Search Results for: Johnny Cru

What is happening in New York?

There are several reports in New York for the coming months in terms of salsa and Latin music in general. There are so many that we could not mention them all here, but we will summarize the most outstanding and interesting of the month. So make yourselves comfortable because we have many things to say.  

Salsa International Day Celebration 

Recently, it was announced that New York will host the First Salsa International Day Celebration, an event that has been announced by Carlos Velasquez from GrupoCKV and myself on 27 June of this year. This fabulous festivity will be broadcast through Canal America in an exclusive way and carried out on 14 August between 4 and 5 pm on New York time. 

In the words of Velasquez, this will be an event meant to unify and glorify all salsa lovers. He also mentions that for him and the rest of the team that makes this possible are proud to be able to share this great event with all viewers who are interested in the show that has been prepared for them.   

Donation of the last jacket worn by Franklin Ruíz in one of his shows 

For me and for the rest of the Spaha Salsa Gallery, it is a great honor that Franklin Ruíz’s brother Víctor Rolando Negrón Ruiz, best known as Viti Ruíz, has donated the last jacket worn by the artist at Madison Square Garden before his unfortunate death due to liver cirrhosis that had afflicted him a while ago. With this special offer, we will always have a pleasant memory of El Papá de La Salsa, who has left a bottomless void after his departure. 

Viti Ruiz is a huge iconic figure like his brother Franklin, who made us be more honored to receive him in our facilities and meet him about the gift to the Salsa Museum and how much this priceless possession meant to him. What makes this jacket so special is that it was worn by the singer during a heartfelt tribute in which his name was chanted for more than 15 minutes at Times Square Garden, time that will remain forever in the memory of the musician until his last days and that of all his fans.  

Tito Allen is more relevant than ever 

We all know the artistic career of Tito Allen for more than 60 years, whose songs hit speak for themselves. Despite so many decades, the Puerto Rican is still a very active man and wants everyone to know that he will return to the stage and will do it with a few surprises up his sleeve. 

He has announced that he will be part of the Salsa Festival, which will take place on 21 August from 8 pm. According to information recently published, the place chosen is the Stereo Garden in New York, which is a multi-use venue built in the 1940s under the name of Patchogue Roller Rink. One of the best characteristics of this place is the absence of inconvenient columns that can hinder the movement and view of the spectators, providing them with much more space in which they can move about. 

Additional to that, Tito will not be the only one performing that night, as the concert will count on the participation of Franklin Vasquez and Hector Tricoche. Those who wish to book their tickets may do so through Ticketmaster and they have a value of $40. 

By: Johnny Cruz correspondent of International Salsa Magazine in New York City, New York

 

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A career worthy of admiration 

José Tabares, known as El Caballero del Bajo, is one of those figures that, though not so well known, play a very important role in the performances that have left many generations of lovers of good music breathless. This very talented bass player is not widely recognizable by many people, but without a doubt, his musical career leaves more than one open-mouthed. 

José Tabares was born in Medellín, Colombia, on April 6, 1971, but spent much of his life in the United States, where he arrived while still very young and started taking part in music playing his first guitar, which pointed him in the same direction as his father and brothers, who were also professional musicians. 

At 11, he began standing to take his first steps in the musical world by performing for groups of the time in New Jersey, among which we can mention Los Chéveres de Colombia and Los Apóstoles. He became particularly known for bass, but also showed a great skill to play other instruments such as the bongo, the trombone, and the conga. 

Joined projects and inspirations

One of his great opportunities came when he took the place of one of his brothers on bass in one of the groups with which he collaborated, and it can be said that it was at that moment his professional career with this instrument became more serious. It was from that moment on that many of the greatest luminaries of Latin music began to take him into account for their best shows.   

Celia Cruz, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Tito Nieves, Tito Rojas, La India, Ruben Blades are among the artists with which Tabares has worked. Unquestionably, all these collaborations were golden opportunities that the musician never missed and made him one of the best Latin bassists of today. 

When he has been interviewed, the bassist said that he has been influenced by many other great musicians, from whom he has learned what he knows and whom he has observed closely to get the best out of each of them. Such is the case of Bobby Valentín, whose work has been a very important reference point for the career of Tabares and is the one that inspired him to fully enter the world of salsa. 

We can also mention Carlos Roldan, who became an extremely important reference for the artist due to the so clean way in which he plays his instruments. It was thanks to exponents like this that Tabares was trained on stage in such a great way and raising the name of his native Medellin very high. 

All this inspiration and learning have obviously borne fruit, as the artist has been part of many great musical works which have been nominated and winners of the Latin Music Grammy Awards and a variety of acknowledgments to the effort made. Despite not having such a well-known name, he is still a great pride for salsa and Latin music lovers. It is important not to lose sight of this talented Colombian. 

By: Johnny Cruz correspondent of International Salsa Magazine in New York City, New York

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How her career got started

The family is the fundamental pillar for every human being and decisive for the path of any individual will take in life. A great example of this is Arlene Gonzalez, whose home training has played a key role in the beginning and continuation of her career as a bilingual musician and composer. This New Yorker of Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian ancestry began making a name for herself once she left her homeland and moved to the south of Florida in search of new professional and personal opportunities. 

After moving to her new home, she started a brilliant musical career from the hand of performances and tours in which she always showed the innate talent which has accompanied her in each of her shows. One of her most important collaborations was done with the famous producer and Grammy winner Jon FX. 

One of the reasons why Arlene is best known in the music industry is her great talent as a composer, so she does not need the support or collaboration with anyone else at the time of writing all her works. This is what gave her the push he needed to create her own label Platinum G. Records, so she has not required the support of a record label which in the long run would only limit her as an artist and as a person. 

Achievements and current affairs

This talented American of Latino descent has worked with a large amount of television networks with respect to promotion and presentation of shows that help the emergence of up-and-coming artists in many cities across the country. Likewise, his music is increasingly present in important radio stations as in the case of Wepa FM in Florida or 94.5 FM in New York. 

She has managed to tour in many countries throughout Latin America thanks to his efforts to achieve a prestigious place in the industry. His salsa song Vete became very successful in nightclubs throughout several cities in Panama and a large part of North America, where his music was welcomed with open arms. 

For this year, she will be throwing a tour of Jamaica on a cruise ship in which she will sing her entire repertoire and delight the present ones with hits like Boy toy, Quiero bailar, Illusion, Boriqua somos, and so on. It will be a great opportunity for the artist to improve its visibility with those who have not been able to enjoy her great talent every time she performs any of her incredible songs. 

At this point, she is writing new songs for her latest album, whose predominant genre will be salsa and main single will be the song Tendrán que respetar, which has been a creation of the talented composer José Luis Pagan, who has trusted in the talent of González to try rhythming and become a real piece of work. In addition, the single already has its own videoclip and arrangements made by the famous maestro Oscar Hernandez.   

In contrast to her career as a singer, the New Yorker is about to launch a line of lipstick, demonstrating that she is quite a very skilled entrepreneur in the cosmetics industry. 

This promising figure of music has given a lot to talk about from the beginning, and no mistake, that will continue to do so as long as she enjoyed sucess and delighted everyone with good music as usual.   

By: Johnny Cruz correspondent of International Salsa Magazine in New York City, New York

 

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