Search Results for: Héctor Lavoe

The return of Ray Sepúlveda to Europe

Ray Sepúlveda loves his music ardently, and it is for this reason that, for two decades, he has been one of the most notable voices in salsa to date. This much loved singer takes every opportunity he gets to give us all of his soul through his music, and his most intimate feelings. One of his first steps this 2023 is to visit Europe, to celebrate Valentine’s Day with all his European fans. Learn more about the singer, and his dates for this Europe Tour with the following lines.

Ray Sepúlveda is a singer forged in Salsa’s golden years

Sepúlveda Jr. was born in Brooklyn, his parents are originally from Puerto Rico. Today he is a successful singer who has recorded five albums for his current label RMM, and has built up a reputation as a vocalist on all continents. However, his journey to his success was not an easy one.

Since his childhood, Ray Jr. learned everything from his father, Ray Sepúlveda Sr., who was a bolero singer, and a member of Trío Los Románticos. This experience allowed him to listen to the best artists from Puerto Rico and Latin America, which inspired him to follow his dreams of becoming a renowned singer.

At the end of the 70’s Ray managed to record his first album and two more under Fania. He also got to dabble in the cinema, and in the 80s he even worked with Hector Lavoe. But in those years there was a decline in the genre, which is why Sepúlveda came to work with the United States Postal Service.

The 90s were his return to the stages with the Johnny and Ray Orchestra, with which he came to record his greatest hits. As he himself has commented on several occasions: “At that stage of my career I had the opportunity to work with Sergio George, the music producer of Salsa Con Clase. Sergio greatly influenced, and in a way created the musical style of Ray Sepúlveda.”

A few years later he would sign with RMM which led him to further consolidate his solo career. In “Salsabor,” his fifth production with RMM, Ray Sepúlveda shows us his way of being and feeling. He uses the same energy that he had on his first album with them, and inspires us to enjoy his well-known romantic salsa sound.

Ray has made appearances at some of the world’s most famous venues. For example, he has played in New York’s Madison Square Garden several times, including a Valentine’s Day concert. He has also performed at Radio City Music Hall and at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey to celebrate RMM’s 10th anniversary. In addition, Ray has traveled throughout Europe, receiving a great reception especially in Italy.

2023 marks his return to Europe

This new year marks the return of Ray Sepúlveda to the European stages with his Europe Tour, led by Luisito Eventos and Amber Productions. This tour consists of a total of 6 dates, starting on February 3 in Madrid, Spain. Two dates follow in Italy on the 4th and 5th, in Genoa and Firenze respectively. It closes with stops on 10, 11 and 12 passing through Milano, Italy; to then reach Valencia and Barcelona in Spain.

In these presentations Ray will captivate the audience with his best-known classics, in addition to showing his new songs from his latest production Salsabor, among which stand out: Como Tiembla El Alma, Eres, Lo Necesario, Sabes Que Soy Aquel, among other great works. To obtain tickets for these dates and enjoy a great night, you just have to contact the following numbers: +34627098111 / +34635417043.

From Repression to Liberation through Salsa

Interview with Isidra Mencos, Author of Promenade of Desire, A Barcelona Memoir

By Luis Medina

Isidra Mencos is the author of the engrossing, page-turning book, Promenade of Desire, A Barcelona Memoir. This book is a frank, honest and revealing coming of age story as a young woman in the transitional period marking the end of the Franco dictatorship to political freedom in Spain. It chronicles her formative experiences growing up with her family, embracing her sexuality, her relationships with men, discovering her liberation through Salsa music and finding herself.

Isidra Mencos, Author of Promenade of Desire, A Barcelona Memoir

LM: In your memoir Promenade of Desire, you describe your fascination with Salsa music as a liberating force during your coming of age as a young woman. Why Salsa music?

IM: I grew up in Spain under a dictatorship closely allied to the Catholic church. It was a very repressive atmosphere, not only politically but also culturally and sexually. From a very young age I learned to associate sensuality and pleasure with shame and guilt, so I felt disconnected with my body.

When the dictator died in 1975, I was 17 years old and in college. Spain transitioned to democracy and the culture went from repression to liberation and hedonism. That’s when I discovered Salsa music and dancing. From the moment I heard Salsa for the first time, I knew it was the music I had waited for my whole life. Although I didn’t know the steps, I was instinctively in sync with the beat.

Salsa allowed me to reconnect with my body and my sensuality in a guilt and shame-free way. It opened the door to a new me, a young woman aware and accepting of her body’s needs and desires. I fell in love with the great Salsa icons of the 70s, from the Fania All Stars to Rubén Blades, and Los Van Van. I went dancing three or four nights a week, until 5 a.m. I couldn’t get enough.

Salsa scene in the eighties

LM: What was the nascent Salsa scene like in Barcelona in the eighties?

IM: Salsa was not yet popular in Barcelona, where I grew up. Spain had been very isolated from other countries during the dictatorship and did not have significant immigration until the mid-70s so the exposure to this music had been limited. When I started dancing in 1977, there was only one dump of a club in the red light district, appropriately named Tabú, full of seedy characters. I was there all the time.

In the 80s Salsa started to gain traction and a few other places popped up. A very famous one at the time was Bikini, which was in a more bourgeois, safer area, and had two rooms, one for Salsa and one for Rock. Every single night the DJ would end the gig with “Todo tiene su final” with Hector Lavoe and Willie Colón. I loved it.

By the time I left Spain in 1992 there were four or five clubs dedicated to Salsa, and live concerts with iconic figures had started to come to the city. There were also Catalan bands that played salsa standards, like Orquesta Platería and others.

LM: What was the popular music in Spain at that time?

IM: Rock and punk were the most popular. Punk represented the rebellious spirit of the youth, who had grown oppressed and now had the freedom, in the new democracy, to be outrageous and excessive without consequences. A very famous punk group was Alaska y the Pegamoides.

LM: Your ex-boyfriend Abili was a prominent pioneer in promoting Salsa Music in Barcelona during that era. Can you describe the triumphs and challenges that he had promoting Salsa music?

IM: Abili had fallen in love with Salsa before me. He was a journalist by profession and had come into some money due to a labor dispute. He decided that he would invest that money into making Salsa as popular as any other type of music in Barcelona. He produced concerts with Salsa greats like Rubén Blades, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barreto, Luis Perico Ortiz and others, who came to Spain for the first time. Unfortunately, he was a bit ahead of his times. There wasn’t still a big enough audience to fill in the venues, and he lost a lot of money. That said, he was a major contributor to popularizing Salsa in Barcelona. For example, he ran a weekly Thursday salsa night for a few years at a club, with a live band (Catalan players) and a DJ, and you could see the club filling up more and more every week.

He later got involved with one of the major Salsa spaces in Barcelona, El Antilla, programming the live bands and promoting the scene.

LM: You have visited Barcelona throughout the years since you immigrated to the United States. What are the differences that you have seen in the Barcelona salsa scene?

IM: Salsa is now very well established in the city, in part due to the increasing numbers of Latin American immigrants who started coming in the 80s and the 90s. There was a big wave of Cuban immigration starting in the 90s which changed the direction of Salsa in the city, making timba and rueda very popular, for example.

Salsa was also taken on by several bands which mixed Catalans with Latina American immigrants, and produced great music, such as Lucrecia or, nowadays, Tromboranga.

That said, when I go back now I notice that there are less venues that offer live bands on a regular basis. It’s more of a DJ scene with dance instructors.

LM: In the book, you described Salsa music as a passionate force in your life as you dealt with your family, relationships with different men, sexuality, and the transition in Spain from Franco’s era of dictatorship and repression to freedom and democracy. What do you want the reader to take from reading your book?

IM: I think we all have repressed one or more parts of ourselves from childhood on, in order to be accepted by our parents, our teachers, our friends, our bosses…. My memoir is an inspirational tale about finding a way to reclaim the parts of yourself that have been hidden and becoming a whole person again.

Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa and his interesting career

José Flores Pérez

Jose Flores Perez, better known as Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa, is a salsa singer who was born in the town of Cidra, Puerto Rico, but currently resides in Georgia. We have had a very pleasant conversation with the salsa exponent, in which we have touched on certain various professional and personal tissues never mentioned before. It is a real pleasure for us that he has agreed to talk with us and tell a little more of his personal story on this platform, which is International Salsa Magazine.

Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa was born in Puerto Rico, but now lives in Georgia, United States

Origin of his artistic name

”Chevy” is a nickname his parents and friends always gave him and ”pitirre” refers to a Puerto Rican bird with very short dize, but a very strong character. Maestro Felix Ortiz name him ”El Pitirre” because of the way he sings and improvise in the stage and the trust between them was such that he even became the music director of his orchestra. This combination of nicknames was what made Flores start to become known by that way during the last four years of his career.

Influences and predilection for salsa music

The reason Chevy opted for salsa was the great influence from his family. His father was a salsa singer for local orchestras in Chicago, which made him listen to various Puerto Rican genres such as salsa, bolero, jibaro music and trova throughout his childhood.

There were years when he really enjoyed listening to hip hop and rap in the late 80’s and early 90’s, but it didn’t take long for him to reconnect with salsa when he started listening to Héctor Lavoe, Ismael Rivera, Sammy Marrero, Bobby Valentín, Cano Estremera, among others. Listening to all these idols and what they achieved led him to take salsa much more seriously.

Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa performing on stage

His time in the military and formal beginnings in music

During his time in the military, he performed in different orchestras and accompanied various artists throughout Atlanta. Although this was a demanding career, he organized himself to pursue his interest in music. When he leaves the armed forces, he went to Puerto Rico, where he lived for a great deal of time until he moved to Georgia in 2016.

His current residence is still in this state for professional reasons totally unrelated to music, but he had been there around the time he served in the army, so this part of the United States was not unknown to him. It is there that he resumesd his musical career after so many years.

In 2017, he began to compose, but it was not until two years later when he decided to launch as a soloist, make his first single ”Instrumento de amor” and carry out his first independent musical project entitled ”Entre el amor y el vacilón”.

In this same year 2019, he took advantage of the internet and social networks to become known at an international level and released his second record production during the pandemic, but the singer does not think this situation has hurt his carrer. On the contrary, he believes that social media and digital platforms gave him the push he needed to promote his artistic proposal.

Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa recording in the studio

Recent projects

One of his most recent projects was carried out in 2019, is titled ”Atacando en Navidad” and was born from the songs ”Arbolito de Navidad” and ”Compay no se me raje”. The first is written by Chevy, but the latter was composed by the legend Johnny Vega. At some point, the artist decided that these two singles were not enough, so he created a full album based on the Puerto Rican parranda he always enjoyed as a child. The result is a mix of nostalgia, sadness, love and joy. He tells how Christmas was celebrated at home, his childhood dreams, what this time meant to his family and the sadness when a loved one dies that year.

One of the most significant songs is ”Navidad Sin Parranda”, which was written a year before Chevy’s mother died. She was so ill at the time that the whole family thought she suddenly would lose her life, but fortunately she did not. Back then, the salsero was beginning to imagine a life and a Christmas without his mother, as she kept the family together and her house was the meeting place for all the important dates.

It just so happens that Venezuelan musical arranger Willy Melo lost his father within a few days of receiving the song, so he was very connected to that same pain around the same time.

September 22, 2022 marked the 48th anniversary of the Fania All-Stars concert in Zaire, Africa

Last Sunday, September 22, 1974 (On a day like today, Fania All-Stars made history by performing for the first time in Africa in front of 80 thousand spectators.

A magical night that included wonderful moments. This is their story.

In mid-1974, American boxing promoter Don King organized a fight in Kinshasa, Congo, for Muhammad Ali to regain the crown against the then heavyweight champion of the world, George Foreman, a bout that was called ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’.

Parallel to the boxing match, musician Hugh Masekela and renowned producer Stewart Levine scheduled a series of concerts at the 20 du Maipara stadium in Kinshasa (Zaire) as part of a 3-day festival (September 22-24, 1974) that would later become one of the most important musical events of the century in Africa, which the organizers called ‘Zaire 74’Unfortunately, an injury suffered by George Foreman while training forced the fight to be postponed for almost six weeks, but the music festival did take place.

The event was attended by 31 groups (17 local and 14 foreign) and featured artists such as James Brown, BB King, Bill Withers, Manu Dibango, Miriam Makeba, Fania All-Stars, among others.

The Fania musicians who traveled to Africa and performed at the festival were: Johnny Pacheco (flute), Larry Harlow (piano), Bass: Bobby Valentin (bass), Nicky Marrero (timbales), Ray Barretto (congas), Roberto Roena (bongos), Yomo Toro (Cuatro), Pupi Legarreta (Violin) Jorge Santana (Electric Guitar), Victor Paz, Kurt Ranno, Luis ‘Perico’ Ortiz (Trumpets), Lewis Kahn (Violin and Trombone), Ed Byrne (Trombone), and 6 singers: Celia Cruz, Ismael Miranda, Jose ‘Cheo’ Feliciano, Hector Lavoe, Santitos Colon, Ismael ‘Pat’ Quintana (vocals and backing vocals).

Concierto de la Fania All-Stars en Zaire, África

Everything was ready to return to the Big Apple, New York but a major misfortune forced Johnny Pacheco and company to stay.

Although it may seem incredible, musicians and singers had to stay 11 additional days due to a political and social problem in that country, unable to leave the hotel where they were staying. This is how Bobby Valentín tells it in an exclusive interview to Rafael Vega Curry, journalist of elnuevodia.com

“We couldn’t get out. (Jerry) Massucci had to pay an extra $18,000 because we would gather in the rooms to order food and empty the coolers (laughs). There was always someone who said “tomorrow we’ll play in my room”, says the well-known ‘King of Bass‘.

With the concert in Zaire, Fania All Stars had become the first tropical orchestra to set foot on African soil. The show, held at the Statu Hai stadium in Kinshasa, was attended by more than 80 thousand spectators.

It was part of the “Zaire 74” event held from September 22 to 24 of that year, and also featured R&B and Soul artists such as James Brown, Bill Withers and BB King.

In 1974, salsa was at its peak in New York. However, its top representatives were confined within four walls.

Among the musical geniuses were Johnny Pacheco, Ray Barretto and many others who made this orchestra the most important salsa orchestra in its history. Héctor Lavoe could not be missing in that directory.

Important Note:

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also popularly known as D. R. Congo, Democratic Congo, Congo-Kinshasa or Eastern Congo, and called Zaire between the years 1971 and 1997, is one of the fifty-four countries that make up the African continent. Its capital and most populated city is Kinshasa.

Between October 27, 1971 and May 17, 1997, the African country currently known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was known as the Republic of Zaire (in French, République du Zaïre).

The name Zaire was given to it during the rule of Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled it with an iron fist during a long dictatorship, and from whom emanated the political system and the characteristic ideology of the State.

The instability and rebellions that plagued the Congo until 1965 culminated in the seizure of power by Lieutenant General Mobutu Sese Seko, then Commander-in-Chief of the Congolese Army.

Mobutu proclaimed himself president for five years and in 1970 consolidated his power by being elected president without opposition.

In 1971 the new name of the State was adopted, with the official proclamation of the denomination: Republic of Zaire. This name and the new national symbols would remain until 1997, when at the end of the First Congo War Mobutu was overthrown and fled the country.

Upon assuming the presidency of the country the guerrilla leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Congo, recovering its own name.

Sources:

Bobby Valentín

Salserisimo Peru

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaire

You can read: Fania All Stars

Synthesis on the song “El Cazanguero” written by Rubén Baldes for the album The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

“It is the lament of the cazanguero in Coiba at dawn, hurry up Chino Juan, they are already calling the line, the guard says not this time, don’t fall so far behind”.

“Whether it is sunny or raining hard, you have to take care of the sowing; don’t let the hunanga come to spoil your effort”.

In 1974, El Malo del Bronx, after 8 years of touring with El Jíbaro de Ponce, decided to take some time off, he did not attend the presentation of Fania All Star in Africa and dedicated himself to solving personal problems and producing.

He was working on his next album with Yomo and Hector, he remembered that there was a Panamanian boy he had met in 1969 at a carnival in Panama, whom he had invited to come on stage to sing with Hector in several of the presentations in clubs in the Big Apple.

This guy was already part of Barretto’s band and had given songs to luminaries of the genre that became hits, such as Guaguancó Triste to Richie and Bobby, Las Esquinas to Niño Bonito and Amor Pa’ que to Conjunto Candela.

These songs put him on Willie’s radar who asked him for a song to complete his next album. Ruben, who was that Panamanian boy, happy for El Malo’s request, writes his first song while living in New York.

Ruben arrives at the studio where that song was being recorded and Hector approaches him and tells him that he would not record it because he didn’t understand it, he didn’t feel it and that’s why it wouldn’t sound right.

Ruben is disappointed by what Hector said, but Willie really liked the song and asks Ruben to record it himself.

Ruben reminds Willie that he is part of the band El de Las manos Duras and that it would be a problem, Willie replies that he would fix it, which he did, obtaining don Masucci’s permission.

This marked the end of Ruben with Barreto and the beginning of what would become the duo that would dominate Salsa for the next 6 years.

This song we are talking about is El Cazanguero,

It is the lament of the cazanguero in Coiba de madrugá’. Hurry up Chino Juan, they’re already calling the line, the guard says not this time, don’t fall so far behind”.

“Whether it is sunny or raining hard, you have to take care of the sowing, so that the cazanga does not come to spoil your effort”.

Part of Coiba’s history as a penal colony, for 74 years, is described in El Cazanguero, a song by Rubén Blades that began to be heard in 1975.

The song describes who the cazangueros were, some of the punishments to which inmates who broke the rules were subjected, and the sadness of being far from their families, with the uncertainty and fear of an enemy attack, in an open penal system like Coiba.

Although the main value of the island is in its natural wealth, it is also important its history and the history of the prisoners it housed, the anecdotes of those who paid long sentences for going against the laws and the rights of others.

How many cans of gravel are there from here to Catival?” Blades ask in his song. The rubble, which is everywhere in Coiba, was used to fill the holes in the roads, to fill land or in construction”.

The Cazangueros were the inmates who chased away the cazanga, a climbing bird of the parrot family, green in color, with a blue head and neck, black beak and legs, which killed, like a plague, any planting it found in its path.

“The cazanga would come down from the mountains by the thousands, in the early morning, and the hunters had to scare them away by ringing empty oil cans and shouting. Sometimes they had to make dolls in human shapes to win the battle against the birds”.

As mentioned above, El Cazanguero was the first song Ruben wrote in the United States. To write it, he was inspired by his trip to the penal island of Coiba where he wrote his law degree thesis. It seems that this song was placed as filler on the 1975 album “The good, the bad, and the ugly” featuring Willie Colon, Hector Lavoe and guitarist Yomo Toro on the cover. However, it was “El Cazanguero” that sold the acetate record.

“El Cazanguero” was cut 6 of the album “The good, the bad & the ugly” which was recorded in 1974, at Good Vibrations studios. It was the last album in which Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe collaborated.

It contained 3 instrumental tracks, three sung by Colón in his first appearance as a solo singer on record (“Toma”, “Cua cua ra, cua cua” and “Guaracha”, 2 with Lavoe’s solo voice (“Popurri III” and “Que bien te ves”) and “El Cazanguero” written and sung by Blades.

Hablemos de EL CAZANGUERO