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Lengaïa Salsa Brava is killing it in Montréal

Latin talent can be found where you might least expect it and, this time we found it in the city of Montreal, Canada, a place that is cultivating an increasingly large and vigorous Latin music scene. On this occasion, we were thrilled to be able to talk to Giany-Frantz Huyghues-Despointes, who is the leader and founder of the orchestra Lengaïa Salsa Brava.

Lengaïa Salsa Brava is a 12-member salsa orchestra that was created in 2012 by Giany, who was also a trombonist and had some experience in the world of music before daring to create his own group.

The effort of all its members has enabled them to collaborate with great performers of the genre and win important awards such as the Canada Latin Awards in the category of ”Salsa Group of the Year” in a row in 2017 and 2018 respectively.

Lengaïa Salsa Brava has also performed approximately 30 concerts a year since its foundation and has participated in important festivals such as Toronto Salsa Festival, Festival Nuit Blanche de Montreal, Nuits d’Afrique, among others. The group was greatly helped by the fact that its members come from different countries such as French Guyana, Cuba, Colombia, Peru, Quebec, Spain and Venezuela.

This interesting journey shows us how hard this group has worked to achieve a place within the industry and all the potential they have to achieve much more than what was obtained. Today, Giany, its founder, shares a little more about himself and his orchestra Lengaïa Salsa Brava.

Giany, founder of Lengaïa Salsa Brava — Giany Huyghues Despointes, director and founder of Lengaïa Salsa Brava

Giany’s beginnings as a musician

Although the trombone is the instrument for which Giany is known, he started playing the trumpet from 10 years of age, which is when he began his interest in this branch of the art.

An important point is that in French Guyana, the country where Giany was born, salsa is not a predominant genre, since the most played by the French Guyanese is the mazurka, which is very similar to the Haitian compas. In the case of Giany’s family, they listened to a bit of everything, including salsa.

A turning point for the artist was watching Celia Cruz singing on tv one day. The musician had never heard the Cuban singer before and it was an incredible experience for him, as her deep voice, colorful outfit and wig caught his attention at the time.

Because of her deep voice, he thought she was a man, but his mother explained to him who Celia was and, months later, took him to a concert to see her live. That performance of ”La Guarachera de Cuba” marked him so much that he would begin to lean towards music in the future. Today, he says that Celia is a spiritual mother to him, as she was his great inspiration.

Along with being a fan of the Cuban singer, he wanted to learn to play instruments and initially opted for the piano and the guitar, but that changed when his Spanish teacher at school gave him a trumpet and he discovered that he really liked to play it.

Some time later, he graduated from the national school of music in his country and, by the time he turned 18, Giany noticed that his musical skills excelled more with the trombone than the trumpet. This is how he decided to choose the trombone as his main instrument and so it has been to the present time.

He started playing classical music with that instrument but soon discovered that he wanted to return to the genre that captivated him when he was just a child, so he dared to create a group in France, where he studied aviation. The thing is that he went to live in Canada six months later and had to abandon the plans he had at that time.

Founding of Lengaïa Salsa Brava

Giany arrived in Canada with the vision to create another group in his new country of residence, but he did not know any musicians yet, so he moved into action and started placing ads on social networks and other virtual means to communicate with artists who were interested in joining his project.

The results were amazing and there were many musicians who contacted Giany because of their interest in the concept proposed by him. With this group, he started assembling the orchestra in order to give form to what Lengaïa Salsa Brava is today. The orchestra has six years with the same staff and format it presents to the public today.

Huge number of nationalities in Lengaïa Salsa Brava

As for the large number of nationalities living in the orchestra, Giany has said that all ”are part of a big family” hinting that national origins have not been a problem for the smooth development of the group. In addition to that, the salsa brava is a genre widely known worldwide, so the members of the orchestra knew in advance what they were getting into.

To what we must add that these guys work or have worked in other salsa brava orchestras, so they were pretty much steeped in everything related to this beautiful music.

Giany says it is very easy to work with his musicians because they always know how to perfectly interpret what he wants.

Lengaïa at one of its concerts — Lengaïa Salsa Brava at one of its concerts

Origin of the name Lengaïa Salsa Brava

When Giany was looking for a name for the group, he wanted something different and not very Latin sounding. He also wanted people to ask what the name meant, so we have fallen into the trap.

The musician explained that he wanted something that refers to how explosive, energetic and aggressive his music is, so he chose the name inspired by a Tanzanian volcano called Ol Doinyo Lengaï that spews black lava. ”When you see a volcano exploding, you imagine something explosive and aggressive at the time. That’s what we want to reflect with our music”. Also, the fact that its lava is black is something different from other volcanoes, as is the group’s orchestration and technique,

Activities outside Lengaïa Salsa Brava

Giany wanted to emphasize that all the members of Lengaïa Salsa Brava have other jobs and work activities outside the orchestra. In his particular case, he works as a commercial pilot, but in his spare time, he devotes himself as much as he can to his great passion which is music.

So far, Giany and the other members of the orchestra are unable to live solely on music, but they do their best to keep the group together and are there to fulfill Lengaïa Salsa Brava whenever necessary.

Although the orchestra has been a second employment option, it is undeniable that this is their great vocation and the engine that moves his life, so there will always be space for it.

José Hildemaro Hugas Amarista “El Sonero del Amor” from Venezuela to the world

José Hildemaro Hugas Amarista, better known artistically as “Hildemaro, El Sonero Del Amor”, was born on November 10, 1957 in Caripito, a city in the eastern Venezuelan state of Monagas.

He is a Venezuelan singer-songwriter whose interest in music began at a very young age, participating in various children’s programs on the radio station in his hometown and in Maturin, the capital of the state of Monagas.

In 1970 he won the first “Festival De La Canción Inédita” held in Caripito.

Then he moved to Carúpano, where he began to sing with different musical groups of that city, such as “Los Bravos” and “Soles De Media Noche”.

"El Sonero del Amor" from Venezuela — “El Sonero del Amor” from Venezuela

Later he was called by the “Combo Melorítmico” of Maturín, where he stayed for a year. He always wanted to sing in the capital.

In 1976 his dream came true when he was called to be a part of the Front Train Orchestra “Los Satélites”, for seven (7) months, the proposed goals began to be different and began to work to achieve them. In 1979 he joined the “Orquesta Ideal”, with which the song “Contigo Besos Salvajes” was played all over the country and was successively imposed among the first places.

In 1981 he joined the “Supercombo Los Tropicales” of Maracaibo, then the “Noche Caliente” orchestra and later the “Porfi Jimenez” orchestra.

In 1985 he joined the orchestra of Renato Capriles: “Los Melódicos”, which gave him the greatest and best experience, given the popularity, prestige and discipline imposed by its director.

In 1986, as a soloist, he recorded his first LP of tropical music under the name “El Jr. de la música tropical” for the record label “Sur Americana del Disco”, , with the name “El Jr. de la música tropical.”

In December 1987 he received a wonderful offer from the record label “Top Hit (T.H.. ) and in 1988 he records his first LP, as a “sensual salsero” for Venezuela, titled “Amanecí Contigo” under the pen of José “El Flaco” Bermúdez, who is also the creator of the style that pushes him towards the international market, where all his songs hit with great acceptance and have his greatest impact in Peru (his second home as he usually calls it), starting his successful career as “Hildemaro, El Sonero Del Amor”.

José Hildemaro Hugas Amarista "El Sonero del Amor" from Venezuela to the World — José Hildemaro Hugas Amarista “El Sonero del Amor” from Venezuela to the World

In 1989 he recorded his second LP entitled “Sin Tabú”, which went gold a few weeks after its release, and this album took him back to Peru, where he is considered one of the main idols of Salsa Sensual. Panama, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, United States, Europe (Spain, Italy, France, Holland, Switzerland, among others), Asia (Japan), among many other countries, have joined his successful career.

In 1990 he recorded his third album called “Romantic and Sensual”, consolidating himself as one of the best voices of Latin American and Caribbean Salsa, qualities that were also reflected in his fourth production entitled “Lo Mejor De Mí” in 1991.

In 1993 he recorded his fifth album under the name “Al Natural”.

In 1994 he was invited to participate in the recording of the album “Con Ganas” by the Cuban Issac Delgado, where he performed a duet of a song composed by José L. Cortes called “Que Pasa Loco”, which quickly became an international success and took him to other latitudes.

In 1995 he released his sixth production with the title “Lo Que Siento”. One year later he signed a contract with the Mexican label “Balboa Records”, where he recorded the album “La Mejor Salsa Con Hildemaro”.

"El Sonero del Amor" from Venezuela and Viti Ruiz — “El Sonero del Amor” from Venezuela and Viti Ruiz

In 1999, he was invited by the Venezuelan group “Melody Gaita”, along with other artists, to record a tribute song to his friend and colleague Oscar D’ León.

In 2001, “Orquesta La Constelación” decided to record an album with several artists, in which he participated with two (2) songs (Peruvian waltzes), “Cuando Llora Mi Guitarra”, in duet with Andy Montañez, and “Jamás Impedirás”, which allowed him to sound nationally and internationally.

In 2002, he is called by another Venezuelan group “Pajarito Vola Show”, along with other artists, this time to participate in a well-deserved tribute to Betulio Medina. In 2002 and 2003 he burst in the national and international radio stations with two (2) singles “Corazón Loco” and “El Celular”.

In 2016, he begins to sound again in the radio stations with the song “Que Voy a Hacer Sin su Amor”.

In addition to his talent to sing Salsa Romántica, he is recognized for his interpretation of the Bolero. And on stage he has shared the stage with artists of the stature of: Oscar De León, Tito Rojas, Tito Gómez, Paquito Guzmán, Andy Montañez, Maelo Ruiz, Viti Ruiz, Gilberto Santa Rosa, David Pavón, Ismael Miranda, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Tony Vega, Nino Segarra, José Alberto “El Canario”, among many others.

"El Sonero del Amor" from Venezuela and El Canario — “El Sonero del Amor” from Venezuela and El Canario

Among his many facets is his love for sports, especially volleyball, which he has practiced since he was very young. He is an honorary member of the FUCUFOCA Foundation, which has been responsible for the organization of the Festival de la Canción Inédita de Caripito for fifty-one (51) years. Faithful collaborator of the Friends of Palencia Foundation and sponsor of several institutions.

Through his foundation HH Productions, he has carried out social actions such as Collaboration in the construction of the Virgen del Rosario Church in Caripito;

Donations of medicines and food to the needy, assistance to sports teams with equipment and clothing, organization of charity concerts and support of the “Amigos de la Palencia” Foundation.

Through his foundation HH Productions, he has carried out social actions such as Collaboration in the construction of the church “Virgen del Rosario” in Caripito;

Donations of medicine and food to people in need, help to sports teams with equipment and clothing; Realization of benefit concerts and concerts of popular attraction in collaboration with the end of year festivities of his hometown.

He has always given value to new talents, helping them in their first steps with his advice and teachings, such as Angel “Tu Angel”, Hildemaro Jr. “La Continuación”, Gilberto Hugas, among others.

Between the years 2022 and 2023 he will celebrate his forty (40) uninterrupted years of artistic life, with a long international tour in countries such as: Colombia, Bolivia,

Peru, Panama, United States, Canada and Europe. He is now promoting the songs “Si Tú Te Vas” and “Amigos Especiales” from his new production, which he is preparing with his inseparable director and producer, José “El Flaco” Bermúdez.

Also Read: Carlos “Nene” Quintero comes from a family of musical prodigies

Alfredo De La Fe, is responsible for transforming the violin for Latin Music

Latin America/ Colombia/ Cali

Alfredo de la Fe is a Cuban-American violinist based in New York, who also lives in Colombia.

He is responsible for transforming the violin into a sound much more suitable for Salsa and Latin music, as well as having manufactured and patented his own violin. De la Fe began studying the violin at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in Havana in 1962.

Two years later, he receives a scholarship to enter the Warsaw Conservatory, in Poland.

In 1965, he soloed compositions by Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

A scholarship at Juilliard opened new doors for him. De la Fe began his professional career, at the age of twelve, when he switched from classical music to Salsa, and accepted an invitation to join charanga legend José Fajardo’s Orchestra.

In 1972, he joined the Eddie Palmieri orchestra. He was a member of the group for a very short period, temporarily moving to San Francisco, where he met Santana. Returning to New York, De la Fe joined Típica ’73 in 1977. Two years later, he released his debut solo album, Alfredo.

In 1980, De la Fe signed with the Fania All-Stars, and produced thirty-two albums for Fania Records. His second solo album, Charanga ’80, was released in the same year.

In 1981, De la Fe became musical director of Tito Puente’s Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble.

The following year, he confirmed his solo career, signing with Taboga, for whom he recorded the album Triunfo. He settled in Colombia in 1983, and signed with Philips; As a result of this, he released three albums: Made in Colombia, Dancing in the Tropics and Alfredo de la Fe Vallenato, at the end of the 80s.

In 1989, De la Fe signed with Discos Fuentes. Although he was one of the members of the Fania All-Stars for 1995, De la Fe continued his solo career.

He signed with Sony Music in 1997. Two years later, he toured with his own orchestra, appearing at festivals in Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Turkey, and Belgium, and reuniting with Eddie Palmieri and his orchestra for a European tour.

In 2002, after several years in Europe, Alfredo moved back to New York and visited the US with his New York band, led by pianist Israel Tanenbaum.

Other musicians including bassist Máximo Rodríguez, percussionists Tony Escapa and Johnny Pequeño Rivero, and autistic Andrea Brachfeld.

Discography Solo albums

1979 : “Alfredo”
1980 : “Alfredo de la Fe y la charanga 1980”
1981 : “Para África con amor”
1982 : “Triunfo”
1984 : “Made in Colombia”
1985 : “Alfredo de la Fe Vallenato”
1990 : “Salsa”
1990 : “Los violines de Alfredo de la Fe”
1992: “Los violines de Alfredo de la Fe vol. 2: Sentir de Cuba”.
1993 : “Con toda la salsa Alfredo de la Fe”
1995 : “La salsa de los dioses”
2000 : “Latitudes”
2006 : “Alfredo de la Fe y Fruko (La Llave de Oro)”

Alfredo De La Fe - Photo — Alfredo De La Fe – Photo

Session Artist and Collaborations:

- 1973 : “The Sun de música latina” por Eddie Palmieri & Amigos Con Lalo Rodríguez
- 1976 : “De ti depende” por Héctor Lavoe
- 1977 : “Selecciones clásicas” por José Fajardo
- 1977 : “El Baquine de Angelitos Negros” por Willie Colón
- 1978 : “Comedia” por Héctor Lavoe
- 1979 : “Típica 73 en Cuba – Intercambio cultural” por Típica 73

1979 : ” Necesito tú” por Sylvester
1980 : “Charangueando con la Típica 73” por Típica 73
1980 : “Señor Charanga” por José Fajardo
1982 : “Encima Broadway” por Tito Puento
1997 : “Bravo” por Fania Todo-Estrellas
2001 : “Diferente” por José Alberto (El Canario)

Mario Bauza

North America / United States / New York

Mario Bauza, Pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz in New York, Clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter and arranger

Mario Bauzá (Havana, April 28, 1911 – Manhattan, July 11, 1993) was a Cuban saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, arranger and composer.

Known above all for having been the musical director of the Machito orchestra (of whom he was also a brother-in-law), he was a pioneer of what is now known as Afro-Cuban jazz.

Mario Bauza The Legendary Mambo King — Mario Bauza Pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz in New York

Bauzá played the clarinet in the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra. However, after traveling to New York in 1927 with the Antonio María Romeu orchestra, he was so impressed by the Big Bands of Paul Whiteman, Fletcher Henderson and Tommy Dorsey, and by the Harlem music revues, that in 1930 he decided to emigrate definitively to USA.

During the trip, he became friends with Antonio Machín. Mario Bauzá would return on the same boat in which Don Aspiazu’s orchestra was travelling, who immediately began the arrangements to record El manisero.

Upon arriving in New York, Bauzá went to live in Harlem with his cousin, the trumpeter René Endreira. Bauzá began playing the saxophone at house parties with pianist Lucky Roberts and began to absorb African-American culture.

Mario Bauza — Pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz in New York

Between 1930 and 1931, he was a trumpeter in the Antonio Machín quartet and made important recordings with this group in New York City. Anecdotally, it is said that he had learned to play the trumpet in just two weeks.

His first jobs were with the orchestras of Cass Carr, Noble Sissle and Sam Wooding.

In 1933 he entered Chick Webb’s orchestra as first trumpet, where he ended up as music director. He then worked with Don Redman and Fletcher Henderson, eventually landing Cab Calloway.

Being in that band, Mario brought the young trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie to the orchestra.

Bauzá married Estela Gutiérrez, sister of Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo, known as Machito.

On December 3, 1940, he debuted with Machito at the Park Plaza, a dance hall, with the Afro-Cubans, later working for almost four years at the La Conga club.

Bauzá works for Machito as artistic director, taking care of the arrangements and hiring the musicians.

The style of the Afro-Cubans mixes the son montuno of Cuba with features of swing bands.

Mario Bauzá Pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz in New York

Thanks to this, musicians like Dizzy Gillespie or James Moody introduced Afro-Cuban rhythms into jazz, starting in 1947.

He became interested in jazz when he heard Frankie Trumbauer play the saxophone performing Rhapsody in blue with the Paul Whiteman orchestra.

In the forties, Mario will develop the sound of Afro-Cuban jazz. His work as a clarinetist, trumpeter, saxophonist and arranger in the Machito orchestra constitutes one of the main pillars in the emergence and development of that Cuban genre.

René Latin Soul and his journey into music from his home country

René Latin Soul

After anything we have yet witnessed in the Latin music scene of the United States, we can say that it is undeniable that Cuba is an endless source of talent and passion for music, so this island can never be missing in International Salsa Magazine. On this occasion, it was the turn of producer, musical director, arranger, composer and trombonist René Latin Soul.

René is a talented Cuban who has managed to gain a very important place in the music industry in this country and we wanted to know how he managed to get there. Do not miss the fascinating conversation we had with the artist.

René playing the trombone — René Latin Soul playing the trombone during a performance

Beginnings in Cuba

René Amet Campos Artigas was born in the province of Camagüey, specifically in the municipality of Nuevitas. He came to music from a very early age, as many of his relatives are musicians, including his father and grandfather. This led him to enroll in the music conservatory when he was only 10 years old.

He confesses that he always knew he wanted this to be his profession and had no other career in mind for tomorrow, so he always did his best to excel as much as he could in the music business.

Once he finished school, René entered the military for mandatory service and was part of the general staff band. He was always intended to move to Havana in order to make himself known as an artist and he finally did it to stay for a while and see how he was doing.

During this time, he was working for several nightclubs that offered live music, but he did it with the trombone given by the army when he was in the staff band, since he just did not have enough money to buy one of his own.

Unfortunately, the time of the ”Special Period” arrived and this crisis forced him to return to his native Camagüey. However, this was not the end of his dream.

Upon returning, both René and his father started an artistic project which they named ”Valentín y Los del Caribe” and started working in tourism, specifically in a company called El Cuartón Club which had hotels in Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta and Ixtapa, Mexico.

Canada and the United States

While working with El Cuartón, René spent a long spell touring in the Aztec country, which gave him the opportunity to get to know other territories and other ways of doing things. In one of these trips, he made the decision not to return to Cuba and try his luck on new horizons.

He lived in the capital of the aforementioned country for more than 12 years, during which time he worked as an instrumentalist and worked with several artists belonging to the salsa guild such as La India, Jerry Rivera, Grupo Niche, Oscar D’ León, Los Adolescentes, among many others.

René on stage — René Latin Soul performing on stage

When he met the woman who became his wife, they started their romantic relationship and began making plans of life in common, between which Mexico fell a long way short, so it was time to put down roots elsewhere. At first, this new place would be Canada, but plans changed and the couple ended up leaving to the United States of America.

René and his wife spent about eight months living in Canada, but immigration issues became very difficult for them from one moment to another, so it did not take long for them to relocate to the United States.

René never thought to live here, since the Cuban government instilled an absolutely negative view of what this country represents in children from a very young age and he was no exception. However, all those opinions changed once the musician began to really get to know this nation. Today, he feels he has adapted perfectly and has been here for about six years, when he moved to this country to establish his family and career.

René Latin Soul & His Quartet

Once René arrived in the United States with his wife, his situation was very complex as any immigrant’s, so he had to work on things that had nothing to do with music. In fact, he recalls he spent more than a year without playing the trombone because he could not devote himself to music at that time.

That was it until he started playing trombone with the Kimbalai Orchestra, which he left in December 2021 and went to live in the city of Murrieta, one hour from San Diego. Once there he met Michael Mora, a friend who advised him to exploit the features of the city to start a solo project, which led him to start a solo career, which he finally did.

As he made a name for himself, he was able to include other musicians in his project, which allowed him to build the quartet he has today. Although René is very happy with what he has accomplished so far, he plans to have a much bigger salsa band in the future.

René and his piano — René Latin Soul in front of his piano

Music classes

A very important part of René’s work with music is teaching and this was a point we found interesting to discuss.

When asked if talent was natural or developed, he said natural. The artist thinks that the ability to play an instrument is innate in the musician, so this person only requires academic training to educate those gifts at a professional level.

He finishes by saying that ”there is a very particular way of feeling the music and, if you don’t feel it that way, you can’t play it correctly. Time, tuning and melody are essential for anyone who wants to be a professional musician.

Cuban talent despite the circumstances

According to one of the descriptions provided by René’s website, the artist is one of the figures who demonstrates the virtuosity of Cuban-born musicians. Of course, considering that the island does not live the same normality as most countries in the world.

About this, René said that ”clothes don’t make man. The most important thing to a talented person with an instrument is to focus on what he or she has to do and not look at anything around. There may be vicissitudes and shortages, but if you are focused on something you love, you have to find a way to improve and develop yourself in spite of everything”.

In his case, the musician tells us that he had friends with travel opportunities who brought the most recent findings made in music and he was always interested in knowing these things to apply them to his own technique.