Search Results for: Latin Tribute

David Atanacio Percussionist, Composer and Singer Unveils a New Sound

David Atanacio, grounded in the values of honesty, integrity, loyalty, responsibility, and respect, appears to be an individual of strong moral and ethical character. He is someone who can be fully trusted, a faithful and committed friend and colleague who always tells the truth and acts with righteousness.

His sense of responsibility ensures he fulfills his commitments, while his respect makes him a considerate, open person capable of building harmonious relationships. Together, these values suggest a dependable, upright, and kind personality, making him a positive and admired presence.

Born in New York City and raised in Puerto Rico, specifically in the municipalities of Bayamón and Cataño, David Atanacio has cultivated a unique musical identity rooted in a powerful fusion of Cuban rumba, flamenco rumba, and Afro-Caribbean influences.

David Atanacio Percussionist, Composer and Singer

In 1993, he began his musical journey as a bongo player for his uncle’s “Grupo Típico,” later joining a local orchestra as a conguero in 1996. In 1997, he was presented with the opportunity to become a singer, marking a turning point in his musical destiny.

Recruited to co-found “Grupo Folclórico Yuba Iré,” it was with this group that he began to perfect his mastery of rhythms like La Bomba, La Plena, El Guaguancó, El Yambú, and more. During this same period, David Atanacio discovered his talent for composing and began writing his first songs, including one titled “Lo que dice el Tambor” (What the Drum Says).

He was recommended to work with the “Orquesta Abran Paso” from Puerto Rico, with whom he accompanied luminaries such as Ismael Miranda, Adalberto Santiago, Junior “Hommy” González (RIP), Larry Harlow (RIP), among others.

He then received a call from the Puerto Rican Maestro “Paoli Mejías,” percussionist for “Carlos Santana’s” group, who invited him to be part of his first musical project, “Mi Tambor.” On this album, David’s song “Lo Que Dice el Tambor” was recorded, appearing as Track No. 7. The album was nominated for “Best Latin Jazz Album” at the Latin Grammys in 2004.

David Atanacio: Percussionist, Composer, and Singer Unveils a New Sound

In 2003, the King of Rhythm, Mr. Afinque “Don Willie Rosario,” invited David to join the front line of his orchestra, where he remained until 2005. After leaving Willie Rosario’s Orchestra, David decided to move with his family to Tampa, Florida.

Even in his new home, David never lost touch with his roots. One day, he received a call to contribute background vocals to the production “Sobrevolando” by the acclaimed Puerto Rican group “Cultura Profética” (2019). This production earned them the Latin Grammy for “Best Alternative Album” in 2020 and a nomination for “Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album” at the 2020 Grammy Awards.

David Atanacio is a “Sonero de Calle” (Street Sonero), with ample talent and ability to succeed. He is a percussionist, composer, and possesses the added artistry of the “Soneo del Guaguancó” (Guaguancó vocal improvisation).

Atanacio is now releasing his musical proposal, “David Atanacio & Champán D’ Barrio,” featuring aged salsa and plenty of flavor.

The album contains ten tracks, eight of which are his original compositions. The production features special guest Herman Olivera, who performs a duet with David on a meticulously crafted song titled “De la Vieja Escuela” (From the Old School). The first single from this project, “Lo que dice el Tambor,” is hitting the airwaves, now presented under his orchestrated concept, “David Atanacio & Champán D’ Barrio.”

The Puerto Rican sonero recently released his latest single, “No Me Llores Más” (Don’t Cry For Me Anymore), a masterfully interwoven piece that pays homage to the musical genres that have shaped his artistic journey. The song perfectly fuses Cuban rumba, guaguancó, Spanish flamenco rumba, and son.

More than just a song, “No Me Llores Más” is a deeply personal sonic exploration that honors the genres that have influenced David Atanacio since his beginnings. Rhythms such as trova, décimas, aguinaldo, bomba, and plena have profoundly impacted his musical development, adding unique nuances to his artistic expression and reaffirming his commitment to the cultural heritage of his homeland and the Caribbean.

“No Me Llores Más” Credits:

Lyrics, Music, and Lead Vocals: David Atanacio
Background Vocals: Herman Olivera Jr. & Adriel González
Musical Arrangement: Carlos García
Piano: Yassel Puppo
Bass: Kevin Pagan
Trombone Solo: Carloscar Cepero
Percussion: Diego Centeno
Spanish Guitar: Alex García Potia

With an exquisite arrangement by Carlos García and impeccable execution by top-tier musicians, “No Me Llores Más” marks a new chapter in David Atanacio’s career. It’s where tradition and vanguard embrace to the rhythm of the drum, the guitar, and pure emotion.

This track will be available on all digital platforms starting June 14, 2025.

The rumba lives, the son renews, and David Atanacio’s voice celebrates it!

Press Contact: David Atanacio [email protected] 813-569-9581

Reference: Luis Rojas

Also Read: Herman Olivera the sonero of the 21st century

Bogotá Dances To The Rhythm Of Son Salome

Latin America / Colombia / Bogota

Son Salome, a name governed by the main genre of Cuban popular music, Son, and the memory of the great Poet/Writer Lou Andreas-Salomé, is defined as a Bar with a dance floor, also defined as a large disco, open to lovers dance, connoisseurs of good Latin music as well as for those who wish to attend to enjoy the right environment for a night of guaranteed enjoyment, with first class attention offers visitors a high level of security, highly trained staff , which seeks to provide a space for enjoyment.

Photo 1: Dances To The Rhythm Of Son Salome

During my visit I was able to enjoy the best options in services, cocktails, drinks and first-class drinks, the reference given by the famous Chepe, owner and personality of the city’s salsa world, was to enjoy the specialty, the Cuban Mojito, a house cocktail that will take you to visit the Island of Cuba without getting up from your seat.

This great bar offers us a varied itinerary during the weekends, starting with Cuban music on Thursdays where you could coincide with large groups, on Fridays with the best DJs in the country closing on Saturdays and Sundays with great salsa, Cuban and even beautiful folklore of the country, singers or musicians of the first gala will make your stay a night class moment.

Photo 2: Dances To The Rhythm Of Son Salome

With 34 years of foundation, Son Salome offers a well-distributed place, with a large space to dance or enjoy a good group, a first-class toilet and, above all, an open space to spend a beautiful evening. We can only recommend you to visit Son Salome located in the center, a few meters from the main means of transport in the city, the Transmilenio at its Aguas station, exactly on Calle 19 # 4-20, in a sector called to be the future of Bogotá, due to the number of constructions that are currently under development, opens continuously from Thursday to Sunday from 6:00 pm, you can learn a lot about this beautiful place through the social networks:

Facebook, Instragam and Google through Son Salome, the Latin reference number 1 in the city.

Photo 3: Dances To The Rhythm Of Son Salome

For more information contact them through:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sonsalome / https://www.facebook.com/pages/SonSalom%C3%A9-Caribe/1396835567299952
Phones: +57 2432506 / +57 3005707722

Beatriz Márquez Castro, an exponent of romantic songs, “Feeling” and Bolero

Beatriz Márquez Castro is a singer, composer, and pianist, born on February 17, 1952, in Havana.

Beatriz Márquez Castro. Cantante, compositora y pianista

She is the daughter of the prestigious composer and performer René Márquez. She began her artistic career in 1968.

An exponent of romantic songs, “feeling,” and bolero, she gracefully delved into these genres, performing pieces by prolific authors such as René Márquez, Marta Valdés, Juanito Márquez, Silvio Rodríguez, and Germán Nogueira, among others.

Her mezzo-soprano range has enabled her popular “descents” to low tones, as well as her unexpected and no less appreciated “ascents” to much higher tessituras, without losing her defining style. This style is very appropriate for songs and boleros, genres in which she has remained one of Cuba’s leading cultivators.

She is known as “La Musicalísima.”

We are witnessing the realization of a long-cherished project with which the performer, pianist, and composer Beatriz Márquez settles a debt both on a family level and within Cuban discography.

After several years of searching through archives and old recordings, thanks to the collaboration of Cuban audiovisual producer Felipe Morfa, it was possible to prepare “Este encuentro” (Colibrí Productions, 2023). This album features a selection of known and unreleased pieces by singer and composer René Márquez Rojo (1914-1986), some of which were popularized in their time by internationally renowned figures like Antonio Machín or the Puerto Rican Daniel Santos, to name just two examples.

Beatriz Márquez Castro, an exponent of romantic songs, "Feeling" and Bolero — Beatriz Márquez Castro, an exponent of romantic songs, “Feeling” and Bolero

Given the influence René had on the career of his daughter and grandchildren, this is an album full of love and, above all, gratitude.

While he was best known for his songwriting, it is important to highlight the mark he left as a charanga singer.

Among others, we can mention his work with the charangas of violinist Cristóbal Paulín, Oscar Muñoz Bouffartique, and René Touzet.

He debuted at the Mil Diez radio station with the group led by Julio Cueva, to which he dedicated himself for ten years.

From the late 1930s onwards, the lyrics by the artist from Villa Clara quickly resonated with the public.

“El Inquieto Anacobero” recorded “El disgusto de bigote” with the Sonora Matancera in 1949 and also sang other Cuban songs such as “Soltando chispas,” “A San Lázaro,” and “El granito de maíz.”

René’s songs, among which “El quinqué” cannot be missed, speak of his natural ingenuity for storytelling.

Upon his death at 72, he left a musical legacy that has since been defended by his descendants.

In over five decades of her artistic life, Beatriz has become her father’s most faithful interpreter, having recorded songs for several albums such as “No respondo,” “Explícame por qué,” and the now famous “Espontáneamente,” initially included in the LP “Es soledad” (Egrem, 1970) and re-recorded on multiple occasions.

In “La Musicalísima”‘s discography, prior to this material, there were only two phonograms exclusively dedicated to the work of a single author: “Beatriz canta a Juan Almeida” (Egrem, 1978), followed forty years later by “Libre de pecado” (Colibrí Productions, 2018), a tribute to maestro Adolfo Guzmán, thus contributing to the rescue of the island’s musical memory.

“Este encuentro” spans traditional trova and moves from guaracha to son, without forgetting some of the composer’s most notable boleros.

It also allows us to appreciate René Márquez’s interpretive qualities by hearing his voice, rescued from old recordings.

The special participation of singers Evelyn García and Michel Maza, continuators of the family saga, is noteworthy.

Now, the 2015 National Music Award winner and the main architect of this phonogram invites us to explore René Márquez’s immense body of work, one that will by no means be forgotten, across eleven tracks._ Jaime Masó

Beatriz Márquez – Este Encuentro (2023)

Tracks:

Este Encuentro
La Vida Es Un Momento
Muchachito Inocente
No Respondo
Nunca Habrá Distancia
Soltando Chispas
En El Cielo De Mi Vida
Imposible Amor 09. Popurrit 10. Espontáneamente 11. Mi Placer

By:

L’Òstia Latin Jazz

Augusto Felibertt

Ecured

Instituto Cubano de la Música

Also Read: Enrique “Culebra” Iriarte, master of the piano and musical composition

Alfrid Valdez “The King of Steel Band”

Latin America / Venezuela / Sucre

Alfrid Valdez is a Venezuelan singer who was born in Guiria, Sucre State-Venezuela, and since he was very young he showed a great interest and taste for Afro-Antillean, tropical and Caribbean music, especially the Steel Band, calypso and soca genres. even getting to play all the instruments of the “Steel Band”, always in the hands of his father, the popular “Guapango”.

Alfrid Valdez "The King of Steel Band" — Alfrid Valdez “The King of Steel Band”

Already established in the city of Guayana, in 1990 he began his musical career as executor of the first Steel Band piano in musical groups that cultivated and spread the aforementioned rhythms; and as time passed he gained more experience, excelling in Soca and Calypso which were the main rhythms of “Alfrid y su banda Acero”.

During his day he presented his new record production in the salsa genre, entitled “Salvemos El Amor” which was born from his 2nd salsa work; His first production was made in 2004, presenting himself as “Alfrid El Salsero De Oriente”, with his songs “Sin tu Amor”, “Hasta arrival at the Sea” and “Stay by my side”, which were recognized by the International Organization ” Cacique de Oro” as “Salsa Revelation Singer of the Year”. And with his record work he toured his country (Venezuela) together with several artists in the celebration of the 25 years of artistic career of Salsero Manuel Guerra, creator of the famous group “Salserin”.

Photo - Alfrid Valdez — Photo – Alfrid Valdez

In this new production there are 10 songs of which Alfrid expresses his lyrics and arrangements in 3 songs: “Salvemos el Amor”, “Traicionera” and “Amor en la menor”, in addition to making some tributes to the great singers of the decade of the 80s such as the Great Héctor Lavoe and Ismael Rivera, Alfrid is currently in Lima – Peru where he will launch this salsa material with the support of the record company Col-Discos and the media of that country.

One of the salsa songs to be released soon to its public is “Dudas” that will be launched in Lima, Peru for all of Latin America, if you want to listen you can listen through https://soundcloud.com/pana music/alfrid-el-rey -del-steel-band-doubts

For more information:

Email: [email protected]
Facebook: alfrid.valdez
Instagram: alfridvaldez
Twitter: AlfridValdez
Phones: +58 414-8695554 +58 414-8925467

Ignacio Piñero Septeto Nacional has played an important role in Cuba’s music for more than seven decades

Founded by Havana-born bassist and vocalist Ignacio Piñero in 1927, the Septeto Nacional De Ignacio Piñero has played an important role in Cuba’s music for more than seven decades.

Fundado por el bajista y vocalista nacido en La Habana Ignacio Piñero en 1927

Pioneers of son, a rhythmic blend of African and Cuban music that evolved into salsa, mambo and Latin jazz, the group was the first son band to incorporate the trumpet as the main instrument.

Ignacio Piñero’s Septeto Nacional gained worldwide recognition with its performance at the 1928 Universal Exposition in Seville, and was reportedly the first group to mention “Salsa” in a song “Echale Salsita” recorded in 1933. The song composed by Piñero, was adapted by George Gershwin for the opening theme of his “Cuban Overture”.

Since Piñero’s death in 1968, after 41 years at the helm of the band, the Septeto Nacional De Ignacio Piñero has been led by a series of leaders.

Guitarist and composer Rafael Ortiz, who took over after Piñero’s death, bequeathed the position to vocalist Carlos Embale in 1982.

After leaving the group due to illness in 1998 Embale’s leadership was inherited by guitarist Richard Aymee Castro. True to their original musical roots, Ignacio Piñero’s Septeto Nacional continues to offer a danceable blend of montano, merengue, bolero, rumba and cha cha cha. Craig Harris.

Ignacio Piñero was one of the Pioneers of Son Cubano

In 1906 he already knew and had assimilated the different toques of the African cabildos that existed in the neighborhood of Pueblo Nuevo, which he later incorporated into some of his creations.

He began his artistic career with the group claves and guaguancó El Timbre de Oro, later he directed Los Roncos de Pueblo Nuevo, in which he developed as a decimist and director, at the same time he took his first steps as a composer.

From this stage are: Cuando tú, tu desengaño veas, Dónde estabas anoche, El Edén de Los Roncos, Mañana te espero, niña. Later he joined the group Renacimiento de Pueblo Nuevo.

To the folkloric values that Piñeiro cultivated in these groups, he contributed a wider melodic-harmonic development and a greater depth and poetic flight.

In 1926 he was one of the founders, together with María Teresa Vera, of the Sexteto Occidente, with which he made his first tour to the United States in order to record an album with this group.

In 1927 he founded the Sexteto Nacional, formed by Ignacio Piñeiro, director and double bass; Alberto Villalón, guitar; Francisco González Solares, tres; Abelardo Barroso, lead vocals; Juan de la Cruz, tenor; Bienvenido León, baritone and maracas, and José Manuel Carrera Incharte (El Chino), bongo; that same year trumpeter Lázaro Herrera joined the group. With this septet he traveled to New York, where he recorded his first works.

In 1929 he participated with the Septeto Nacional in the Fair-Exposition of Seville, Spain; in that country they were hired as exclusive artists by the company SEDECA, and toured other cities of that country: Vigo, La Coruña, Santander, Madrid and Valladolid; in addition, they performed in the theaters Torero, Jovellanos, the Cine-Teatro Grado, and the cabaret Maicú, all in Madrid. In 1930 he was one of the founders of the National Association of Cuban Soneros.

Pioneros del son, una mezcla rítmica de música africana y cubana

They performed at the Sans-Souci cabaret (1930); in 1931 they performed at the Lavín and CMCG radio stations; in 1932, at the Dos Hermanos Hotel, he premiered Buey viejo; that same year the American composer George Gershwin came to Havana, at the CMCJ radio station he listened to Piñeiro’s son Échale salsita, from which he later used the theme played on the trumpet in his Cuban Overture.

In 1933 he performed at the Fair-Exhibition A Century of Progress, held in Chicago, United States.

In 1934 Piñeiro retired from the septet, which from 1935 was directed by trumpeter Lázaro Herrera. In 1954, Piñeiro reappeared as leader of the septet, with which he appeared on the television program Música de Ayer y de Hoy.

As a composer, Ignacio Piñeiro broke, although he took elements from the form of the oriental son, in which its creators used the quatrain and the tenth; an example of this break is his son Buey viejo, from 1932:

Carretero no maltrates a ese pobre buey tan viejo, que ya doblbla la cabeza por el peso de los tarros, y por senda de guijarros va tirando la carreta, y nunca llega a la meta, término de su dolor.

Piñeiro was one of those synthesis cases that managed to capture, develop and express the full richness of the son.

The structural modifications, the cadence, the rhythm and the use of refined melodies and lyrics, achieved by this creator and interpreted by the Septeto Nacional, make it possible to say that the work of this singular artist, although he did not mark the boundaries of son (which corresponded to the Sexteto Habanero), he did turn it into a son that today we can call classic, which became a model for its further development.

When Ignacio Piñeiro founded the Septeto Nacional, his purpose was to be a high exponent of the Cuban son and its various variants, he himself made use of those variants, composing guajira-son, canción-son, afro-son, so he worked with the elements offered by the oriental son, to which he gave a broader treatment, both musically and literary.

According to Miriam Villa: “If we analyze the organization of the literary text, we observe in his work the formal use of metrically heterogeneous links subjected to rhythm, characterized by the presence of accented and unaccented elements within the system of units that are repeated at intervals between them.

Piñeiro must not have been concerned about the meter in the text as a pattern, since through the rhythm of the composition he achieves the contrast relations, making the change of meter express a change in the thematic movement, either from intermittences or accentuations or sometimes both, which give it different semantic nuances and alternations of tensions and distensions.

And elsewhere Villa states: “Another aspect that in relation to the literary text is reflected in Piñeiro’s creative work is that of the thematic contents; these are shown from a diversification with greater scope in relation to his contemporaries.

His work can be divided into multiple themes among which are love, homeland, philosophical reflection, politics, the bucolic, the infantile, expressed in a variety of forms: satirical, apologetic, humorous and with greater depth than in the sonorous production that preceded him and even with which he shared.

With the Septeto Nacional, Piñeiro appears in the musical short El frutero, and in the film Nosotros la música, by director Rogelio París.

Ignacio Piñeiro Septeto Nacional

Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñero El Son de Altura

El Son de Altura (1998)

Tracks:

Mayeya – No Juegues Con Los Santos (Son) (I. Piñeiro)
Bardo (Bolero-son) (I. Piñeiro)
Lejana Campiña (Guajira-son) (I. Piñeiro)
Canta La Vueltabajera (Guajira-son) (I. Piñeiro)
Guanajo Relleno (Guaracha-son) (I. Piñeiro)
Esas No Son Cubanas (Son) (I. Piñeiro)
Suavecito (Son) (I. Piñeiro)
Alma Guajira (Guajira-son) (I. Piñeiro)
Castigador (Son) (I. Piñeiro)
Échale Salsita (Son-pregón) (I. Piñeiro)
EI Viandero (Son-pregón) (Ernesto Muñoz)
Son De La Loma (Son) (Miguel MGllamoros)
Trompeta Querida (Boleró-son) (Lózoro Herrera)
La Mujer De Antonio (Son) (Miguel Matamoros)
La Cachimba De San Juan (Son) (l. Plñeiro)
EI Alfiler (Son) (l. Plñeiro)
Noche De Conga (Son) (l. Plñeiro)
EI Paralitico (Son) (Miguel Matamoros)

By:

EcuRed

Dj. Augusto Felibertt

L’Òstia Latin Jazz

Also Read: From Cuba El Septeto Son de Nipe vienen Abriendo Caminos