Search Results for: Latin Tribute

Eddie Palmieri brought salsa for the first time and live from Sing Sing Penitentiary in New York

In the early 1970s, the American social landscape was dominated by the Vietnam War and the birth of several protest movements advocating for equality, justice and the defense of human and civil rights, and from sing sing a historic concert.

In the midst of all that collective turbulence, Eddie Palmieri and his orchestra were giving free rein to their social rebellion with a sweeping musical proposal.

But Palmieri’s rebelliousness was not only reflected in his music, but also in his decision to take his group’s sound to atypical and controversial scenarios that would attract the attention of the authorities.

By the beginning of 1972, Eddie Palmieri had already performed in some correctional institutions, including the Louisville Correctional Facility and the Attica and Rikers Island prisons in New York, but the pianist wanted something more.

Eddie Palmieri brought salsa for the first time and live from Sing Sing Penitentiary in New York

In those days, a good friend of Eddie Palmieri was incarcerated in the sinister and historic Sing Sing Correctional Facility, also known as Sing Sing Prison, infamous for the reputation of its inmates and for its executions with electric chairs.

It was at that moment that the idea of an unprecedented performance at the facility was born.

Palmieri’s group was not only the orchestra of choice for Hispanics, it was also favored by the majority of African-Americans in the Latin dance world, and at that time the prison population at Sing Sing was composed mostly of Hispanics and African-Americans, so the stage was perfect.

However, it was not easy to perform a concert in a maximum security prison like the dreaded Sing Sing Prison.

However, at the request of Eddie Palmieri himself and with the coordination of Roulette Records and the prison administration, the performance took place on Wednesday, April 12, 1972.

By the beginning of 1972, Eddie Palmieri had already performed in some penitentiary institutions.

Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a New York State Department of Correctional Services prison in Ossining, New York State, United States. The name comes from the original name of the town of Ossining.

It was the third prison in New York State, built in 1825. The state legislature allocated $20,100 to purchase the Silver Mine farm. The prison was to be self-supporting and not require a state budget.

Elan Lynds, a jailer at Auburn Prison (New York’s second prison), brought 100 convicts from Auburn to the new prison and employed them for its construction.

Harris A. Smiler was the first person executed by electrocution at Sing Sing on July 7, 1891. From 1914 until 1971, only the electric chair at Sing Sing was used for executions.

On January 8, 1983, more than 600 inmates in B Block started a riot, taking 17 officers hostage; it ended 53 hours later.

Sing Sing in popular culture

Near the end of Herman Melville’s short story Bartleby, the Scribe, it is mentioned that Monroe Edwards died of tuberculosis in Sing Sing Prison.

There is a song called La cárcel de Sing Sing, written by Bienvenido Brens, which tells the story of a prisoner in this jail who was sentenced to death for killing his wife and her lover. The song was made famous by José Feliciano. It is also performed by Colombian singer-songwriter Alci Acosta.

In addition, it was performed live by the band Corizonas (union of Arizona Baby and Los Coronas) in their live album “Dos bandas y un destino”.

There is a song by the salsa group Conjunto Clásico on the album El panadero released in 1986, called A los muchachos de Sing Sing, which has a message of encouragement to convicts.

There is a song by the French-Tunisian singer-songwriter (Michel) Laurent entitled Sing Sing Barbara, from 1971, which tells the story of an inmate who sends desperate messages of love to his wife from this prison.

There is a song by the Madrid group Los Nikis entitled Diez años en Sing Sing, which also gives title to the tribute album to that group.

There is a song by the Basque group Sorotan Bele titled Sing Singatiko Folk & Rolla.

In 1932 the film Twenty Thousand Years in Sing Sing was shot, directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Spencer Tracy and Bette Davis. The film is based on the book of the same name by Lewis E. Lawes.

In the film Constantine, and in the official Constantine comic book, John Constantine is seen to use the Sing Sing prison chair to connect to hell.

In the film Citizen Kane, protagonist Charles Kane threatens his political rival, Jim Gettys, to send him to Sing Sing, when Gettys informs Kane that he will publish his affair with Susan Alexander in the newspapers if he does not withdraw from the election.

In the film The Pilgrim, Charles Chaplin plays the role of a convict recently escaped from prison, who, when he is at the train station, moves his finger without looking over the board of destinations to choose one at random and falls on Sing Sing, so he repeats the process again when he realizes his unfortunate choice.

In the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Holly Golightly periodically visits inmate Sally Tomato at this prison.

In the movie and musical The Producers, the main characters stop at the same prison and create a musical called Prisoners of Love.

In the video game Driver Parallel Lines, the protagonist spends 28 years in Sing Sing.

In the ABC television series Castle, Sing Sing is cited during an episode of the fourth, fifth and eighth seasons.

In the film noir movie Odds Against Tomorrow, Johnny, the character played by Harry Blafonte, says, “I know they changed his color when they rehabilitated him in Sing Sing.”

In the AMC television series Mad Men, Sing Sing is quoted during an episode of the third season.

In the series Breakout Kings, prisoners are transferred to Sing Sing for their help.

In the song Báilalo como tú quieras, by artist Tego Calderón, the phrase “If rapping was a crime, I’d be in Sing Sing!” appears.

In the horror movie saga Maniac Cop, cop Max Cortell is killed in Sing Sing prison by inmates and is resurrected in the form of a “maniac cop”.

In the Netflix series The Punisher, Arthur mentions to Billy Russo having been imprisoned 10 years in Sing Sing, in episode 4 of the second season.

In the novel “The Ppsychoanalyst” by John Katzenback published in 2002, the Sing Sing prison where a man served six months is named.

In Georges Simenon’s novel The Hound Dog starring Commissar Maigret, one of the characters spends several years in Sing Sing prison.

In the comics “Mortadelo y Filemón”, by cartoonist Francisco Ibáñez, when a character has done something barbaric, he is sentenced to Sing Sing prison and appears with the typical black and white striped prisoner’s suit, chopping stone with an iron ball chained to his leg.

In the series Law and Order the Sing Sing prison is constantly mentioned.

Also Read: Carlos “Nene” Quintero comes from a family of musical prodigies

Orquesta la Identidad is one of the most nationally and internationally recognized groups in the salsa genre

Winner Identidad Orchestra on several occasions of the Cali fair disc with songs such as MUJERES in 1987, QUIÉREME in 1991 and COMO YO TE AME, the most played song at a historical level in the different Latin FM stereo stations in 2003.

Among other works of recognition such as: LAS COSAS SON COMO SON, TU DESDÉN, GOLPE DE GRACIA, SI ELLA VOLVIERA, DESENGAÑOS, among others.

This group was founded by the Colombian composer and musician Carlos Enrique Navia in 1981 in the capital of salsa in the city of Cali – Colombia, which came to fame in 1987.

Following the release of his first album entitled LA IDENTIDAD, under the Codiscos label, musical production that includes the works, LAS COSAS SON COMO SON, Y ME QUIERES, PARA QUERERTE, CADA CUAL, POR SU LADO, LA FUMA, GENTE CORRIENTE, BRABAJE and MUJERES.

Work that was awarded as the official album of the Cali Fair and gave him the opportunity to make his first international tour of the United States, visiting the states of Florida, New York, California, Texas, Illinois, among others.

This group had a very important boom in Colombia and the whole world for being elected revelation orchestra of the year and gave him the participation in the most important events and fairs throughout the Colombian territory.

Thanks to the success and recognition, the orchestra recorded its second album called LA MÚSICA in 1989, album that expanded its audience in other countries such as: Mexico, Venezuela and Ecuador with the works TU DESDÉN, AMOR ETERNO, TE QUIERO TANTO, LA MÚSICA, SON SABORIONDO, SENTIMIENTOS POR TI and BOMBA NAVIDEÑA, work that occupied the first places in the FM radio stations, preselected as Cali’s fair disc and elected the second most important song of the fair.

Orquesta la Identidad is one of the most nationally and internationally recognized groups in the salsa genre

Identidad Orchestra in 1990 the orchestra recorded its third album entitled UN TOQUE DE MISTERIO, album produced by the renowned Venezuelan musician Cesar Monges “Albondiga” who has participated in countless productions of artists and orchestras of international recognition in the salsa genre.

After a long tour in the United States, the orchestra arrives in Colombia to record their fourth album entitled SALSA CON ENERGÍA, a product produced in the studios of Grupo Niche.

This production included songs such as: LA RETIRADA, ESE SOY YO, BOROJO, AGITACIÓN, SI ELLA VOLVIERA, LLEGASTE A MI VIDA, DESENGAÑOS and COMO YO TE AMÉ, one of the hits of preference of our listeners, occupying the first places and beating the record of the most played song in all salsa genre stations in Colombia, United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Spain, Italy and many more countries.

ORQUESTA LA IDENTIDAD is an orchestra that has been characterized by its perseverance.

Identidad Orchestra in 1992 they recorded their fifth album titled PROFESIÓN SALSA and ended their relationship with the record label Codiscos to start their independence as a brand under the direction of composer, singer and founder Carlos Enrique Navia to produce their works as an independent record label.

Orquesta la Identidad is one of the most nationally

This album included songs such as: GOLPE DE GRACIA, PECADORA, COCTEL DE AMOR, SI YO PUDIERA, SEÑORA CALI, MUJER AMADA, TE PILLÉ, NO IMPORTA, among others. This product was widely distributed in countries such as Ecuador, Venezuela, Mexico, Peru, United States, among others.

As a record label Identidad Producciones, ORQUESTA LA IDENTIDAD has recorded albums such as A TIEMPO, a production that has captivated the salsa public with songs like: CUANDO EL AMOR SE ACABA, MI NIÑA, LA ESQUINA DEL MOVIMIENTO, LE CANTO AL PACÍFICO, TE QUIERO Y TE AMO, TU DESDÉN, LA FUMA and singles such as: POR SIEMPRE ELLA, FRACASO, DICIEMBRE EN CALI, SON PA EL BAILADOR, COLOMBIA REAL, A MI PADRE, BENDICIÓN DE MADRE, MI GUAGUANCÓ, HOMENAJE A LA SONORA MATANCERA, GUAYAQUIL among others.

Works that are played on Latin radio stations and massively on digital platforms. Orquesta LA IDENTIDAD is a group that has participated in important Latin music events such as: SEBASTIÁN DE BELALCÁZAR awards on two occasions and nominated for best salsa genre orchestra, event organized by FALCON MANAGEMENT BOOKING & ENTERTAINMENT, INDEPENDENCE FESTIVAL OF GUAYAQUIL – ECUADOR, INDEPENDENCE FESTIVALS OF COLOMBIA IN THE UNITED STATES, WORLD SALSA FESTIVAL, BILLBOARD LATIN MUSIC, FESTIVAL OF ORCHESTRAS IN COLOMBIA AND FAIRS THROUGHOUT THE COLOMBIAN TERRITORY.

ORQUESTA LA IDENTIDAD is currently preparing the celebration of 40 years of artistic career, an album that will include the greatest hits such as MUJERES, QUIÉREME, GOLPE DE GRACIA, MUJER AMADA, LAS COSAS SON COMO COMO SON, TU DESDÉN, UN TOQUE DE MISTERIO, COMO YO TE AMÉ and DESENGAÑOS, which will have collaborations with national and international artists of recognition in the salsa genre and is preparing to make its next international tour of the United States year 2024.

CONTACT Carlos Enrique Navia General Manager Contact: 310 822 8068 – 317 642 1031 Email: [email protected]

ORQUESTA LA IDENTIDAD

Also Read: Colombia’s legendary Grupo Niche and its founder Jairo Varela

Large projects of Mexican pianist and composer Irving Flores

It is always a pleasure for us to talk with important figures from the Latin music industry in the United States and today it was the turn of the incredibly talented producer, arranger, composer and pianist Irving Flores, who has been kind enough to connect via Zoom and talk a little about his career and personal life.

After the usual greetings and introductions, Irving started talking about what inspired him to get started in music which, in his case, was his father.

Pianist Irving Flores — Mexican producer, arranger, composer and pianist Irving Flores

Irving’s father as a source of inspiration

Irving’s first important contact with music was his father, who was a professional saxophonist in the 60’s and even worked for a big band in Tamaulipas, Mexico, the artist’s native country.

He was his first musical maestro and the one who helped him take his first steps in this complicated world, to the extent that Irving also started playing the saxophone encouraged by his father. The young man always wanted to learn how to play piano, but the high level of salinity in the city of Tampico damaged this type of instruments. It is then that he chose the organ which, being electronic, withstood the weather conditions, but he never discarded the instrument he was most passionate about.

Once he began his career as an orchestrator and arranger, he was exploring all wind instruments such as the saxophone, trumpet, and trombone and string instruments such as the guitar. He played the saxophone professionally for some years, studied at the National Conservatory of Music and received private music lessons to strengthen his knowledge.

Roles as a producer, an arranger and a composer

So, as was the case with many other Latin musicians, Irving perceived music as a job in which experience has been much more important than the academic part. In fact, he told us that, as a child, he saw his father sitting writing music and making arrangements, which led him to imitate him and do the same.

When he has beraly 15, he was perfectly capable of arranging at a professional level, an experience that served him well in Mexico City when dealing with the best composers of his native country, such as Luis Demetrio, Vicente Garrido, Eugenia León and maestro Armando Manzanero. He was also Paulina Rubio’s musical director for many years.

For years, Irving spent three or four days each week in a studio, which gave him the necessary experience to prepare for what was to come in his professional future.

Irving worked with many figures — Irving has worked with many important figures in the music industry

San Diego

Irving married a U.S. citizen and had a daughter with her, which made it much easier for him to get a visa to travel to the United States. After he split up with his wife, he specifically chose the city of San Diego because his daughter lives here and he wanted to see her grow up.

Although that was the primary reason for his move there, he immediately noticed that there was much scope for him to work on his own stuff and make many contacts. One of them was Dave Scott, thanks to whom he was able to write music for the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.

The artist assures that, regardless of the place he used to live, he never lost his way and never stopped learning everything he could about music.

One of the greatest experiences he had in this city had to do with taking the place of Oscar Hernandez in the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. It turns out that Hernandez lost his luggage and passport on a flight, so someone had to take his place in the concert the band would have the next day in Mexico City. It was then that Gilbert Castellanos recommended Irving for this task.

Hernandez and Irving met, each one put their terms and reached an agreement. The founder of the orchestra bought the artist a plane ticket and went to assume the role of pianist that Hernandez could not take that night and the result could not be better. Since then, Irving and the orchestra has been on excellent terms and both he and the world famous pianist became good friends.

Irving and his piano — Irving next to his greatest passion, his piano

Working for great artists

According to Irving, one advantage Latin musicians have is that they are able to play all styles of music, which gives them a greater range of action compared to other artists. We are also influenced by Latin music, Afro-Antillean music and Afro-Cuban music. These elements help us a lot to do our job. American musicians tupically specialize in a single context or genre, but Latinos don’t have those limitations,” Irving said on the subject.

Although the pianist specializes in makings arrangements for jazz, the above mentioned shows that he is perfectly capable of entering any other genre, which has led him to work with great artists with many styles.

One of the most interesting cases was Luis Miguel. One of his most important producers, Alejandro Carvallo, spent some time in Los Angeles, where he and Irving met and forged a friendship. That is how he started writing arrangements for ”El Sol de Mexico” and had a very good experience working for him and his team.

In the case of the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, a composer working for the institution (and Irving’s friend) named Dave Scott needed an urgent arrangement at that time, but they did not have the budget for the relevant work. So, he asked Irving what they could do, to which he replied that he needed a few days to write a new arrangement. The following two weeks, the pianist had no time even to sleep, but he achieved the goal and wrote ”A Tribute to Frank Sinatra”. According to Irving himself, this has been one of the most important projects he has had in his entire career.

Irving worked with Luis Miguel — Irving worked with many talented Mexican artists such as Luis Miguel and Paulina Rubio

American Citizen

In the year 2021, Irving became an American citizen, which is certainly a great honor for anyone who lives in that country and also a great responsibility. The artist seems to know this very well.

When we asked Irving about this topic, his answer was not so much based on the artistic aspect, but on everything that involves the acquisition of citizenship as a Latino. In this sense, the artist emphasized that the cultural and even judicial environment in which we grew up in most of our countries are completely different from those of the United States, so adapting to this country is a real challenge, but well worth it.

In his case, the pianist also says that he was as disciplined as possible in each of his decisions to be able to get to the point where he is now. In that sense, he has always done his best to exercise his career as a musician with excellence, but always respecting U.S. laws at all times. He said this because he knows many talented people who were unfortunately imprisoned or deported for making mistakes in this regard.

On the same subject, he also said that it is very important to follow the rules for American society to accept you as a member and give you all the opportunities you are given as a citizen with all the letters.

Musically speaking, having a U.S. passport has provided him with the possibility to travel and tour anywhere in the world without any problem, which is extremely important for the growth of an artist’s career.

Poncho Sanchez visited us at the Salsa Museum

Like every month, we are going to dedicate this edition to a very special name in the Latin music scene and it is about the extraordinary percussionist and conguero Poncho Sanchez, who has given us the honor of donating some of his congas and the suit he wore during the Grammy Awards to the Spaha Salsa Gallery Museum.

In gratitude to such a generous act, we want to dedicate the following lines to his brilliant career and everything he has contributed to Latin music with his work and talent.

Poncho playing the congas — Poncho Sánchez playing the congas live

Poncho’s beginnings in music

Pablo Sanchez, better known as Poncho Sanchez, is currently a percussionist and salsa singer who leads a renowned Latin jazz and Cuban music band. He became such a talented artist after a long journey in the difficult and competitive music industry.

Poncho is the son of two Mexicans from different cities who had eleven children, the musician being the youngest of them all. From a very young age, he developed an intense love for music, which led him to learn to play instruments on his own.

Although Poncho was born in Laredo, Texas, he spent all his childhood in Los Angeles with his family. In that place, he began to have a lot of contact with American jazz, Latin jazz and soul. During his adolescent years, his musical tastes were dominated by artists such as Mongo Santamaría, James Brown, John Coltraine, Miles Davis, among many others.

Poncho at Catalina Bar — Poncho Sánchez performing at Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood

When he decided he wanted to take music up professionally, he began to teach himself to play the congas, guitar, drums, timbales and flute. This is how he was preparing for what was to come in his professional life later on.

When he reached adulthood in his twenties, he was playing in various dance clubs for a while, until finally he got Cal Tjader and his group to notice his talent and invite him to join them.

Today, Poncho is very grateful to Cal and said that he learned a lot from him during the time he was in the group. In fact, he even recalled in an interview that he gave him some lessons just as he was a teacher and Poncho was a student. This, in order to be on par with his bandmates and be able to put on a good show to the public.

Poncho and Tito Puente — Poncho Sánchez and Tito Puente ”The King of Timbales”

Poncho as a soloist

In 1980, Poncho finally managed to form his own group with which he began to carry out certain projects, although he had not completely departed from Cal’s band. In fact, the conguero worked with the musical director till the end of his days in 1982.

Just a few months later, he signed with the Concord Records label to release his first official solo album, which he titled ”Sonando”, marking the beginning of a partnership that remains intact to this day. So far, Poncho has some two dozen recordings with Concord.

Following decades of starting his career, Poncho saw his dreams become a reality when he won a Grammy for ”Best Latin Album” in 1999 thanks to the Latin soul album he had recorded at the time. That’s when the artist finally felt that everything he had worked for in the previous years had paid off.

As for his latest album called ”Trane’s Delight”, Poncho seeks to pay homage to the artists who have inspired him and helped him develop his own art, as he considers that these personalities have been a fundamental basis for his growth as a music professional.

If you want to listen to Tasty Salsa tune in to Ritmo Sabor y Salsa with Nesmary J. Gómez

Nesmary J. Gómez H. was born in Venezuela, Miranda state, city of Los Teques on January 9, 1995.

If you want to listen to Salsa sabrosa tune in to Ritmo Sabor y Salsa, there's no other way to listen to it — If you want to listen to Salsa sabrosa tune in to Ritmo Sabor y Salsa, there’s no other way to listen to it

Nesmary is a young student of social communication at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela, Announcer of the Ritmo Sabor y Salsa program.

From an early age she felt attracted to the salsa genre and at 3 years old she sang Pedro Simon (dumb things) of the Colón orchestra when she turned 7 she already danced songs by Oscar D’ León and the Latin Dimension.

Afirma Nesmary Gómez que gracias a su abuela materna y quién ha sido fiel seguidora del sonero del mundo “Mi abuela Gloria Hueck a ella le debo todo lo que soy una mujer inigualable una madre para mi luego de la trágica muerte de mi mama, fue mi abuela quien me crío y crecí a su lado escuchando desde Óscar D León hasta un Ismael Rivera, Henry Fiol”.

With 12 Years she fell in love with the radio by being a very active listener of all the radios of the town making herself known by almost all the announcers earning the heart and affection for being the number 1 listener of different programs.

Being in the first year of basic education he had the experience of airing an educational program on the community radio Urquia 97.5FM being this radio the first to open its doors to him.

Nesmary Gómez y Carlos Marrero en Radio PLENITUD 90.9FM

After 3 years she is taken into account for a new project as co-producer “El baúl de los recuerdos” on the community radio of Carrizal 91.5FM with the physically disappeared Jhonny Tovar, who with his great support was able to highlight the talent of this young woman, said project had a duration of 2 years.

The opportunities remained present and is called by the director of a commercial radio Carlos Daniel Piñango man who fully trusts this young prospect of broadcasting and is included as a second voice in the El Hormiguero RV program where he was nourished every day more when working with The announcer Mario García is a long-distance man who so far is a reference on Altomirandina radio.

When life began to smile at her a hard blow after the death of her second child made that young woman passionate about the voiceover lose the desire to live “I remember that by that moment I felt the desire to die, depression and pain led me to a bad emotional and physical state.

Thanks to our heavenly father who gave me strength to get up” The best way not to be overcome by pain was a radio booth starting as an audio operator in different live programs, in addition to motivating himself to create a project of the salsa genre called Salsa and Control project that lasted 4 years and was interrupted by situations beyond his will.

This talented young woman continues to prepare herself day by day to be an example of overcoming and show that obstacles can be overcome with perseverance and perseverance “There is no pain that separated us from what we like, on the contrary when you have pain the best thing is to take refuge in what we are so passionate about and mainly in God”.

For 1 year and a half has been airing a proposal that is giving something to talk about Ritmo Sabor y Salsa is Nesmary Gómez’s project on Radio PLENITUD 90.9FM Monday Wednesday and Friday between 2:00 – 4:00pm from where this year 2023.

Has been sharing in exclusive interviews with great exponents of the genre such as Mauricio Silva, Viti Ruiz, Pedro Arroyo, Edgar Joel, Lus “Perico” Ortiz, Gus Colón, Fernando Cancel, Antonio Cartagena, among many other artists.

Who appreciate the existence of this program that gives the audience the opportunity to know their musical trajectory in chronological order.

“I am one of the few people who think and feel that artists must be honored in life, let’s not wait for them to leave this earthly plane to pay tribute and place their songs, let’s give him that great satisfaction that You can enjoy it in life” said space recently premiered the segment “La Clave de la Salsa”.

In honor of that percussion instrument, to those two cylindrical wooden sticks on which many of the music of the Caribbean are built and for this case the salsa known as the key, in this segment the story of 2 songs that sounded insistently and that are still kept in the memories and taste of the public is known.

Nesmary recently received his speech certificate at the Elac of Santa Rosa University. Being one of the few female voices in Los Teques and all the Altos Mirandinos that has the perfect formula to brighten your afternoons in the company of a great audio operator known as Carlos “Lolo” Marrero the duo that is delighting you and dictating catedra quoting those words of the renowned singer Roberto Lugo “If you want to listen to a tasty salsa tune in to Ritmo Sabor y Salsa there is no hay más na”.

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