie Colón, the Architect of Salsa, Passes into Immortality

Producer, trombonist, visionary. He was the architect of a sound that broke the mold and redefined salsa from New York for the entire world.

With his aggressive trombone, his innovative musical concepts, and his leadership within the historic Fania All-Stars, he marked an era that can never be repeated.

The musician, who had already shown signs of physical frailty following his retirement from the stage in 2023, suffered severe respiratory complications that kept him hospitalized during his final days.

Iconic figures like Rubén Blades and the entire Fania family have expressed their grief, noting that we haven’t just lost a musician, but the “Malo” (The Bad Boy) who revolutionized the visual and sonic identity of Latinos in New York.

A Legacy of Rebellion and Sophistication

Unlike other bandleaders, Willie Colón didn’t just make music; he told cinematic stories. From his early days with Héctor Lavoe to his era of social consciousness with Rubén Blades, Colón transformed salsa into a vehicle for urban narrative.

With his aggressive trombone playing, innovative musical concept, and leadership within the historic Fania All-Stars
With his aggressive trombone playing, innovative musical concept, and leadership within the historic Fania All-Stars
  • Innovation: He was responsible for putting the trombone at center stage, creating that “heavy,” raw sound that defined the Bronx.
  • Identity: Through his iconic album covers (emulating FBI “Wanted” posters), he constructed the mystique of the Latin anti-hero.

His Eternal Anthems

Willie Colón’s catalog is the backbone of every party and social reflection in Latin America. Among his most remembered tracks, more relevant today than ever, are:

Song Significance
El Gran Varón A milestone in social lyrics regarding identity and redemption.
Idilio The most romantic and melodic facet of his mature era.
Pedro Navaja The ultimate expression of narrative salsa produced alongside Blades.
Gitana A classic of sentiment and rhythmic fusion.

Beyond the Trombone: Activism and Service

In his later years, Willie Colón’s life was also defined by his work offstage. He served as an activist, a community leader in New York, and held positions in organizations advocating for Hispanic rights. His life was a testament to the fact that art and social commitment can walk hand-in-hand.

Producer, trombonist, visionary. Architect of a sound that broke molds and redefined salsa from New York to the world.

Producer, trombonist, visionary. Architect of a sound that broke molds and redefined salsa from New York to the world.

The Centennial on the Horizon

Though the Maestro has physically departed in 2026, his office and family have made it clear that his music will live on. Releases of unedited material and tribute concerts are expected as we pave the road toward the centennial of his birth in 2050.

“Time passes, and I am left unable to speak to you”  Willie Colón.

His music will continue to speak for him on every corner where a trombone sounds and in every heart that feels the pulse of urban salsa.

His talent was more than rhythm: it was identity, the barrio, resistance, and living history. Today, we don’t just say goodbye to a musician; we say goodbye to a pillar, a North Star, and an entire chapter of our Latin culture.

Anecdote:

Willie Colón had a notorious incident in Medellín in 1985 when he refused to perform at the Iván de Bedout Coliseum because the promoters of “Rumba Producciones” failed to pay the agreed amount. Police arrested him along with 13 of his musicians, and they were detained for two days at the Belén neighborhood police station.

The audience, who had waited for hours, grew unruly, leading to riots that resulted in six injuries and significant property damage. This episode inspired the song “Especial No. 5,” which narrates Colón’s experience inside cell number five of that station.

Willie Colón had an incident in Medellín in 1985
Willie Colón had an incident in Medellín in 1985

Special Contribution by Julio Cesar Galindo Alarcón (Lima, Peru)

A posthumous tribute to the great Willie Colón (1950-2026): The greatest disciple of Mon Rivera by his own admission and today a legend of our passionate salsa.

Willie Colón: From “Classic Urban Salsa” to “Symphonic Salsa”

His musical production clarifies and proves that “salsa” does not only originate from Cuban and Puerto Rican rhythms, but also from American, Brazilian, and other Latin influences.

When Willie produced and recorded his 1977 instrumental-only album, El Baquiné de Angelitos Negros, he expanded the orchestral lineup to include violins, saxophone, flute, cello, and trumpet. While the work had little commercial success and went largely unnoticed during his triumphant career, it served as more than just a platform for his “salsa” fusions with Jazz, Funk, Soul, and R&B. It was the starting point for producing grander orchestral arrangements with a larger number of musicians, thus becoming the precursor to what is now known as “Symphonic Salsa.”

Four years after this beginning, in 1981, this “Symphonic Salsa” reached its peak when Willie released his second solo album, Fantasmas dedicated to and motivated by the loss of his younger sister, Cindy. The album included a track he composed, with musical arrangements by Luis Cruz, titled “Toma Mis Manos” (Take My Hands).

This piece, dealing with the somber theme of death, is considered by this author (due to the quality of the composition and the fabulous “Symphonic” orchestration) to be an authentic and grand masterpiece of “Classic Salsa.” It blends Funk, Soul, R&B, and Bossa Nova with Willie’s excellent vocals, serving as a spectacular prelude to that other legendary, yet often overlooked, symphonic track recorded in 1991 by the “Canary of Carolina,” the great Lalo Rodríguez: “El niño, el hombre, el soñador y el loco.”

To conclude, with the immense pain that his departure brings, I accompany this tribute with the aforementioned song: “Toma Mis Manos,” an unforgettable composition by the recent legend of our “salsa” the great Willie Colón, famously known as “The Bad Boy of the Bronx.”

The legendary musician and his wife Julia Colón were married for decades and share three children (

The legendary musician and his wife Julia Colón were married for decades and share three children

Also Read: The legacy of Leopoldo Pineda, the ambassador of the trombone in La Maquinaria Fania All Stars

Europe / February 2026

Cafe Berlin 2025Radio Gladys Palmera 2025

Karina Bernales present February 2026 FESTIVALS

France circle flag
FRANCE
Romantic Festival 2026

Freedom Romantic Festival

Feb 20 / 22, 2026

Espace Christian Le Maoût
67 Rue de Montfort
L’Hermitage 35590, France

€ 170

Germany circular Flag
GERMANY
Cologne Salsa 2026

Cologne Salsa Marathon

Feb 27 / Mar 01, 12026

Tanzschule tanzraum Köln Zentrum
Salierring 33, 50677 Köln, Germany

€ 120

Hungary circular flag
HUNGARY
Arrebatate 2026

Arrebatate Cuban Salsa Festival

Feb 20 / 23, 2026

Lurdy Haz
Könyves Kálmán krt. 12-14
Budapest 1097, Hungary

€ 149

All Stars 2026

All Stars Budapest
Bachata Fest

Feb 20 / 22, 2026

Verdi Aquincum Hotel
Árpád fejedelem útja 94
Budapest 1036, Hungary

€ 150

Ireland Circle flag
IRELAND
Latin Queen 01 2026

Latin Queen Weekend

Feb 21 / 22, 2026

St. Vincent’s GAA Club
Malahide Road DO3YXO8
Dublin 3, Ireland

€ 99

Netherlands circular flag
NETHERLANDS
AISF 01 2026

Amsterdam International Salsa Festival

Feb 19 / 22, 2026

De Koning
Isolatorweg 29, 1014 AS
Amsterdam, Netherlands

€ 215

Portugal Circular Flag
PORTUGAL
Sway 02 2026

Sway Dance Festival

Feb 20 / 21, 2026

GALP GAIA
Avenida Vasco da Gama
Oliveira do Douro
Vila Nova de Gaia
Porto 4430-247, Portugal

€ 129

Spain Flag
SPAIN
Dame 02 2026

Dame Festival

Feb 6 / 8, 2026

Avinguda de Pérez Galdós
8, Extramurs
Valencia 46007, Spain

€ 99

Love Dance 02 2026

Love Dance Festival XIII

Feb 13/15, 2006

Carrer del Pla de la Torre
14 08398 Santa Susanna
Barcelona 08398, Spain

€ 109

Mallorca 02 2026

Mallorca Latin Paradise

Feb 13/15, 2026

Hotel Occidental
Playa de Palma
Avinguda de Fra Joan Llabrés, 16
Platja de Palma, 07600
Illes Balears, Spain

€ 130

SoulDance 02 2026

SoulDance Bachata & Salsa Festival

Feb 20 / 21. 2026

Hotel Olympic Resort
Camí de l’Àngel, Lloret de Mar
la Selva
Catalonia, 17310, Spain

€ 130

Dominican Flow 02 2026

Dominican Flow Festival

Feb 20 / 23, 2026

Hotel Cullera Holiday
Av. el Racó, 27, 46400 Cullera
Valencia, Spain

€ 125

Mas que Cubano 02 2026

Más que Cubano Festival BILBAO

Feb 20 / 22, 2026

Hotel Seminario Aeropuerto
Bilbao. Larrauri Kalea,1C
Bilbo
Bizkaia, España

€ 100

Calibrated maracasMartinez attorney

Directory of European nightclubs

Czech Republic circular flag
CZECHIA

La Macumba 2024
La Macumba
Štefánikova 230/7 150 00
Prague, Czech Republic

fRANCE FLAG
FRANCE

Canela
Canela Club Latino Paris
77 Rue du Faubourg du temple 75010
Paris, France

Cuba Compagnie
Cuba Compagnie Café
48 BD Beaumarchais 75011
Paris, France

Cubana
Cubana Café
47 rue Vavin 75006
Paris, France

La Pachanga
La Pachanga Officiel
8, rue vandamme 75014
Paris, France

La Peña
La Peña Saint Germain
3 passage de la Petite Boucherie 75006
Paris, France

Balajo
Le Balajo
9 rue de Lappe 75011
Paris, France

Pachamama
Pachamama PARIS
46 rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine 75012
Paris, France

Selsero
Salseroparis
9 Rue du Petit Pont, 75005
Paris, France

Germany circular Flag
GERMANY

Cascadas
Cascadas
Ferdinandstr. 12
20095 Hamburg-Mitte, Germany

Havanna
Havanna Berlin
Hauptstr. 30
10827 Berlin-Schöneberg, Germany
La Macumba - The Real Latin Club in Hamburgs
La Macumba – The Real Latin Club in Hamburgs
Adenauerallee 3 20097
Hamburg, Germany

Latin Palace Changó
Latin Palace Changó
Münchener Strasse 57
60329 Frankfurt, Germany

SODA
Soda Club Berlin
Schönhauser Allee 36
10435 Berlin, Germany

Malta Circle flag
MALTA

Bario Latino Malta venue
Barrio Latino Malta
Ghar il Lembi Street SLM1562 Sliema
Central Region, Malta

Poland flag
POLAND

Teatro Cubano
Teatro Cubano Warsaw
ul. Aleksandra Fredry 6 00-097 /> Warsaw, Poland

Spain Flag
SPAIN

ACM City
ACM CitY
Carrer Can Pallarès 2, Cerdanyola del Vallès
08290 Barcelona, Spain

Antilla
Antilla Barcelona
C/ d’Aragó, 141
08015 Barcelona, Spain

Azucar
Azúcar SalsaDisco
Calle de Atocha, 107
28012 Madrid, Spain

Disco Bar Cuba Live
Cuba Live
Ramón y cajal número 2
07011 Palma de Mallorca, Spain

El Son
Discoteca El Son
C. de la Victoria, 6
28012 Madrid, Spain

Prisma Discoteca
Discoteca Prisma
C. de Alcalá, 192
28028 Madrid, Spain

Discoteca El Edén Boliviano
El Edén Boliviano
Carrer Gremi de Tintorers, 49A
07009 Palma, Illes Balears, Spain

Mojito
Mojito Club
Rosselló, 217
08008 Barcelona, Spain

Morena
Morena Barcelona
calle 11 num.29
08860 Castelldefels, Spain
Que Chimba
Qué Chimba
Av. del Vallès, 117
08223 Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain
Sala Olvido Madrid
Sala Olvido
C/ Olvido 15
28026 Madrid, Spain
Seven Dance
Seven Dance (Dio Club)
Carrer del Perill 10
08012 Barcelona, Spain

The Host Madrid
The Host
C/ Ferraz nº 38
28008 Madrid, Spain
+34 918 05 36 48

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UNITED KINGDOM

Salsa Soho
Bar Salsa Soho
96 Charing Cross Rd
WC2H 0JG London, UK

Salsa Temple
Bar Salsa Temple
Victoria Embankment, Temple
WC2R 2PH London, UK

Juju's
JUJU’s Bar & Stage
Ely’s Yard 15 Hanbury Street
E1 6QR London, UK

Revolucion de Cuba
Revolucion de Cuba Leeds
64-68 Call Lane
LS1 6DT Leeds, UK

LightHouse
The LightHouse Bar & Club
62 Rivington Street
EC2A 3AY London, UK
 

 

 

 

 

 

Cristobal Verdecia and his quartet Son Qba in Miami

As we all know, Cuba is an endless source of talent and never tires of proving it. Today, we are really honored to be able to talk to one of its greatest exponents in the city of Miami and it is arranger, producer, bandleader, and bassist Cristóbal Verdecia, who very kindly agreed to talk to us for a few minutes about his life and career both in Cuba and in the United States, his home for more than 10 years.

Cristobal with his basses
Cristobal Verdecia with his two basses

Cristóbal’s beginnings and inspirations for entering the world of music

The first reference that Cristobal had at a musical level was his uncle Israel “Kantor” Sardiñas, who was the vocalist, bassist, and pianist for the legendary band Los Van Van. The artist always wanted his nephew to learn to play instruments, more specifically the piano, but Cristóbal had other hobbies at the time and did not pay much attention to him. Then, in 1982, Sardiñas packed suitcases and left Cuba in search of better opportunities, but not before leaving his piano, bass, and guitar to the young Cristóbal to use them in his place.

It was then that he finally became truly interested in music, and the instrument that most caught his attention at the time was the bass. Seeing this sudden love for the instrument, Cristóbal’s father decided to enroll him in the Guillermo Tomás Music Conservatory when he was about 10 years old. He greatly improved his skills with the bass and began playing with local jazz bands, but his academic training was not yet complete. 

Some time later, he enrolled at the Ignacio Cervantes Conservatory, where his teachers, in his own words, were two of the best bassists to come from Cuba: Silvio Vergara, now deceased, and Carlos Del Puerto. At this institution, he studied electric bass and double bass.

From there, Cristóbal began playing with increasingly prestigious bands such as Pachito Alonso y Su Kini Kini, Paulo FG y Su Élite, Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son, Havana D’Primera, among many others. Being with Pachito, he had the opportunity to share with artists of the stature of Roberto Hernández “Robertón” (current Los Van Van singer), “El Lele,” the Mengual twins, among others. It was Robertón who gave him some advice about how to improve the quality and raise the level of his work.

Cristobal and his uncle
Cristobal Verdecia and his uncle Israel “Kantor” Sardiñas

In the case of Paulo G Y Su Élite, he had the opportunity to serve as musical director for about five years in the band, which provided great learning for the future. 

Subsequently, Alexander Abreu, director of Havana D’Primera, had the idea of forming his own band with the best musicians in Cuba and that each musician had a substitute. That was where Cristóbal joined and became part of the first album, “Haciendo Historias.”

Move to the United States

When Cristóbal made the decision to leave Cuba, the first country he visited was Mexico, where he spent about four years and also played with many other bands. However, the idea of forming his own project was already on his mind for some time.

When he finally turned this idea into reality, the artist and his band accompanied singers who arrived alone, which provided him the expertise to face the future professional challenges that awaited him.

Julio Cesar, Cristobal, Marciano, and Franklin
Guitarist Julio Cesar rodriguez, bassist Cristobal Verdecia, percussionist Marciano Hernandez and tresero Franklin Reytor

Once his cycle in Mexico concluded, he moved to Miami in 2012 to continue growing in music, as he believed that the city offered him an opportunity that his previous country of residence did not. One of the first things he wanted to do was to revive his quartet Son Qba, which he had started in Mexico, but he was advised to take the time to learn how everything worked there first and then follow the path he wished.

This is how Cristóbal also managed to play with several local artists and bands to understand the dynamics of the place, such as Tony Succar, Issac Delgado, Timbalive, Aymée Nuviola, Grupo Niche, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Albita Rodríguez, Buena Vista All Stars, among others. All this path traveled finally led him to be able to resume Son Qba with the full works in 2019.

Today, Son Qba consists of our guest Cristóbal Verdecia, tresero Franklin Reytor, percussionist Marciano Hernández, singer and guitarist Julio César Rodríguez, and singer José “Pepito” Gómez.

Read also: Gabrielito Y La Verdad giving everything in Los Angeles and beyond

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International Salsa Magazine (ISM) is a monthly publication about Salsa activities around the world, that has been publishing since 2007. It is a world network of volunteers coordinated by ISM Magazine. We are working to strengthen all the events by working together.