Search Results for: Celia Cruz

Eukaris Figeroa

Latin American / Venezuela / Caracas

Eukaris Figeroa. I don’t imitate Celia Cruz

Five years ago, Eukaris Figueroa dared to initiate an investigation into Celia Cruz. A work came out of that work, La guarachera del mundo.

Figueroa is also in charge of directing and producing the play. It explores from Cruz’s beginnings, in 1950, until his death, in 2003; addressing his personal life and ailments.

Where did that idea of presenting the life of the sauce boat come from?

When I decided to launch myself as a singer 10 years ago, I visited his grave in New York and asked his permission, not to take his place, but to perpetuate the salsa genre. Later, I began to investigate his life and this montage emerged, which I am very proud of. This is the second season and we hope it will be as well received as the first.

Was it easy to interpret a character as mediatic as she?

There is no imitation here. There is, yes, a lot of admiration. And the public will realize this in the monologue of the piece, where they will discover things that she wanted to do, but could not and that she did not see on a stage either. Impersonators always make her old and fat. And no. Celia was also a very beautiful young woman.

Doesn’t her nickname “The sexy salsa babe” pigeonhole her and distance her from the image of Celia?

The fact that I have made myself known like this does not imply that I do not have training and that I do not worry about studying. It was the way I got them to notice me, and I did it.

But behind these curves there are many hours of work. An orchestra of 14 musicians. This montage that I am passionate about does not separate me from my career as a salsa singer. Everything is complemented to offer the best to the public.

Vocalist of La Moderna Tradición Eduardo Herrera and his fascinating story

This time, we are very pleased to have been able to talk with a talented Venezuelan who has left the name of his country well off thanks to his talent and professionalism. We are talking about bandleader and singer Eduardo Herrera, who was kind enough to speak exclusively to us and give us details on his personal and professional life so that we can get to know a little more about him.

This is vocalist of La Moderna Tradición and Venezuelan singer Eduardo Herrera

How did Eduardo Herrera become interested in music?

Eduardo comments that his parents always spent their time singing in a very cheerful way since he was a child, so his best childhood memories are with music.

He grew up in Caracas, so he always had close contact with all kinds of music and listened to a great variety of artists starting with Celia Cruz, La Sonora Matancera, La Billo Caracas Boys, Los Melódicos, Benny Moré, Oscar D’ León, Daniel Santos, Los Adolescentes La Dimensión Latina, La Fania, among others. These artists strongly encouraged him to lean towards salsa in the 1970s.

In his hometown, he began playing with the Teresa Carreño Chamber Choir, which was his first professional contact with music and, in his own words, was a great school for him during his time there.

In 1987, being already in the state of California, United States, there was an orchestra called Radiante that played Puerto Rican salsa. Eduardo worked with them for a year until he joined Orquesta Sensual, whose strength was romantic salsa that was fashionable at the time.

After that, he also worked with Orquesta Charanzón, which at that time was led by Anthony Blea, a famous violinist from the Bay Area. It was with this band that he began to fully discover Cuban music and develop a great passion for it, which would lead him to continue along this path in the following years.

In those years, he played with an unlimited number of orchestras with which he gained a lot of experience and learned to perform properly on stage. However, his big break came with the Orquesta La Moderna Tradición in 2021, when he was offered to participate with the group in some projects.

Even so, the latter did not prevent him from working with other groups of this style throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, as he has no problem with playing with anyone who wants to invite him.

Eduardo Herrera and Tregar Otton — Eduardo Herrera next to director, arranger, composer and violinist Tregar Otton at Yoshi’s

Reasons to leave Venezuela and go to the United States

Like any other immigrant, Eduardo’s primary reason for leaving his country was the search for new opportunities. Eduardo goes on to explain that he was awarded a scholarship by the famous Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho fellowship programme and managed to obtain his degree in biology in the United States, but unfortunately with the change of government, the things that were promised to him and other fellows such as jobs and revalidations were not kept. As a result, the young man was left in a limbo that made it nearly impossible for him to practice biology.

With his options reduced to almost zero in Venezuela, Eduardo had no choice but to return to the United States, where he started working as a high school teacher until 2023, when he finally retired from his basic profession. In total, he taught for more than 40 years at the secondary level. During most of this time, he combined his school activities with his second profession, which was music.

Other areas of music explored by Eduardo

The singer explained to us that his voice has always been his most important instrument when he gets on stage, but he also confesses to having experimented with hand percussion instruments such as the maracas and the güiro. He pointed out that both are very easy to learn at first glance, but they have their level of complexity once you try them.

At present, he only uses his voice in the orchestras in which he currently plays.

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición

”La Moderna Tradición reached out to me at the beginning to record one of their CDs and I started singing backup and the harmonies, which is how you should always get you started in any group. When you master those areas and have the talent, you may think about being a soloist and that’s exactly what happened with me” Eduardo started saying about the issue.

La Moderna Tradición’s music was mostly instrumental at that time and they wanted Eduardo for their second album, which would include choirs for the first time, but the group had no singer at that time. In view of the good results offered by the vocalist, he found himself in frequent demand to give voice to other old numbers, but now with a singer.

Years later, he finally received the proposal to be part of the orchestra as such, together with Ramón ”Monchi” Estévez on vocal. Already for the third album, all the songs had a singer, who was Eduardo most of the time.

From then on, the artist has continued to be part of La Moderna Tradición with some interruptions because he moved from the Bay Area to the Central Valley in Manteca, which made it more complex for him to play with the orchestra on weekday evenings.

At the same time, he worked with the group Vissión Latina, Carlos Caro’s orchestra or any other that invited him to play on weekends, which were on his days off.

What Eduardo has learned from La Moderna Tradición and other artists he has played with

The most important things Eduardo says he has learned from the great artists he has played with are the study, humility, knowing your limits and the development of the love of music. He says the latter is fundamental, because if you do not love music, you will not do the job right.

”With music, you sacrifice your time and the pay you receive in return does not always go according to what you do, but it is something you’re supposed to do for the love you have for the craft. If you do not love what you do, you will hardly do it well and use your skills in it” said Eduardo. He added that ”you are an eternal student and you never know everything about everything. There is always something to learn from other singers and seeing any of them on stage is an opportunity to emulate what they do as long as it is useful for your career.

He also said that ”the ego of many artists is a really depressing thing because it prevents them from moving forward and takes their focus away from what is really important, which is the love of the genre and the opportunity to learn as much as you can”.

Complex moments for Eduardo personally and professionally

Eduardo mentioned to us that one of the hardest moments for him personally and professionally was his move outside of the Bay Area, which we had already talked about. Being so far away from the area where he did most of his performances was a blow to him, as he had to be near his wife and children.

Eduardo was very late from work and his wife had a job which made her to leave home for several days, so it was up to him to stay with the children during all that time. For the artist, his family comes first every time and no job or hobby goes above that.

His responsibilities with his children let him to distance himself from music little by little, since not being always available to play, orchestras would look for other singers to replace him. This made his opportunities to sing to be reduced, but Eduardo assures that the sacrifice has been worth it, as quality time with his children is the most main thing for him.

Eduardo’s plans to create his own orchestra

Eduardo was able to conduct an orchestra for a few months, which allowed him to see what the work of a director would be like and the truth is that he did not like it. ”During the time that I was conducting an orchestra, I could see I don’t have the right personality for it. I’m not good for working with adults who are irresponsible and many musicians tend to be late for the engagements and not to take this profession very seriously. I’m a very perfectionist person who has very high standards and I don’t expect anyone to work less than me, so I know it would be torturous for me to have a responsibility of that magnitude,” Eduardo said.

He says that being a bandleader is far beyond what he wants to do with music and that he wanted to keep developing as a singer. In addition to this, going back to the family issue, such a position would have forced him to be away from his family again and that was something he was not willing to do.

He also took into account the little stability offered by music as a profession. His work as a biology teacher was much more stable and allowed him to have secure income without having to worry about the bad times of orchestras. He loves music to a fault, but does not like uncertainty and insecurity.

Eduardo Herrera and Maru — Eduardo Herrera performing with Maru Pérez-Viana, La oderna Tradición manager and chorister

Other groups

In addition to playing with La Moderna Tradición, he also works with a Cuban group called Pellejo Seco, with which he recorded an album that is currently being remastered in Cuba. The material was recorded just before September in California, but will soon be released to the public.

Eduardo works directly with Ivan Camblor, director of the orchestra and professional tres player. In this part of the conversation, the artist was very complimentary about Camblor and highlighted his great potential as a bandleader and musician.

Something he likes about Pellejo Seco is that his main genre is Cuban son and it focuses a lot on very rural and traditional Cuban rhythms, so he can explore other elements different from what he does with La Moderna Tradición. They are very different groups with different genres and different characteristics.

Ezequiel Lino Frías Gómez was an excellent musician, pianist, arranger and composer.

Ezequiel Lino Frías Gómez was born on April 10, 1915 in Havana, Cuba.

Musician, Pianist, Arranger, Composer. He began his artistic career in the early 30’s, working with singer and composer Joseito Fernandez, in the orchestra of Raimundo Pla.

Later he became part of the Fantasía Orchestra.

At the end of the decade he worked with the Septeto Carabina de Ases.

Some time later he joined Arsenio Rodríguez’s Conjunto Todos Estrellas in September 1940, remaining in it until November 1943, leaving his place to Adolfo Oreilly Panacea, to join the Sonora Matancera in 1944, until 1976, where he contributed in an important way both in the composition and musical arrangements, imposing his particular piano solos.

In 1974 he helped found with Armando Sánchez the Conjunto Son de la Loma.

Upon his retirement from La Sonora Matancera, the Puerto Rican producer René López invited Lino, together with Israel “Cachao” López, to revive the descargas he had already recorded in the fifties, assembling a Típica together with “Cachao”.

In his independent years Lino worked with Johnny Pacheco and Carlos “Caito” Diaz.

He accompanied great artists in recordings, in that period in New York, such as La Lupe, Olga Guillot, Daniel Santos, Carmen Delia Dipini, Bobby Capo, among others.

He died on May 22, 1983 in New York, USA.

Lino Frías, who for twenty-two years was the pianist of the Sonora Matancera, composed the very popular Mata Siguaraya in 1951.

One of the most popular photos of the Sonora Matancera.

In it we can see Lino Frías from his piano looking at Celia Cruz, great interpreter of Mata Siguaraya, together with Benny Moré and Oscar D’León.

Ezequiel Lino Frías Gómez was born in Havana and died in New York in 1983.

Lino studied piano at the Havana Conservatory. For a time, in the 1930s, he played in the Raimundo Pia y Rivero Orchestra, whose singer was Joseito Fernandez. He would later play in the Orquesta Fantasía.

In 1939 he joined the Septeto Carabina de Ases, led by Mariano Oxamendi, guitarist and second voice, and with Bienvenido Grande, singer and harpsichord player, Nilo Alfonso, double bass, José Bergerey, maracas and third voice, Ramón Liviano Cisneros, tres player, Florencio Coco Morejón, bongos player, and Félix Chappotín, trumpet player.

In 1944, Lino joined the Sonora Matancera as a pianist, where he remained until 1976.

In the 1960s, Frías joined the movement that created the so-called salsa music, alongside Fania All Stars, Johny Pacheco, Bobby Rodríguez, Carlos Patato Valdés y Caíto, Carlos Manuel Díaz (Matanzas 1905-New York 1990), among others.

Don Adolfo, a Puerto Rican timbalero, worked with Lino Frías in a group that included some of the most renowned musicians and singers of the 1950s and 60s: Olga Guillot, Daniel Santos, Lucecita Benítez, Bobby Capó, Marco Antonio Múñiz, Carmen Delia Depiní, Chucho Avellaneda, Sergio González Siaba and La Lupe, among others.

In 1974, parallel to his work as a pianist in the Sonora Matancera, Lino Frías created the ensemble Son de la Loma, with the participation of Cuban-Niuyorquinos such as Marcelino Guerra, Rapindey (Cienfuegos 1914-Spain 1996), author of Convergencia, and Pedro Rudy Calzado (Santiago de Cuba 1929-New York 2002).

Due to arthritis, in 1976 Lino left the Sonora. His place is taken by Javier Vázquez, (Matanzas 1936), son of the double bass player Pablo Vázquez.

It is said that the death of Lino Frías, in 1983, was a hard blow for his great and faithful friend Celia Cruz (Havana 1925-New Jersey 2003).

In addition to Mata Siguaraya, Lino Frías composed Pan de piquito, Óyela, gózala, Vamos todos de panchanga, Cañonazo, Vive la vida hoy, Suena mi bajo, Convencida, Afecto y cariño, Has vuelto a mí, Baila Yemayá.

Also Read: Israel “Cachao” López Sobrado en fama y respeto en los años setenta se dedicó a mantener la tradición a nivel supremo

Veruska Verdú woman full of Barloventeña roots currently doing artistic work in Peru

On January 26, 1993 was born in the city of Caracas Venezuela, Cristina Veruska Verdú Mendoza, a woman full of Barloventeña roots.

Currently doing artistic work in Peru,

Veruska Verdú woman full of Barloventeñas

Premiering the songs “ME CANSE DE TI, LA NEGRITA, Y PASITO A PASITO” This is the first advance of “Caminando”, solo album that the Venezuelan artist plans to release this year and which will include songs of her authorship.

Third finalist of “LA VOZ PERU” season 2022, a program of great artistic relevance, where for the first time in the program a participant arrives as a foreign singer to the final.

Singer in Tonny Succar’s orchestra in Peru with Mimy Succar.

Special participation in the video clip, QUIMBARA of the producer Tonny Succar.

Participates hand in hand with the great musician and international producer Tito Manrique creator of the Salsa criolla, nominated to the Latin Grammy and winner of VIÑA DEL MAR. Participating in a solo track on his album Abriendo Caminos with the song and video of the song Taita Bilongo (Peruvian salsa/afro fusion).

From the production of Puerto Rican composer Eduardo Zayas and his project ¨EZ la Banda¨ sings with another legend of salsa singer Rafy Andino singer of the MULENZE Orchestra the song ¨Sabor y Sandunga¨, also recorded a song with Luchito Muños “Dos puntos de vista”.

Veruska fue invitada especial en dos temas de la producción llamada “Huerta de Soneros” con el tema ¨Yo soy la Rumba¨ y otro junto al legendario cantante Johnny Vega (cantante de Cortijo y su Combo) ¨Nació para cantar¨, igual del compositor Eduardo Zayas.

Veruska Verdú, a woman full of Barloventeño roots, is currently doing artistic work in Peru.

Also invited to the production of producer Gerson Zayas, performing the song “Cuando deje de amarte”.

Works with producer and pianist Kike Purizaga, Mario Cuba, singer Carlos Mosquera, with Juan Medrano “Cotito” known as the voice of the cajo of Peru and many more.

Along with producer Alberto Crespo and Daniel Espinoza, recording choirs for the film of Ricardo Rey and Bobby Cruz with Rodrigo Mendoza and Wilmer Lozano.

She is invited to work with international musician Alfredo Naranjo in his project “El Guageo” with singer Edgar Dolor Quijada.

Later they work together with the great Venezuelan musician Nene Quintero in the “Be Jazz Sessions” project also winner of the Pepsi Awards 2019 which sold out all their concerts during the framework of its activities which had international reach.

She sings as a special guest with the classic Sonero del Caribe.

She shares the stage as a duo with Rodrigo Mendoza, singer of Dimensión Latina and of great worldwide trajectory.

She is part of the project “Salsa Master” with the participation of Edgar dolor Quijada, Marcial Isturiz, Rodrigo Mendoza and percussionist Cheo Navarro.

Veruzska was also a special guest in the orchestra “RUMBEROS DEL CALLEJON” of Carlos Padron in which she participates in its production along with the staff of artists such as Wilmer Lozano, Rodrigo Mendoza, Gonzalo Diaz, Memo Arroyave, and international artists such as Tito Nieves, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Maelo Ruiz and Domingo Quiñonez.

He began his musical career when he was only eight years old in the Afro-Venezuelan genre (traditional Venezuelan Afro music). Where he participated in various festivals being in first place in each of them.

Later he joined the ranks of the prestigious “Orquesta Latino Caribeña” of the orchestra system which is directed at that time by the great maestro Alberto Vergara, orchestra with great projection and impact in the country (Venezuela), participating in major festivals in countries like the United States and Colombia captivating the public with his voice.

Pasito a Pasito · Veruska Verdú

All the power of her voice, the flavor and the feeling.

Songs from the album that she is recently finishing the recording of

La Negrita

Pasito a Pasito

Me Canse de ti

It is a great joy for me to share this event with you. My dear friend Veruska Verdu does not stop growing and now she is going all out with the help of Takina Records to make a Celia Cruz Tribute in style.
By: Alberto Valles Salazar.

Also Read: Virginia Ramirez is the artist of the XXI century, the Princess of Piano and Voice, the hope that will save the new generations of anti-music

Jimmy Bosch. The Creole Trombone of New York.

Norteamerica / USA / Nueva York

Jimmy Bosch was born on October 18, 1959 to a Puerto Rican family in the city of Hoboken in the state of New Jersey.

At the elementary school of his hometown, at the age of eleven Jimmy Bosch was offered a trombone which would give the starting point in his career. According to him, that metallic, valveless, long instrument (which was taller than him) was not necessarily what a child dreamed of; Perhaps, at that time, children dreamed of traveling to the moon, or with an electric guitar that would make them look like The Beatles or, failing that, the Rolling Stones. It didn’t take long for that 11-year-old boy to transform this instrument into an expression of his already visible creativity.

At the age of 13, the talented Jimmy was rehearsing with local bands and making his first foray onto the public stage a year or two later. His determination, the Latin blood that ran through his veins and the taste for the genre that had captivated him on so many occasions, led him to play with the most recognized band in the city: Manny Oquendo & Conjunto Libre. His dexterity and ingenuity in playing “moñas” (a section of trombone solos that enrich the melody) helped him to work with them since 1978, which is why it was alongside the Mythical Free Ensemble that Jimmy experienced the freedom to express himself musically with the trombone

On March 11, 1996, Jimmy Bosch debuted with his band at the internationally known S.O.B.’s nightclub. The result was immediate: Publications in the most prestigious newspapers in the Big Apple such as the “New York Times”, praising his excellence and a house full of loyal fans began to crown the dream of this tropical music worker. In this way he becomes a remarkably respected musician and an icon of Latin culture in New York.

His compositions reflect the creativity and depth of who Jimmy Bosch is. He takes his audience on a journey from Bronx-style “funk” to “hot” guajiras, melodious cha-cha-chás, and clearly poetic lyrics awash with feeling. Thus, Jimmy pays tribute to the other teachers who share their presentations generating remembrance and posterity in each one of them.

In 1998, under the Ryko Latino label, his first solo album, “Soneando trombone”, was released. Jimmy included a “Big Band” with renowned Latin virtuoso artists, such as trumpeter Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros, bassist Andy González, and singers like Jimmy Sabater and Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez. They played a mix of Latin styles, including “hard sauce,” of which Bosch is one of its greatest exponents. Bosch not only played a virtuoso trombone, but was also the musical director on that recording.

With his recording debut as a solo artist, Bosch scored a definite success on the international scene. In Europe critics welcomed his musical creations. And in the United States, newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times were full of praise for their brilliant performances.

At the beginning of 1999, the popular musician returns to the charts with a new production: “Salsa dura“. In this production, including musicians like Steve Turre and Chucho Valdés, it was as diverse, strong, and tough as his first production. The recording also included songs like I’m Still Changing. For the release of “Salsa dura” the Creole trombonist traveled to Europe and performed on countless stages of the Old Continent.

Persevering in his creativity, in 2004 Bosch received new applause in Puerto Rico, presenting his musical proposal at jazz festivals. His bows have accompanied such important figures in the salsa industry around the planet as the aforementioned Free Ensemble of Manny Oquendo and Andy González, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, Rubén Blades, India, the Lebron Brothers, La Combinación Perfecta, Cachao, Spanish Harlem Orchestra and Celia Cruz among others. He was the musical director of the outstanding Puerto Rican performer Marc Anthony.

The late creator of the Mambo, Israel “Cachao” López, composed for him the song “Lluvia, viento y caña”. The legendary trombone solo can be heard on the Grammy-winning recording, “Master Sessions Vol. 1” produced by Emilio Estefan and Andy García.

This talented musician stamps his signature with his particular way of playing the trombone, becoming his personal stamp in the music industry. Today, Jimmy Bosch is famous for his explosive solos, full of melody, vibration and funk.

Known by many as “El Trombón Criollo” for the strength of his improvisations, Jimmy radiates his energy to any musical challenge. Jimmy brings us El airplane de la salsa, his latest production, surrounded by high-voltage musicians and soneros.