Search Results for: Latin Music

Pedrito Moya and Jhonatan Araque: A Tribute to Jerry Rivera

Latin America / Venezuela / Caracas

“There is a great variety of new artists who want to expand and promote their new talents to all lovers of salsa music. For this new edition, we present Jhonatan Araque, a Venezuelan born in Maracay, Aragua, on March 25, 1983. Since he was very young, he showed admiration and an inclination for music, especially singing. By the age of 14, he joined the Grupo Rumba Costeña for a year, performing as a soloist; later, he joined the quintet ‘Quinto Elemento,’ who interpret pop and ballad music. From that moment, he had the opportunity to perform at the ‘Forum’ of Valencia, his first experience performing in front of a significant audience.

He mentions that he began his studies at the ‘Tecnológico de Música de Valencia’ (Valencia Technological Institute of Music), where he graduated with a major in singing, obtaining excellent grades. By the age of 18, he decided to record his first solo demo, which opened the doors to his first record contract with the ‘Sonográfica’ record company, alongside the Moratinos brothers, forming part of a group called ‘Okey,’ experimenting with various genres on that album, such as ballads and pop with Latin and Spanish influences.

“Jhonatan Araque’s Orchestra is made up of very talented young Venezuelans.”

After performing in various nightclubs, he decided to join the salsa orchestra ‘Los Latinos,’ where he became known in the cities of Caracas, Maracay, and Valencia, having the opportunity to share the stage with great national and international performers of the genre, including: Hernan Olivera, Marcial Istúriz, Wilmer Lozano, Edgar ‘Dolor’ Quijada, Hildemaro, Erick Franchesqui, Rodrigo Mendoza, Ángel Flores, and Mariana La Sonera.

Additionally, he spent six months as the singer for La Dimensión Latina, performing with them in different cities across the country; he also auditioned and became part of the ‘Simón Bolívar Latin Caribbean Orchestra,’ belonging to the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela, with which he had great experiences in various projects under the direction of maestro Alberto Vergara Icaza.

With all these new experiences, new opportunities arose for him in various forms to become part of renowned orchestras within the national salsa genre, such as Rumberos del Callejón, Orquesta Puma Band, El Combo de Venezuela, and the recording of two tracks with Fidel and Julito Antillano. In 2013, he decided to retire from La Latino Caribeña and form his own orchestra to lead ‘The Tribute Project to Jerry Rivera and Rey Ruiz.’

Salsa singers Jerry Rivera (Puerto Rican) and Rey Ruiz (Cuban) are recognized in all Caribbean countries, and both have had a great impact in the Venezuelan salsa scene, where their recordings are widely known and have a large following.

Jhonatan Araque’s orchestra is made up of very talented young Venezuelans with specific studies for each of the instruments they use. They are dedicated to presenting the audience with the interpretations that have been highly successful throughout their careers, thus paying tribute to these two singers of great international renown.

The members of this great orchestra are:

Name	Role
Jonathan Araque	Solo Vocalist
Mauricio Marin	Backing Vocalist
Luis Martínez	Backing Vocalist
Angel Palma	Piano
Edwin Garcia	Bass
José “Puma” Reyna	Timbales
Braimy Mijares	Congas
Lukas Gomez	Bongos
Jose Anahole	Trumpet
William Rada	Trumpet
Pedro Xavier Moya	Trombone (Musical Director)
Leycester Licon	Trombone

Pedrito Moya and Jhonatan Araque - TV — Pedrito Moya and Jhonatan Araque – TV

For more information, contact them at:

Contact Method

Phones

Jonathan Araque: +58 424-3443504 Pedro Xavier Moya: +58 416-3077868 0414-9276637

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ Bachology?hc_ref=SEARCH

Correo: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ channel/UCZP0snvp3tqkP24c X_fg1KQ

Twitter: @Bachology

Ania Bartelmus from La Candela Flamenco talks about her performance at the Hispanic Heritage Celebration

For some time, Hispanic genres have attracted people from all over the world, who have been captivated by the rhythms and colors of our music and traditions. Such was the case of professional dancer and director of La Candela Flamenco Company, Ania Bartelmus, who despite her Polish roots, could not help but fall in love with these artistic expressions, prompting her to become one of the leading figures of flamenco in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ania was kind enough to take a few minutes out of her busy schedule to talk exclusively with International Salsa Magazine and treat some issues related to her beginnings and current career.

Dancer Ania Bartelmus performing live — Dancer Ania Bartelmus ”La Candela” performing live with Dave Holland and Juan Solas Machado in the background

How Ania’s interest in flamenco and Latin jazz was born

Although Ania was not born into a family of musicians or dancers, she has always been drawn to art and wanted to pursue one of its many branches as an adult. She started taking dance classes in different styles, including ballet, ballroom dancing, contemporary dance, and a little flamenco.

At that time, at 18 years old, the young woman recalls attending a flamenco show by Spanish composer and guitarist Paco Peña in her hometown. She was so fascinated by the musician’s performance that she wanted to focus a little more on that genre and, if possible, manage to professionalize.

Then, her dance classes began to fully focus on flamenco and at much more advanced levels than before. This appeared insufficient to her, so she decided to live in Seville, Spain, for a few years to learn directly from the source.

La Rubia de La Candela

Ania was fortunate enough to have great teachers who turned her into the professional she is today and one of them was Curro Fernández, who affectionately nicknamed her “La Rubia de La Candela” when she was his student. During her first year in Seville, the dancer enrolled in the school of Esperanza Fernández and Miguel Vargas, the first being her singing teacher.

Esperanza was originally Ania’s teacher, but she was constantly touring and could not always attend the scheduled classes. Therefore, it was her father, Curro Fernández, who took her place and taught the classes instead of her, which made him some kind of father and mentor for Ania and the rest of her classmates. His knowledge and good humor made him one of the best references for the girl on the way she had to go.

Ania posing — Dancer Ania Bartelmus posing for the camera

Creation of La Candela Flamenco

In 2014, Ania officially started her company, which initially received the name Ania Flamenco, but she later renamed it La Candela Flamenco in order to give more importance to Ania’s stage name.

At the beginning, the company was seeking to present Spain’s traditional flamenco, but this became a tough task to pull off in the United States, as many of the best flamenco singers are not based there. So Ania decided to change her strategy and opted for a more Latinized flamenco, since most of her musicians come from Latin countries and a large part of the public feels a much stronger connection to Latin genres than to traditional flamenco.

On this subject, he also said: “We continue to respect the main rules of traditional flamenco, but we do not include flamenco singers because of the difficulty in finding them in the city. Our shows focus on other flamenco elements where we can best showcase the tradition’s richness.”

Current members of La Candela Flamenco Latin Band

La Candela Flamenco Latin Band is the company’s main group and is made up of a wide variety of famous musicians, one of them being Venezuelan guitarist José Chirinos, who joined the band in 2018 and contributed greatly to expanding the company’s horizons thanks to his background and the rhythms he brought from his homeland.

Thanks to Jose, Ania met Cuban percussionist Juan Pablo Solas Machado, who brought a lot of experience in flamenco, having been part of a company that toured the world with a Cuba’s flamencoised repertoire. The other percussionist who more recently joined is American Dave Holland, providing great knowledge about rhythms from around the world and serving as a connection between the Latin and the Anglo-Saxon souls for the rest of his bandmates.

We also cannot fail to mention Venezuelan pianist José Manuel García, one of last year’s great additions to the team along with fellow pianist Tony Castillo.

Finally, we also have Bulgarian flutist Teodora Stoyanova, whom Ania met through Jerry Fields, the percussionist with whom she started the company in 2014.

Ania and the rest of the musicians — From left to right: Cuban percussionist Juan Solas Machado, Bulgarian flutist Teodora Stoyanova, Mexican guitarist Ricardo Sánchez “Ricardito”, dancer Ania Bartelmus, American multi-percussionist Dave Holland, and pianist Tony Castillo

Hispanic Heritage Celebration

One of the major events in which La Candela Flamenco Latin Band usually participates annually is the Hispanic Heritage Celebration, to be held on October 25 at the Emory Performing Arts Studio in New York. This will be the third time they have presented this show in Atlanta, although in previous years, the concerts were held at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center.

Ania was first contacted to participate in the event in 2023, as its organizers wanted a show that reflected flamenco in the context of Hispanic heritage. On that occasion, Jose Chirinos played a leading role in the concert, while for the second edition, La Candela Flamenco Band featured the great talent of Mexican composer and guitarist Ricardito Sánchez and the aforementioned Tony Castillo. All of these musicians helped La Candela Flamenco to become more diverse and expand much more into Latin jazz and other rhythms of this type.

Thanks to the great job done by the team, for the second edition of the Hispanic Heritage Celebration, Ania noticed much more interest in the band’s performance than the previous year, and thanks to past experience, the next show worked best.

For the third edition, in which the talented dancer and her group will perform once again, International Salsa Magazine wishes them all the best and we have no doubt that everything will turn out in the best possible way.

Alberto Gonzalez talks about his book on Hector Lavoe and his experience with ‘‘El Jibarito de Ponce’’

As an artist, one of the most noble actions to be taken is to honor the great artists whose legacy inspired later generations, including those who pay homage to them today. Proof of this is the talented bandleader, composer, singer, and now author, Alberto González, whom we thank for sharing his story and various facets of his life with us, including his role as the author of a new book about “the singer of all singers,” Hector Lavoe.

Alberto and his book on Hector — Author Alberto Gonzalez with a version of his book ”Hector Lavoe and Associates”

Alberto’s initial interest in music

Alberto’s initial interest in music began with an aunt from Puerto Rico who went to live with him and his parents in Chicago. She loved the music of Raphael and Sandro, so her nephew listened to them practically every day and ended up falling in love with their music and how they sang.

Little by little, Alberto began to learn their songs and was unknowingly taking his first steps toward becoming a professional singer. However, it did not stop there; he also listened to the trio music that his parents enjoyed and eventually to the salsa albums that his older brother began bringing to the house. Those salsa albums really caught Alberto’s attention.

Among the artists his brother listened to were Eddie Palmieri, La Sonora Ponceña, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Willie Colón, and the one who would become his greatest inspiration, Héctor Lavoe.

Eventually, his brother became a professional trumpet player and played with various salsa orchestras in Chicago. Since he always heard Alberto singing songs at home, in 1979, he suggested that he audition for a new band of young salsa musicians his manager was putting together. For the audition, Alberto was tasked with learning and singing the popular Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe song “Voso.”

Fortunately, his audition was a great success, and Alberto was asked to join La Típica Leal 79. The story behind the band’s name is interesting: Carlos Caribe Ruíz, the manager of the group, decided on the name Típica Leal because most of the members of his previous band, La Juventud Típica, decided one day to quit; they left him. For that reason, he decided to create a new band, and he made sure to add the word “Leal” (loyal in English) to the band’s name. His hope was that the new band, made up mostly of teenagers, would be loyal and not leave, just like the previous band did.

Sometime later, Alberto would go on to sing with a band called La Inspiración Latina, and he also worked briefly with Orquesta Yambo. In 2001, he moved to Los Angeles, where he began working with Johnny Polanco y Su Conjunto Amistad, becoming one of their main vocalists and traveling the world with them and the band.

Alberto and Johnny Polanco — Alberto Gonzalez playing with Johnny Polanco Y Su Conjunto Amistad

Orquesta Salsa Caliente

When he left Johnny Polanco’s group, Alberto finally felt ready to form his own group, and that is how Orquesta Salsa Caliente was born. He has been leading the band for many years now and has even traveled with the band to Africa and Bermuda.

Over the past few years, Alberto has concentrated mainly on his work as an author. While he continues to perform, his primary focus has been on his debut book ‘‘Hector Lavoe and Associates.’’

Alberto’s Hector Lavoe Experience

In 1979, after auditioning and doing well with the song “Voso,” 15 year old Alberto officially became a member of La Tipica Leal 79.Caribe, the band’s manager, then asked him to learn a few more Hector Lavoe (and Willie Colon) songs. Since Hector was his favorite singer, he gladly learned the songs. Since his voice was somewhat similar to Hector’s, his bandmates began to affectionately call him “Baby Lavoe.”

In the fall of that same year, Alberto learned that Héctor and his orchestra were going to be performing in Chicago. Once he found that out, he asked Caribe to please take him to see Héctor, and, if at all possible, to introduce him to Héctor. Thankfully, he did get to go to that show, and he did meet Héctor. It was during that show, and during one of Héctor’s breaks, that he was able to take a photo with his favorite singer. Alberto still cherishes that photo to this very day. That night, he realized that Héctor was a “man of the people” due to his humility and how he treated others. The photo and his experience with Héctor were some of the main reasons why he decided to write a book about Lavoe. Over the years, many have criticized Héctor and have focused primarily on the negative aspects of his life. Sadly, many people are not familiar with the other side of Héctor, the humble, generous, and kind side of Lavoe. They will learn more about that side of Héctor in the new book.

Well, about a year and a half after first meeting Héctor, La Típica Leal 79 was booked to open for Celia Cruz and Héctor Lavoe. That show would take place at one of the most acclaimed dance halls in the city, where many of the greatest salsa artists performed over the years. That night, Alberto was able to share another conversation with Héctor, and he also took another photo with him. Héctor was generous with his time; he was kind and very accommodating. That’s something that Alberto never forgot.

This and other experiences are documented by the author in the book. Alberto actually interviewed about sixteen of Héctor’s former musicians, and eight of them are featured in the book. You’ll learn about their musical experiences, and you’ll be able to read about their experiences with “El Jibarito de Ponce,” Héctor Lavoe. These are the musicians that are featured: Gilberto Colon Jr., Eddie Montalvo, Jose Mangual Jr., Louie Romero, Eric Matos, Ray Feliciano, Danny Rosado, and Chino Núñez.

Alberto called the book “Héctor Lavoe and Associates,” and that title was somewhat inspired by Willie Colón’s 1978 compilation album “Willie Colón and Associates.”

Alberto and Salsa Caliente — Alberto Gonzalez and his orchestra Salsa Caliente

A few Lavoe stories from the book

Among the many anecdotes that can be read in the book, Alberto told us one in which, on one occasion, a couple of Héctor Lavoe’s musicians had their vehicle broken into, and all of their instruments were stolen. When Héctor found out what had happened, he bought them new instruments and told them not to worry about paying him back. He did not charge them a penny.

Here’s another story. During a show, one of Héctor’s trumpet players accidentally dropped his trumpet on the floor and damaged it beyond repair; the instrument was unplayable. What did Héctor do? Héctor gave him $1,000 to go buy a new trumpet and, once again, didn’t charge him a penny.

These are just a few of the many stories regarding Héctor Lavoe that you’ll be able to read in the more than 400 pages of the book. The book will be officially launched in the coming months. For more information, please visit: www.hectorlavoebook.com.

Alberto and Hector in Ponce — Alberto Gonzalez next to the statue of Hector Lavoe in Ponce, Puerto Rico

Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy

North America / USA /  New York

At Salsa Fever On2, they take great pride in being the only licensed Adult and Children Salsa / Mambo dance academy in the state of New Jersey! Salsa Fever On2 has been in business for 12 years.

Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy

Here, we have a reputation throughout the dance community for providing our students with an Award-Winning, structured curriculum that is conducive to all different levels of dancers while maintaining a fun and stress-free environment.

Whether you want to take your dance to the next level, support your exercise regimen, work on social skills or scape the daily stressors in your life, you can rest assure that you will be surrounded by a supportive staff in a non-intimidating environment.

The instructors at Salsa Fever take pride knowing that their students are held to the highest calibre and it’s evident on the dance floor. Under the artistic direction of Mario J. Gonzalez and his staf, SFOn2 Dance Academy aims to create true “On2” dancers – trained equally in dance and musicality.

Mario Justo Gonzalez a.k.a Mario B Founder & Director Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy

Professional Dancer, Instructor, Choreographer, Actor, MC, DJ Date of Birth: April 23, 1976 Birthplace: Hoboken, NJ EthnicBackground: Puerto Rican/Cuban [email protected]

Mario has had an interesting start to what is now a SALSA / MAMBO lifestyle!

Mario was very athletic throughout his grammar and high school years. In 1999, a really good friend and high School teammate, Danny Useche, introduced Mario B. to the “Salsa Scene”. This, in turn, inspired Mario to sign up for his first dance class. It did not quite work out as well as he expected, as the class was slightly more advanced than he predicted. This left Mario even more determined to prove his point, size, shape and color was irrelevant when it comes to MAMBO!

Photo 1: Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy

Mario was down, but definitely not out. He then came across one of the smoothest and most humble instructors in the Mambo scene, Greg Taylor, a prodigy of Delille Thomas and Original Eddie Torres dancer. After a few days with Greg Taylor, Mario was in Mambo Heaven. Took classes with Greg for approximately 6 months and was eternally grateful to Greg for this time, patience and expertise. Mario knew it was time to move forward and take on more of a challenge; he began taking more advanced classes with other established instructors.

Mario was immediately sought out and asked to become “The Papa” to Abbey Plotkins “The Mambo Mamas & The Papa”. Mario was now the Mambo Papa! By joining The Mambo Mama & The Papa, Mario was gice the opportunity to perform for what would become an instant hit LATIN MADNESS, an off-Broadway Dancical / Musical depicting the evolution of latin dance from past to present. The director and producer agreed that Mario would be a great addition to their all-star cast. Mario was now dancing alongside the BEST Mambo Dancers in the world! Latin Madness gave Mario the opportunity to dance, work and share the stage with the most sought out professionals in the world.

With stage experience and help from an acting coach, Mario earned the respect to appear in the movies “Empire” and “Kal-ho-naho”. Mario acted for the NY International Independent Film & Video Festival at Madison Square Garden, which then opened the doors for Mario to perform in two latin concerts at MSG… the largest stage in the world! In a short amount of time, Mario has come a long away to become a Professional Dancer, Choreographer, Instructor and Actor.

What’s most amazing I that he achieved all of these goals with NO background in dance!

It’s true what they say “Hard work does” pay off! “Hard work does pay off!” Who would have thought that Mario would transition from a full – time athlete to becoming a future Mambo Legend? In addition, his love for music and dance was Mario’s motivation to name his youngest daughter Jazzlyn.

Cycle Classes

Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy - Dancers — Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy – Dancers

Mambo On2 Partner & Floor Shine

Beginner Level 1: Beginner Students learn from a syllabus to help track their progress & pinpoint problem areas in floor shines & turn patterns in a 6 week cycle.
Advanced Beginner Level 2: students learn from a syllabus reflecting from Beginner Level 1 to help track their progress & pinpoint problem areas in floor shines & turn patterns with more of a challenge in a 6 week cycle.
Pre Intermediate Level 3: students learn from a syllabus reflecting from Beginner Level 2 to help track their progress & pinpoint problem areas in more complex floor shines & turn patterns in a 6 week cycle
Intermediate 4 Level: Students learn from a syllabus reflecting from Advanced Beginner Level 2 to help track their progress & pinpoint problem areas in more complex floor shines & turn patterns. Advanced beginner Level 2 will also prepare you for Advanced classes

What to bring to class

Please bring comfortable shoes with a leather or suede bottom. The best investment you can make as a dancer is a pair of quality dance shoes.

Do NOT recommend rubber soles or thick soled shoes as it will be difficult to find your balance, spin, and do the other exercises that to do in class. Bottled Poland Springs water is sold at the studio for a dollar.

Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy - Photo 1 — Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy – Photo 1

Come dressed to dance. A short sleeved shirt and comfortable pants, tight & wind breakers are recommended. This class is a workout, you will sweat & enjoy it. There is a changing are at the studio, as well as restrooms.

The school is also equipped with state of the art central air conditioning & heating for both the summer & winter.

What to expect

Every class begins with a warm-up as a group, with introductory footwork drills for the first hour.

This gives students a chance to review the material that they know, and also gives them opportunity to assess new students and makes sure that they are in the appropriate group. For the second hour you split into partner work & continue with turn patterns & instruction. At the end of the class students have time to practice the moves that they learned, as well as ask question & clarify things that may have been missed.

Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy - Photo 2 — Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy – Photo 2

Location: 83 Franklin Street

Jersey City, NJ 07307

Phone: (201) 792-116

[email protected]

Crunkchata came to stay in USA

North America / USA / New York

Crunkchata is the new rhythm that takes over the Latin street in USA. All lovers’ music enjoy this type of melody for its contagious tempo that makes dance to latin dancer professional or amateur.

The name Crunkchata comes from the mixture between Crunk + Bachata. Crunk, from its origins, is a musical genre that fuses hip-hop music and electro music and originated with the concept of the word crunk, which come from the union of two words, crazy and drunk. For its part, Bachata is a cadence genre from Dominic Republic very famous around the world. Nowadays, the Bachata’s leaders are: Juan Luis Guerra, Romeo Santos and Prynce Royce, among many others.

However, the Crunkchata is leading vertiginously the top ranking of the most prestigious radios, web pages of specialized music, lists of downloads and nightclubs gaining the acceptance of a young public. The people don’t stop to sing the songs. It’s so exciting to dance when women and men get together as a couple to move their hips from side to side with the count of 1,2,3 gentle jumping up one foot to continue with the same count to the son of the Crunkchata. This rhythm so sensual comes to stay and its creator is TOBY LOVE.

This musician whose real name is Octavio Rivera, better known as Toby Love born in the Bronx – New York, on March 20, 1985. He is an American singer of Dominican and Puerto Rican origin.

“Toby” comes from the nickname of his father with the same (Octavio Rivera, former member of the group Classic Cluster Salsa) and “Love” is the second nickname that hey put him when he was a teenager for his amorous character.

Toby Love originally started as the second voice of the bachata group Aventura before becoming a soloist in 2006

During his stayed in Aventura he learned a lot about Bachata and later became part of Scarlito Enterteiment together with composer Anthony Lopez known as “Tony CJ” creating his own style. The main objective of Toby is to make the genre of bachata accessible to all the urban young people of the world.

His music is a fusion of R &B, hip hop with elements of traditional and modern Bachata; it defines as result a sound that the same artist likes to call “crunkchata”.

This style unique with the mix of urban rhythms and romantic genre whose songs are in English and Spanish, occupy the third in ranking popularity of the traditional Dominic’s music after Romeo Santos and Prince Royce in the period 2016 – 2017.

Only “Tengo un Amor” became viralized among the top popular Bachata’s videos on the youtube raking chart to get the third place with more than 28 millon views. Toby Love with much effort, dedication, perseverance, more than 11 years of career as soloist and seven studio albums has managed to position the Cruckchata within the music industry and in the heart of the people.

Bachata Super Star Toby Love will be performing all his hits on Friday, October 28th!

TOBY LOVE – BACHATA EDITION AT CULTURA EVENT CENTER

5602 S Washington. St, Tacoma 98409

Date: October 28

Time: 9:00 pm

Cost: GA: $40 (presale)

VIP:$60 – includes: Front of Stage Access, Autographed copy of Toby Love’s Newest Album and Meet and Greet!

Facebook: tobyloveofficial

For more information and VIP Table reservations please call: 253.444.2314