Search Results for: Latin genres

Raúl Vargas and his flamenco rumba duo Dos Bandoleros

One of the Latin genres that has been gaining more popularity in California, specifically in the Bay Area, is the Spanish flamenco rumba, so it is no coincidence that every day there are more and more exponents of this genre who have achieved a huge level of fame and respect among both their peers and the public.

One of them is Raul Vargas, who has given us the honor of talking to us about his career and the projects he is currently working on, so we cordially invite you to read in order to learn more about this talented Spanish singer.

This is Spanish percussionist and singer Raúl Vargas

How Raúl got started in music

Raul remembers being fascinated by music when he was still very young in his hometown, Madrid. At home, they he used to listen to what his parents played on the radio, but he does not remember anyone in his family being a musician or working it, so he was the first one to have a professional interest in this field.

He also remembers listening to his mother’s cassettes with which he could enjoy all kinds of artists such as Julio Iglesias, Raphael, Camilo Sesto, Pimpinela and many others. However, as Raul grew older, he began to listen to what he liked just like his brother.

When he was 16, he began to learn on his own to play the guitar using the songs he liked at the time. At age 17 he wrote his first song and, shortly after he went to live in Eklanda, Sweden, where he started writing many more songs and take music more seriously, but he still did not see it as his profession.

It is important to note that, while it is true that music was a very important part of Raul’s life, this was not what he did for a living, but cooking. Thanks to his career as a cook, there were many countries and cities that the young man managed to visit, although he was always accompanied by a guitar or drum he played during his free time.

Raúl playing — Raúl Vargas playing the guitar

Arrival in the United States

After having visited many places around the world, Raul met a group of Spaniards in Australia, who suggested him to go to a guesthouse for traveling musicians in the Latin Quarter in San Francisco to see what he felt about it. It turned out to be an excellent decision as he met many professional musicians who were able to make a living from their art, which prompted the young cook to do the same and follow the dreams he felt truly passionate about.

This is how Raul decided that San Francisco should be his final destination, so he decided to remain in that city permanently. From then on, he continued to travel to other places for work and pleasure, but always returned to what he considered his new home.

Once he settled in the United States, he started playing for several bands and focused all his time and effort on what really filled his soul and spirit: music.

First groups and bands

Despite being born in Spain, Raul had never played Spanish music before and preferred rock and pop, but contact with artists from so many countries in San Francisco made him rethink everything he had done so far. Many began asking him why he had never before sung or played flamenco rumba being Spanish, which led him to do more research on the genre from his country and start playing it.

No much time would pass before the guitarist created his own flamenco rumba band, which he named ”Mala Maña” and was conceived as a circus theater and music group composed of eight people. It had a duration of three years and all these musicians, long time later, became part of the band Makrú.

Additionally, he was also part of a duo alongside a guy from Guadalajara, Mexico called ”Fulanos”, which also contributed to the artist’s experience in terms of groups.

Raúl and Muchacho — Raúl Vargas and guitarist Muchacho Mandanga

Dos Bandoleros

The duo Dos Bandoleros started about six or seven years ago and its creation is described by Raul as a ”very lucky accident” thanks to which he met who today is his partner in this project.

It turns out that Raúl and his Makrú bandmates were experimenting with playing in duos and trios to see how things went, which led him and his guitarist to play at a French wine bar on Monday nights. One of these days, they were approached by a young man named Alberto Gutierrez, known artistically as Muchacho Mandanga, who introduced himself and also started playing at the bar along with another Spanish percussionist.

Weeks passed before both Raul and Muchacho could not take their partners to play due to personal problems, so the venue manager proposed the to join them that day. The chemistry between them was so great that they continued playing together and never apart again.

At the beginning, they only played flamenco rumba, which was what got closer to each together in the first place. Later on, they started playing cumbia, Latin rock, salsa, Cuban son and many more.

My mother sang tango

One of the Latin genres that is currently on the rise is tango, so it is common to find more and more people linked to it. There are even many who have made tango one of the most important passions of their lives, as in the case of Carlos Álvarez Guevara, with whom we have had the fortune to talk exclusively about this and other interesting topics.

Carlos dancing tango — Carlos dancing with his dance partners in tango classes

Childhood with a tango singer mother

Carlos’ contact with tango began during his early childhood thanks to his mother, who was a tango singer and dancer.

Carlos describes his early live in El Salvador and points out that, back then, there were no cassettes or CD players with which to listen to music, so people had to make do with what they heard on the radio. His mother went to a well-known radio station to take part in singing competitions.

It is then that the boy would listen to his mother rehearse for the competitions with old tango songs, which made him memorize them perfectly and be able to sing them in full. The rest is history.

How Carlos sees tango today

Today Carlos is a tango and salsa dancer, a genre that has also been important in his musical journey. However, he sings the songs he dances to at amateur level.

For many years, he left aside music to devote himself to become a mechanic, a job from which he recently retired after more than 40 years of hard work. It was when he turned 45 that he fully resumed his love for tango and enrolled in dance classes to remember everything he had learned with his mother.

This is why Carlos says that he is much more professional in dancing than in singing, since he dedicated much more time and effort to the former to become an expert in the field. Dancing, of course, is accompanied by singing, but it has less hierarchy in terms of the artist’s priorities.

He has reached such a level of excellence in these disciplines that some friends of his put him in touch with Eduardo Guilarte, director of International Salsa Magazine, so that he could talk to us and his talents would become better known.

Carlos was a mechanic during a great part of his life, but tango is his biggest passion

Time dedicated to mechanics and dance

Regarding the time dedicated to his formal work and dancing, Carlos claims he never had any problems, since he knew how to organize very well in this aspect.

He always devotes his time to dance on weekends, days where he frequented, and still frequents, nightclubs with friends with whom he dances and spends very pleasant moments that clear his mind of everyday life.

In addition to that, he also has a karaoke machine at home with which he also sings and practices his repertoire to delight anyone who wants to hear him on any nightclub stage.

What Carlos has learned from tango

Just as Carlos has been dedicated to singing and dancing tango, he has also invested time in learning about its history to give more depth to the knowledge he has about this genre and he wanted to share with us a little of what he has learned.

He told us that one of the things he was most fascinated to learn is that tango has roots from many places and times around the world, although nowadays it is seen as an Argentine genre. Something that many do not know is that it has its origins in the arrival of Africans in the ”New World”, which played a fundamental role in the emergence of tango in Argentina and Uruguay, which were under Spanish rule.

Both countries were transit ports for slave traffic, so the new inhabitants of these places brought with the their music and customs, which were mixed with the local music and customs to give rise to what is known today as tango.

A very interesting detail he told us is that, when European sailors stopped in these countries and went to bars to look for drinks and some company, so the ladys in these places danced tango to seduce and provoke them. At that time, this kind of music was perceived as the lowest level of society to the point that the Catholic Church demanded its parishioners not to dance tango, but it turns out that the genre was pleasing to the people and nothing could be done about it.

In the end, puritans had no choice but to embrace this wonderful dance and, today, people of all social classes, ages and races enjoy it without any complex.

Carlos with his family — Carlos with his mothers, brothers and dog Mozote

The lyrics and references of tango

Since Carlos has very extensive knowledge of everything about the genre and its lyrics, we wanted to know what he has studied about it.

‘‘Tango can be many things at the same time. It can touch on issues related to the moral conduct of the individuals and, like many Latin genres, it also serves to mock and criticize politicians. It can also be an ode to love, spite and regret for having lost the loved one” Carlos shared with us on the subject.

‘‘This genre can deal with many subjects at the same time, but one of the most recurrent is frustration with failed love and I don’t think that will change in a long time” said Carlos.

Regarding the issue of the greatest artists who have inspired him to dance and sing tango, he mentioned Carlos di Sarli, Carlos Gardel, Oswaldo Pugliese and Enrique Rodríguez.

What Carlos feels at singing and dancing tango

Carlos describes listening to any tango song as ”listening to your own national anthem in a foreign country”. For him, listening to any piece sung by his parents in the past is a source of pride and takes him back to the most beautiful moments of his childhood.

Carlos pointed out that ”when you are driven by loving emotions and some thoughts are trapped, you can express them through singing and dancing, which is what I always do”.

The artist pointed out that he loves this world and it is one of the things that fills him the most in life, so he is grateful to be able to talk about it in International Salsa Magazine and express what it makes him feel to the world.

Antonio Laya a traditional artist

Latinoamerica / Mexico / Cancun

Antonio Laya “He tells us a little about his new single Abre que voy”

Today we are pleased to learn a little about the life of Antonio Jose Laya Gonzalez (Antonio Laya), a Venezuelan who with his voice and his particular way of dancing has managed to climb and carve his way to success, this Taurean with a great career as a singer of good salsa and especially son, he presents us his new single, abre que voy, a success that has gradually positioned itself on the best musical platforms from his current hometown, the beautiful city of Mexico.

Good afternoon friend Antonio, thank you in advance for the time you give us to learn a little about your life and give our great readers a little about your son, but in letters, we know from your artistic review that you come from a cultural world. the dance? Why the singing?

I come from a family of musicians, teachers and athletes, in 1995/96 I started in the popular culture workshops of the “Fundación Bigott” (cultural house of great social impact in Venezuela) in the Afro-Venezuelan percussion workshops with Professor Jesús Raúl Paiva, where he gave me the opportunity to enter this world of culture…

Years later this would bear fruit, when I joined the Vasallos del Sol group, a representative entity of Venezuelan folklore, on one of their tours in Europe “Germany” to be exact, one of its dancers stayed, leaving an open vacancy, it was then that I received the invitation to audition, at a festival of San Juan of the foundation, where I was able to win a spot. From then on I became a vassal of the sun.

All this experience in the middle of the show made me lean towards dance, where I got to venture as direct from my own dance school destined to spread the Cuban casino. With Vasallos del Sol I had the opportunity to travel the world, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Spain, Mexico, Korea, Japan, the United States,

How many years has it been since the idea of entering the cultural world of your country?

22 years since I formally started at the Bigott Foundation.

How did the idea of giving life to singing come about?

On the tour of the United States, I began to sing with the vassals accompanied by the guitar of Luis Gonzalez, assuring me later that it was there that he heard me and knew that I could sing, quickly and a few months later he called me and invited me to participate in a project that neither It didn’t even have a name, which would quickly begin to take shape and to date is known as the seventh bohemian.

I began to sing very badly, I lost my voice because I didn’t know how to use the phonator, I began to take classes with several teachers, the first of them Ronald Gonzalez, fundamental pillar to start singing, placing and improving my vocal technique, successively Fabby Olano, Gladys Salazar, Maigualida Ocaña, Dayan Montiel, Marcial, Gustavo Gerardo. We recorded 3 albums on national tours, the second of which is entitled “She takes me” a song that I believe made the Seventh Bohemia popular. Singing was not in the plans but it ended up being one of my great passions.

A song that marks you?

She sings: The earrings that the moon lacks, I have them saved to make you a necklace I found them this morning in the mist when I was walking next to the immense sea. Since I was a child I woke up very early listening to music by La Sonora Matancera, Felipe Pírela, Damiron and Danzón de Acerina, it fascinated me.

Let’s talk about the seventh bohemia. How do you join this septet?

I am a founder, just in the second rehearsal when only Luis Freites, Cesar “Chagu” Bolívar and Luis Gonzalez were there I was summoned along with Krlos Gonzalez to be part of the group, from then on I started singing “Bilongo” to be exact, hahaha I’m so in love with the black tomasa……….., El Jamaiquino, Me que, among others.

What is the greatest thing you have experienced so far with music? -You could perhaps refer to a concert or moment to share with an artist-

I think the greatest thing I have experienced in music is having shared the stage with great figures both Venezuelan and foreign, Francisco Pacheco, Canelita Medina, Trina Medina, among, Jose Alberto “el canario”, Cheo Feliciano, Alexander Abreu and his Habana de First, Manolito Simonet and his Trabuco, Tiburón Morales, El Septeto Santiaguero, among others. On the other hand, being at the 2014 and 2015 Pepsi Music Awards, the biggest thing, achieving 4 nominations for the 2015 Latin Grammys, a great privilege.

What has given you and what has taken away the artistic life you lead?

It has given me the satisfaction of feeling and receiving the applause of an audience, feeling the magic of a stage, dancing on the most important stages of Venezuela and the countries I visit, I don’t know if there is another artist who performed in the same weekend in two different facets and groups in the most important venue in Venezuela

The Teresa Carreño Theater where on Saturday I danced in my last Vasallos de Venezuela concert in the concert “Guiados por la Luz” occasion to baptize the latest production, with guests from the cultural movement and the next day singing with La Séptima Bohemia alternating with Francisco Pacheco, El Septeto Santiaguero, Jose Alberto “El Canario” Canelita Medina and El Tiburón Morales and as special guests all the best dance academies in Caracas.

Antonio let’s laugh a little. Tell us about the funniest thing that has happened to you at a concert and the most painful.

WUUAOOO, too many, Well, a concert with Los Vasallos where I went out to dance and my pants began to drop, at a concert at the Yerba Buena Garden Festival 2008 in San Francisco we got the foot burn of the century since the stage was al pure sun and linoleum floor and at the baptism of the album “She takes me” in the main hall of the Central University of Venezuela after the great presentation of the renowned Ramón Castro We went on stage and I couldn’t see anything through my glasses hahaha and I I put in the place of my partner Miguel Guanchez colliding spectacularly ahaha to start singing. What a laugh.

We know of the great success that you have had in Venezuela with the successes that you have sung and have marked the public, they have gone from a sound to a necessity for the dancer. What do you consider this great impact?

Definitely because I come from the world of dance, I’m a dancer and a dancer and I understood perfectly that I needed the same audience that the casineros came from, those of us who at some point went to the Goiticoa school or the Monagas house. By the way, as a curious fact, I was the one who organized one of the first casino parties in a place called Beisboland, a party where I dare say it was the second presentation of one of the most important dance groups in the Venezuelan casino Son Rumbero, where they danced “Cuentas Verdes y Amarillas de Adalberto Álvarez.

How has your foray into Latin music in Mexico been?

Since my arrival in Mexico I have participated in several musical projects, Los Panas.com, La Formula Perfecta, Swing Latino to mention a few, it has not been easy since musically Cancun has a particularity and that is that the music that is danced is still that of the 80s when they talk about salsa, of course with its exceptions, but it has cost me to adapt but in the end it is what is consumed here. Here the forte is the hotel industry, so the Latin genres that marked an era are what is worked on, that’s why as a salsero it has been difficult for me to adapt, although I have worked anyway.

The Salsa or the Son? Which one do you lean towards?

Definitely La Salsa, I grew up in the middle of the Salsa de La Sonora Ponceña, Willie Rosario and the great Ray Barretto to name a few. Son also became my passion but I have to be realistic! came into my life thanks to the Seventh.

Open, I’m coming. Tell us a little about this great topic?

When I got on the plane to leave my country, in addition to nostalgia, I only had one thought, to make my album as a soloist first, I knocked on many doors, I looked for a lot of help, until I finally reached what today is called “Abre que I’m going” in that search the day came when I remembered that I had a buddy who was Omo Aña (Drummer) Maurice Melo and that after conversations, long conversations we would take a first step, start aggravating a theme, my first promotional single.

What surprise do we have to see from Antonio Laya during this 2019?

With God’s favor, to continue recording my album, including my first music video, if money allows me, hahaha For this 2019 I’m going to release my second single, it’s called… (Thinks) Not yet, let’s leave it as a surprise , do a launch concert and seek my respective nomination for the 2019 Pepsi Music Awards and the 2019 Latin Grammys.

Where can our followers find you?

My social networks Facebook and Instagram through @ToñitoLaya, on twitter as @Negrolaya and through my YouTube channel, Toñito Laya

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.

Gabriel from the band Changüí Majadero talks about traditional Cuban Music

Latin America is the birthplace of so many different musical genres that a lot of us could never even know them all. Although salsa is our main focus, there are many Latin genres that also deserve our full attention and, in this writing, we are going to talk about one of them: the changüí. That is why we interviewed one of its main exponents: Gabriel García, leader and founder of the band Changüí Majadero.

Gabriel García from Changüí Majadero playing — Gabriel García playing his Cuban tres

Gabriel’s beginnings in music

Gabriel started relating a little of his history with music. Something interesting to say about this artist is that his beginnings in music did not take place as a child like many others, but when he was about 19 years old.

Before being a musician, Gabriel was an amateur boxer since he was a child and, thanks to his dedication, he went on to win Gold Gloves and was part of sport organizations in his native Mexico. The sport was the center of his life until a school friend of his lent him a guitar and taught him how to play along some chords. This was the beginning of his interest in music.

Apart from this, he learned that his grandmother was an opera singer in her youth, which increased his desire to start experimenting with music and focused entirely on it, to the point that he applied the same discipline as with boxing at the time.

Gabriel then decided it was time to be academically trained in what would become his new passion, so he took a degree in jazz and a subsequent master’s degree in Afro-Latin music. This is interesting because he did not grow up with these genres and had not heard them before, so studying them was something new for the artist. And of course, he did not know changüí either.

Gabriel García from Changüí Majadero smoking — Gabriel García smoking a Cuban cigar

The Cuban Tres

Let us remember that Gabriel was a guitarist and jazz player and his initial training was based on this, but that changed as he got to know Cuban rhythms and salsa itself. Something that caught his attention is that salsa hardly ever uses the guitar, until one day he heard a son montuno record with something very similar to a guitar, but it was not one. It was a Cuban tres.

When he realized that the tres was the root of all this type of music, he set himself to learning to play it and bought one. To help himself, he began listening to artists and groups such as Buena Vista Social Club and the famous tres player Pancho Amat, who was the one Gabriel became interested in the Cuban tres for.

Then, a friend told him that, if he wanted to know the roots of this instrument, he had to study changüí. The problem was that, at that time, there was very little information about this genre, so it became much more difficult for him to learn about it. The only thing he had was a record by the most famous changüí group, whose name was Changüí Majadero.

There was so little Gabriel could know about changüí that he met Cubans born and raised outside Guantánamo who did not know it, since it came from very rural areas. For the same reason, changüí was unable to reach the big cities like Havana, where most foreign tourists went.

Given that there was only little information available on changüí, Gabriel chose to do part of his master’s degree in Guantánamo and that is when he finally got to know this genre for real. He also had the opportunity to make friends with changüí teachers, who helped him a lot to understand it, including the founder of the group Changüí Guantánamo.

Changüí Majadero

After returning to Los Angeles with all the information he collected in Guantánamo, he began recording videos for YouTube playing the original changüí and its typical instruments. Alfredo Ortiz, a very popular salsa percussionist in Los Angeles and member of the orchestra Son Mayor, saw these videos and immediately contacted Gabriel to invite him to play with his group. Subsequently, they all decided to form a new group based on this not so well known genre.

Gabriel explains that he and the other members decided to call the group ChangüÍ Majadero because it was relegated to being heard only by poor farmers in Cuba, so the wealthy people from the big cities referred to ChangüÍ in a derogatory sense as ”música majadera” (music for uneducated and poor people).

The guantanameros who played changüÍ started using the word ”majadero” in their lyrics, but to refer to how proud they were about their roots and this genre. This fact made Gabriel and the other musicians choose to use ”changüí majadero” as the name for their group.

Fortunately, this situation has changed over time thanks to those who have been interested in making changüí known to the rest of Cuba and the world. After many years of work, it has become much more popular and well respected compared to other times, but it is still not enough. In the words of Gabriel, it is necessary to pursue efforts to make this traditional and folkloric genre more relevant every day.