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Search Results for: Cali
Saxophonist and flutist Dave Victorino talks to International Salsa Magazine
Dave Victorino is a saxophonist and flutist who plays various Latin genres such as salsa, Latin jazz and swing in the city of Los Angeles, California. The American musician has been kind enough to talk exclusively with International Salsa Magazine about various topics, including his beginnings, current career and existing projects. We hope that our esteemed readers will like the details of this conversation.
Young Dave’s beginnings in music
Dave recalls that his taste in music led one of his cousins to give him a flute so that he could start playing an instrument and see what happened. However, over time, the young man preferred the saxophone, which he found he liked much more at the time. He reckons that his interest in music began when he was just a 12 or 13-yeard-old.
His interest in the saxophone began with a friend of his mother’s who was a teacher of that instrument, so he was the first to teach him how to play it properly and, even after so many years gone by, he continues to remember everything he learned with him.
Education
Dave graduated with a degree in music education from Cal State Los Angeles and assured us that one of his greatest mentors there was saxophonist Barney Martinez, a very important figure in Latin jazz at the time. This was a time of great learning for what was to come professionally, and that knowledge continues to help him a lot.
He also studied with other important music teachers and professors who complemented his musical training almost perfectly.
What has Dave learned from his greatest collaborations?
Throughout his career, Dave has collaborated with groups such as The Henry Mora Big Band, Temptations, Al Viola, Fred Ramirez, Little Anthony and The Imperials and many others. Obviously, all these personalities have had something important to teach the musician when sharing the stage with him.
Dave refers to Henry Mora as one of his greatest mentors in this whole process, as he had much more experience than the artist, so he had a lot to learn and imitate from him.
Each professional experience is one more step on the road to excellence that Dave and any artist looks for in his work, which is achieved through practice and spending time with more experienced teachers.
Great inspirations
When we wanted to know Dave’s greatest inspirations, he could not help but first mention the group El Chicano, with which he played in the early 1980s. One of its founding members and singer Bobby Espinosa, who showed him some recordings of the Fania All Stars and Johnny Pacheco while playing one of the best solos Dave had ever seen. In fact, the artist considers Pacheco his favorite flutist from the very moment he first heard him.
He also commented that he really likes the way Stan Getz, a Californian saxophonist whose main genres were jazz and pop, played.
How his love for Latin music was born
Dave’s first contact with Latin music was with the group El Chicano, but then came other groups that playing genres that caught his attention.
For several years in the 1980’s and 1990’s, he played in a park three times a week and, on those same days, a DJ would play music by Johnny Pacheco himself, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico and other salsa groups. He became so fascinated with everything he heard that, little by little, he began to transform his repertoire into one that also included salsa and Latin jazz.
Initially, he only cared about playing this music without understanding the lyrics, but then he began studying and learning a little Spanish to get a better performance in his work. However, he assures that this detail has never posed a problem or a limitation to get good performances in Latin music.
Music Classes
Another interesting thing about Dave is teaching. He currently teaches saxophone, flute, clarinet and piano to a good number of students, who have taught him the virtue of patience and determination to always learn something new.
His students are of different ages and he teaches various levels.
También lee: Eddie Muñíz continues to head Swing Sabroso
Damian Ballester and the transformations of Cuban Folk Dance
Latin America / Cuba
The relationship of Africa within the musical and dance culture in Latin America is notorious when we see the cultural expressions of the peoples of this continent, it is easy to see how similar they are, the use of percussion is one of the most relevant topics, in itself a mixture of cultural customs, religion, musicality, dance, in itself all the elements of the black race.
America, one of the main destinations of the ships with black slaves from many areas of Africa, caused our culture to be armed with a bit of each custom, therefore, we can say that in America there is a bit of each African people, this relationship of variety of slaves focused on dividing the forces of the race so as not to make it powerful, divided languages, customs, words and religions only left the marginalized population to communicate through percussion, an element that made the system improve at times of understanding within the fences where they lived.
Due to the above, African religions and customs are born in Cuba but, adopted by those already existing on the island, this combination gives us a rich variant of movements from three continents, Europe through Spain and Africa in all its splendor.
To clarify some topics of the folklore of the Caribbean island and its current dance transformations, we had to contact a great teacher, Damian Ballester, director of Iya Aye, one of the best folklore groups on the island of Cuba, to speak with this professional of the dance is necessary if we want to obtain real information about Cuban traditions, a great teacher who has left his teachings in many Spanish-speaking countries, among which Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and now in the United States stand out…
we begin by greeting him and opening a pleasant conversation, to which we got an original response “Greetings acere, what was it”, calling him opens up a range of questions on the subject in question, here is an extract of the most common doubts generated around the relationship with salsa, its festivals and diffusion in the world.
Greetings Prof. Damian, grateful for your receptivity, we want to give information to our readers about the relationship of Cuban folklore within our world, Salsa, to begin with, what is defined as Cuban Folkloric dances?
Grateful for the opportunity and sure, that if we report on the case, folk dances are nothing more than the set of cultural goods or phenomena that constitute a cultural complex with manifestations of all aspects of popular life. It is the sum of the manifestations acquired by experience, by inheritance, by tradition, by the satisfaction of biological or sociological needs, among other things. This lasts through several generations and almost always undergoes transformations.
They will get compound terms in the word folklore, which speaks of people or people, popular knowledge, together with the popular knowledge of the people. It is a very long topic, because I should talk about so many things about my culture, better let’s leave the definition until here and thus add flavor to the interview.
Much better, we continue then, do African dances have any impact on Cuban folk dances?
Yes, of course, it is the root, the exercise of dance has always characterized my land and has suffered the same processes of contagion and transculturation between the ways of dancing of the colonizer and the styles introduced by African ethnic groups since the 16th century, in fact, the colonizers brought romance, active in the Cuban countryside for several centuries, with its couplets and their ways of singing and founding alegrías, while the black slaves included their ancestral rites, their drums, and their particular sense of rhythm and movement. bodily.
Given this brief explanation, we can say that not only dances of African origin contributed or influenced Cuban folklore, we can say that there is also an incidence from Spain, France and the Caribbean, but its main axis was born from the Spanish and the African.
We know the extent of Cuban folklore, for how long should a person prepare to be called a professor in this branch?
First of all, to carry the name, whether it is a teacher or instructor of Cuban folklore genres, there are two factors that are very important, the first is study, since Cuban folklore is made up of a very wide range of genres divided into different styles, I could mention some examples: Peasant, popular, Afro-Cuban and Franco-Haitian folklore.
Within the styles of peasant folklore, examples could be given of the Cuban zapateo, the ripiado parakeet, the chidonga, the hawk, the caringa, the son montuno, among others.
Within the styles of popular folklore, the Complex of the rumba, the mambo, the chachachá, the danzón, the dance, the pilón, the congas and the comparsas, the casino can be mentioned, within the Afro-Cuban folklore the Bantú cycle can be mentioned, the Yorubas, the Arara, the Abakua, within Franco-Haitian folklore we can mention the French tomb, the Haitian merengue, the gaga, the vodu among others, if I continue we will not finish today. (laughs to close)
Of the folkloric dances, which are the most outstanding or spread worldwide?
It could be said that there are several, examples are the popular folkloric ones, one could say the casino, the mambo, the chachachá, the son, the rumba complex, that the latter people tend to say are African or Afro-Cuban dances, that have African influence does not mean that they are classified within Afro-Cuban dances because this genre emerged in Cuba, was used as an object of protest against the government of that time and was eradicated in the essence of Cuban. In the same way, the one that has had the most impact and remained in the whole world are the Yoruba dances or dances of the orishas.
Should we open another interview to just talk about the many genres that the island embraces, what institutions correctly form the folkloric traditions in Cuba?
There are many institutions in Cuba, from the community point of view what is named in Cuba as amateur dancer are the community projects and actions that are nothing more than groups created in the communities, all of these supervised technically and methodologically by specialists from the houses of culture of each area by provincial and national methodologists governed by the Ministry of Culture.
From a professional point of view, there are art schools such as the ENA (NATIONAL SCHOOL OF ART) and the ISA (SUPERIOR INSTITUTE OF ART) all governed by a logical curriculum organized by specialists and connoisseurs of the genres.
Other institutions that could be mentioned, is the little school of the national folkloric group of Cuba with 56 years of creation in charge of rescuing and safeguarding the traditional Cuban musical and dance traditions.
Wao, Enough, Do you know if there is any similar institution in the world?
In the world there are countless schools that are training dancers with the Cuban style and technique, whether they are Cuban or foreign teachers, but nothing like the preparation of art schools in Cuba that work with a logical and well-prepared program, in some schools around the world it could be said that they do not work under a logical methodological program for the teaching of these genres due to the commercial and monetary part, unfortunately there are many dedicated to commerce, to money and not to the necessary dedication.
This dissemination has been achieved while respecting the roots and traditions of the farmers? The root? The original essence?
Unfortunately, it could be said that a good diffusion of Cuban genres worldwide has not been respected or achieved, of 100% of the performers, it could be said that only 10% are protecting Cuban traditions, it is sad to say, but trade and populism it is destroying the folklore of an entire country.
Have these changes in traditions positively or negatively impacted Cuban culture?
First of all, traditions do not change if they are not passed down from generation to generation. In terms of their impact, I see it negatively because the dissemination that is taking place is incorrect and worst of all, there is no organization, which was of Cuba, can follow up on the program that is being given to Cuban genres, in itself, many see the commercial and hence they do not care about the poor distribution of what is taught.
What is the reason that so many dancers seek to perform Cuban dances? It is notorious to see it at festivals and congresses.
There are two very important factors: 1 Cuban music, which has been evolving in an incredible way, fusing Cuban rhythms within its repertoire, and the other factor is not because I am from Cuba, Cuban folklore could be said to be the most complete genre available. world level from the point of view of dance, is that it has a history, virtuosity is varied, it could be said that it is well complemented, due to its complexity and interpretive difficulty, it is what attracts attention, additionally, salsa comes from us, from these roots is born what now wants to be denied.
Teacher and the Cubans? Have Cubans spread their dance correctly?
It could be said that the vast majority of Cubans have disseminated the genres well, why do I say that the vast majority?
Because there is another small group that deforms it, money changes everything, foreigners think that all Cubans They dance, it has happened that they say Cuban and quickly you think he is a dancer, he knows everything, he is good, and no, that is not reality, one thing must be clear about being an opportunist, not a dancer, being a dancer by hobby and another is being one by profession or for being a teacher.
There are Cuban teachers who are hurt by the deformation that is happening with what has been studied so much, but there are others who only care about getting paid and do not care if their students do it well or badly.
How has the interpretation of Cuban roots impacted the so-called Salsa Casino in the world? Has the original and real spread of traditions been respected?
Look, since Cuban music began to evolve inside the casino, it began to undergo a series of transformations from movements to choreography due to the musical style that Cuban orchestras began to spread, known as TIMBA, which was well accepted by the public, If we talk about the impact from the traditional point of view, it could be said that there is no original interpretation of the Cuban roots because they are not executing a specific traditional genre, but rather what they are using different styles of the traditional folk dances that all this could be called Variety.
Have Cuban music and dance festivals or congresses devoted time and effort to improving these transformations? Have they worried about minimizing the damage?
In most cases, very few, first of all, if it is a competitive event, the organizers make the mistake of hiring unqualified personnel to evaluate genres of Cuban origin, and that is where the serious faults come from. There have been cases where there are groups , couples or soloists who perform a good technique within normal limits and the jury evaluates for a taste problem if they see it as beautiful and give it less points, or disqualify it, it is not about beauty, it is about correctness, the organizers should be more careful about these things.
What recommendations would you give to our dancer readers on this controversial topic?
The dancer must be clear about four aspects that are fundamental to his artistic life and entire career: dedication, love of dance and, most importantly, study.
Do only what you love and you will be happy, the one who does what he loves is blessedly condemned to success, which will come when it should come, because everything that should be, will be, and will come naturally.
Let’s spend time respecting the roots and cultures of peoples, and above all, let’s take a good look at who we entrust our desire to learn, there are thousands of ways to learn correctly, everything is in the research, knowing who we contact and why There are hundreds of excellent instructors in the world, not to mention the many means of learning today.
I invite you to learn a little about this and other topics, I have a virtual classroom where I teach a lot of the theoretical and practical content online, I do it through the son rumbero academy and its virtual classroom format, follow the @sonrumbero accounts on Instagram and Facebook.
Federico Betancourt “Pioneer of Salsa in Venezuela”
Latin America / Venezuela / Carabobo
Jesús Federico Betancourt was born in the city of Valencia, Carabobo state, on March 22, 1940. He was always attracted to music from a very young age.
In his adolescence, he liked Cuban rhythms, being influenced by Sonora Matancera, Mon Rivera, Eddie Palmieri and Joe Cotto. Before entering the entertainment world, he works at the Bank of Venezuela.
He affirms that he has not carried out formal studies at the musical level, learning the necessary theory to be able to perform as an orchestra conductor, but without interest in interpreting any instrument, but with a well-tuned ear, which has allowed him to remain in the music business for decades. , in fact on certain occasions he is named as the King of the Güiro.
His career began when he entered the Los Selectos Orchestra, where they played songs by the Billos Caracas Boy’s and the Los Melodicos Orchestra, which were at their peak in the 1960s, all this in a particular way, said Orchestra did not go beyond that.
In 1965, Federico Betancourt decides to satisfy his artistic restlessness and founds a band called Federico y su Combo Latino. The members that made up this band were chosen from among the founder and together with Roberto Monserrat.
But it was not until the middle of 1966, when the twenty-six (26) year old undertook the recording of the LP that would make him famous forever. This record production entitled LLEGO LA SALSA, would mark an important stage in Venezuelan Salsa, because it was the first LP that made use of the word SALSA in the country.
Federico Betancourt himself recounts that the Venezuelan announcer Phidias Danilo Escalona had a Radio Program called LA HORA DE LA SALSA, EL SABOR Y EL BEMBÉ, where all the Cuban and Puerto Rican Caribbean rhythms that were fashionable at the time were placed, among those who highlighted La Sonora Matancera with Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Joe Cuba, Tito Rodríguez among others, and who was the one who supported them the most in terms of recording the album.
The production was recorded under the Palacio label, and the LP was titled LLEGÓ LA SALSA, he affirms that the title was chosen without taking into account the importance that it would revert in the future, he also affirms that it was not the name that gave him success , the album was a “bump” in sales, since all the songs were the most requested at the time, using his words: “The album sold like hot cakes”.
The music lovers of the time requested it on specialized sites such as the LA SALSA album. Federico says: “The father of the word SALSA was Phidias Danilo Escalona, he used it for the first time in his radio program, and I, humbly, with the success of my LP, gave him the push for its mass use.”
In Venezuela, the word SALSA was welcomed by the public willingly, since it suggested a mixture of flavors, which was exactly what happened in the Phidias program, but at the level of rhythms. After the appearance of Federico’s album, all the shows that were performed at the level of Caribbean and Cuban rhythms, carried the name of SALSA.
It is important to name the musicians who took part in this historic production: The musicians are: Ali Rojas Bongo and Cencerro, Roberto Monserrat Music Director and Timbal, Pedro Medina Congas, Alfredo Arcas Trombone, César Pinto Trumpet, Enrique Iriarte Piano, Rafael Prado Bass, Carlín Rodríguez Singer and maracas, Dimas Pedroza Singer, Federico Betancourt Güiro and Director of the Orchestra. The musical arrangements were by the famous trumpeter Eduvigis Carrillo (RIP). Production themes:
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1.- Cocolía
2.- Conmigo 4.- Sancocho Caliente 6.- Celosa |
7.- Despierta Rumbero
8.- No Critiquen 10.- Baila Yemaya 12.- Que Me Querías |
After the success obtained with the record work, the time came for the first international outing, which was to Colombia, in 1969. It happened because the singer of Los Melodicos, Víctor Piñero, informed Betancourt that he was stuck in Cartagena and Barranquilla with the themes El Cobrador and Federico Boogaloo. After the information, the young musician went to the neighboring country and got a contract for the famous Reina del Mar parties, in Cartagena, on November 11, 1969.
The experience of the band was so good, that in 1970 they returned to visit the country. From then until our days Federico y su Combo continues to be an emblematic and legendary band in Venezuela, for this reason the WEB of the classy salsero SALSA BRAVA, offers its respects to such an important salsa figure.
| Discography | ||
| 1966 | Llegó La Salsa | Palacio (LPS-6171) |
| 1966 | Salsa y Sabor | Palacio (LPS-6185) |
| 1967 | Más Salsa | Palacio (LPS-6205) |
| 1967 | Durísimo – Vol. 4 | Palacio (LPS-6216) |
| 1968 | Federico Boogaloo | Palacio (LPS-6228) |
| 1968 | Psicodélico Con Salsa | Gilmar (LPG-110) |
| 1969 | Mejor Que Nunca | Gilmar (LPG-111) |
| 1969 | Vibración y Ritmo | Sonus (102-17080) |
| 1970 | Dos Sets | Velvet (LPV-1539) |
| 1970 | La Machaca | Velvet (LPV-1539) |
| 1973 | Federico Si Te Pone A Bailar | Palacio (LPS-6332) |
| 1975 | Derrape De Salsa | BASF (10.068) |
| 1976 | Siguelo Ahí…. a Lo Cortico | BASF (10.070) |
| 1977 | Ayer y Hoy | BASF (10.076) |
| 1977 | Esto Es Lo Mejor | Palacio (LPS-6372) |
| 1978 | Mis Exitos y Más | BASF (10.079) |
| 1978 | Sabor | Foca (LPF-10.037) |
| 1979 | Federico y Su Combo | Foca (LPF-10.120) |
| 1979 | Federico y Su Orq. – El Maestro | Discomoda (DCM-1128) |
| 1980 | Federico y Su Orq. con Memo Morales | Discomoda (DCM-1148) |
| 1982 | No Le Digan | Integra (PF-14.075) |
| 1983 | Nuevamente | Palacio (LPS-66.541) |
| 1984 | SaaaBroooSo! | Palacio (LPS-66.552) |
| Compilation | ||
| 1996 | Mis Exitos y Más…Vol.1 | Sonograma |
| 1996 | Mis Exitos y Más…Vol.2 | Sonograma |
| 1996 | Mis Exitos y Más…Vol.3 | Sonograma |
| 2005 | El Pionero De La Salsa | Palacio |
| 2008 | Salsa De Oro | Gilmar |
Pirisalsa Orchestra
Latin America / Venezuela / Falcon
The music is the result of the creation of a rhythm that tries to convey a message that the artists give to their audience and depending on the voice, the lyrics, the instruments and above all the desire to transmit that feeling, they make people want to listen to it and dance to it.
The Orchestras became known for being dynamic groups, creators of rhythms and party entertainers; something that cannot be replaced by a DJ or digital music, since recorded music and live music are two different things.
In the state of Falcón, Venezuela, there is the Grupo Piritu, who make up the Pirisalsa Orchestra, they are a group of talented young people who, despite their young ages, know how to transmit the flavor of Salsa to their audience.
They emerged and were educated in schools and through the selection of the most outstanding children in music, they gradually gave rise to the orchestra, being a pleasant and rhythmic sound to the audience to date, not to mention that it is a group with many followers full of dreams and musical desires. They mention that “since our first presentation on October 19, 2011 to date we have not stopped working…”.
Currently his manager is Frank Molina, he says:
“That as a manager whenever he discovers a rough diamond project what he wants is to make it shine to achieve and achieve the dreams of each member and turns it into a single dream, because the Pirisalsa orchestra is a family. …the goal is to ensure that our work is recognized both nationally and internationally, I have been working for some time now, spreading this project on radio, television and social networks, we also have the support of many artists who believe in this Project. These young people are admirable because at their young ages they decided on this genre that is SALSA”.
The Pirisalsa Orchestra plays SALSA, with a smooth style in its message and melody, despite the fact that the rhythm is very lively, thanks to the percussion instruments, showing us and maintaining its Latin, Afro-descendant, and Caribbean roots in its music.
They have had the opportunity to participate in several important events in Venezuela, such as the PDVSA Salsa Festival held in La Estancia, Caracas in two editions, where they managed to share with great bastions of this genre throughout Venezuela, especially in Caracas, there were also a Festival in Maracay, Aragua and recently at the Whatuyusei Festival in Punto Fijo, Falcón, where they shared with artists such as Omar Enrique, la Melodía Perfecta, Gustavo Eli, los Bois Servando and Florentino, among others.
However, their goal and desire is to take their music throughout Venezuela and abroad so that the whole world can listen to them, appreciate their talent and be able to project themselves as an orchestra, since when they are on stage in a presentation they sing full of a feeling of love but that is with great elegance, with a fresh, tender language, full of emotion and kindness, but always transmitting his deep love for his homeland Venezuela.
The members of the orchestra are mostly young people and children from the town of Piritu, Falcón, dividing into:
| ● Evannys Lorves – Vocalist | ● Daniel Peña – Hand Bell |
| ● José Amundarai – Vocalist | ● Bongo Wullian Álvarez – Piano |
| ● Yerli Lugo – Vocalist | ● Javier Gómez bajo eléctrico |
| ● José Daniel Lugo – Timbal | ● David Gómez (director musical) – trombón |
| ● Reinaldo Pérez – Congas | ● Reinaldo Antonio Pérez – Trumpet |
| ● Navarro trompeta y Luis Navarro – Trombón | |
The Pirisalsa Orchestra and its Manager Frank Colina gave a message to all the new talents, which goes like this “if you have a musical dream, don’t let difficulties stop your path, believe in your virtues, try to be yourself, don’t copy nobody, be original, offer your own proposal and believe deeply in it, don’t stop no matter how hard the circumstances are, fight relentlessly until you break down the barriers and achieve your goals. He who perseveres achieves.”
For more information Pirisalsa Orchestra:
- Facebook: @frank.colina
- Instagram: @managerpirisalsa
- Twitter: @pirisalsamanage
- Phone: +(58) 4168076199 / +(58) 4168044073