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Nahití Ortega. Dance is her Passion and Life

Latin America / Venezuela / Caracas

Nahiti Ortega, is a Venezuelan with exceptional talent, more than 25 years as a performer of traditional Venezuelan dances, this time International Salsa Magazine has the privilege of conversing with this artist of international stature.

She began her Dance studies in the Popular Culture workshops of the Bigott Foundation, taking classes in different regions of the country.

It also conducts courses in other international dances such as: African, Colombian, Cuban, Argentine, Dominican, Bolivian, Brazilian, Chilean, among others.

She expands her knowledge by taking other workshops on dance accessories, body expression, rhythm, dance analysis, theory of popular culture, anti-stress elements of music and singing, vocal technique, artistic makeup, stage costume design, organization of special events, corporate image, online tradition, training of teletrainers, pedagogical resources of a virtual classroom: moodle among others.

Augusto: What does dance mean to you personally?

Nahití: Dance is life…

Life begins with a dance, since we are conceived, we dance when a child is inside his mother’s womb, when the earth turns on its own axis, when the waves of the sea reach the shore, when the wind blows and moves the leaves of the trees… in all those movements a beautiful dance is produced, as well as life itself.

“The Dance is so important that the celestial heroes created the world with the power of the dance, and the whole earth is the magical work of the first dancers. The very existence of human beings is the result of the dance. Therefore, dancing is ensuring the continuation of existence” (Morela Maneiro)

For me, dance is a way of life that connects me with the depths of my being and allows me to undress and show myself as I am. My movements are the physical expression of everything intangible that happens to me. By moving I highlight the relationship I have with myself and with my surroundings.

Augusto : Is there or was there any guide that inspired you to this art?

Nahití : My father has always been my inspiration and my guide; Since I was little I always wanted to dance, one day he asked me, do you really want to dance? and I said yes, it was then he who took me by the hand to study dance and introduce me to this wonderful world.

Throughout my career I have had incredible teachers, which I must mention Professor Freddy Medina who, due to his discipline, demand and dedication, I learned to differentiate and perform a large part of our traditional dances and Omar Orozco who taught me that dance, beyond if interpreted, it serves us for life itself.

Augusto: Name me the best anecdote in your career, nationally and internationally

Nahiti: Hahaha… Woow! Throughout my career I have had many anecdotes, I can tell you a few:

One of the ones I remember right now was in a presentation with Master Cheo Hurtado where I had to show the difference in the execution of the Venezuelan Joropos, when I got to the dressing room and took out the costumes I realized that I had two shoes on the same foot, namely; I had two right shoes, you can imagine my frightened face, after this I had a fit of laughter and my friend Rossmary Rondón, also a dancer, seeing the situation and my reaction, asked me if I was crazy, why was I laughing?…

? and I replied “because I still have to solve it and I don’t do anything to bother myself”. Finally I danced with my two identical shoes and nobody noticed that detail, only she and I knew. And everything went well.

Another was on a long tour of Asia, we were in Korea and we did 3 shows a day, I remember that on the third of the day we did the monkey dance, in this piece we invited the public to join in, in the performance we threw ourselves on the ground and then we couldn’t stop quickly due to fatigue and it made us laugh a lot, the public had to act by imitation and since they didn’t know what was happening, they ended up getting our laughter.

Augusto : Was your father an influence on your work?

Nahití : Undoubtedly yes, I greatly admire my father, he is a great artist one of the best in his style, he has always been a reference in the musical field, I have learned that with discipline, perseverance, dedication and love for what you do you can achieve the proposed goals, my father currently has more than 50 years of uninterrupted artistic career, which shows that his formula works.

Augusto : Tell us a little about your career as a teacher

Nahití : In my classes I usually teach the origin of the dance to be worked on, the main body movements, basic steps and choreographic sequences, depending on the level, as well as breathing and physical preparation for each dance. I also introduce the student to the personal search so that he can achieve his own style and projection.

Augusto : We express, how was your work as Artistic Director of Vasallos de Venezuela?

Nahití : I like to stimulate the members mentally, we create a world together with some characteristics and rules. For me, each body has a story to tell, each one has particular movements acquired through their experiences that they can contribute, so I try to find ways in which the members can identify with the motivation, get involved and feel willing to propose. What I seek is to find during the process, movements that adapt to what I propose.

I also like to work a lot on muscle memory through repetition, to make the movements non-robotic. We work deeply, the gestures and the staging is important for each one to take out and project their personal style.

Augusto: Do you have future projects?

Nahití: Many projects, tours, concert that I won’t tell you details for cabal hahaha…

Augusto : Explain your experience as manager of Coco y su Sabor Matancero

Nahití : It is really wonderful, seeing how successful my father’s career has been and now his Manager, it is a great commitment, all the years of experience in the artistic world made me worthy of this responsibility. In this short time we managed to record his new record production entitled “Con Todo” in which we managed to bring together great artists such as: Mariana “La Sonera”, Wilmer Lozano, Rodrigo Mendoza and El moreno Michael, and we have already visited several countries for its promotion. , United States, Chile, Peru and Panama, we have just performed a concert in one of the best venues in Venezuela, just as we performed its baptism.

Nahití Ortega, has a long history at the National and International level, has an extraordinary personality that transmits joy, good vibes, harmony, feeling for what she does that comes straight from the heart, taking into account her particularity and professionalism of the teachings of her dad.

He began his activities in the field of Popular Culture by participating in the Agrupación la Patria y su Gente led by Professor Freddy Medina for three years; In 1994, she participated as a special guest of the Agrupación Autochthono de la Vega in the “Barcelos Festival”, belonging to the CIOF – UNESCO circuit, in the countries of Portugal and Spain.

In 1995 he joined the group with Venezuela directed by Professor Oswaldo Lares in which he worked for four years, participating in the “Caribbean Festival 95” in the cities of Cancun, Cuzumel, Playa El Carmen, State of Quintana Roo – Mexico, in 1996, he carried out the Afro-Venezuelan percussion workshop in the Popular Culture workshops of the Bigott Foundation, dictated by Professor Jesús Paiva, with a duration of three years.

She participated as a dancer in the Oscar D´ León video clip “Mírala Como se Menea”, as well as in the Venezuelan film “Juegos Bajo la Luna”, directed by Mauricio Walerstein.

In the teaching area, he has taught traditional dance workshops at a national and international level.

As well as accessories for dance, body language, dance therapy, clothing, basic stage makeup, artistic makeup, staging, among others.

Among the institutions in which he has given workshops we can mention some such as: Popular Culture Workshops of the Bigott Foundation – Venezuela University of the Arts in Lima – Peru.

Simon Rodriguez University. Nucleus Barquisimeto -Venezuela

She has done work as a dancer, choreographer, image consultant and producer for various groups.

In 1993, he joined the group “Vasallos del Sol” of the Bigott Foundation under the direction of Professor Omar Orozco.

In 2000 she joined Danzas Itanera, as a dancer, costume designer and image consultant for the group.

He has shared the stage with artists such as: Serenata Guayanesa, Un Solo Pueblo, Francisco Pacheco y su pueblo, Simón Díaz, Cruz Tenepe, Vidal Colmenares, Cristóbal Jiménez, Gurrufio, El cuarteto, Caracas Youth Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of the Armed Forces , Coco y Su Sabor Matancero, Oscar de León, Guaco, Invisible Friends, Aquiles Báez among others.

He has toured the entire national territory, appearing on countless stages with participation in international festivals. In 2009, she participated as a dancer and workshop facilitator at the X Meeting for the promotion and dissemination of the intangible heritage of Ibero-American countries “Fiestas and Rituals” in Lima, Peru. Currently Manager of Coco y Su Sabor Matancero and dance and artistic director of the Vasallos de Venezuela group.

Photos courtesy of Nahití Ortega

Young Puerto Rican singer Jeremy Bosch supports the Spanish Harlem Salsa Museum

There are many people who believe that salsa is a genre of past generations that does not have worthy youth representatives who stick up for this set of rhythms that has been keeping so many people dancing for so long, but fortunately they are wrong. Jeremy Bosch, whom we had the opportunity to interview at The Johnny Cruz Shw a few weeks ago is a god example of this.

We are honored to know that one of the new sensations of Latin music, specifically salsa, supports one of the most important institutions dedicated to the genre such as the Spanish Harlem Salsa Museum, so we want to take advantage to talk a little about the career of this young singer and everything he has achieved so far.

Jeremy playing the flute — Jeremy Bosch playing the flute live

Jeremy’s beginnings in this world

Jeremy Bosch is a singer and flutist born in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, who began his journey in the world of music singing and playing percussion in the church on his block while growing up listening to a great variety of artists including Hector Lavoe to Chicago and Tonny Bennett, so he had influences of all kinds.

Not much time would past before Jeremy took achevable steps towards the direction he was meant to take. At only 17 years old, he won a scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music in the city of Boston, United States, and graduated in 2023, specializing in jazz composition. From then on, what followed for the young artist have been successes and great proposals he could seize.

One of thse things he is best known for is having been the vocalist and flutist of the acclaimed group Spanish Harlem Orchestra, but that has not stopped him from collaborating with great figures in the industry such as musical director and Grammy-winning percussionist Pete Perignon, with whom he recorded the social short called ”Sería Una Pena”.

Johnny and Jeremy — Johnny Cruz and Jeremy Bosch posing for the camera

Jeremy’s professional career

Sometime later, he would have the opportunity to realize one of the most important works of his career, which is the tribute to the late Cheo Feliciano, which was recorded live at the Dizzy Club in New York City and was titled ”The Music of Cheo Feliciano. In addition, the project included Nelson Gonzalez, Johnny ”Dandy” Rodriguez and Spanish Harlem Orchestra leader Oscar Hernandez.

With regard to this great night for his career, Jeremy commented that since his debut both he and arranger and vibraphonist Felipe Fourniel had long time wanting to work on something about Cheo Feliciano and his legacy for a long time until they finally made it. This show was the sign that Jeremy has everything to become an icon of salsa and Afro-Caribbean music in general.

As for his solo career, he has made a few remarkable recordings and one of them was ”Prologo Hoy”, which included the participation of Nicaraguan singer Luis Enrique and Cuban vocalist and guitarist Alain Perez. It is a five-song EP that focuses a lot on Afro-Colombian and tropical music, while including some covers in English such as ”Love Holiday”, which gives a distinct flavor to the material as a whole.

Jeremy and Johnny on the set — Jeremy Bosch and Johnny Cruz on the set of The Johnny Cruz Show

Later on, Jeremy released ”Epilogo: la clave del tiempo”, which includes 11 tracks and is basically a mix of Afro-Cuban rhythms, soneo, urban genres, modern synthesizers, among other elements. The album starts with ”Locura” and continues with singles such as ”Try Again”, ”La Mala”, ”Autopsia” and a few more.

Support for the Spanish Harlem Salsa Museum

In the social networks of the director of the Spanish Harlem Salsa Museum, Johnny Cruz, there is a clip in which the The Johnny Cruz Show host introduces Jeremy as his special guest on that occasion, promotes the interview with him and describes him as the sensation of the moment. Then, the camera goes n Jeremy’s face, who thanks the invitation with a smile and assures that they both will have a good time talking about his life and career.

We are honred to support young talents like Jeremy and, at the same time, to get the same support and love back because that is what salsa and the Latin music scene in general needs, that all those involved join together around it to keep it alive.

The Conga Room closes its doors, but says goodbye in style

Recently, we learned some unfortunate news for the Latin music scene and the community in general and it is that The Conga Room, one of the most important nightclubs in Los Angeles, will close its doors this March, which has shocked those who used to frequent the cheerful and colorful place to forget their everyday problems for a few hours of dancing.

This great place was opened in 1999 by businessman Brad Gluckstein thanks to the support of leading figures in the entertainment industry such as businesswoman, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, actor Jimmy Smits, actor Paul Rodriguez and actress Sheila E.

Although it first opened its doors on Wilshire Boulevard in 1999, it was moved to L.A.A. LIVE about nine years later. After the change of venue, there were personalities interested in investing in The Conga Room due to the great project it represented at the time, such as rapper and member of the Black Eyed Peas William Adams (better known as will.i.am), actor of Puerto Rican descent Amaury Nolasco, former basketball player Baron Davis and former basketball player Trevor Ariza.

It was these great figures in music, acting and sports who made The Conga Room one of the most recognized meeting places for Latin music fans and its greatest exponents.

Jimmy Smits and Paul Rodriguez at The Conga Roo — Jimmy Smits and Paul Rodriguez celebrating The Conga Room’s 20th anniversary some years ago

The achievements of The Conga Room all these years

During the years following as of its reopening, The Conga Room became an iconic place for music lovers and contributed greatly to the development of the Latin music and cultural scene in Los Angeles.

During 25 years of operation, it has not only brought the best singers and DJs from California and the United States in general, but also managed to create a lively environment composed of all kinds of cultures that transcended musical genres, to the point that there were people of all nationalities dancing to the same rhythms without any problem, proving once again that music is a universal language we can all understand perfectly.

And speaking of music, its little stage witnessed more than 500 live shows that included big stars such as Celia, Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colón, Tito Puente, Ocar D’ León, Tito Nieves, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Carlos Santana, Elvis Crespo, Los Van Van, Buena Vista Social Club, Alejandro Sanz, Juanes, Fito Paez, Jerry Rivera, Eddie Santiago, Tony Vega, Zacarias Ferreira, Invasión Latina, Andy Montañez, Atercipelados, Aleks Syntek, Beto Cuevas, among many others. As for newer idols, The Conga Room has also received Ivy Queen, J Balvin, Maluma, Bad Bunny, Luis Fonsi and many more.

It should also be mentioned that; while The Conga Room’s approach is to promote salsa, merengue and bachata; the nightclub is not limited to Latin genres. In fact, there have been great performances by rock, hip hop and R&B artists such as Prince, Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz, Justin Timberlake, Avicci, Snoop Dog, Ed Sheeran, Andy Grammer, Jamie Foxx and on and on.

This shows that The Conga Room was not limited to the original concept of its founders, but sought to go above and beyond to increase its assistance every day. Its management knew how to reinvent itself in spite of trends and circumstances, which is why it managed to survive so long.

Oscar D’ Leon at The Conga Room — Oscar D’ Leon performing at The Conga Room

The Conga Room’s definitive closure and farewell show

The Conga Room was inaugurated with music, so it must also say goodbye with music, so it will offer a private concert this March 27th featuring famous personalities who will meet at the club that day to say goodbye in style.

The main star of the event will be the renowned Puerto Rican singer Gilberto Santa Rosa, who will be one of those responsible for livening up the night for the show attendees with his greatest hits. Likewise, the host will be Jimmy Smits and he will be accompanied by Paul Rodriguez in the hosting of the show, who were bot very important in club maintenance for so long.

As for the reasons for the closure, founder Brad Gluckstein has issued statements saying that the ravages of the pandemic, the few events at the convention center and the difficulties in booking national artists with AEG Live (a company focused on the production and promotion of musical events) have made the business model of The Conga Room no longer viable in today’s economy. Not to mention that cost of living, inflation and high interest rates have changed the priorities of potential consumers.

However, despite the sadness that Gluckstein and the rest of those involved in the Conga Room project have, the businessman pointed out that not everything related to this mythical place will be forgotten, since Conga Kids, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting the social-emotional well-being of children through dancing, will continue to operate as before. This beautiful sister project of The Conga Room will keep its doors open despite the setbacks for the sake of the kids.

Los Adolescentes Giving The Swing The World Needs

Latin America / Venezuela / Caracas

Los Adolescentes “We are premiering our most recent video clips “Close your eyes””

When talking about the great salsa orchestras of Venezuela, there are many names that come to the fore, either because of history, the great successes of the golden years of Salsa in Venezuela or because of their great distinguished voices of so many successes that the world well-known from this land of southern salsa, but if there is something impossible not to mention, it is one of the most important orchestras of this movement of the nineties.

The Adolescents, a group that marked a before and after of the new salsa era in this beautiful country. House of great youth voices, teenagers have made millions of people dance around the world, revealing the talent that this group has managed to nurture in more than 20 years of artistic journey.

Claiming Our Space, a record production with which they went on the market in 1995 with great songs like “Hoy aprendí”, “I can’t be your friend” and “Anhelo”, six songs from this CD; occupied the first place as hits throughout Venezuela and other countries of the Latin American continent, they started a sequence of successes for more than 20 years that have made this great group distribute Salsa and flavor throughout the world, it is that even the pope John Paul II had the honor of listening to this great musical event at Jubilee 2000, which brought together two million five hundred thousand people outside the University of Bergata, an event that lasted four years to prepare for this event.

In conversations with Carlos Mendoza, manager and main helmsman, we found out about the group’s latest projects for this 2019, great things continue to happen for these young salseros.

This new year started with great things for our young salseros, during the month of March and April they will be giving rhythm in Colombia with a tour of more than 5 cities, Mendoza tells us “We will be visiting Armenia, Bogotá, Medellin among other cities of the beautiful Colombia, we take a train that does not stop, we offer a list of unforgettable concerts”.

On the 23rd they will be in Armenia at the Fonda, the local forest that has received great national and international artists, they will continue in the capital of this southern country Bogotá on the 30th in Sutton club of the best clubs in the city, they will pass through Medellin in Emporium on April 05, 06 for Cartagena and closing on 06 in Marseille, they have dates for hiring, contact that we will leave at the end of this review for your contact, in the voices of Arnaldo Quintero, Renzo Romero, Ronald Gómez, Josep Palacios and Leonardo Leal we will be able to listen to the successes of these almost three decades of rhythms.

“For the month of June we will be part of the great experience that will be lived in the Adventure Dance Cruise, together with greats like Torito Acosta” Mendoza told us that the great company Royal Caribbean presents what they call: World’s Largest Latin Dance Cruise, from June 6 to 10 from Miami passing through the beautiful island of son and rumba Cuba and arriving in the Bahamas, full of dance classes, attractions, distractions and the best concerts on the high seas.

For the last semester of the year they are already preparing a concert in Tampa, Miami, presentations of variable types in North America, to close the projects for this 2019 an important tour of Europe with the great Maelo Ruiz is being prepared, a detail that we will have better reviewed in future editions.

For bookings on the tour of Colombia, contact the number +57 310 3293158, don’t miss out on living this great experience of dancing alongside one of the best salsa orchestras in the world.

Jimena Verano present Orquesta de Camino al Barrio

Latin America / Colombia / Bogotá

This time we have Miss Jimena Verano, the director of “VERANOPRODUCCIONES”, who gave us the opportunity to meet the Venezuelan Colombo Orchestra “De Camino al Barrio”, which was born in the city of Bogotá, Capital of Colombia.

Through Jimena Verano, a Colombian artist entrepreneur and promoter, she presents it to us, giving us the opportunity to make them known and emerge them in this great world of music at an international level.

The Orchestra emerged as a tribute to the singer of the singers Héctor Pérez Lavoe; and she tells us that it has been easy for her to lead (as a woman) this working group; her musicians have been willing and ready to meet any request made by her, to get this musical project off the ground.

Soon they are ready to record their first single in the city of Cali Colombia, for which they are making the necessary adjustments for said musical production.

So if you want to meet or contact the orchestra, or find out more about their new recording, you can contact them through [email protected] or through Facebook, known as Jime Verano (La Chica Fitness de la Salsa).