Search Results for: Cuban music

Tempo Latino 2023

Tempo Latino is a music festival held in Vic-Fezensac, France, in the region of Gers in Gascony it is the first and the greatest Latin American and Afro-Cuban music festival of the summer in Europe. The festival was founded in 1994 and has been held annually since then.

“In 2020 and 2021, the festival was only interrupted for two consecutive years due to the containment of the new crown pneumonia (COVID-19) epidemic.”

With around 600 volunteers from all over the city for four days of intense activities and an audience of around 60,000 people from all over the world.

Tempo Latino offers a variety of Latin American and Afro-Cuban music, including Salsa, Bachata, Kizomba, Cumbia, Merengue, Rumba, Latin-jazz, Reggaeton and more. The festival also features dance workshops, food stalls and other cultural events.

International performers and instructors from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Africa, the United States (primarily New York, Miami, and California), and Europe have participated in a number of concerts and workshops

Tempo Latino has grown from a small festival to one of the most important Latin American music festivals in Europe. The festival hosts some of the biggest names in Latin music, including Celia Cruz, Ruben Blades, Eddie Palmieri, Oscar D’ León, Johnny Pacheco, Adalberto Álvarez, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Kassav, Totó la Momposina, and Los Van Van. Tempo Latino has also helped advance the careers of many new artists.

Here’s more information on Tempo Latino:

The festival takes place in a beautiful setting in the heart of the French countryside.
The festival is family friendly and has activities for all ages.
The festival is a great opportunity to experience a different culture and learn about Latin American and Afro-Cuban music.

A festival of concerts takes place in the square and, at the same time, many free outdoor events for those who want to discover music in the city’s dance halls in the afternoon and evening. In the second edition, they have integrated dance, music, and percussion lessons.

The 28^th edition of Tempo Latino will take place from July 27-30, 2023.

The lineup includes:

La Conga

27 July – Ana Tijoux (France)

Les Arenes

28 July 2023

21:00 – Orchestra Baobab (Senegal)

23:00 – Grupo Compay Segundo (Cuba)

29 July 2023

21:00 – Lila Downs (Mexico)

23:00 – Cimafunk (Cuba)

30 July 2023

21:00 – Bernard Lavilliers (France)

23:00 – La Excelencia (USA)

and many more!

Pass Concert:

On the official website, tickets for four days are available for 120 € (during the festival, they cost 150 €).

Eric Duffau

The current director of Tempo Latino is Eric Duffau from Toulouse, France. He is also the founder of the music festival which he started in 1994. A passionate lover of Latin American and Afro-Cuban music, Dufour devoted his life to promoting this music to a wider audience and serves on the board of the French Association for the Promotion of Latin Music (AFMPL).

Dufoe was a tireless promoter of Latin American and Afro-Cuban music. He travels the world in search of new talent and works hard to make Tempo Latino a major cultural event. He is a passionate advocate of Latin music and works to bring this music to a wider audience.

Dufour graduated from the National School of Arts and Crafts (ENSAM) in Paris. In the early 1980s he worked as a DJ, during which time he became interested in Latin American and Afro-Cuban music. In 1989, he decided to create a festival to showcase this music and Tempo Latino was born.

https://www.tempo-latino.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/TempoLatinoFestival

The Tempo Latino Festival is Back

Get to know the “ La Malamaña ” Orchestra

On this occasion we have the opportunity to meet the “La Malamaña” Orchestra

La Malamaña, a salsa orchestra that was born in 2008 as a band that paid tributes to the greats of salsa such as: Rubén Blades, Héctor Lavoe, stars of La Fania and the Cuban music and timba. They have a neighborhood band spirit, heirs to the sound of the New York neighborhood orchestras of the 70s and 80s, fused with elements of the timba sound and concepts of street music.

La Malamaña Orchestra playing — La Malamaña Orchestra Live

The name of the band was baptized by the former member – founder of the band, “Mauricio Ochoa” who founded and is leader of the orchestra “La Sonora Libre de Barcelona”. The name alludes to the Rubén Blades theme “they are looking for you” and that in addition to that also reflects our way of interpreting, writing and arranging the master genre: Salsa.

The Orchestras are based in Quito-Ecuador, with members from different latitudes, they build a proposal of Quito sauce, also called “high altitude Salsa”, for the 2800 meters above sea level where the city of Quito is located.

His main concerts were:

· Emerald Carnival	· Foro Mundial de la Bicicleta MINGAMOS
· Music Festival in Quito and Cuenca	· Festival – Engine of Change (Ambato 2019)
· Festival in Defense of the Yasuní National Park	· LATIN GROOVE EC (Independent Salsa Festival 2019)
· Libertarian Days	· CUMANDA Parque Urbano (Agenda Cultural – 2019)
· Festival Cota 70, FIL Q (sharing stage with La 33)	· Quito Fest-Fiestas (sharing stage with Rubén Blades)
· Canoe Fest	· Festival del Chocó Andino, Pacto 2019

Photo of the keyboardist of the La Malamaña Orchestra — Member of the La Malamaña Orchestra

But internationally, among the most important are:

2012: Presentations in Beijing and Tianjin, in the People’s Republic of China.
2015: First Tour in Europe (Genoa, Barcelona, Madrid, Lyon, Paris and Tours).
2018: Second Tour in Europe:
- Festival des musiques métisses in the city of Colmar
- FIMU de Belfort Festival “3 presentations”
- Festival La Javelle-Guinguette “1 presentation”

During their time in the world of music they created several albums with a very characteristic sound of them. His first album was called “manual of urbanity and good customs” released in December 2011, which was followed by his single “El Kikuyo” in 2014, a song that was included in the international independent salsa compilation “Salsa de Hoy ”; In 2017 they released their song “Ya Llegó”. As of 2018 they released their latest album released which they baptized “SALSA DE ALTURA”; the members of the orchestra named it that way since Quito is 2800 meters above sea level. This new album has 6 songs by the band, among which are live versions and new material.

Photo of La Malamaña Orchestra — La Malamaña Orchestra at Club Lavoe

Did you know that there is a wide variety of topics that your audience likes, for example, the population of Cali, Colombia likes “What counts the braids” and “How to say” a lot; and in their homeland (Ecuador) they he quite liked his songs: “El kikuyo” and “Para armar”.

The members of the orchestra:

· Grecia Albán – Voices

· Edgar Granda – Voices

· Javier Toro – Piano

· Jamshid Gordón – Electric bass

· Fidel Minda – Drums and timpani

· Diego Minda – Conga Drums

· Sebastián Segovia – Saxo Tenor

· Carlos Quilumba – Saxo Alto

· Yony Muñoz – Trombone

· Francisco Rangél – Trombone

All the members like the strength that “salsa” has, as a music of resistance in the sense of maintaining African and mountain roots in Latin America. They have a lot of new songs and not so new ones that haven’t been recorded yet, we’re in a moment of creation. Soon they will record their new material for the enjoyment of our public.

Soon they will have an event in the month of January 2020 in the city of Quito, Ecuador for the anniversary of a hotel located in the Historic Center

They mentioned to us that their goal is: “We are interested in expanding the musical panorama of Quito salsa towards an alternative platform and generating more audiences at a local, national and international level”

They also sent a message to all their fans and new talents “To our fans we want to say that thank you for enjoying our music and our “sui generis” proposal of salsa and to the new talents simply that they believe in what they say and sing… .this is not about doing something to stick….but rather about being consistent with what is thought and with what we want to contribute in this world that so much lacks good art”

La Malamaña Orchestra photo — La Malamaña Orchestra finishing its presentation at the Club

For more information:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lamala.mana/
Phone: +593 99 801 9775
Email: [email protected] / Edgar Granda/ Manager: [email protected] / Press contact: Diego Minda, [email protected]

Hansel and Raúl, The Charanga Legend duo

Hansel and Raúl is a charismatic and transgressive Charanga duo of the line of romantic lyrics of the time. They positioned the Cuban “Charanga” rhythm on the top of global popularity, a danceable genre that they imposed on each stage they were invited to and which incorporated their unique Caribbean essence.

This particular duo with three decades of trajectory was born in Miami in 1984 after breaking from the orchestra “Charanga 76”, where they were co-founder members and their main vocalists. With this New York orchestra, born in Brooklyn, they won international recognition and their first Grammy for the album “Encore” in 1978.

Photo of Hansel and Raúl — Hansel and Raúl – The Charanga Legend duo

“Many of the artists who recorded with them during their stay in “Charanga 76” include the renowned pianist – for many years – by Héctor Lavoe, Gilbert Colón and the first Jewish-American flutist woman, Andrea Brachfeld.”

Very pleasant memories come to Hansel‘s mind during this interview, especially his first composition “Si no te encuentras tú” for Charanga 76, his voice took a turn and he showed nostalgia as well as pride in remembering it: “I don’t sit to write a song with a guitar or piano. The Inspiration comes to me alone, there is nothing personal”.

Each anecdote that he tells us is remembered as facts that have led to their musical maturity. Each fun fact has been defined as part of their career, such was the case of the great master, Israel “Cachao” López, who with all his musical wisdom and mastery of his instrument, the Double Bass, taught the rhythmic base to the orchestra. “The conguero and the timbalero even the güirero he taught them to play well. He was a teacher of all, including us who learned a lot from him. R.I.P, he was a glory of music”, Hansel said to us.

But that wasn’t all he told us about the legend of Cuban music, “Cachao”, who was the Double Bassist of the “Charanga 76” orchestra for 12 years, also he told us that every time they wen a tour the “Inventor of Mambo” had them buy a plane seat to his Double Bass, he sat it next to him and even put the belt on the string instrument, as is dictated by airline regulations.

The funniest thing would come later when the Double Bass received the same attention as each member of the orchestra. Amazing! The Double Bass also had its portion of food during each trip as each musician of the orchestra, and when the flight attendant brought it was when the offer was presented by each musician for that fabulous portion, although the end was always the same, the trumpeter won!

Hansel y Raúl - Photo — Hansel y Raúl concert

Photo in concert - Hansel and Raúl — Hansel and Raúl – Photo behind the scenes

Each experience with Charanga 76 made them evolve in music and although with this orchestra they made themselves renowned professionally, as a duo they flew the fence. They have received multiple musical awards, their sympathetic lyrics, and in some cases, satirical or burlesque have won the applause, admiration, and respect of colleagues in the music industry and the general public on three continents: America, Europe, and Asia.

“The Jersey Boys” was their first youth musical group with only 5 members and although the musical instruments they played were the basics of Rock, their rhythmic concept was Cuban music.

“María Teresa y Danilo” was one of the compositions that brought many satisfactions to this duo. Nowadays it’s still preferred by the fanatical public of the genre. Many debates and speculations were made about this song, but here we tell you the true story. “María Teresa y Danilo” dates its beginnings to the 80s when soap operas like “Dallas” were in fashion.

Hansel came up with the idea of diving and writing on this topic. He magically composed the lyric during the plane trip with San Francisco – Miami trajectory and the rest we already know, multiple copies sold, and hundreds of awards granted to them for the feeling that caused this popular theme.

After such overwhelming success as a duo, Hansel and Raúl decides to separate in 1988. What was the reason?

Everyone wanted to make another kind of music. Each one followed a different path, for his part, Hansel recorded five solo albums including metals, more trumpets and trombones, and in three of these albums, he included neither the violin nor the flute, assuming almost completely the end of the Charanga rhythm in his music. However, a short time later he realized that this Caribbean rhythm was what identified with his audience and two years later he joined Raúl again to continue their successful career.

Hansel and Raúl has a total of 330 songs recorded and on December 31 this Charanga duo will have a performance in Los Angeles, CA and you may be lucky and they play your favorite single and if don’t you can ask for it. Classics such as “Soy”, “Se me nota”, “El ayer”, “María Teresa y Danilo”, “Kukucha kucha”, “Balancea mi corazón” (Yordano), “Ojos Verdes” (Alfredo Gutiérrez), among many others, will be present at this 1: 45min show.

Purchase your Tickets quickly before it´s sold out

https://www.facebook.com/events/crown-plaza-hotel-and-casino/new-years-eve-2020-the-great-gatsby-presents-hansel-raul/271515257093512/

We hope to see them there singing each of their hits and if you later travel to New York, don’t be surprised to see Hansel in that city because he and his family will be celebrating their daughter’s sweet sixteen, on the second day of January 2020.

Is Hansel a stage name?

Although some may consider that Hansel is a characteristic name of the children’s story “Hansel and Gretel”, this name comes from Germany and it’s of Jewish origin. Hansel Enrique is the name of this singer and songwriter “Charanguero” and he is named so to differentiate himself from Hansel Horacio (father). In Cuba, the tradition is maintained that every male child must bear the name of his grandfather; this is the reason for all his cousins are called Hansel.

More Details visiting:

http://www.HANSELYRAUL.com

Social Channel:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/HANSELYRAUL/

Life, Career, and death of Juan Carlos Formell

Juan Carlos Formell

Latin entertainment is in mourning the departure of one of its most talented figures, who leaves a very big void in all his followers and fans. We are talking about former composer, bassist, guitarist and member of Los Van Van Juan Carlos Formell, who sadly departed from this world on Friday, May 26th after a live performance in New York City.

In view of such an unfortunate loss for those of us who have spent years of experience promoting Latin music in all four corners of the world, we consider it appropriate to recall the most important moments in the life and career of this extraordinary artist and all that he contributed to the salsa movement during his lifetime.

Juan Carlos Formell died on May 26th — Juan Carlos Formell died on Friday, May 26th after a live performance in New York City

Story of Juan Carlos Formell

Juan Carlos Formell was born in the city of Havana on February 18, 1964 and was the son of Juan Formell and Natalia Alfonso. He was the oldest of three brothers who would also dedicate themselves to music.

Contrary to what people might think, the fact of belonging to the fourth generation of a musical family and being the son of world famous bassist Juan Formell did not make things easier for him on the path with music. When he was barely three weeks old, he was sent to live with his grandparents in the outskirts of the Havana city.

They were through many financial needs and Juan Carlos himself would admit in an interview years later that other children used to make fun of him for having holes in his shoes, but that did not make him desist from his dreams, far from it. He became interested in music at a very young age, which led him to train professionally at the Alejandro García Cartula Conservatory and the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory.

In the 1990s, he concluded his studies at the National School of Arts in Cuba with almost three decades of life, so he made the decision to move to New York City to fully exercise his career as a musician. Before this, Juan Carlos had already accompanied several jazz orchestras on stage, but Cuban authorities banned him from traveling due to his regular yoga practice (considered subversive in his native country).

Since he could not leave Cuba directly, he had to use a tour with the Rumbavana orchestra in Mexico to cross the Rio Grande in Texas and later settle in New York. His process of adapting to this new country was not easy from any point of view, but it was all so worth it.

From then on, what came was success for the artist. During the course of his solo career, he recorded some five solo albums, one of which earned him a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Traditional Tropical Latin Performance in 2000.

Juan Carlos Formell at PiPiKi Studios — Juan Carlos Formell recording at PiPiKi Studios

Entry into Los Van Van

Los Van Van is one of the most important Cuban musical groups of recent times, which was founded by Cuban bassist Juan Formell, Juan Carlos Formell’s father. After having participated in several son and jazz groups, the musician decided it was time to innovate and change the style he was using until now.

It was then that he decided to incorporate new instruments and voices, which gave rise to a completely different concept baptized as Los Van Van and that gave much to talk about among critics of the time, and for the better.

After a very successful career in the group, Juan Formell died on May 1, 2014 at the age of 71 as a result of a heart attack during a concert in his hometown, Havana.

This unfortunate event is what led his son, Juan Carlos Formell, to join Los Van Van as a bassist. His brother Samuel was on the drum kit and his sister Vanessa was on backing vocals, so it can be said that this was a bit of a family business.

Since that moment, the intense activity that he had together with the rest of the group in performances, concerts and new songs earned him the recognition of the public in a very short time.

In spite of carrying the fame of his father on his shoulders, he did not let this stop him or be a limiting factor for him. On the contrary, he always left his family name and his father’s legacy high.

Unfortunately, 10 years passed before the artist left a huge void among those who respected and loved him.

Juan Carlos Formell on stage — Juan Carlos Formell performing on stage

Death

On May 26 of this year, Los Van Van was performing at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in New York. About 40 minutes after the start of the concert, Juan collapsed on stage in front of all the attendants.

Minutes later, he was aided by ambulances and a fire truck. He was then taken to the nearest health-care center, but unfortunately the doctors could do nothing for him. This is how his bandmates announced the sad news through their social networks.

At the end of the concert, Eduardo Livia himself confirmed the death when he walked off the stage and greatly regretted what happened. The cause of death was determined to be a heart attack and his life came to an end at the age of 59.

After this, the group continued with the rest of the tour they had planned and the performances they had outstanding were in honor of the great Juan Carlos Formell and all that he gave to music during his life.

Fausto Cuevas Y La Moderna in International Salsa Magazine

Who is Fausto Cuevas

Fausto Cuevas is a bandleader and percussionist from the state of Texas who is currently leading the orchestra Fausto Cuevas Y La Moderna, which has been playing in a large number of nightclubs located in the state of California, where Fausto currently resides.

For its part, Fausto Cuevas Y La Moderna is a salsa group whose purpose is to take the old Latin genres and provide a modern twist to them. While it is true that their main genre is and has been salsa, its members also experiment a lot with Cuban guaguancó, yambú, cumbia, son, cha cha chá, among others.

We are proud to have such an artist in our June edition and hope that this conversation will grace all our readers.

Fausto’s beginnings in music

Fausto grew up in Brownsville, a village in Texas very close to the southern border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas, where his father is from. Due to this territorial proximity to Mexico, the artist was always exposed to ranchera instruments and, in particular, drums. The latter would be very important in what would become his professional future.

At the age of 11, he entered the public school system and was assigned to play a snare drum in a symphonic style. It can be said that this is when his fascination for this type of instrument began and continues till this very day.

In fact, Fausto claimed to have not been interested in guitar, piano or bass. He was always very clear that his aspirations were focused on drums, and percussion.

These first steps led him to specialize in playing American music, rock and jazz. Until then, he had not had any contact with Latin or Afro-Cuban music, but that would eventually change.

Moving from Boston to California

Fausto tells us that his biggest dream was always to go to New York, since the music scene was vibrant there at that time, but he could never do it due to some personal issues he encountered, such as the birth of his daughter. This is what made him move to Los Angeles and give up on that dream.

When we asked him if he still wanted to live in ”The Big Apple”, he told us that he had already found his place in California and his career had already taken root in this part of the United States.

Fausto Cuevas Y La Moderna

Fausto Cuevas Y La Moderna was created in a very particular way. One day, Fausto received a call from the department at Berkeley that does concerts for the Boston community and was asked if he had a salsa band to play at the Tito Puente Latin Music Series. He said yes to everything, although he had nothing prepared at the time.

What he did have was a group of friends who were related to music and happened to live in Boston. They were all so well-suited and had so many plans that things worked out in an extraordinary way. That was 25 years ago and they have stayed together to this day despite the obstacles.

Relationships with other artists and genres

Fausto Cuevas Y La Moderna have performed and toured with stars such as Marc Anthony, Jose Alberto ”El Canario”, Celia Cruz, Julio Iglesias, Santana, Tito Nieves, Tito Puente Jr., Stavie Wonder Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, among others.

One thing that Fausto feels he has learned from these artists is to be identifiable as a Latino in American genres. He says it is very interesting to create things, always identifying with Latin rhythms when playing soul, R&B or pop.

Having had so much contact with all these musical luminaries has helped him to rediscover himself and be much more creative when mixing Latin and American elements. In this sense, knowing the roots of the genres he plays has helped him a lot to know how to link both worlds.

It is precisely the knowledge of these roots which has made Fausto Y la Moderna stand out among other Californian groups.

Future projects

As to future projects, Fausto Y la Moderna plans to release a few singles this year and record the rest of the album in order to release the whole album in 2024.

He also pointed out that he is about to release an album with Gonzalo Grau Y La Clave Secreta, another group in which he is also involved, so he invites everyone to listen to his music through networks and digital platforms.