Search Results for: Latin dance world

PIETRO MINGARELLI

To The Beat Of The Latin Rhythm

He made Latin music his lifestyle. He fused the art of contemporary dance with the Caribbean rhythm. He made the national and international stages his home and the Salsa artists his true friends. He is a professional dancer, composer, and director of online programs. In each dance, he reflects his style… He is elegant, passionate, classic, and unstoppable. This is how Pietro Mingarelli shows himself.

More than 40 years of experience summarize a series of national and international triumphs. At 5 years old Pietro was already seen as one of the best dancers in Italy. His beginnings were in ballet, Jazz, tap (Tip-Tap), and contemporary dance, achieving third place in his first competition with only 5 years old, among a group of 500 couples with competitors up to 12 years old, which allowed him to stand out from his first presentation.

For the next 10 years, he continued his dance studies and participation in couples’ championships with his sister, partner, and dance partner, Daria Mingarelli, with whom he won 10 national championships.

In the mid-80s, without forgetting the rigor and discipline learned in his dance studies in Europe, he finds himself for the first time on a journey of no return to what would be his true passion, the Salsa. During a trip to Puerto Rico, he was able to establish the click with the Latin culture and one of the main and most representative rhythmic movements of it.

Gilberto Santa Rosa, Pietro Mingarelli, and Daria Mingarelli in the Video’s recording “No Digas Nada y Baila”

Between participation in a lot of festivals including the Bacardi International Dance Festival, which years later its format would become Congress, Pietro had the opportunity to establish professional alliances with the Arthur Murray Dance Center Academy (Puerto Rico) where he began to teach by Mambo. During that time, the Mingarelli brothers attended local patron saint festivals that would introduce them to the Caribbean idiosyncrasy, to the cadence of the salsa rhythm that is not found in the academies, that it is not possible to have it without feeling the music from the heart and connecting the feelings, which has no other name than what we know as the “El Sabor de la Calle”.

By the beginning of the ‘90s, Pietro had a consolidated career on the island of enchantment, dancing together with Daria for different local Salsa orchestras. From 1994 to 1998 the brothers were the official dancers of Gilberto Santa Rosa “El Caballero de la Salsa”, who see them dance and immediately add them to his work team. They were the protagonists of his Video “No digas Nada y Baila”, recorded in Old San Juan on the Calle del Cristo in 1997, and participated in the “Show de las 12” one of the most popular programs in the country in the presentations of the Salsa singer.

Instructor of Instructors

From the age of 15, Pietro born in Alessandria was emerging as the instructor of the instructors of Caribbean dance in Italy. As early as 1995 he was the co-founder of one of the most renowned schools in Turin, Salsa Manía, with franchises in Germany and other European countries.

Since 2000 he has been one of the annual organizers of world championships with live orchestras, such as the Italian Amateur Federcaribe Championship and the World Championship in San Marino.

As a visionary, he created the online program “Dance Revolution” that combines the training technique of a professional dancer with the “Son” (rhythm) of the street. Each class is live and personalized. This course of various levels teaches you the basic characteristics of Puerto Rican Salsa, teaching culture, and the differentiating way from other courses is the use of instruments played live to adapt the assistant’s ear for a safe and perfect entry into the dance.

The “Mingarelli Style” dance school with the slogan “From the Neighborhood to the Academy” took hold of Italy and the teaching system based on the combination of mastery of technique, a rhythmic execution of Puerto Rican Salsa, and an instructional mechanism that isn’t only based on the counter but the rhythmic sound of Salsa, it’s the current teaching method chosen by most of the best teachers from different salsa academies in the country.

For years, Pietro has been doing altruistic work with his sister, collaborating with associations of children with Down syndrome, deaf, dumb, and blind children to give free lessons, achieving an excellent level of performance among children with these special conditions.

Latin Beat

The Salsa dance professional, Pietro, masters several musical instruments: the Piano, the Conga, and the Percussion, the latter two he learned and mastered during his trips to Puerto Rico.

This knowledge laid the basis for the creation of his orchestra Pietro Mingarelli and his Generation 73 at the end of 2015. The name of the orchestra was given by the year of birth of each member of the orchestra, coinciding in the year 1973. This orchestra varies from 9 to 11 musicians on stage depending on the space. They have performed to 3000 people in discos and dance halls in the cradle of Italy, Turin.

At the same time, Pietro Mingarelli has composed more than 20 songs, including 9 of them in his digital record production ” Hecho en Cuba”, where the Romantic Salsa single “Volveré otra vez” stands out, “Caldero” (more danceable) dedicated to the renowned Cuban Timbalero Juan Carlos Calderin, and “Mi cubana salsera” lyrics inspired by his wife Yusely from Guantánamo – Cuba, among many others.

Currently, “Alma en Pena” is his most recent single released in 2019 that you can enjoy on digital platforms and will be part of the new CD that Pietro will bring us with famous international Salsa artists … Maybe, Gilberto Santa Rosa could be one of his vocalists… We will wait to see what this excellent pioneer of Salsa in Italy brings us very soon.

A Ritmo de Salsa…

A Ritmo de Salsa is his most ambitious program created in 2020. Its original name was “Aventuras en Ritmo de Salsa” and it would be broadcast from a cruise ship for one of the main television stations in Italy. However, it cannot be carried out due to the arrival of the Covid 19 Pandemic.

Pietro has an invaluable historical-musical knowledge that makes him very popular in the Salsa world

However, this program did not remain in the drawer, it was launched online through its platform “Dance Revolution” and its first episode arrived in March 2020, surprising its audience with interviews with friends and great personalities from the Salsa world, among which stand out: Gilberto Santa Rosa, Charlie Aponte, Willie Rosario, and Bobby Valentin.

This successful program is 1 hour long; however, everything can change depending on the interviewee. One of the cases was the interview with César “Pupy” Pedroso (The Van Van´s Pianist, arranger, and composer) that lasted 3 hours, while 1 hour and 30 minutes was the duration of the program of the guest Alfredo de la Fe, Cuban violinist -American, who has shared the stage with Celia Cruz, Tito Puente and other great personalities of the Salsa´s first line.

Each interview is loaded with history, anecdotes, mini-concerts, and learning tips that have helped these famous artists to successfully manage their instruments and their careers.

You can see new episodes of A Ritmo de Salsa on Sundays in premiere at 8:30 PM… And for this month Pietro brings us to the “Sonera del Mundo”, Aymée Nuviola. You don´t miss out on all the fun!

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Rolando Sanchez from Honolulu – Hawaii

Percussionist, Singer, Singer-Songwriter, Producer and Leader is Hawaii’s Best Selling Latin Artist

Rolando Sanchez, percussionist-singer-songwriter-producer, leader of Hawaii’s first longest recording Latin recording artist.

In this Site you will experience the history and achievements of this musical Family called “SALSA HAWAII” for over 20-years, performing, recording, touring and just sharing the love and ALOHA of our Latin Music Wolrdwide.

With CDs sold Worldwide and the number of awards and accolades from press, government, musical organizations, community organizations, locally, nationally and Internationally.

HONOLULU TROPICAL Celebrating 20 years of Latin Music in Hawaii Rolando Sanchez Salsa Hawaii Singer, Songwriter, Percussionist (timbales-congas-bongos- drums) Recording Artist, and Producer. Born in Masaya, Nicaragua, to a musical, artistic family; his father, an accomplished songwriter, pianist, and singer.

Rolando Sanchez from Honolulu - Hawaii — Rolando Sanchez Percussionist, Singer, Composer, Producer and Leader is the best-selling Latin artist in Hawaii

His mother also played piano and sang as with most of his immediate family.

His musical influence began at a very young age playing drums with neighborhood kids emanating the music of the time (i.e.: Beatles, Trini Lopez, Paul Anka, etc.).

In his early teens he began listening to more Latin music styles, which formed the basis for his music today. The bands that influenced him at the time were Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Billo’s Caracas Boys, Sonora Matanzera, Sonora Santanera, Daniel Santos, and a Nicaraguan band Los Satelites del Ritmo.

In the late 60s, the family relocated to San Francisco, California where he grew up and truly realized that music was to be his life. The music scene in the Bay Area at this time was very diverse. He delved in all the different styles.

During that time, Latin music was beginning to blossom and all kinds of Latin-style bands such as The Aliens, Latin Bloods, Los Beamers, Bandido, Unidad 77, and Limbo began to play in and around the Bay Area.

Cesar’s Club was THE place to be to experience the best Latin musicians (Pete and Coke Escovedo, Roger Glenn, Luis Gazca, Pablo Telles, Victor Pantoja, Francisco Aguabella, Carmelo Garcia) performing live.

That’s when Rolando realized his passion for Latin music and particularly Timbales.

Then it happened! Santana Band came out and proved to be the biggest inspiration for all Latin musicians in the Bay Area (the world) including Rolando. It seemed that Latin bands were coming out of the woodwork: Azteca, Malo, Sapo,Dakila, and Salsa De Berkeley to name a few. He played with different bands in San Francisco’s Latin music scene and shortly thereafter, decided it was time to start his own band called SOLAR; they played a mixture of Latin rock and Latin jazz fusion.

Rolando and his brother Mario (still playing congas with Bay Area bands) were alsosome of the guys hanging out at Dolores Park in the Mission District playing congas and timbales along with such notables as Raul Rekow, Karl Perazzo, Chepito Areas, Carlos Badia, John Santos, and many other well-known Bay Area Latin percussion artists of today.

His band gained popularity and started playing the circuit where he met and befriended such artists as Pete and Sheila E. and Master Armando Peraza who helped develop his affinity for percussions.

While playing in the Bay Area, SOLAR was billed with bands like Azteca, Azuquita, Sapo, Cal Tjader, Cesar’s All-Star Band, Willie Bobo, and others.After their break-up, he formed the band SUNSMOKE together with his uncle, Freddie Velasquez, who had just returned to the Bay Area from touring the country with the Phil Driscoll Band. SUNSMOKE quickly became well-known in the Bay Area and they toured the west coast and Canada where they opened for blues master B.B. King and performed at the Canadian Rock Festival with bands from all over the world.

For over 20 years, performing, recording, touring and simply sharing the love and ALOHA of our Latin music around the world. — Rolando Sanchez Salsa Hawaii

After a couple of very busy years, including recording some demos for major record labels, they broke up and Rolando spent some time in Los Angeles checking out the music scene there.

Upon returning to the Bay Area, he joined MESSIAH, one of the hottest Funk/Gospel/Rock/Disco bands. Their single, “Get up on Your Feet and Dance”, became a hit in the International disco scene. MESSIAH then went on to Japan where they enjoyed instant success and toured for 4 months. Shortly after their return, the band broke up and THE ROLANDO SANCHEZ BAND was born. Composing and writing his own material, Rolando released his first single cassette with two original songs, “She’s the Lady” and “Cold Hearted Woman”.

She’s the Lady” was made into a music video shown on local stations on both east and west coasts at the very beginning of the MTV movement.

It featured some of the Bay Area’s finest musicians including vocalist Jo Baker (Elvin Bishop Band). After being in the Bay Area for nearly 20 years, Rolando felt the need for a change of pace in his life.

In 1984, he visited his sister in Hawaii and the rest, as they say, is history.

Not long after arriving in Honolulu, Rolando decided to make it his home and the place where he would throw his musical fate to the wind.

His very first musical engagement in Honolulu was at the Waikiki Shell with one of Hawaii’s hottest singer/songwriters of that year, Mr.

Audy Kimura, in celebration of 25 Years of Statehood. This made it all the more clear to him that he was in the right place.

On this site you will experience the history and achievements of this musical family called "SALSAHAWAII" for more than 20 years. — HONOLULU TROPICAL Celebrating 20 years of Latin Music in Hawaii

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Johnny Pacheco founder of the Fania All Stars says goodbye

This Monday Cuqui Pacheco announced the news

Johnny Pacheco, one of the great Latin musicians, died this Monday, February 15 at the Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, New Jersey because of pneumonia, which he had already suffered for several days and for which he was hospitalized. Called one of the creators of salsa, Johnny left this world at 85 years of age, but his legacy will live forever not only in the hearts of Latinos, but also in the history of music.

A short statement was released by what is now his widow María Elena “Cuqui” Pacheco and the rest of his relatives:

“With great pain in my soul and an emptiness in my heart I inform you that the teacher Johnny Pacheco with much peace passed away this afternoon. Thank you so much for all the prayers from him and all the love you always gave him. At this time we ask for privacy and prayers. “

There were and still are many reactions around the departure of the founder of Fania. Salseros around the world have mourned the news and many musicians who in one way or another knew Johnny have expressed their sadness:

Rubén Blades published on his Facebook account: “I just received information indicating that Dominican Johnny Pacheco, flutist, arranger, composer and leader of the group “Las Estrellas de Fania”, has just moved “al otro barrio”. At 85 years of age, Pacheco leaves us an important musical legacy, represented by all the collaborations that he made during his distinguished career, with figures like Celia Cruz … To his family and loved ones we send our condolences . Have a good trip Johnny and “Simá!”

On his part, Marc Anthony took to Instagram to dedicate these words to him: “Teacher of Teachers and my good friend! Rest in peace! You were there for me from day 1. Your sense of humor was contagious and I am forever grateful for your support, for the opportunity to be in your presence and for your amazing legacy. “

Maelo Ruiz also left his words: “Today a giant left us ? We regret his physical disappearance! Thank you maestro Johnny Pacheco for everything you did for salsa, you left an insurmountable legacy for future generations! God receive you in heaven ? #QEPD #Rip #JohnnyPacheco #FaniaAllStars ”

Puerto Rican Victor Manuelle also used Instagram to remember Johnny: “Thank you teacher. I had the honor of honoring you in life. Your legacy will not die. Your music will live forever in our hearts. We are going to miss you, Master Pacheco. R.I.P.”

And another was El Caballero de la Salsa Gilberto Santa Rosa: “Today Salsa and music in general are in mourning. One of the pioneers, creative genius and in my personal case an exquisite person said goodbye … Rest in peace master Johnny Pacheco.”

And these are just an example of the many reactions that Latin musicians left when they heard the news. Johnny Pacheco definitely left his mark and a legacy that was difficult to emulate, but which gave the foundation to one of the most listened to genres in the world, of which Latin America is extremely proud.

The incredible career of Johnny Pacheco

Juan Azarías Pacheco Knipping was born on March 25, 1935 in the city of Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic. His father was Rafael Azarías Pacheco and thanks to him his love for music arises since he was a clarinetist and a famous conductor. On his part, his mother was Octavia Knipping Rochet, who brought Pacheco a mixture of cultures, since she was the granddaughter of a French colonizer and great-granddaughter of a German merchant who married a Dominican woman of Spanish family.

Johnny moved to New York with his family at the age of 11, where he continued his studies, especially music, managing to enter the prestigious Juilliard School to study percussion. In 1960 he founded his first band: Pacheco y su charanga, after working in several Latin bands. With this band Pacheco achieves success by signing with Alegre records, and presenting a dance rhythm which he called the pachanga, in this way he becomes a star touring the United States, Europe, Asia and of course Latin America.

La Fania first started out as a record label, with a partner who was not thought to be interested in Latin music Jerry Masucci, a former policeman who became a lawyer, but fell in love with this music on a trip he made to Cuba. This foundation occurred in 1964, between Harlem and the Bronx where the productions were sold from the trunks of their cars. But the Fania legacy was only taking its first steps by giving an urban touch to Latin music using the term salsa to sell its releases.

With Pacheco, Fania achieved a new rhythm based on the existing ones of Caribbean music, especially the Cuban son, but by putting a faster tempo. One of the things that stood out in Fania’s music was the lyrics, which were used to talk about somewhat sensitive issues, from racism to the political problems of the time, without neglecting pride in their Latino origins.

During the ‘60s and ‘70s, Fania had under its wing many singers who today are considered the best in Latin music and the promoters of the salsa genre: Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, Celia Cruz, Rubén Blades to name a few, not counting the musicians who have been part of the band that accompanied the stars in their presentations. Practically the Fania All Stars became the school of many musicians.

Fania Records was called the Motown of salsa, becoming a music powerhouse, which led his band the Fania All Stars to tour around the world filling arenas and selling many records. Featuring never-before-seen collaborations such as Willie Colón, one of the best salsa composers, with Rubén Blades, a lyricist focused on the social part. Hector Lavoe was also a cult singer who made music history but whose career was very short and was marked by addiction problems which led to an early death at 46 years old.

During the ‘80s, Fania saw its end when facing many problems due to royalties and lawsuits, working with many artists was not easy and at that time there were many dark moments focused on addictions and monetary problems. In 2005 Fania returned to the spotlight as Emusica bought their catalog that was getting lost in a warehouse in Hudson, New York. Many hits were remastered and re-released in 2006.

Johnny Pacheco will always be remembered as the father of salsa, who with Fania managed to leave his mark on Latin music, rest in peace maestro.

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Takafumi Nikaido Born in Sapporo Japan in 1993

“To Takafumi Nikaido we send our congratulations for his professionalism, virtuosity and mastery of the tumbadoras”.
Giraldo Piloto Barreto (Klimax)

During his time in Cuba, he studied with leading percussionists such as José Luis Quintana “Changuito”.

Takafumi Nikaido began playing the saxophone at age 6 and was inspired to venture into percussion and studied with Fujio Saito after seeing a live performance by Earth Wind & Fire at age of 7.

At the age of 12, he traveled to Cuba to take dance and drumming lessons where he collaborated with Los Muñequitos de Matanzas.

He studied theory and interpretation with people like Eguie Castrillo, Tiger Okoshi, Mark Walker, Oscar Stagnaro and Jim Odgren.

Takafumi Nikaido Born in Sapporo Japan in the year 1993 — Takafumi Nikaido professionalism, virtuosity and mastery of the tumbadora drums

In 2014 he traveled back to Cuba to attend the Fiesta del Tambor Percussion Competition where he received the “Best Foreign Participant Award”.

During his time in Cuba he studied with prominent percussionists such as Jose Luis Quintana “Changuito”, Adel Gonzalez, Adonis Panter Calderon and Osain Del Monte.

At Berklee, he performed with artists such as Oscar Feldman, Terence Blanchard, Jon Secada, FANTINE, Sivamani, Ruben Rada, Totó la Momposina and Mane De La Parra.

That summer, he became involved with “The United East Jazz Quintet” and performed live in 9 clubs from all over Japan and South Korea.

In the summer of that same year, he became involved with "The Untied East Jazz Quintet" and played at 9 venues throughout Japan and South Korea. — During his time in Cuba he studied with the outstanding

They formed the musical group “MIXCLA” together with musicians Zahili Gonzalez Zamora and Gerson Lazo and perform pretty regularly, especially within Boston.

In 2015, he performed at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal as a Zahili Gonzalez Zamora Project member.

He is currently studying at Berklee College of Music and participating in musical projects other than Latin music such as pop and jazz.

After high school, he attended Berklee College of Music as a scholarship student. He studied theory and interpretation with people like Eguie Castrillo, Tiger Okoshi, Mark Walker, Oscar Stagnaro and Jim Odgren. While at Berklee he performed with artists such as Carlos Vives,Yosvany Terry, Oscar Feldman,Terence Blanchard,Jon Secada, Darren Barrett, Sivamani,Ruben Rada,Totó la Momposina, and Mane De La Parra. He graduated with a degree from Berklee College of Music in 2016.

In 2014 he traveled to Cuba to attend the Fiesta del Tambor Percussion Competition where he received the “Best Foreign Participant Award”. During his time in Cuba he studied with prominent percussionists such as Jose Luis Quintana “Changuito”, Adel Gonzalez, Adonis Panter Calderon, Barbaro Crespo “Machito”, and Osain Del Monte.

At Berklee he performed at international jazz festivals such as the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, the Monterey Jazz Festival and the DC Jazz Festival, among others.

The Latin trio “MIXCLA” was nominated for “International Artist of the Year” by the Boston Music Awards in 2018 and 2019.

As well as recorded the sounds of percussion for the soundtrack of “Final Fantasy XV”, which is a video game series that has surpassed 6 million sales worldwide and for the original soundtrack of the anime Dr. Stone.

After moving to New York in 2020, he continues to perform with legendary artists such as Paquito D’ Rivera, and Darren Barrett. Next year, he will perform as an ensemble/dummer in the off-broadway musical “The Visitor” directed by Daniel Sullivan which is a Tony Award winner in 2001.(Last updated Sep, 2020)

Website: Takafumi Nikaido

Maelo Ruiz

The Salsa singer Maelo Ruiz has over thirty years of singing romantic themes that have made him the leader of a small group of soneros of this style. And although he is very popular in Europe, the United States, and Latin America with his catchy songs and great commercial hook, you may not know everything about this artist. For that, we are going to tell you 11 things about the Salsa´s “Cuchi, Cuchi” little known to make you stand out among his fans.

1- Ismael Ruiz Hernández, better known as Maelo Ruiz ““El boricua de la Salsa”, was really born in New York (United States) in the late 60s and moved to Puerto Rico at 4 years old. He began his musical career at 16 years old at Escuela Libre de Música de Caguas under the direction of Juan Pacheco.

2- In 2007 Maelo was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award, in the best Salsa Album category for his album “Puro Amor”.

3- He has been a supporting singer for the artist Willie González on several opportunities.

4- He is a partner of the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara Campus Tabasco, where he supports young students to continue with their musical careers.

5- The Romantic Salsero has not had gastric bypass surgery for fear of a possible alteration of his vocal register.

6- Maelo Ruiz hasn’t composed any of the songs on his albums. “I don’t like writing songs. I leave that to the masters because they are the ones who compose and I sing. That is my philosophy.” He said to an international social medium.

7- He doesn’t know how to dance. No matter how hard he made, “he has two left feet.”

8- After the failure of his first two albums as a solo: “Experience” (1996) and “Maelo Ruiz” (1999), the Salsa singer had to cut the grass in the parks to survive. As an anecdote, he related that one day a lady heard him singing while doing his daily work and told him: “Boy, stop mowing the grass and dedicate yourself to singing with that beautiful voice you have.” Those words again prompted him to continue in the Salsa world.

9- In 2013, a Venezuelan lady stole the semen of the “Por favor señora” vocalist from a human reproduction institution, Fertilab, located in Venezuela. Artificial insemination was without Sonero´s consent and it produced unrecognized twin girls in September 2014.

10- The video with the highest number of reproductions of the singer on the YouTube site is the single “He vuelto por ti” with 60 million views until now, followed by “Te va a doler” with 42 million.

11- And finally, inside of the list: Maelo Ruiz’s 11 Things you didn’t know is his most successful soloist album: “En Tiempo De Amor” launched in 2003. This album has 11 songs, such as: “Por favor señora”, “Te va a doler”, “Así no se da el amor”, “Si volvieras a mí”, among others.

Who is Maelo Ruiz?

Ismael Ruiz Hernández, better known as Maelo Ruiz, was born in New York City in 1966, but at the age of 4, he moved with his family to Puerto Rico where his parents are originally from.

In 1994 he released his first record production as a soloist, which included the renowned song: “Te Necesita Mi Amor”, which ranked # 1 on the list of tropical music for four weeks in Latin American countries such as Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, and cities of the United States: Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami. Likewise, Maelo is credited as Best Salsero in Peru. And also, he got the Rumba de Oro Award in Ecuador.

Two years later, Ruiz launched his second album which was called “Experiencia” which contained among other hits: “Te Amo”, “El Reloj Cucu”, “La Primera Noche”, “La Dueña De Mi Corazón”.

In 1999 he released the third self-titled album that takes him on a tour around the European continent, promoting themes such as: “Oh Mujer”, “A Media Luz” y “Maldito”.

His fourth CD “En Tiempo de Amor” (2004) was directed by Diego Galé, highlighting themes such as: “Así Eres Tú” by Axel Martínez, “Será Que Si” by Luis Lambis, and two ballads: “Por favor Señora” by Juan C. Calderón and the popular song “Te Va a Doler” by Álvaro Torres.

During 2007, Maelo premiered his album “Puro Corazón”, where he decided to do the cover: “Entrégate” from Luis Miguel originally, “Amor, Amor” by Camilo Sesto and “He Vuelto Por Ti” by Myriam Hernández, and whose album was nominated for The Latin Grammy Award for Best Salsa Album.Inicio