Search Results for: Cuban music

Oskar Cartaya “My Music, My Friends, My Time” He counted with the collaboration of illustrious friends such as Eddie Palmieri, Giovanni Hidalgo, Dave Valentín and Justo Almario.

Friendship and personal relationships seem to have always played a key role in Oskar Cartaya‘s recording career.

This was demonstrated Cartaya in his first recording, “My Music, My Friends, My Time” (2004) in which he had the collaboration of illustrious friends such as Eddie Palmieri, Giovanni Hidalgo, Dave Valentín and Justo Almario.

Bajista, arreglista, compositor y productor neoyorquino de nacimiento y bayamonés

This is also demonstrated by the second one, “Lifetime Friends”, which he co-led with trumpeter Humberto Ramírez and which was chosen as one of the best Puerto Rican productions of 2015.

For the bassist, arranger, composer and producer – born in New York and raised in Bayamon – connections with other people are a vital element for the development of any musician.

Those connections coupled with the tenacity Cartaya has always shown to continually improve himself as a musician allowed him to be part of the legendary progressive jazz-rock group Spyro Gyra for five years, produce albums for Willie Colón or Herb Alpert, and play with a long list of stars including Jennifer López, Christina Aguilera, Rubén Blades, Héctor Lavoe, Tito Nieves, Tania María, Arturo Sandoval, Steve Winwood and Randy Brecker, among others.

To all of them he has lent the sound of his electric bass, able to insert itself with total naturalness in modern jazz, Cuban rumba, Spanish flamenco or Brazilian cadences, but without ever losing its funky essence, which gives rhythmic impulse to the musical genre before him. For Cartaya, music is not a profession, but a passion of life.

That passion manifested itself at a very early age, when he told his Cuban-born father that he wanted to be a musician when he was just 10 years old. He completed his initial studies at the Escuela Libre de Música de San Juan, which he remembers with pride and affection.

However, he has affirmed that his first real musical school were the records of Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe, which he listened to at full volume in his room.

At the Escuela Libre de Música he was able to meet teachers and classmates who today are great masters of Latin music and colleagues of his, such as Humberto Ramírez himself. He also studied at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico.

Cartaya recalls that, although he studied chamber music in school, his real passion was Latin music…until he discovered jazz, thanks to an album by the great bassist Stanley Clarke. A new world opened up to his ears.

“I found a freedom in jazz that I didn’t find in Latin styles,” the musician said in an interview. “In salsa, for example, the maximum is when you are playing as part of a unit. Unlike jazz, whose pinnacle is when all the musicians improvise and go crazy playing, but everyone knows what they are doing.”

At 18, Cartaya moved to Los Angeles, where he began studying at the Musicians Institute of Technology. There he practiced for 15 hours a day, a devotion that brought him his first recognition: being accepted as a professor at the prestigious institution, two years after graduating from it.

However, his restless spirit and continuous desire to improve led him to make what he has described as the best decision of his life, moving to New York City. In the Big Apple – the place many consider the jazz capital of the world – he had the privilege of playing and recording with the late Argentine pianist Jorge Dalto; with Willie Colón and Rubén Blades; Celia Cruz, Tito Puente and Dave Valentín.

“I learned a lot, matured and saw firsthand what it was like to be on my own,” the bassist said in an interview about this period of his life. “If the opportunity was going to be given to me, it wasn’t going to come to my house. I would have to look for it.” And so he did.

At that time he also had the opportunity to meet the late rock icon Prince, at his Paisley Park, Minneapolis studios, and to become a member of Spyro Gyra. By being accepted into that group over 10 other bass players auditioning for the position, Cartaya realized that success belongs to those who work hard and have faith in themselves.

“I was able to show a lot of people that there’s nothing worse than feeling bad about yourself if you don’t try,” he said in an interview. “All the nights I played for free or for five bucks to earn a chance were well worth it.”

In 1997, the bassist produced the “Passion Dance” recording project for veteran trumpeter Herb Alpert, an experience he has described as a new learning experience in his career, as well as a chance to expose himself to a wider audience.

“My Music, My Friends, My Time,” released in 2004, is a fusion of Latin, Brazilian, American and Flamenco rhythms that was very well received by critics.

“I wanted to do a project that would fill that gap that exists between Latin music and the world. I truly believe that the world needs to know that Latin musicians can do countless things within music, without throwing away their roots,” Cartaya said of the recording.

“Lifetime Friends,” produced alongside Ramirez, was described upon its release in 2015 as “an album of a cohesive and jubilant band,” in which all participating musicians – representatives of the new jazz generation in Puerto Rico – have a chance to stand out. “It’s the album we always wanted to make… to describe almost 40 years of friendship,” Cartaya and Ramírez indicated.

In 2017, Oskar presented the production “Bajo mundo” in tribute to the great Cuban bassist Israel “Cachao” López. This intense, exuberant album, with a multiplicity of rhythms, colors and guest musicians was distinguished as one of the most outstanding productions of the year by the National Foundation for Popular Culture.

It also won a Latin Grammy Award nomination in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album.

Source: Rafae Vega Curry

National Foundation for Popular Culture

“This biography is part of the archives of the National Foundation for Popular Culture. In our interest to disseminate knowledge about our great figures, it may be cited as a basis for research studies or as an assignment for pedagogical purposes, as long as credit is given to the Foundation and its author, if indicated. All rights reserved. The reproduction of the same in any printed, technical or mass media, with or without commercial purposes, is not authorized without prior written request to the Foundation and its consequent approval”.

Also Read: “The Sun of Latin Music” the first Grammy Award for Salsa Eddie Palmieri’s historic album

Bamboleo de Lázaro Valdés is another of those exquisite Cuban products, as well as sweet rum and mild cigars

Like the sweet rum and mild cigars, bamboleo is another one of those exquisite Cuban products that, once tasted, can’t get enough.

The 14-member timba group is a fiery number, from its music and choreography to its well-dressed singers and musicians.

Lazaro Valdes leads the group, plays piano, arranges, composes and writes songs. Born in Havana, he studied at the Alejandro García Caturla Academy in the 1970s.

He created Bamboleo after spending time performing with artists such as Pachito Alonso, Bobby Carcasses and Héctor Téllez.

He selected the best musicians and incorporated into his new company many who had been trained at the Escuela Nacional de Arte de La Habana.

He added sparkle with vocalist Haila Mompie, who in turn recruited vocalist Vannia Borges. Another Havana native, Borges began studying music at the age of five, and first sang professionally with an all-female group known as D’capo in the early 1990s. Four years later, she became part of the band D’capo.

Four years later, she moved on to Pachito Alonso y su Kini Kini, which she left in 1997 to add her talents to Bamboleo.

Guantanamera Yordamis Megret joined the group in 1998, a year after Mompie’s departure. She began her musical training at the age of 10 and took up the guitar.

Like Borges, she is also a student at the Escuela Nacional de Arte. After graduating, she began singing professionally with Ricacha. Before joining

Bamboleo, Megret sang in José Luis Cortés’ salsa group PG. Bamboleo began touring outside Cuba in 1996, the same year the group debuted with Te Gusto o Te Caigo Bien.

The group has performed in major U.S. cities from Chicago to Miami, and from New York to Los Angeles. Following the release of Yo No Me Parezco A Nadie and Ya No Hace Falta, the group toured the world, with stops in Europe, the United States and Japan, as well as the Heineken 2000 World Music Festival in China.

Bamboleo also collaborated on the Temptations’ Grammy-winning album Ear-Resistable.

In addition, the group has appeared on MTV’s Road Rules and has worked with artists such as James Brown, Femi Kuti and George Benson.

Bamboleo, one of the best-known groups on the crest of the timba wave, a new style that blends salsa with funk and jazz elements and emanates from the streets of Cuba, remains at the forefront with 1999’s Ya No Hace Falta.

After leaping to international notoriety with 1997’s Yo No Me Parezco a Nadie, the pressure was on to deliver for his newfound fan base.

With smooth arrangements and a band with a tight drum kit, Bamboleo had no trouble making good on their reputation and, if anything, raised the bar for the entire genre.

Both the horn section and the vocalists have a cool, smooth approach that contrasts with the energetic sound of similar groups like Charanga Habanera or NG la Banda.

This smoky, jazzy sensibility juxtaposed with the sharp corners of the superfunky rhythm section makes for easy and enjoyable listening.

The group doesn’t lack for warmth, with salty montunos from pianist/arranger Lazaro Valdes and plenty of time changes from a percussion section as good as any operating today.

Sonically, the ears rejoice in listening to a timba album that lacks neither fidelity nor modern production sensibilities.

With its balanced overall sound, unique approach and expert musicianship, Bamboleo will set trends and erase boundaries for decades to come.

Evan C. Gutierrez

Bamboleo – Ya No Hace Falta (1999).

Musicians:

Lázaro M. Valdés Rodríguez (Director, piano, composer).

Abel Fernández Arana (Alto Saxophone)

Carlos Valdés Machado (Tenor saxophone)

Anselmo “Carmelo” Torres (trumpet)

Dunesky Barreto Pozo (Congas)

Alberto Para (Maracas)

Herlon Sarior (Timbales)

Jorge David Rodríguez (Voice)

Yordamis M. Mergret Planes (Vocals)

Frank Cintra Cruz (Trumpet)

Alejandro Borrero Ramírez (Vocals)

Vannia Borges Hernández (Vocals)

José Antonio Pérez Fuentes (Violin)

Maylin de la Caridad González Aldama (Cello)

Ludwig Nunez Pastoriza (Drums)

Rafael P. Pacerio Monzón (Banjo)

Ulises Texidor Pascual (Bongos)

Sources:

Información realizada ( 27 de enero de 2024)

L’Òstia Latin Jazz

Also Read: Irakere was a Cuban group that developed an important work in Cuban popular music and Latin Jazz under the direction of Chucho Valdés

Career and interesting facts about Venezuelan singer and musician Omar Ledezma Jr.

Venezuelan singer, percussionist and music teacher Omar Ledezma Jr. has already talked to us in the past and has revealed important details regarding his life and career, but this time, our editor Eduardo Guilarte has been in charge of interviewing him and revealing some unknown details about his different facets professionally and personally.

Is such a pleasure to have the chance to talk to one of the most talented Latin musicians who currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and know so many things that the artist had not previously revealed.

Venezuelan percussionist Omar Ledezma — This is Omar Ledezma Jr., Venezuelan singer, percussionist and music teacher

Omar Ledezma’s beginnings in music and childhood

Omar Ledezma Jr. was born on February 17, 1972 in Caracas, Venezuela, and was raised in a very close family that gave him a lot of love and care since he was a child. Both the Ledezma and López families were very important in his growth, but it was from the Ledezma’s that he got his musical vein.

His mother and cousin José Vicente Rodríguez López decided to enroll him in the marching band at the Claret School, where he had his first contact with music by playing the snare drum, an instrument he was first assigned to play. It is also in the band where he started making friends with other teens who were already forming gaitas groups to compete in contests related to this traditional Venezuelan genre.

When he turned 16, he began to participate in these gaitas inter-school competitions in 1987 and 1988. In 1989, he participated in his first big musical event at the nightclub Mata de Coco. Omar assures that this was the official start of his career in a more professional way. A few years later, going hand-in-hand with his father, he began to take a deeper interest in music as a profession and wanted to experiment with other genres such as Afro-Cuban music and Latin jazz.

This path led him to join the orchestra La Charanga Clásica led by Mr. Frank Luzón. While playing there, he met several inspiration timbaleros such as Daniel Cádiz (from the Andy Durán Orchestra).

In parallel with all of the above, Omar was admitted to study in law school at the Santa María University, so he shared his time between his university studies and his professional musical activities. In his spare time outside the university, he played Latin jazz and was formed as a percussionist with his orchestra.

In 1995, Omar graduated as a lawyer as part of the class ”Honor a Venezuela” ranked in 12th place among his classmates. Although today he is not engage in law at all, he considers that having continued his studies was very important to him as a person because he would have a base on which to stand on in case his plans with music fell through.

However, the artist never thought about practicing law, since he was very clear that it would be difficult to do so due to the legal situation in Venezuela, so he continued to focus on his great passion, which was music. Besides, after analyzing it, he decided that he did not have a natural talent for that career.

In parallel, during those years as a law student, he made a trip to Cuba, which he claims changed his life completely. Some friends he made there, when seeing his skills as a musician, told him that he could be studying law, but that his life was and would be music forever.

Omar graduating as a lawyer — Omar Ledezma Jr. graduating from Berkee College of Music

The United States and Berklee College of Music

Just a few years after graduating, specifically in 1998, Omar made the decision to move to the United States looking for new opportunities and describes this trip as an exploring experience because many of his friends, orchestra fellows and acquaintances from the musical environment in general started taking new directions in the mid 90’s. The young man knew he wanted to do the same and chose the city of Boston to settle in at first.

Although he finally moved to Boston in 1998, already in 1997, his mother gave him the idea of going to the United States with an open ticket so he could decide whether to stay permanently or return. In the end, he opted not to use the return ticket and stayed in Boston to try to enter any music school through a scholarship.

After checking several options, he chose Berklee College of Music because it was the only college that allowed him to study composition and arranging as hand percussionist, so he auditioned to be admitted and was selected in the fall of 1999. He obtained a 70% scholarship, but he had to work hard to get the remaining 30%. In that sense, Omar assures that the same school helped him to obtain the corresponding permits to work legally in the country and thus be able to pay the percentage that is not covered by the scholarship.

Omar also told us that it was his friend Gonzalo Grau who helped him do the demo with which he auditioned to enter Berklee and it was a song of his own titled ”Cacao”. Today, he assures that that recording gave him one of the greatest opportunities he has ever had in life, which was to study there. He spent a total of four years studying in that institution and graduated in 2003.

During his undergraduate studies at Berklee, Omar had the option to study business and intellectual property and his lawyer’s training made it easier for him, but he defines himself as a ”natural born performer” and his life was the stage, so he did not see himself stuck in an office solving cases.

One of the first jobs Omar had in Los Angeles was replacing the singer from Johnny Polanco’s prestigious orchestra and that one that helped him take that place was Ray Barreto’s flautist, the late Artie Webb. The concert was held at the Mayan.

Omar playing the conga — Omar Ledezma Jr. playing the conga in a live performance

Family

As to the family part, Omar told us that he had married his wife Jennifer Radakovich about seven or eight years ago, but they have no children for the moment. This is because they are still analyzing their opportunities to settle permanently in the state of California, so he assures us that they are still building their future as a couple and as a family.

Jennifer’s family comes from Serbia and settled in Detroit, Michigan. They had to leave their country, which was then the former Yugoslavia because of the war that went on in the territory at the time. In fact, at a family reunion, his in-laws told him that his wife’s father arrived in the country on the boat anchored in Long Beach, California, The Queen Mary.

Pacific Mambo Orchestra

Omar Ledezma started his journey with Pacific Mambo Orquesta practically since its foundation in October 2010, when he started playing at Café Cocomo. Santana’s timbalero Karl Perazzo, who was already included in the lineup of the venue, proposed him to go to this place to play as a percussionist on Monday nights. The problem was that there was no money to pay him for the moment.

That’s when the directors of Pacific Mambo, Christian Tumalan and Steffen Kuehn, proposed to the owners of Cafe Cocomo to give them some space to have band practice. These Monday meetings ended up being paid rehearsals open to the public in exchange for 10 dollars a night. This lasted some years in which the 20 members of the orchestra were in charge of developing much of the repertoire that has made them famous internationally.

About this time, Omar said that, on several occasions, he and his orchestra fellows sat down to talk about the continuity of the band owing to the lack of money. The wonderful thing is that everyone always voted in favor of their stay in the group despite the adversities. According to the Venezuelan musician, it was this hunger and desire to succeed that made the orchestra what it is today.

Omar, Eric, Karl, and Edgardo — Omar Ledezma Jr., percussionist Eric Rangel, music producer Karl Perazzo, and bandleader Edgardo Cambon

These efforts worked and Pacific Mambo Orquestra managed to win their first and only Grammy so far in 2014. That year began with the orchestra’s appearance in one of the main banners of the iTunes page for a little over a week, which gave them a lot of popularity at that time and was not common for Latin artists and groups.

That same year, the group began touring with Tito Puente Jr. in August and were so successful that Omar and five other members of the group decided to begin campaigning for that year’s Grammys via e-mails to all the members of the jury promoting their latest album. Then, on tour, they received the news of their nomination (the second of Omar’s career), but they did not think they would win.

Much to the surprise of Omar, in January 2014, he received word that Pacific Mambo Orquesta won its first Grammy in the category of Latin Tropical Album of the Year. This event changed the lives of everyone in the group to the extent that large media outlets started looking at them. One of them was world-famous Billboard magazine, which published a piece talking about the band and its talents.

It is important to stress that, although it was an experience the musician will never forget in his life, he is aware that this is in the past and has to look ahead and focus on his future successes. At this moment, Omar and his companions are focused on making up for time lost during the pandemic and performing all the activities that confinement prevented them from doing.

5th Rumba y Manana Afro-Cuban Festival in Cracow

Europe / Poland / Cracow

Rumba y Manana is a vibrant world of Afro-Cuban stories and legends coming alive in music and dance.

Rumba y Manana was born out of a pure passion for Cuban rumba and afro along with all they bring: roots, tradition, wealth of rhythms and movements, unlimited possibilities of interpretation, all the wide range of emotions and utility in the modern Cuban music and dance as well as all the amazing joy they bring.

We intend to create a place to develop and deepen your skills and knowledge of these dances, as we believe there is a true strength hidden in them.
We want them to become more and more popular, as they fully deserve it.
We want to share the joy and happiness of dancing them.

We have also created another event to popularize rumba and Afro-Cuban dances: Sabado de la Rumba – a younger sister of Rumba y Manana. Sabado de la Rumba is a projector meetings with live music concerts and free-dancing accompanied by few workshops. We’ve hosted two editions of them in Cracow, where we always invite.

3 workshop rooms , two of them with live music!
4 levels of teaching : begginers, open, advanced, masterclass
One workshop room dedicated to Salsa
3 salsa cubana parties with the best DJ!
Live Concert & Orisha show

Tickets & Programm: http://rumbaymanana.pl/

Justo Betancourt Querol Cuban sonero and singer famous for his interpretation of the song “Pa’ bravo yo”

Heir to the solid musical tradition of his family, Justo Betancourt was an incomparable sonero, possessing a unique personal style, He began his career at a very early age in his native Cuba, where he participated with orchestras and bands.

In the 1960s, he arrived in New York, where he launched a new and brilliant stage of his career, singing vocals for the legendary and inveterate group, La Sonora Matancera, which was already established in the city. Betancourt stayed with the group for five years.

In later years, he was a member of the chorus of several groups, including those of Eddie Palmieri and Ray Barretto.

At the end of 1976 Justo settled in Puerto Rico, fleeing the limitations of the New York environment and separating himself from the tours and recordings of Fania All Stars, to enter the modern and freer scene projected by groups such as Sonora Ponceña, Willie Rosario, Bobby Valentín and Roberto Roena, among others, from the island.

With young musicians including vocalists Sammy Gonzalez and Tito Rojas, he created his own orchestra which he called “Borincuba”, a name to reflect the mixture of Puerto Rican and Cuban artists.

In 1976 Johnny Pacheco in his interest to maintain the successful formula of the modernization of the sound of the Sonora Matancera as the typical sound of his group (the Tumbao Añejo), unites the voice of Justo Betancourt with that of his compatriot Celia Cruz, it was the first time that this duo of Cubans in exile was reunited, in the album “Recordando El Ayer” and in which the young pianist Papo Lucca was presented in a big way. Justo’s voice was recorded in the songs “La Equivocada” (a duet with Celia), “Ahora Sí” and “Guíllate”.

Celia, Johnny, Justo & Papo Recordando El Ayer 1976

That same year 1976, Justo is part of the ten vocalists that the Fania All Stars summons for his first production in a recording studio in the project “Tribute To Tito Rodriguez”, in which he performs the song “Cara De Payaso”, (the other vocalists were Santos Colón, Bobby Cruz, Cheo Feliciano, Héctor Lavoe, Ismael Miranda, Ismael Quintana, Pete “Conde” Rodríguez, Rubén Blades (his first recording with Fania All Stars) and Chivirico Dávila (his only recording with the group).

Fania All Stars Tribute To Tito Rodriguez 1976

To complete this productive year, Justo Betancourt joins percussionist Mongo Santamaría as the lead vocalist for the musical work “Ubane”, with the production of Marty Sheller, one of the important experimental albums of the salsa boom, a work that recovers the saxophone for the Salsa and bembé orchestra in the old Cuban Guaracha of the 50’s, and in which a constellation of New York, Cuban, Puerto Rican and Colombian musicians participate.

However, the album did not succeed in definitely catching on with the public and ended in the most unjust failure.

With his new orchestra, he recorded four albums, of which he recorded as lead singer in only two albums: “Distinto Y Diferente” (1977) which includes the songs: “No Estás En Nada”, “Distinto Y Diferente”, “Soy Profesional” and “Óyela”; and “¡Presencia!” (1978) which includes a tremendous new version of the bolero “Psicología” and the song, composed by Catalino “Tite” Curet Alonso, “Camarón”. Justo was always among the best and remained oblivious to the decadence of the industrial boom of New York Salsa at the end of the decade.

Justo Betancourt Distinto Y Diferente 1977

His secret was to remain bravo by performing authentic Caribbean music without the commercial additives imposed by Salsa.

The young singer who performed in the chorus and Justo’s student in Borincuba, Tito Rojas, became the lead singer in the following album “Con Amor” (1978), which Betancourt conducted and participated in the chorus.

Tito Rojas’ last work before splitting from Borincuba to start his solo career was the album titled only as “Borincuba”, in which Justo also served as musical director and backing vocalist.

Justo Betancourt Presenta Su Conjunto Borincuba Canta Tito Rojas Con Amor 1978

So in 1979, when Tito inherited the band, he started his solo career changing the name to Tito Rojas y el Conjunto Borincano¸ which had a short existence.

After a series of his own albums, he became the lead vocalist of the Puerto Rican Power Orchestra and appeared on their first two albums (1987 and 1989).

In 1990, Tito Rojas embarked on his solo career with the romantic salsa album “Sensual” which reached first place in the Latin Music Hit Parade in April.

In the following years, Betancourt, residing between New York and San Juan, continued in the inertia of the Fania contracts. In March 1979, when the Fania All Stars were part of the group of musicians who traveled to the island of Cuba to participate in the “Havana Jam Festival”, a musical exchange between the United States and Cuba organized by CBS and held at the Karl Marx Theater in Havana, Justo Betancourt and his compatriot Celia Cruz, for obvious political reasons, could not travel with the group; for this reason Justo decided to leave the All Stars.

Nevertheless, his contract with the Fania company remained in force, and that year he released another album titled “Justo Betancourt” (1979), produced by himself and Louie Ramirez, which included the songs “Yo Sin Ti” and “Qué Más Quieres De Mi”, among others.

In 1981, Betancourt returns to record again with the Sonora Matancera in an album entitled “Sonora Matancera Con Justo Betancourt”, produced by Javier Vásquez and recorded on the Bárbaro label, a subsidiary of Fania and owned by Jerry Masucci. On this album, four guest musicians appear for the first time to record with the Sonora: Pedro “Puchi” Boulong: on trumpet, José Daniel: on the tumbadora, Elpidio Vásquez Jr. (son of the bassist): on second bass, and Mario Hernández: on tres.

From this work the hit “Mala Pata” and a new version of the bolero “Hoy Sé Más” stand out.

In 1982, he recorded his last work on the Fania Records label “Leguleya No” (1982), with his own production company RMQ and with the arrangements and musical direction of Ray Santos and Javier Vásquez.

From 1982 onwards his appearances were variable, he participated in Israel Sardinas’ LP, “Israel, la Verdad” (1984), and participated in Celia Cruz and Tito Puente’s album “Homenaje A Benny Moré Vol. 3” in 1985, in one of the songs: “Tú Solo Tú”.

Except for these participations, he made no recordings between 1983 and 1989.

And so, there were plenty of reasons for Justo Betancourt, despite so many successes, to end up in virtual anonymity and indifference. He gradually withdrew from the world of the studios, although he continued to perform sporadically.

After years of recording silence, he returned in 1990 with his style with the album “Regresar” on his own label RMQ, of which he was the producer, director and did half of the arrangements written by Eric Figueroa.

In 1992 he released the album “El Bravo De Siempre”, for Rafael Viera’s RV Productions label, which featured the participation of Cuban percussion legend Carlos “Patato” Valdes, among other great Puerto Rican musicians.

In 1994 he participated in the project of Puerto Rican producer and musician Frank Ferrer called “Descarga Boricua”, alongside more than 30 experienced local and international musicians such as Ismael Miranda, Jerry Medina, Papo Vázquez, Juancito Torres, Alex Acuna, Mario Rivera, Pedro Guzmán and Ángel “Cachete” Maldonado, among others. There, and in several songs, he resorted to his superb vocal resources as in his good times. In the second work of the Descarga Boricua, edited in 1996, he participated briefly with some soneos in the song “Abrázate a Puerto Rico”, as well as in the third album of the reunion of the virtuous Puerto Rican musicians.

He returned to the recording studios again in 1998 with the CD “Mató” for the El Paso label in Puerto Rico, and from which the song “El Lema Del Guaguancó” stands out in the most vigorous style of Arsenio Rodríguez, composer of the song.

He also made his return as guest singer of the Fania All Stars for the concert of April 29, 2000 in Puerto Rico, a return that he made together with Ismael Miranda and Luigi Texidor to the group.

Justo Betancourt has participated as a backing vocalist in the recordings of many Latin music orchestras and works of renowned artists, such as La Conspiración de Ernie Agosto, Celia Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, Roberto Roena, Willie Colón, Eddie Palmieri, Willie Rosario’s orchestra, Héctor Lavoe, Adalberto Santiago, Kim De Los Santos, Van Lester and the Puerto Rican Power orchestra, among others.

In 2002 he participated for pianist Papo Lucca in the musical project “Festival de Boleros” with the song “En Cada Beso”, along with a constellation of Boricua singers and musicians.

Sources:

Por: Jose Ramon Tremaria

Ecued

Fania Stars

Also Read: Nicky Marrero is an innovator, timbalero and bongo player, living legend of our Afro-Latin and Caribbean music.