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Pacifica Radio, history, shows and controversy

This is Pacifica Radio

Pacifica Radio has been one of the largest radio networks in the United States in recent decades and its importance remains enormous today despite the time elapsed. It has given voice to figures of all kinds of political and ideological trends and artists from all genres who sought a platform in order to be heard. However, such popularity does not make this organization to be free from controversy that, like its history and shows, we would also like to explore with the greatest possible respect.

Next, we will talk about the most outstanding to observe about this radio station since its beginnings from 1946 to this day, since talking about Pacifica Radio is also talking about communication in the United States and the role played played by Latino culture and music in all of this.

Logo of Pacifica Foundation

Beginnings of Pacifica Radio

Pacifica Foundation is a non-profit organization that owns five independent radio stations financed from listener contributions. It is widely known for its progressive and liberal tendencies and is located next to KPFK in Los Angeles, California.

This organization is also responsible for managing everything related to Pacifica Network, which, in turn, runs much more than a hundred affiliated stations with all kinds of shows and content, although it specializes on political and social issues to varying degrees. It is the oldest radio network in the country and the oldest non-profit network in the world, which speaks of Pacifica’s relevance compared to other media.

It was founded in 1946 by E. John Lewis and Lewis Hill after the Second World War. Both men were totally anti-war and refused to perform military service as conscientious objectors. They joined other pacifists to create Pacifica Foundation, whose first station started to air on April 15, 1949 in Berkeley, California.

Being true to the beliefs with which they started this project, the founders gave voice to all those who were against the Korean War the following year along with many other minorities who could not find means of communication to express their views contrary to the majority position of the time.

The station started operating in several cities over the years due to its enormous success and the following radio stations were created in several cities: KPFA/94.1 and KPFB/89.3 in Berkeley, California (San Francisco Bay Area), KPFK/90.7 in Los Angeles, WBAI/99.5 in New York, KPFT/90.1 in Houston and WPFW/89.3 in Washington, DC.

Lewis Hill, co-founder of KPFA and Pacifica Radio

Operation

Pacifica is governed by a board of directors that sets out the policies that determine the organization and oversees the network operations. The board is comprised of representatives from each of the stations that comprise the foundation, as well as directors elected by the Pacifica community.

The members of this board are elected and replaced every three years and have regular meetings to discuss issues related to the operation of the foundation and decision-making regarding the management of the network. It is from there that the use of resources donated by the audience is being decided.

The board members are as follows:

Lydia Brazon (Chair), representing KPFT in Houston, Texas

Sabrina Jacobs (Vice-Chair), representing KPFA in Berkeley, California

Alex Steinberg (Secretary), representing WBAI in New York City, New York

Donald Goldmacher (Treasurer), representing KPFA in Berkeley, California

Christina Huggins, representing WPFW in Washington, D.C.

T.M. Scruggs, representing WBAI in New York City, New York

Janet Coleman, representing WBAI in New York City, New York

Cerene Roberts, representing KPFA in Berkeley

Pacifica Foundation’s Latino shows

If there is something Pacifica Radio has stood out is for the enormous space provided to the Latino community to spread its music and culture in general. That is why there have been many shows entirely dedicated to these topics and whose hosts have been Latinos or children of Latinos.

KPFA has Luis Medina and Emiliano Echeverría, who are in charge of hosting the show ”Con Sabor”, which specializes in artists and news related to salsa, Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean music, among other genres. In addition, they also interview these artists, provide the audience with the musical calendar and offer concert tickets.

Broadcasters Luis Medina, Chata Rodríguez, and Emiliano Echeverria

In the case of KPFK, the Latin community has the well-known show ”Canto Tropical” hosted by Kathy Diaz and Hector Resendez, whose work is focused on promoting the main Latin music genres such as Latin jazz, Afro-Cuban music and salsa. They also focus on interviewing and giving space to both local and foreign artists to promote their talent and be made known to the widest possible audience.

Host of ''Canto Tropical'' Kathy Díaz and host of ''Alma Del Barrio'' Eddie López — Host of ”Canto Tropical” Kathy Díaz and host of ”Alma Del Barrio” Eddie López

On WBAI, ”Salsa Con Candela” is a weekly celebration of the rich history and diversity of the salsa music genre. The show hosted by DJ Candela includes a mix of classic and contemporary songs, as well as interesting and enlightening interviews with artists and important figures in Latin music culture.

Another noteworthy Latin program is ”Salsa y más” on KPFT, which explores in detail the world of salsa and other important Latin genres. The program hosted by DJ Leonard Trujillo, as well as ”Salsa Con Candela” also offers a mix of Latin and contemporary songs along with interviews with local and international artists.

And finally, WPFW has ”Latin Flavor”, a program dedicated to the most important Latin genres such as salsa, Latin jazz and many others. The show hosted by DJ Jim Byers explores the cultural and historical roots of Latin music and provides a platform to present new artists from around the world.

Controversy

Since the beginning of this foundation, its stations have been embroiled in a series of scandals that have not gone unnoticed by telecommunications and the community at large, especially political and ideological. Among the many events suffered by Pacifica, we cannot fail to mention the requests from the government to obtain the recordings of some shows, controversial interviews such as the one with Che Guevara, reports about embezzlement of funds, financial crisis, among many other things.

In 2020, it was learned that some Pacifica listeners, volunteers and donors have created an organization called Pacifica Safety Net with which they seek to expose mishandling and attitudes of Pacifica’s board members, whom they accuse of compromising the main mission of the station network. The members of this group have filed a lawsuit against this board for prevarication and mismanagement, assuring that the board’s lack of leadership resulted in the loss of many revenues in the station network and, therefore, caused a serious problem of solvency in the organization.

A great example of this mismanagement is the reduction from 120,000 to 40,000 members the network has today, as was the case in just a few years. There are also many complaints about the type of programmes broadcast by the network in recent years due to their high content of hate, conspiracy theories, racism and a lot of things that did not represent the values upon which Pacifica Foundation was based.

In that sense, the members of the aforementioned committee make an urgent call to all members of the radio network to recover these spaces to go back to the main mission of the foundation, which unfortunately has been taken by other interests completely unrelated to those of the donors, workers and listeners.

In 2019, the network was able to get a $3 million loan that would allow it to pay part of the debt accumulated up to that date, but the possibility of the foundation achieving long-term financial stability is not even close to being a fact. Due to mismanagement, the foundation is not able to pay this amount back, so it is forced to cut costs. This reduction in income is causing the board of directors to seek to sell the building where WBAI operates, which had been given by the Empire State Realty Trust (ESRT) in exchange for a rental agreement that is quite detrimental to the foundation from the point of view of current and former workers.

The Empire State Building, where WBAI FM is located now

Wit regard to this issue, Mexican broadcaster Jesse ”Chuy” Varela, who worked for several years at KPFA, told us a little about the irregularities presented both there and at other stations where he worked. The radio professional points out that there have always been serious communication problems between administrations and workers. ”The board always thinks they can do something better with the money raised and spend a lot of resources without notifying the audience about what they are doing. When you ask for money from the listeners, they have to trust that when they give it to you, you are going to put it to good use” declared Varela.

”I knew of many cases where executives who had meetings in different cities, stayed in expensive hotels and ate in exclusive restaurants. I consider this is an abuse and a lack of respect for those who donate their money. I have seen this in all the stations where I worked unfortunately. In this sense, trade unions play a fundamental role to avoid these kinds of problems” the broadcaster continued.

Announcer Jesse ''Chuy'' Varela at KCSM Jazz 91 — Announcer Jesse ”Chuy” Varela at KCSM Jazz 91

As for other announcers and former Pacifica Radio employees or managers, they did not want to make comments in this respect. We presume that this could be because of possible reprisals due to the power accumulated by the largest radio network in the United States.

It should be noted that everything written here is based on testimonies of others that have not yet been confirmed, so we neither confirm nor deny any of the facts as presented here.

In front of adversity we grow with Johnny Cruz .

North America/ All USA

Johnny Cruz : This month I wanted to dedicate myself to good news, highlighting the work of those who, despite adversity, continue to strive to bring the best to the public. We keep working!

Gilberto Santa Rosa surprises us with his new album Colegas. His most recent phonogram. In this, Santa Rosa invested the last six years and presents 16 collaborations with Cuban artists -Isaac Delgado and Juan Jose Hernandez-Puerto Ricans -Tito Nieves, Tito Rojas, Luisito Carrion, Pirulo, Nino Segarra, Choco Orta among others-, as well as with a Dominican – Jose Alberto “El Canario” -.

Gilberto Santa Rosa - Colegas — Gilberto Santa Rosa – Colegas

The album is preceded by “40… y contando en vivo desde Puerto Rico”, an album recorded in 2018 live at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, to celebrate its 40 years of musical career. The majestic arrangements were the work of Dino Nugent (Apaga La Luz), Marty Sheller (Caminalo, Ban Ban Quere), Ramón Sánchez (Que Se Sepa), Javier Fernández (Tremendo Coco, Masacote), Louis García (Por La Calle Del Medio, Ocana Sordi, El Guateque De Chombo), Ricky González (Vamos a Bailar El Son, Eque Tumba), Manolito Rodríguez (Medley Boleros), José Madera (Bailadores), Rene González (Estoy como Nunca), Isidro Infante (Mario Ague, El Mejor Sonero, Sonerito), James Hernández (La Fonda De Bienvenido).

In good time Santa Rosa presents this production. He positions him on the GRAMMY platform and refreshes him in his role as sonero and incidentally, he extends a helping hand to some who had not recorded Salsa Brava again.

Tracks: La Familia; Caminalo; Que Se Sepa; Mazacote; Apaga La Luz; Sonerito; Por La Calle Del Medio; Nos Vamos A Bailar El Son; Medley Boleros; Ocana Sordi; Bailadores; El Mejor Sonero; Tremendo Coco; Estoy Como Nunca; Mario Ague; Eque Tumbao; La Fonda De Bienvenido; Ban Ban Quere; Guateque De Chombo.

Members: Angie Machado, Jan Duclerc, Jesús Alonso, turbidity Vilchez – trumpet; Charlie Sierra – maracas; Dino Nugent – violín; Johnny Torres, Pedro Perez – bass; Manolito Rodriguez – timbal; Rafy Torres, Toñito Vásquez, Víctor Vázquez, Reynaldo Jorge – trombones – trombone; Richie Bastar – bongo; Sammy García, Jimmie Morales – congas; Sammy Vélez, Josué Urbina; Pedro Méndez, Frankie Pérez, Janice Maysonet – saxophone; Luis Marín, Isidro Infante, Javi Fernández, Ricky González – piano; Orestes Vilató – timpani; Pablo “El Indio” Rosario – percussion; Meñique, Paquito Guzmán, Víctor Manuelle, Luisito Carrion, Justo Betancourt – backing vocals. Guests: Víctor Manuelle, Choco Orta, Juan José Hernández, Isaac Delgado, Yan Collazo, Luisito Carrion, Pirulo, Tito Nieves, Tito Rojas “El Gallo”, Ismael Rivera Jr., José Alberto “El Canario”, Carlitos Ramírez, Michelle Brava, Herman Olivera, Maelo Ruiz.

I take this opportunity to greet my good friend Johnny Rodríguez Jr., better known as Johnny “Dandy” Rodríguez, is an American bongo player. He was Tito Puente’s longtime bongo player, and also played with Tito Rodríguez, Ray Barretto, and Alfredo de la Fe. He belonged to various popular bands of the salsa era such as Tico All-Stars, Fania All-Stars, and Typica 73. He is a proud son of El Barrio (Spanish Harlem), New York, and stickball (street baseball) was more interested than music.

Marco Bermúdez - En mi voz — Marco Bermúdez – En mi voz

However, influenced by his father, Johnny, 17, earned the position of playing bongos in the Tito Puente Orchestra. Johnny spent more than 30 years with the orchestra, also working with Tito Rodríguez from 1965 to 1968 and with Ray Barretto from 1970 until the end of 1972. Johnny went on to form Tipica 73, of which he remained a member until 1979. He then returned to the band. Tito’s band, playing alongside him until the time of Tito’s death in May 2000.

Johnny “Dandy” Rodríguez Jr. continues to be a Latin jazz and salsa percussionist. Today he works as a percussionist in different Latin music ensembles, He is unstoppable and is very active with the Latin Jazz Giants (alongside his colleagues and Exclusive LP Artists Jose Madera and George Delgado) and that includes the stars from the original Tito Puente Orchestra. The band plays the famous music from the Palladium days of Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez, and Machito, and also recorded The Giants Play the Music of the Palladium.

In 2008, Johhny entrusted LP’s Research and Development Department with the design of the John “Dandy” Rodríguez Jr. bongoes from the Legends series. John is proud that these drums, which bear his name, present such a sound and visual characteristics outstanding. Keep going, Johnny!

A few days ago, En Mi Voz, the solo debut of the Ecuadorian singer Marco Bermúdez, was officially launched on the market. This is a very good selection of ten songs, under the master hand of Oscar Hernández, the prestigious and renowned musician who is making his debut as a record producer with Ovation Records.

Pedro Bermudez - Arrasando — Pedro Bermudez – Arrasando

Marco has not saved anything for this premiere. He has met with his colleagues from the “Hispánica del Barrio” and the result could not be better: Jerry Madera, Máximo Rodríguez, Maneco Ruiz, Héctor Colón, Doug Beavers, Reynaldo Jorge, Jeremy Bosch, George Delgado, Luisito Quintero and Jorge González give solvency and flavor to En Mi Voz. The album opens with “Amanecer Contigo”, composed with four hands between Hernández and Bermúdez, where the trumpet solos by Maneco Ruiz and flute by Jeremy Bosch stand out.

Jeremy is also heard with his flute in his fine and heartfelt composition “Canto a mi Mamá” and in “Únicamente tú”, making Marco the second voice. The romantic spirit of the singer of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra and Mambo Legends Orchestra is confirmed in songs like “Solo Basta” and “Tu Regreso”. Oscar’s arrangements guarantee the key melody. Highly recommended this album, it has no waste!

I send my greetings and wishes for a reunion with this excellent salsa singer: Hermenegildo Olivera, or Herman Olivera. Born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Puerto Rican parents and from an early age linked to Latin music. In the 70s, in the middle of the salsa boom, Herman began his love of singing by listening to the interpretations of Chamaco Ramírez, Héctor Lavoe, Cheo Feliciano and Marvin Santiago, among others. These vocalists were primarily his source of inspiration. When he was just 15 years old, Herman began his career as a salsa interpreter with an orchestra called La Justicia.

Later he was part of the band La Sónica, where he met his friend and trombonist Jimmy Bosch. After this he spent time with the Caramelo orchestra to later take the most important leap in his career by being part of the Conjunto Libre in 1978, where he left his voice reflected for the first time in the Incredible LP of 1981 under the direction of percussionist Manolo Oquendo and bassist Andy González, where he stands out with the theme Decídete.

In 1990, he was invited to record on the album Salsa Sudada, from the Valdesa Records label of Víctor Raúl Sánchez “Patillas” and with the musical direction of Isidro Infante, sharing vocalization with Mario Muñoz “Papaíto”, Adalberto Santiago, Eladio Peguero “Yayo El Indio” and Pablo Villanueva Branda “Melcochita”; in this work he interprets the songs La Aguja and a tribute to the city of Cali called Valle Plateado de Salsa. Later, it launched an independent project called Herman Olivera y La Exclusiva. Chequea la Mercancía.

Produced by Fernando Pastrana where the song Me Extraña Araña is one of the most outstanding. For 1997 he participates in the CD of the band Rikoson All Stars, called Evoluciones del Son, where he stands out very well in the romantic theme Aquella Noche. In 1998 he was requested by the piano teacher Eddie Palmieri and together with the vocalist Wichy Camacho they recorded the album El Rumbero del Piano, where he stands out as a singer on the songs Malagueña alerosa and Oiga mi Guaguancó.

That same year he was invited to the recording studios by the trombonist Jimmy Bosch and they released the album titled Soneando Trombón, which contains the hit Otra Oportunidad. Who plays a duet with Frankie Vázquez. On this CD also appears the song Descargarana. That same duo, Olivera and Bosch, meet the following year (1999) and produce Salsa Dura, where Herman shines performing the full Impacto Tendremos. The album also features the participation of singers Frankie “Nene” Morales and Frankie Vázquez. Parallel to this album, the RMM label launches a live CD and DVD titled Eddie Palmieri & Friend’s, where Herman looks excellent in the number Palo pa ’Rumba.

The invitation to tune in to the new Fm / Internet radio station on Live365.com continues: Salsagallery. Good music, interviews with the artists and much more… now with the participation of Felix Villalobos who joins Salsagallery Radio with a segment in which we will be talking about Music.

At the Spanish Harlem Salsa Gallery Museum we are happy to say that we are gradually returning to our activities and we will be opening the gallery sporadically. We do not stop, we continue to work for our music and we will always keep you informed through our social networks. We hope to have more news shortly and that we can return to normal soon.

Multi-Percussionist Carlos Navarro and his Son Y Clave Orchestra

Who is Carlos Navarro?

There have been many celebrities, orchestras, groups of all genres who played their part in the salsa cultural movement in the United States, but we cannot deny that bandleader Carlos Navarro and his Son Y Clave Orchestra played a very important role, since they achieved many goals in the Latin music scene in California, specifically in Los Angeles.

Carlos Navarro was a child of the couple formed by Rafael Navarro and Maria De Jesus Velasquez de Navarro, being at the same time the brother of Alexis Enrique (the famous singer Cherry Navarro), Manuel, Rene, Lelys and Audy. The whole family decided to move to Caracas, the parish of El Valle, where all the children continued their studies.

The first one to start an artistic career at a very young age was his older brother Alexis, who would later be known as Cherry Navarro in the artistic field. Carlos followed the same steps and also dedicates himself to music, but focused on salsa, mambo, merengue, and Latin jazz.

Producer, bandleader, percussionist and singer Carlos Navarro

Las Versalles

In the early 80’s, specifically in 1983, the artist served as co-founder and percussionist in one of the first and most important orchestras in Los Angeles, California, with styles of Salsa, Guaguancó, Merengue, cha cha chá, and Latin Jazz.

This group was called Las Versalles and hired many musicians based in the same city. Here you can see some of the main members and their instruments, Güiro: Carlos Navarro and Jorge Luis Balmaseda, Vocalist, Piano, Arranger: Fito Foster, Vocalist, Guitar, Flute, and Arrangements: Niño Jesús, Bass: Geraldo Zuldo and Luis López, Trumpets: Carleton Smith and Robert Hernández, Trombo: Arturo Velazco, Violin: Gene Hugo, Congas: Humberto Hernández and José “Papo” Rodríguez, Timbales: Héctor Andrade and Edwin Rolland, Backing Vocals: Fitto Foster, Niño Jesús, Bobby Rivas, Jorge Luis Balmaseda and Bass in ‘’Cama Y Mesa’’: Cuco.

Famous singer Cherry Navarro, Carlos Navarro's brother — Famous singer Cherry Navarro, Carlos Navarro’s brother

Son Y Clave

In 1999, the producer, percussionist and singer founded the Son Y Clave Orchestra and became a very important group in the nightlife of Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

One of the most attractive things for spectators of the places where they perform is the ease with which they dance and execute choreography, which are highly contagious, fast and elegant at the same time.

This diversity of performance styles is another one of the many things that has led this orchestra to the summit. In the same way, they have participated in all kinds of festivals, congresses, concerts and much more. They also had an important participation in salsa nights at venues in Los Angeles and the Bay Area such as El Floridita, where they played with Son Y Clave every Monday, until Carlos had to leave for a while and left talented musician Johnny Polanco in charge.

They have been so popular in the last few years that they have managed to open for world famous bands such as the Rolling Stones, who counted on the talent of the orchestra to grace their performances in one of their most important tours.

All members of the Son Y Clave Orchestra

God & Salsa and more

They have also been involved in major film projects such as ”Almost A Woman”, whose director has a long-standing friendship with Navarro. They participated in both the promotional trailer and various parts of the film, especially where there are parties and dancing.

Kaplan was so pleased with Carlos’ work in ”Almost A Woman” that she decided to contact him again to work hand in hand on a project titled ”UNO” which is based on one of the most famous Latin American TV hosts, the famous Renny Ottolina. Once again, Son Y Clave will join forces with the renowned filmmaker to put music to ”UNO”.

”Almost A Woman” had a lot of repercussion at the time, but the film for which they became known in recent years was ”God & Salsa”. Carlos Navarro himself was the main responsible for composing much of the original music that was part of the soundtrack of the film. In addition, they were also present at the filming, displaying their great talent and dedication to the audience.

Currently, Navarro has a lot of contacts, friendships and dealings with other figures and producers of the stature of classical guitarist Yalil Guerra, with whom he has participated in multiple musical projects both with his orchestra and at the production level.

He has also shared the stage with important talents in Los Angeles such as Tito Nieves, Luis Barbarán, Guillermo Canales, Ernie Valenzuela, Melissa Campos, Roosevelt Córdova, among many others.

Carlos Navarro, Luis Conte, Jorge Valmaceda, and the rest of the Siva Orchestra

The return of Ray Sepúlveda to Europe

Ray Sepúlveda loves his music ardently, and it is for this reason that, for two decades, he has been one of the most notable voices in salsa to date. This much loved singer takes every opportunity he gets to give us all of his soul through his music, and his most intimate feelings. One of his first steps this 2023 is to visit Europe, to celebrate Valentine’s Day with all his European fans. Learn more about the singer, and his dates for this Europe Tour with the following lines.

Ray Sepúlveda is a singer forged in Salsa’s golden years

Sepúlveda Jr. was born in Brooklyn, his parents are originally from Puerto Rico. Today he is a successful singer who has recorded five albums for his current label RMM, and has built up a reputation as a vocalist on all continents. However, his journey to his success was not an easy one.

Since his childhood, Ray Jr. learned everything from his father, Ray Sepúlveda Sr., who was a bolero singer, and a member of Trío Los Románticos. This experience allowed him to listen to the best artists from Puerto Rico and Latin America, which inspired him to follow his dreams of becoming a renowned singer.

At the end of the 70’s Ray managed to record his first album and two more under Fania. He also got to dabble in the cinema, and in the 80s he even worked with Hector Lavoe. But in those years there was a decline in the genre, which is why Sepúlveda came to work with the United States Postal Service.

The 90s were his return to the stages with the Johnny and Ray Orchestra, with which he came to record his greatest hits. As he himself has commented on several occasions: “At that stage of my career I had the opportunity to work with Sergio George, the music producer of Salsa Con Clase. Sergio greatly influenced, and in a way created the musical style of Ray Sepúlveda.”

A few years later he would sign with RMM which led him to further consolidate his solo career. In “Salsabor,” his fifth production with RMM, Ray Sepúlveda shows us his way of being and feeling. He uses the same energy that he had on his first album with them, and inspires us to enjoy his well-known romantic salsa sound.

Ray has made appearances at some of the world’s most famous venues. For example, he has played in New York’s Madison Square Garden several times, including a Valentine’s Day concert. He has also performed at Radio City Music Hall and at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey to celebrate RMM’s 10th anniversary. In addition, Ray has traveled throughout Europe, receiving a great reception especially in Italy.

2023 marks his return to Europe

This new year marks the return of Ray Sepúlveda to the European stages with his Europe Tour, led by Luisito Eventos and Amber Productions. This tour consists of a total of 6 dates, starting on February 3 in Madrid, Spain. Two dates follow in Italy on the 4th and 5th, in Genoa and Firenze respectively. It closes with stops on 10, 11 and 12 passing through Milano, Italy; to then reach Valencia and Barcelona in Spain.

In these presentations Ray will captivate the audience with his best-known classics, in addition to showing his new songs from his latest production Salsabor, among which stand out: Como Tiembla El Alma, Eres, Lo Necesario, Sabes Que Soy Aquel, among other great works. To obtain tickets for these dates and enjoy a great night, you just have to contact the following numbers: +34627098111 / +34635417043.

The story of how Oscar D’León’s “La Salsa Mayor” came about

How Oscar D’ León’s “La Salsa Mayor” came about, is a story that has already been commented on, including the subsequent separation of musicians that the aforementioned orchestra had, which gave way to the formation of another well-known group (Nuestra Orquesta la Salsa Mayor), is also a well-known story, but one as a good music lover always wants to continue to investigate and whenever the opportunity arises to make a healthy discussion about the subject in question, one does so without any qualms.

That is why it is never too much to remember some interesting facts that adorn this story, such as the headline that appeared on the front page of Swing Latino magazine in November 1977, which read: “KO a la Dimensión? OSCAR D’LEÓN after signing WLADIMIR.

In summary, the article said that Wladimir had intentions of leaving Dimension because of an alleged refusal of a loan request, a situation that induced the vocalist to want to sign with another orchestra. Another excerpt of the article says that Oscar D’León in his eagerness to have Wladimir in his orchestra, would have given him the money to satisfy his economic needs, but in exchange he would have signed a contract with the orchestra.

In short, by that time in November 1977, these were only speculations, of course, as it is also mentioned in the article in a jocular way “When the river sounds it is because it brings stones”.

The truth is that the year 1978 arrived and in the Swing Latino of March another headline appeared on the front page “¡LA DIMENSIÓN LATINA SE VA DE VENEZUELA! pero Wladimir se queda con Oscar”, which clearly shows that those speculations or rumors that were made in the salsa milieu at that time were a reality that quickly materialized.

“Last February 20, the bolerista presented his resignation to Dimensión Latina and began to work his notice period. In the meantime, he has already begun his rehearsals with Salsa Mayor and will soon be fully incorporated into this group that already threatens to become a real monster not only nationally but also beyond our borders, which we have no doubt he will now achieve with this valuable acquisition” (Swing Latino. March 1978).

Now, only a month had passed when another news about the orchestra of the dancing bass shakes the salsa milieu, “¡SE DISOLVIO LA SALSA MAYOR!”, headline that appeared in Swing Latino for May 1978 and stating: “Seven of the ten musicians that made up the prestigious group of Oscar D’León, left the orchestra for economic reasons”.

The rest is already known history, the negrito from Antimano reassembled his orchestra with some musicians from “La Critica” and others who came from the orchestra “La Renovación”, which at the same time also dissolved and the rumba continued.

Con Bajo y Todo Oscar D' León's "La Salsa Mayor" — Con Bajo y Todo Oscar D’ León’s “La Salsa Mayor”

In August of that year 1978, Oscar D’León’s last album was announced under the name of “LA SALSA MAYOR”, a fabulous double LP, that just by looking at its cover you could already feel the strength with which the sonero from Caracas was coming along with the diminutive in stature but great with his voice, Wladimir Lozano.

The internal title of the album spoke for itself, “TRANQUILO Y SIN MIEDO”, this makes us think that the phrase had a double meaning, remember that the musicians who defected to form the other Salsa Mayor, recorded that famous song: “Fuimos Amigos”, where they throw a few puns at Oscar and this “calm and fearless”, returns them in the song: “La Mano”… “Why did not you follow me when I gave you my hand?”Now it weighs on you, you fell in the mud”… Chorus: “Que te vaaaya bien”.

The album is excellent as almost all the ones published by D’León in those past decades, all the songs are good, but I can’t help but comment and recognize that the song that I liked and still like the most from this double album is “MARIA”, maybe because in every man’s life there has always been a Maria…My respects and salsalutation to all of you.

Enrrique “Culebra” Irierte y Dj. Augusto Felibertt

Oscar D’León y su Salsa Mayor (double play) (1978) ths-1225

Disc 1 – Side A

Que cosa tan linda (Oscar D’León) Singer: Oscar D’León
Consentida (Alfredo Nuñez de Borbón) Singers: Wladimir and Oscar
La mano (Sandy Omar González) Sung by: Oscar
Te llamo (D.D.) Sing: Wladimir and Oscar

Disc 1 – Side B

Dulce desengaño (Armando Beltrán) Sung by: Oscar and Wladimir
De frente Panamá (L: Andrés Vega, M: José Zamora) Sung: Oscar D’León
Mira que eres linda (J. Brito) Sung by: Wladimir Lozano
Consígueme eso (Pedro N. Perez) Sings: Oscar D’León

Disc 2 – Side A

Sandunguera (M. Guerra) Sung by: Wladimir and Oscar.
Piénsalo bien (Agustín Lara) Sings: Wladimir Lozano
Ven morena (R. Paz) Sing: Oscar D’Leó
Ausencia (Rafael Hernández) Sing: Oscar and Wladimir

Disc 2 – Side B

Reclamo místico (M. Matamoros) Sing: Wladimir y Oscar

María (Florentino Padrón) Sing: Oscar D’León

Chancunche No. 1: Sing: Wladimir and Oscar

*Que noche tan linda (B. Diez, A. M. Romeu)

*Inconsolable (Rafael Hernández)

*Micaela (Raúl Guillaume)]

Musicians:

Enrique “Culebra” Iriarte (Piano).

Oscar D’León (Bass)

Rhadames Pimentel (Congas)

Edward Pimentel (Timbal)

Hungary Rojas (Bongo)

Ángel López (1st Trumpet)

César López (2nd Trumpet)

César Pinto (3rd Trumpet)

Tarcisio Piñango (1st Trombone)

Pedro Piñando (2nd Trombone)

Andrés Mendoza / Pedro Vilela (Tres)

Oscar D’León (Vocal)

Wladimir Lozano (Vocal)

Oscar D’León / Víctor Mendoza / Humberto “Tigre” Becerra (Backing Vocals)

Enrique Iriarte / Oscar D’León / José “Cholo” Ortiz (Arrangements)

Other Credits:

Intersonido C.A. Recording Studios.

Sound Technicians: Agustín Verde and Carlos Guzmán

Mixing: Rafael Hernandez

Art Direction: Víctor Mendoza

Idea, Design and Album Art: Drago Fernández

Photos: All Freddy.

Source:

José “Cheo” Guevara

Enrrique “Culebra” Iriarte

You can read: Víctor Porfirio Baloa Díaz, more commonly known as Porfi Baloa