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| ASIA JULY 2024 FESTIVAL by Karina Bernales | ||
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Afro Latin Fest Asia
Jul 18 / 21 2024 SkyArk Event Spaces $ 125 |
As all our readers already know, this section is always looking for the best Latin talents to give them the exposure they deserve and today is the case of New York producer and musician Edwin Ortiz, who was kind enough to share a bit of his story with us.
Edwin is an artist who was born in the East Harlem section of New York, where he began his musical career with the full works and spent most of his life, but left that city with his pregnant wife to raise their son in a different environment. It was there that they moved to Washington DC, where the musician has continued to live and pursued his career to this day.
Below, we will provide more info about the artist’s career during these moments and how he managed to become the great bandleader and musician he his today.
Just as other great musicians, Edwin studied at the prestigious Johnny Colon Music School, the institution in which he learned a lot of what he knows today. His first lessons are focused to teaching how to play the flute alongside Mario Rivera, which can be said to be the first contact the young man had with music. However, it was not this instrument that would capture his attention, but the bongo.
His brother Edgar Ortiz was an acclaimed bongocero in the Orquesta Las Siete Potencias and the Tito Puente Orchestra, so Edwin already had a lot to learn from. However, it was with acclaimed percussionist Manny Oquendo with whom he turned professional and decided to dedicate himself fully to the bongo as his main instrument, to the point that it is the only one he still plays today.
Outside of his work as a musician, Edwin is in charge of everything about the management of his most recent orchestra Edwin Ortiz Y la Mafia del Guaguancó.
Before even thinking about founding his own orchestra, Edwin was involved in a number groups of different genres throughout the Washington DC Metro area, whose main genre was cumbia at the time. In that sense, the artist wanted a change in his style and to do something different from what he was playing at the time, although he knew it was ging to be hard.
His big break came when the director of the band he was in at the time was going to move to the state of Florida, so he left Edwin in charge of the group in order to make the changes he believed were pertinent. That is when he took the opportunity to introduce salsa, a genre he had always been passionate about, in the metropolitan area with the resources he had on hand at the time. He invested in some 25 salsa arrangements and released a new version of the classic ”Olga Y Margara”, which was the first of many hits to come for his career.
Later, when he was finally creating an orchestra of his own, he took pains to find the best musicians possible, many of whom were recommended by friends and seen playing by Edwin himself. However, he would soon realize that the best musicians were not necessarily the best pieces he required for his band, which made him change his approach a bit when choosing the team that would accompany him in his project.
At first, the project was called Orquesta La Romana, but it was not long before Edwin decided to call it ‘‘Edwin Ortiz y La Mafia del Guaguancó’’. This change was due to the fact that Bobby Quesada, a musician whom Edwin greatly admired, had an orchestra with the same name, but it had already disbanded by that time. He always liked the name ”La Mafia del Guaguancó” so he gave it to his own group. He knew how risky this move was and the displeasure of some of its members with the change, but fortunately it was worth it.
Today, the musicians of the orchestra are affectionately known as ”the mafiosos” in the Washington DC Metro area, so this has become part of the band’s identity.
One of their most recent musical works is entitled ”Diferente A Las Demás” and it is a tribute to women that was released in March, the month dedicated to them.
With respect to this song, Edwin was telling us that he and his partner and the lead singer of the band Vivian Mojica had the opportunity to meet the talented musician Héctor Luis Pagán, who kindly invited them to his home and shared with them part of his repertoire, including the song ”Diferente A Las Demás”. Edwin loved it since the first time he heard it and Pagan gave it to him with pleasure. That is how the orchestra got down to work and recorded their own version of the song.
The first thing the bandleader did was look for the right arranger for it, who was Ramón Sánchez, and the producer he had always wanted to work with, Isidro Infante, whom Edwin has known for more than 30 years.
Then came the recording, mixing and remastering. In the end, the chosen date was 1 March of this year as a tribute to International Women’s Day, achieving a result that made everyone in the orchestra very happy.
Read also: Vocalist of La Moderna Tradición Eduardo Herrera and his fascinating story
Cuban musicians have always found the way to stand out in the entertainment world thanks to their talent and commitment and one of those examples is Ivan Camblor, tres player and vocalist with whom we have had the privilege to talk about his career and what was achieved with the group led by him right now, which is Pellejo Seco.
During the conversation, the artist elaborated on a few topics we found relevant to discuss and we were pleased to hear some of the most important data of one of the most important Cuban son groups in the Bay Area today.
As is the case of many other artists of his kind, Ivan showed a very early interest in music, specifically since he was at school in his hometown, Havana, Cuba. He defines himself as a self-taught composer who began his musical learning on the street, while he attended classes like any child his age.
From a very young age, many veteran musicians saw in him the enormous potential he had for music, so they began teaching him all they knew, leading him to the path of Cuban son and traditional Cuban music. Today, these genres is still his north after so many decades.
The Felix Varela School of Music
When he was old enough, Iván attended the Félix Varela School of Music, where he studied music appreciation theory, but unfortunately the island’s economic situation affected that part of his learning. Over time, the conditions of the institute started to worsen, making many teachers resign and leave students without chances to continue their studies, including Ivan, who could not see the classes he wanted because of the lack of staff.
Being unable to study what he wanted, Ivan decided to continue learning on his own with the musical groups he had contact with and that is how it continued until today.
His singing, composition and ability to play the Cuban tres came with the experience he acquired on the street and with friends who knew more about music than he did. He refers to guitarist and tres player Octavio Sánchez ”Cotán” and El Niño Rivera as his greatest teachers and influences.
With the experience gained, he had the opportunity to go through all the Cuban music companies, since there were not many tres players at that time and tres teaching was very new.
Just as Iván was in several groups, he also had the opportunity to compose original music for films and such was the case of the film ”Hacerse El Sueco” directed by his great friend Edesio Alejandro, who contacted him to support him in the musical part of the production.
It is then when he proposed him to write four or five original tracks to be used for the film, but Ivan did not mind getting credit, but helping his great friend with his project, so all the material is under his label Orula Music.
However, he is grateful for the experience and the opportunity to help a good friend who needed his talent at that moment.
Ivan remembers his coming to the United States as one of the most difficult things he had to do, since it is not easy to leave his roots and everything he knows to seek a different kind of future in other lands.
At first, Ivan was not at all convinced of this decision, but his then partner and mother of his only son made him see that it was the best for them to leave Cuba and go to the United States to try their luck, to which the artist finally agreed.
For many years, the tres player thought the worst of his host country because of the ideas the he grew up with in Cuba, but upon arrival, he found that the reality was very different from the propaganda he was bombarded with in his childhood and youth.
Once he was there, he started working on the area of music that he liked most since he was in Cuba, composition. It was then that the idea of forming his own musical group started going round his head.
Ivan conceived Pellejo Seco as a project in which he would pay homage to the Cuban community, so he tried to find the best musicians for the task. One of them was Cuban trumpeter Marcos Diaz, Puerto Rican Hector Lugo, trumpeter Mario Silva, Liban Montoya, Mexican singer Rogelio Maya and singer German Donatien. This is the original group with which the artist started his band, but others have already joined other orchestras or have started something on their own.
That was more than 20 years ago and, today, Pellejo Seco has managed to consolidate itself as one of the main Cuban music groups in the Bay Area. Now, it is the most required traditional Cuban music sextet in the area.
As for the name of the band, Ivan chose the name ”Pellejo Seco” as a tribute to the Cuban peasants whose skin is hard and dry as leather due to the sun and the working conditions that they are exposed to.
Read also: Israel Tanenbaum from The Latinbaum Jazz Ensemble in ISM
Latin America / Cuba
When it comes to dances, rhythms and sounds, it is impossible not to take as a reference the island with the most impact in the world of dance in the entire world, the beautiful island of Cuba, how many countries are not nourished by all the culture that this pearl of the Caribbean It allows us to see with its cultural roots, it seems that on the day of creation they left in Cuba all the musical dance creativity that they had.
Today we will be talking with one of the distinguished artists of the Cuban cultural movement in Europe, a member of a family legacy in Cuba, the so-called aspirins, we are talking about Ismaray Chacón Tejeda, a Piscean eradicated in Switzerland.
Welcome and always grateful for opening the doors of your life to make it known to our readers and your followers, we are going to get to know you a little.
Thank you for this great opportunity sir.
Ismaray let’s start by talking about the roots of your country. Do you live for folklore or do you enjoy it?
I enjoy it and at the same time I live it, it satisfies me is transmitting it and having the greatest result that a teacher can have, seeing the progress of the students, knowing that they deepen and feel identified with my culture, with my dance.
What does folklore mean in your life?
My identity as Cuban. It is life, feeling, experience… Everything!!
How was the idea of being part of the dance world born in you?
I was born and raised in that environment for my family. My grandfather rehearsed every week at home with his group and I didn’t miss a concert. I am the result of that environment.
How long study and career?
Professionally I started at the age of 17, after I left the School of Art Instructors (EIA), which I could not finish, I auditioned in a group called Obini Bata (Bata Woman). This group and my family were my true school. Look, we rehearsed twice a week all day where we learned the different taps, songs and dances plus the rehearsal of the group for the weekly function, the other days I practiced with my family, or I attended a drum, güiro or cajon (religious festivals) . All that mix was very important to me as it gave me the foundation for my career.
How many countries have you traveled making known the culture of your Island?
Uff!… (Between laughter and emotion) I have really been very lucky to visit many and repeatedly. Singapore, Russia, Morocco, Israel, France, Italy, Spain, England, Sweden, Finland, Peru, Denmark, Poland, Serbia, Germany, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Ukraine, Switzerland, among others. I would like to go to the brother countries of Latin America and be able to exchange cultures. I went to Mexico but only on vacation.
What countries have you not visited that you would like to know?
Colombia, Argentina, USA, Africa (Nigeria, Congo), Dubai, China, Japan, India, Venezuela and other Latin countries, hopefully I can. Hey, let the promoters know (between laughs)
The Casino (Cuban Salsa), the rumba or the Afro-Cuban?
What comes to mind when you hear the name Luis Chacón Mendive?
Phew!… my map, my friend, the example to follow, my teacher, my idol, my little green old man, my adoration.
You have a traditional surname and a lot of renown in Cuba. At some point in your training was it a requirement or a motivation?
Yes, it was both. A motivation because it is a great pride for me to belong to this important family and to have that experience, which made me lean towards this side of dance, but at the same time, a challenge because I grew up with my grandfather and my father and every time I had to work, the other artists always said…
that’s Aspirin’s granddaughter… Koky’s daughter… There were those who trusted that I would do a good job, but there were also those who wanted to see if I was up to the job. that last name. Sometimes even though I don’t like to be the center of attention, I had to show it and be a fool as we say in Cuba.
Why Aspirin?
Many say that when they see us play, dance or sing, their headaches go away hahahaha. In truth, it was from the great Aspirin who worked at that time and the boss always had pain in his teeth and sent him to the pharmacy to buy Aspirin. As it was very often, from there he got the nickname.
Do your dream and your reality go hand in hand? Did you dream of having another profession?
Today I can say yes. Being an artist was one of my dreams of the many I have. I remember when I was a child I wanted to be a flight attendant to travel the world and learn about other cultures, today I am lucky to travel carrying my culture and exchanging, I managed to be a flight attendant but in my own style. I’m very lucky.
What has the dance world given you and what has it taken from you?
It has not taken anything away from me, on the contrary, in addition to meeting so many beautiful people, it has given me life, emotions, sacrifices that today help me to value things more, it keeps me healthy and when I execute it, from that moment on all my problems they leave…it’s my therapy.
If you were born again, would you go back to dancing? Why?
Yes, a thousand times. Because art in general is a way of expressing what we feel, in the case of dance, we express it and transmit it with our body….it is life!
How is Cuban folklore currently spread in the world? Are lines of the original traditions maintained?
Well… this topic is very open and with different points of view, and the word Folklore says it all… In Cuba we have the Afro-Cuban and the Cuban, my point of view to summarize it in a few words, is an oral culture that was always transmitted through generations and family traditions, there is no book like in classical music where everything is written, rather what was seen that older people were doing was repeated, of course everything evolves and transforms over time of the generations even what is sung, the touches or their dances.
But in a certain way patterns are created to follow. I think that in order to spread it and teach it, it is important to know the basics and from there I totally agree with the evolutions, mixtures and others. We just have to be careful not to mistreat it.
What new projects could you share with us?
I currently live in Switzerland although I feel that I must start a new stage of my life in another European country. I also hope one day to be able to return to my country, be with my family and from there continue in the art that is what I love. For now I continue teaching and transmitting my culture throughout the world, already happily married I would like to have the blessing of one day having my family. Together with my husband Serguei Yera Madera, singer of La Reve, we want to continue developing our careers. We keep making history 😉
Grateful for letting us enter a very small corner of your life, we see that you are a true lover of your culture, we hope to continue seeing you succeed in the whole world. For our readers, you already know that this beautiful artist can be followed on her social networks.
Europe
For decades, Los Van Van has been a world-class salsa orchestra that no one can keep silent about. The sixteen-strong formation continues to connect with this time through irresistible Cuban rhythms and Caribbean passion.
The band has been one of the first Cuban groups to use synthesizers and drum machines and has even created a completely new style: a superswing mix of a traditional charanga set-up (flute and violin combination), wind instruments and modern electronics, called ‘Songo’ by the Cubans.
In addition to Changui and Son Montuno, two traditional Cuban styles, Los Van uses different kinds of music such as rock, funk, disco and hip hop. Today Los Van Van consists of a selection of the best musicians of the first generation and new Cuban talents and vocalists. , led by Samuel Formell, son of the legendary founder of the band, Juan Formell.
In November you can enjoy to seventeen unmissable concerts for lovers of latin and salsa all around Europe!
