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Puerto Rican singer and talented sonero Charlie Maldonado

Interview with Charlie Maldonado

José Charlie Maldonado Rodríguez, artistically known only as Charlie Maldonado, is a Puerto Rican singer who has a great talent as a backup singer and sonero, which he has been developing throughout a prominent and very successful career in the world of music.

After having read his biography and being interested in the journey he has been on in salsa, we decided to contact him and arrange a conversation in which we could learn more about him and everything he has done to get here. Next, is a little bit of Charlie’s beginnings and, later on, everything he told us.

Charlie talked to us — Talented Puerto Rican singer Charlie Maldonado, who kindly accepted to talk to us

Beginnings

Charlie was born on October 4, 1964 in the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico. At a very young age, he was always exposed to boleros and salsa music, as his father belonged to a musical trio that was very popular at the time.

For those years, he listened to Ismael Rivera, Cheo Feliciano, Gilberto Monroig, Danny Rivera, Marco Antonio Muñiz, among others. Charlie said that, with such references at that time, it was impossible not to be enchanted by the music, so his interest in this branch of the arts grew and grew over time.

His interest got to the point where he wanted to learn to play percussion instruments such as the tambourines, the maracas, the drums and, most especially, the bongo (it was the first instrument Charlie learned to play).

Although he does not consider himself as the best bongo player of the world, he is believed to be very capable of playing it efficiently and delighting the listening audience. Most interestingly, he did not achieve this level through formal academic training at an institute, but through constant practice at ”rumbones de esquina” (congregation of people who play music, dance and drink alcohol on a street corner), school activities, family gatherings and Christmas parties.

These informal activities in which he was able to participate gave him the opportunity to develop as an artist from a very young age. In addition, his father and other musicians in the family helped him a lot in this process. The magic you feel when you play music, the family warmth and interaction with the public are not learned in any academy,” said Charlie.

Charlie at rumbones — Charlie Maldonado practiced his skills at ”rumbones de esquina”, school activities, family gatherings and Christmas parties

The Saljaztet

The first opportunity for Charlie to play in a professional group came with The Saljaztet in 1990 thanks to its founder Bobby Concepción, who saw him singing in one of those street parties and believed in his talent and what could be done with it.

Bobby is an industry veteran who has worked with many orchestras such as Orquesta Panamericana and La Orquesta del Maestro Willie Rosario. Being around him taught him a lot and he gained a lot of experience by seeing him in action on stage.

He even taught him some vocal and instrumental techniques to apply in his performances.

Charlie keeps the best memories of this group, its director and his colleagues. He is extremely grateful for everything he learned from them and continues to apply many of these things today.

Osvaldo Núñez, Sammy Marrero, La Selecta and more

”Every human being who comes into our lives has a lot to contribute and teach us. Lord made is different, so all the musicians I’ve worked with have taught me different things” said the artist.

Osvaldo ”Cuchón” Núñez is a brilliant musician who was very dynamic on stage. He was able to play the trumpet, do chorus and lead at the same time. He performed all of these functions excellently, which is why Charlie paid too much attention to what he was doing and copied him.

Raphy Levitt from La Selecta de Puerto Rico was an extremely regimented person who ran the orchestra very well and was excellent for business. He had an almost military discipline and was extremely picky about his musicians and vocalists, to the point that he made them rehearse separately depending on their roles on stage.

Levitt, Marreno, ,Núñez, and Charlie — Levitt, Marrero, and Núñez were very important in his career

In the case of Sammy Marrero, he was always at the height of Levitt’s demands and sometimes exceeded them. In addition to being extremely disciplined, he always lived up to what was required of him on each project and even a little more. He even worked with him when he had his own orchestra, a period in which Charlie learned even more from him.

On this subject, the singer concludes that ”The personalities mentioned have taught me three fundamental things: discipline, perseverance and respect for the public”.

Solo career

The idea of becoming a soloist was always on his mind, but it was not until 2016 that he was able to carry it forward. The previous year, in 2015, the maestro Raphy Levitt unfortunately passed away, at which time Charlie had some songs recorded.

He was already thinking about becoming independent and creating his own musical project, but had not decided to leave the orchestra until the death of Levitt. That is when he got hands on work and finished the record production he had already started.

In 2016, he launched his first solo project entitled ”Dueño de Nada”, whose songs are mostly written by Charlie Ramos. The only cover in the album is precisely ”Dueño de Nada”, which was written by Manuel Alejandro and masterfully played by José Luis Rodríguez ”El Puma” in the 1980’s.

His most recent album is entitled ”Vida Artificial”, which was released in September last year and addresses very interesting and current issues. The single that gives its name to the whole album, ”Vida Artificial”, ”is perfect for today. Phones, tablets and computers are damaging everyone’s mind. There are families who sit at the table, but don’t even talk to each other focus their attention to electronic devices. Technology is important, but we can’t be connected to it all the time. That was the message we wanted to bring with Artificial Life” said Charlie.

Charlie on stage — Charlie Maldonado singing on stage

Future projects

Charlie is about to release a song titled ”Señora Rumba” written by Eduardo Saya. The material has already been recorded and Charlie and his team are working on the video clip, which has a few shots filmed. It is expected to be released this August.

Likewise, he is working on his concerts and private presentations in Puerto Rico, but some opportunities are opening up in Colombia in the future.

También lee: We spoke with Andrea Chaparro from Lulada Club

Jimmy Rodríguez ”El Salsero Mexicano” talked to ISM about his career

El Salsero Mexicano

Jimmy Rodríguez ”El Salsero Mexicano” is a talented singer born in Mexico City, but spent a lot of his childhood in the city of San Luis Potosí, where he took his first steps as an artist.

Thanks to his brother and manager, Daniel Rodriguez, we had the opportunity to talk to him and learn more about the interesting career he has had in the world of entertainment. Meet Jimmy Rodriguez and the kind answers he gave to our questions.

Jimmy on stage — Jimmy Rodríguez singing on stage

Beginnings of Jimmy Rodriguez in music

By the time he got to high school, his talent for singing and charismatic personality made him the ideal candidate to participate in a talent contest, in which he would come in second place the first year in which he participated.

Jimmy told us that he entered the contest to live a new experience, but he did not expect to achieve such a high place, so he felt very excited and motivated because of what he could achieve thereafter.

The following year, he managed to get the first place in the same contest because he had spent a whole year studying and getting ready for that important moment. The previous time, he had only rehearsed the days prior, so he decided to take much more time on this occasion and the effort invested paid off.

As a result of this achievement, the Group Alfa Omega saw the potential in this young man, so they contacted him and offered him to join them. This would be his first paid job in music, which began to teach him how this business worked.

He began to play with Alfa Omega in events like weddings, and baptisms, which taught him how to entertain and charm an audience, and he is very grateful for this opportunity he had. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long.

In the end, Jimmy had to leave the group due to his move to Mexico City to continue his studies.

During his learning process, he developed their skills in playing the guitar and dancing in order to perform better on stage, keeping inmind that singing was his thing and that was not going to change.

When Jimmy arrived in the United States, he began taking singing lessons for more than nine years to improve his voice. Today, he continues with his vocal learning, as there is always something new to learn in this field.

Jimmy and Tito — Jimmy Rodríguez and Tito Nieves

Musical genres

It is not common to find a Mexican who sings salsa professionally, and more if we take into account that many of the most famous Mexicans sing ranchera, norteño music and corridos tumbados. So, we wanted to know why he chose salsa as the genre he wanted to pursue.

Jimmy explained to us that the first time he sang with a salsa orchestra on stage, half the musicians were Colombian and the other half were Mexican. At that moment, I felt like I had found my soulmate and I knew that’s what I wanted to do. Besides, dancing is very important in salsa and I have always loved to dance,” Jimmy said.

He finished by saying ”salsa combines my three most important talents, which are singing, dancing and charisma”.

When asked whether he would enter more typical genres of his country, he pointed out that he loves ballads and would have no problem in performing fusions and collaborations, but his north is still salsa for the moment.

The Voice and proceeds from the show

Being in The Voice has always been one of Jimmy’s biggest dreams, which he finally achieved a few years ago and whose judges were Luis Fonsi, Carlos Vives, Alejandra Guzman and Wisin. The best of all is that he made it to the final and he says that his secret to achieving this feat is to always be focused, to give the best of himself, to have a good relationship with show’s production and his colleagues and, above all, to choose a genre that was not typical for a Mexican.

This particularity made people call him ”El Salsero Mexicano”, a nickname he has continued using to this day with pride in what has been achieved so far.

Jimmy and Carlos — Jimmy Rodríguez and Carlos Vives

While he was still participating in the contest, Adolescent’S Orquesta contacted him to have him in the group, which Jimmy accepted and became the first Mexican to be part of this Venezuelan orchestra. In addition to that, Jimmy kept releasing new music in order to stay alive in the public spotlight, as the singer understood that the fame that came La Voz was momentary and he had to take advantage of it.

Today, he continues touring with Adolescent’s Orquesta, working on an album with Marc Anthony‘s producer and taking singing lessons to further improve his vocal technique.

And speaking of Marc Anthony, this Puerto Rican artist has been one of the greatest inspirations for the Mexican, who wishes to one day reach that level of talent and fame, although he knows it will not be an easy way.

In addition to the already mentioned salsero, Jimmy has also been inspired and influenced by the styles of Rubén Blades and El Grupo Niche.

He has also had the opportunity to share the stage with Tito Nieves, Willie Colón, Jerry Rivera and many others.

Salsa and comparisons with other genres

When we wanted to know what Jimmy feels with the current situation of salsa, he says that he is well aware that this musical genre is not going through a good moment due to the popularity of trap, reggaeton and, more recently, corridos tumbados.

However, he ensures that he does not see this fact as something negative, but as a challenge of bringing salsa back to the place it occupied for years in past decades, so he gives his best every day to offer a fresh sound that appeals to new generations, and not only to fans aged 30 and older.

Jimmy and Gilberto — Jimmy Rodríguez and Gilberto Santa Rosa

It is what has led the artist to make modifications in regard to the technical aspects, arrangements, lyrics and other details. In the specific case of lyrics, he has opted for simpler words and phrases that can be understood by anyone who listens to them. He continues to maintain the quality and heart that salsa should have, while taking into consideration what new generations are looking for.

Jimmy understands that everything happens very quickly nowadays due to social media, so he has had to adapt his style to what young people are looking for on digital platforms. That is why when he shows his music on his social networks, he always tries to communicate what he wants from the first second so as not to lose the public’s attention.

End

The conversation concludes with a thank-you to all the people who still support the salsa genre and a recommendation to new talents to never give up on their dreams and to work continuously to achieve all what they want.

Jimmy used his case as an example, remembering that he started singing on buses to help his family and now he assists international awards and reach the level that he has today, so he ensures that dreams come true and we must not lose heart until we achieved them.

The decade in which Eddie Palmieri faced the Erotic or Romantic Salsa

There are leaders in all the activities that man develops in his daily life: Sports, Labor, Student, Political, Musical, even in comic strips you can see these leaders all the time, showing the way to follow and saving humanity from its natural dangers.

El Zorro with his friend Bernardo, his father Alejandro and even with Sergeant Garcia and Corporal Reyes, saved California from the clutches of El Aguila, marking the way forward for the peace and freedom of his people.

In salsa, the same thing happens; there are musicians who set themselves up as leaders who dictate the path, the routes, the itinerary and the route where salsa should go, establishing through their musical performances where others should be guided on their way to certain triumph.

For salseros in general, Eddie Palmieri represents El Zorro of the comics, the leader to follow, the paladin of salsa, only that instead of looking like Diego de la Vega in physique, he looks more like Sergeant Garcia; backed by Ismael Quintana who would be El Cabo Reyes and Barry Rogers who would be Alejandro de la Vega.

It is no secret that Eduardo Palmieri is one of the initiators of the salsa movement in New York; but more than that, this master of the piano has established the paths along which salsa has walked since the 1960s.

Eddie was one of the first musicians to use the trombone as a determining instrument in the conformation of an orchestra, giving it a preponderance never seen before and with a sharp and hurtful sound that forced a large number of musicians to follow this type of orchestration that ended up imposing itself in the so-called salsa boom.

La Perfecta determined the path to follow; they recorded anthological albums in the 60’s that were the delirium of the salsa movement lovers; many musicians began to see and hear how the tonality of this orchestra sounded different from those big bands of the 50’s; the people of the neighborhood immediately identified with this sound because, they thought, it sounded like a neighborhood, a slum, poverty, marginality, inequality, it sounded like spite, nonconformity, injustice; in short, with this sound they perceived the most expensive needs of a population marginalized from the great plans of the State that entailed advancement and progress.

The decade of the 70’s meant the explosion of a salsa boom that swept the entire Caribbean basin; orchestras came and went; they came and disappeared; they recorded and were immediately lost in anonymity, but most of these orchestras chose the musical patterns of a common denominator to carry out their musical proposals: A Crazy, Bearded and Barrigón Orate named Eddie Palmieri, as the Colombian writer José Arteaga called him.

Eddie, throughout this decade, was practically on the sidelines of the salsa boom and it could not be otherwise: Too much irreverence from a superior musician who, being clear where salsa should walk, refused to be part of all the outrages that were committed during that salsa explosion.

Too much rebelliousness from an artist who refused to be told what he should and had to record: “Nobody tells me what I have to record and how I have to record; I’m the one who knows how to make music, the label bosses can go to hell with their desks”, an angry Palmieri would say.

The record label Epic signed him in 1978, telling him that he had complete freedom to record the music he wanted: a lie. He recorded the Lp Lucumi, Macumba and Vodoo where he was practically forced to work on an album where rhythms and trends were mixed.

He took advantage of the only freedom he was given to record two legendary songs: Colombia Te Canto and Mi Congo Te Llama.

Bad management and ill-advised decisions put an end to the whole salsa movement that was born in the 70’s and the unthinkable happened for all the lovers of this tasty way of life: the whole musical scaffolding that represented the Fania label collapsed, leaving everyone with clear eyes and without sight.

Clouds of disbelief and uncertainty hung over the entire salsa movement, musicians, producers, artist managers, arrangers, record label owners and, those who were most hurt by all this, the lovers of this superb spectrum of hard and powerful salsa that was experienced in the 70s.

In the 80’s, faced with this dilemma and the perplexity of the moment, most of the orchestras took refuge in the so-called Salsa Erotica or Salsa Monga, which although it is true that it gave oxygen to salsa in general, it inflicted a death blow to salsa dura or gorda as it has been called since the 70’s.

As if that were not enough, the merengueros with: Fernandito Villalona, Jerry Legrand, Jossie Esteban y la Patrulla 15, Wilfrido Vargas, Rubby Perez, Las Chicas del Can and stop counting, colluded with salsa erotica (as El Aguila colluded with El Magistrado), to try to wipe salsa dura off the map and at any price.

At the beginning of the 80’s; under all this conglomerate of adverse circumstances; the merengueros and “salseros eroticos” making a killing and the hard salsa artists not knowing which direction to take, Líder Palmieri appeared with his stocky and ungainly figure, a huge cigar in his mouth, his madness (we are even madder) and his voice saying clearly, categorically and confidently: “Follow me, this is the road to follow”.

And so that there would be no doubt about this call against Salsa Erotica and Merengue, in 1981 he recorded the Lp “Eddie Palmieri” which, almost 30 years after its release, we are still studying and listening to it to digest what El Sapo did in these 5 memorable songs: El Día que me Quieras; Ritmo Alegre, Paginas de Mujer, No Me Hagas Sufrir and Ven Ven.

Poster salsa on all four sides, atrabiliary percussion, indescribable trombones and trumpets, legendary voices, in short, a priceless LP. By the way, a certain current of opinion maintains that salsa is nothing more than Cuban music.

Under this prism, then we would have to say that this Palmieri’s version of Carlos Gardel’s El Día que me Quieras, is a full-fledged Tango.

In 1984 and when the “erotic” ones were widening their tentacles, Palmieri came with more fuel and that added to the bad experience lived in Venezuela with some businessmen who were determined to finish with him, musically speaking, allowed him to release the Lp “Palo Pa Rumba”, containing the pieces: 1983, Bomba de Corazón, Bajo con Tumbao, Pensando en Ti, Palo Pa Rumba and two songs dedicated to Venezuela because of the bitter and vexatious experience he had in our beloved homeland of names: Venezuela and Prohibición de Salida.

Eddie Palmieri Palo Pa' Rumba Ganador del Grammy's 1985 — Eddie Palmieri Palo Pa’ Rumba Ganador del Grammy’s 1985

In 1985 the Lp “Solito” was released, a song that allowed Palmieri to tell the “eroticos” that there was a formula for arranging music that sounded strong and powerful, even if the content of the lyrics could suggest a certain shade of erotic salsa; that the trombones could sound energetic and strong without the sweetening and softness to which these hardened instruments were subjected in this decade; that it was not necessary to be bonitillo (as the Boricuas say) to succeed in this salsa environment and that, no matter what happened, he, Eddie Palmieri, was not going to be subjugated no matter how much salsa erotica the record companies demanded and played on the radio, emphasizing this statement with an abysmal piano solo.

To complete the LP: Justicia, Yo No Soy Guapo, Cada Vez que te Veo, Lindo Yambú and Pa Los Congos, round out his confrontation with “aquella” salsa.

Eddie Palmieri Solito Ganador del Grammy's 1986 — Eddie Palmieri Solito Ganador del Grammy’s 1986

To top off the decade, in 1987 he recorded the Lp “La Verdad”, in which with the piece El Cuarto in the voice of Tony Vega ratified his point of view regarding “erotic” salsa; that it is not necessary to fall into pornography to say “nice things” and arrange the music with enough flavor and sandunga and that, finally, nothing would prevent him from continuing to crush his opinion based on hard and powerful salsa.

As if that were not enough, for this album he made use of a beastly orchestra made up of four trumpets, two trombones and a saxophone that left on the acetate: Conga Yambumba, La Verdad, Lisa, Noble Cruise and Buscándote.

The result of all this decade of salsa gorda music for Eddie Palmieri? Three Grammy awards and the recognition of a whole legion of hardcore salseros, who were not intimidated by the onslaught of the “erotic” and “merenguera” fashions of the moment and decided, in the face of so much sweet, effeminate and subtle trombone, to follow in the footsteps of the leader: El Zorro, sorry I made a mistake, by El Sapo Eduardo Palmieri.

Source: Larry Daniel Cabello Guzmán

Dj. Augusto Felibertt

Eddie Palmieri

Latin America – October 2019

Soneros Birthdays Party

Omara Portuondo, Ismael Rivera, Jimmy Bosch, and Luisito Carrión celebrate their birthdays this month

October is filled with talent and it’s that in this month a hurricane of brilliant artists of the Salsero genre was born, who have captivated us and have shown their Gift before hundreds of audiences around the world. These Latin Stars have bathed us in SABOR with their lyrics and infected with joy with their melodies. It for that, this month we celebrate their births and dance to the rhythm of the applause towards them. Happy Birthday, Soneros!

Omara Portuondo (October 29, 1930)

Omara was born in La Habana (Cuba). Her first encounter with music was at a very early age. Just as in any other Cuban home, the future singer and her siblings grew up with the songs which her parents, for lack of a gramophone, sang to them. Those melodies, some of which still form part of her repertoire, were young Omara’s informal introduction to the world of music.

She and her sister Haydee sang well-known American group “Los Loquibambla” and their style, a Cubanised version of the Bossa Nova with touches of American jazz, was known as “Feeling”. In their radio debut, Omara was introduced as “Miss Omara Brown, the girlfriend of Feeling”.

“Magia Negra” was her debut record released in 1959. It combined Cuban music with American jazz and included versions of “That Old Black Magic” and “Caravan”, by Duke Ellington. Later she joined one of Cuba’s most important orchestras, La Orchestra Aragón, with which she recorded several albums, such as the one she did with Adalberto Álvarez in 1984 and “Palabras and Desafíos” on which she was accompanied by Chucho Valdés.

However, Omara Portuondo catapulted to her well-earned fame was in the mid-1990s when she collaborated in the recording sessions for Buena Vista Social Club on which she sang “Veinte Años”.

She was the star of the third launching of the Buena Vista Social Club released in 2000 and she toured Europe, traveled to Japan, and performed in the USA and Canada.

Omara went back to the studio to record her second solo album “Flor de Amor” (World Circuit), which was produced by Nick Gold and Alê Siqueira, signals a change in direction in her career: it is an album marked by a more subtle sound and a richness of texture. Portuondo brought in a mixture of Cuban and Brazilian musicians for this album, and it is this factor which influences the particular style of the music.

Omara returned to Europe in 2004 to promote this album, performing at such illustrious venues as the North Sea Jazz Festival, Marble Hill House in London, Olympia in Paris and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. “Flor de Amor” was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Traditional Tropical Record category and the 16th edition of the Billboard Latin Music Awards (2005); this album obtained the Tropical Record of the Year award.

Later, Omara released “Gracias”, the record that marks her sixtieth year in the music business and won the Latin Grammy Award for the Best Contemporary Tropical Album. It was a very special night as Omara was there to receive the prize in person and she also presented one of the awards, the first time that a Cuban artist has done this. The album was also later nominated for a Grammy in the Best Tropical Latin Album category.

After touring with the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club in Europe during 2010, “the girlfriend of Feeling” released the latest recording, Omara & Chucho (Montuno Producciones) in spring 2011. 14 years after their last joint album, they reunite once again to continue unravelling the thread of their first joint project, and show us their talents in the simplest, most unclad manner on a context that enables them to lay emphasis on some of the features that been characteristic of their music at various stages in their careers.

Omara will also tour with the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club later in Europe and the U.S.

Ismael Rivera (October 5, 1931 – May 13, 1987)

Puerto Rican singer and songwriter contributed to the dissemination of the island’s native rhythms such as the Bomba and Plena, and he was one of the first standard-bearers of the Salsero movement of the decade, the reason for he was called “El Sonero Mayor” and also known for others by the nickname “Maelo”.

In 1952 he was hired as a singer for the Lito Peña’s Orquesta Panamericana with which he became known and reaped his first hits: “La vieja en camisa”, “La sazón de la abuela” and the most popular “El charlatán”, a song in Plena rhythm that was widely heard through the Puerto Rico’s local radio stations.

Two years later he left this group to join the Combo de Cortijo with whom he popularized “El bombón de Elena” by Rafael Cepeda Atiles, and as well as performed on Puerto Rican television in the “El Show del Mediodía”.

At the end of the ‘50s, they were presenting their shows at the prestigious New York club Palladium Ballroom, where they contributed to making popular the tropical rhythms imported from the island with great hits such as “El negro bembón”, “Maquinó Landera”, “Tuntuneco ”, and others.

Ismael Rivera’s triumphant career was interrupted in 1962 for paying four years under the laws of Puerto Rico for possession of narcotics. Then, after recovering his freedom, Ismael formed his musical ensemble “Los Cachimbos” and immersed himself in the nascent Salsero movement to which he contributed two classics such as “Dime por qué” y “Mi negrita me espera”.

In the mid-70s “El Sonero Mayor” became the ambassador of Salsa throughout America, working for the record label of the genre Fania, and triumphing with emblematic songs such as “De todas maneras rosas”.

In his facet as a composer, he wrote very notable pieces such as “Besito de Coco” (famous song by Celiz Cruz), “El incomprendido”, “Arrecotín, arrecotán”, “El que no sufre no vive”, y “Mi libertad eres tú among many others.

In his last years, he suffered a throat cancer that caused him to lose his voice and he died as a result of a heart attack. R.I.P MASTER!

Jimmy Bosch (October 18, 1959)

Jimmy Bosch was born in 1959 (New Jersey, U.S.). He is a world-renowned Trombonist, composer, singer, and bandleader in the world music genres. He has been performing professionally since age 13. Jimmy’s first two solo CDs, “Soneando Trombón” and “Salsa Dura” established him as the Ambassador of the Salsa Dura movement. He ignited this movement by combining old school quality salsa arrangements with a modern NY aggressive edge and socially conscious lyrics. “El Avión De La Salsa” demonstrates and solidifies his commitment to dancer centered music, while “A Millón” is the title of Jimmy’s 4th solo record released.

Appearing in over 100 recordings, Bosch “El Trombón Criollo de La Salsa” has garnered at least 10 Grammys and has toured with his orchestra, his sextet or as a solo artist, as well as with: Eddie Palmieri, Ruben Blades, Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto, Willie Colon, Manny Oquendo y Libre, FANIA Allstars, and the list goes on.

Jimmy has been featured throughout the world in major venues and festivals, including; Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center (NYC), Celebrate Brooklyn (NYC), Montreal Jazz (Canada), Madison Square Garden (NYC), Sydney Opera House (Australia), Barranquijazz (Colombia), El Poliedro and Teresa Careña (Venezuela), and many other important places.

Luisito Carrión (OCTOBER 26, 1962)

A native of Arecibo in Puerto Rico, Luisito Carrión has been singing since he was 13 years old. He began his career as a Salsa artist with the Orquesta Kafe, Orquesta La Nativa and Grupo Concepto Latino.

In his first performances, he sang along with Celia Cruz, Adalberto Santiago, and Santitos Colón. Later on, he was a member of Salsa Fever together with Julio “Gunda” Merced, were several hits come from: “Renta de Amor” and “Señores ahí va Julián”. Afterward, he joined the Bobby Valentín Orchestra, where he sang songs, such as: “El Señor de las Señoras”, “Ramos de flores”, “El Gigoló”, “Tributo de Cali” and “Como lo hago yo”. In his evolutionary process, Luisito joined the Orquesta Don Perignon where he sang “La Fuga” and later with the Sonora Porceña, where he performed songs, such as “Yaré” and “A Comer Lechón”.

In 1997, he recorded with Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound “Mi música 1997”. At the end of the 90s, Carrión began his career as a soloist with the record company MP Records with Julio “Gunda” Mercéd and Rafael Bodo Torres, which led to hits, such as: “Sin tu amor”, “La Chica Más Popular”, “Nadie Como Tú”, “Porque”, “Amiga Mía”, “Muriendo”, “Como Ave Sin Rumbo” and “Para Ser Real”. Nowadays, Luisito Carrión is one of the best Puerto Rico’s Soneros bringing on “Histeriaaaa…” in his fans.