Search Results for: Latin genres

Edwin Ortiz Y La Mafia Del Guaguancó is present in ISM

As all our readers already know, this section is always looking for the best Latin talents to give them the exposure they deserve and today is the case of New York producer and musician Edwin Ortiz, who was kind enough to share a bit of his story with us.

Edwin is an artist who was born in the East Harlem section of New York, where he began his musical career with the full works and spent most of his life, but left that city with his pregnant wife to raise their son in a different environment. It was there that they moved to Washington DC, where the musician has continued to live and pursued his career to this day.

Below, we will provide more info about the artist’s career during these moments and how he managed to become the great bandleader and musician he his today.

Bandleader and bongo player Edwin Ortiz kindly talked to us about his interesting career

Edwin’s music education

Just as other great musicians, Edwin studied at the prestigious Johnny Colon Music School, the institution in which he learned a lot of what he knows today. His first lessons are focused to teaching how to play the flute alongside Mario Rivera, which can be said to be the first contact the young man had with music. However, it was not this instrument that would capture his attention, but the bongo.

His brother Edgar Ortiz was an acclaimed bongocero in the Orquesta Las Siete Potencias and the Tito Puente Orchestra, so Edwin already had a lot to learn from. However, it was with acclaimed percussionist Manny Oquendo with whom he turned professional and decided to dedicate himself fully to the bongo as his main instrument, to the point that it is the only one he still plays today.

Outside of his work as a musician, Edwin is in charge of everything about the management of his most recent orchestra Edwin Ortiz Y la Mafia del Guaguancó.

Edwin Ortiz Y La Mafia del Guaguancó

Before even thinking about founding his own orchestra, Edwin was involved in a number groups of different genres throughout the Washington DC Metro area, whose main genre was cumbia at the time. In that sense, the artist wanted a change in his style and to do something different from what he was playing at the time, although he knew it was ging to be hard.

His big break came when the director of the band he was in at the time was going to move to the state of Florida, so he left Edwin in charge of the group in order to make the changes he believed were pertinent. That is when he took the opportunity to introduce salsa, a genre he had always been passionate about, in the metropolitan area with the resources he had on hand at the time. He invested in some 25 salsa arrangements and released a new version of the classic ”Olga Y Margara”, which was the first of many hits to come for his career.

Edwin toca el bongó — Edwin playing the bongó live

Later, when he was finally creating an orchestra of his own, he took pains to find the best musicians possible, many of whom were recommended by friends and seen playing by Edwin himself. However, he would soon realize that the best musicians were not necessarily the best pieces he required for his band, which made him change his approach a bit when choosing the team that would accompany him in his project.

At first, the project was called Orquesta La Romana, but it was not long before Edwin decided to call it ‘‘Edwin Ortiz y La Mafia del Guaguancó’’. This change was due to the fact that Bobby Quesada, a musician whom Edwin greatly admired, had an orchestra with the same name, but it had already disbanded by that time. He always liked the name ”La Mafia del Guaguancó” so he gave it to his own group. He knew how risky this move was and the displeasure of some of its members with the change, but fortunately it was worth it.

Today, the musicians of the orchestra are affectionately known as ”the mafiosos” in the Washington DC Metro area, so this has become part of the band’s identity.

Diferente A Las Demás

One of their most recent musical works is entitled ”Diferente A Las Demás” and it is a tribute to women that was released in March, the month dedicated to them.

With respect to this song, Edwin was telling us that he and his partner and the lead singer of the band Vivian Mojica had the opportunity to meet the talented musician Héctor Luis Pagán, who kindly invited them to his home and shared with them part of his repertoire, including the song ”Diferente A Las Demás”. Edwin loved it since the first time he heard it and Pagan gave it to him with pleasure. That is how the orchestra got down to work and recorded their own version of the song.

Edwin y Vivian — La Mafia del Guaguancó vocalist Vivian and Edwin Ortiz

The first thing the bandleader did was look for the right arranger for it, who was Ramón Sánchez, and the producer he had always wanted to work with, Isidro Infante, whom Edwin has known for more than 30 years.

Then came the recording, mixing and remastering. In the end, the chosen date was 1 March of this year as a tribute to International Women’s Day, achieving a result that made everyone in the orchestra very happy.

Exclusive with tres player Iván Camblor from the group Pellejo Seco

Cuban musicians have always found the way to stand out in the entertainment world thanks to their talent and commitment and one of those examples is Ivan Camblor, tres player and vocalist with whom we have had the privilege to talk about his career and what was achieved with the group led by him right now, which is Pellejo Seco.

During the conversation, the artist elaborated on a few topics we found relevant to discuss and we were pleased to hear some of the most important data of one of the most important Cuban son groups in the Bay Area today.

Ivan playing the tres — Cuban musician Iván Camblor playing the Cuban tres live

Iván Camblor’s beginnings in music

As is the case of many other artists of his kind, Ivan showed a very early interest in music, specifically since he was at school in his hometown, Havana, Cuba. He defines himself as a self-taught composer who began his musical learning on the street, while he attended classes like any child his age.

From a very young age, many veteran musicians saw in him the enormous potential he had for music, so they began teaching him all they knew, leading him to the path of Cuban son and traditional Cuban music. Today, these genres is still his north after so many decades.

The Felix Varela School of Music

When he was old enough, Iván attended the Félix Varela School of Music, where he studied music appreciation theory, but unfortunately the island’s economic situation affected that part of his learning. Over time, the conditions of the institute started to worsen, making many teachers resign and leave students without chances to continue their studies, including Ivan, who could not see the classes he wanted because of the lack of staff.

Being unable to study what he wanted, Ivan decided to continue learning on his own with the musical groups he had contact with and that is how it continued until today.

His singing, composition and ability to play the Cuban tres came with the experience he acquired on the street and with friends who knew more about music than he did. He refers to guitarist and tres player Octavio Sánchez ”Cotán” and El Niño Rivera as his greatest teachers and influences.

With the experience gained, he had the opportunity to go through all the Cuban music companies, since there were not many tres players at that time and tres teaching was very new.

Ivan with Chucho Valdez — Pellejo Seco vocalist Sulkary Valverde, Cuban pianist Chucho Valdez, and Iván Camblor

Music composed by Iván for films

Just as Iván was in several groups, he also had the opportunity to compose original music for films and such was the case of the film ”Hacerse El Sueco” directed by his great friend Edesio Alejandro, who contacted him to support him in the musical part of the production.

It is then when he proposed him to write four or five original tracks to be used for the film, but Ivan did not mind getting credit, but helping his great friend with his project, so all the material is under his label Orula Music.

However, he is grateful for the experience and the opportunity to help a good friend who needed his talent at that moment.

Ivan’s coming to the United States

Ivan remembers his coming to the United States as one of the most difficult things he had to do, since it is not easy to leave his roots and everything he knows to seek a different kind of future in other lands.

At first, Ivan was not at all convinced of this decision, but his then partner and mother of his only son made him see that it was the best for them to leave Cuba and go to the United States to try their luck, to which the artist finally agreed.

For many years, the tres player thought the worst of his host country because of the ideas the he grew up with in Cuba, but upon arrival, he found that the reality was very different from the propaganda he was bombarded with in his childhood and youth.

Once he was there, he started working on the area of music that he liked most since he was in Cuba, composition. It was then that the idea of forming his own musical group started going round his head.

Iván creó el Pellejo Seco — Iván Camblor conceived Pellejo Seco as a Cuban son and traditional Cuban music group

How the group Pellejo Seco was created

Ivan conceived Pellejo Seco as a project in which he would pay homage to the Cuban community, so he tried to find the best musicians for the task. One of them was Cuban trumpeter Marcos Diaz, Puerto Rican Hector Lugo, trumpeter Mario Silva, Liban Montoya, Mexican singer Rogelio Maya and singer German Donatien. This is the original group with which the artist started his band, but others have already joined other orchestras or have started something on their own.

That was more than 20 years ago and, today, Pellejo Seco has managed to consolidate itself as one of the main Cuban music groups in the Bay Area. Now, it is the most required traditional Cuban music sextet in the area.

As for the name of the band, Ivan chose the name ”Pellejo Seco” as a tribute to the Cuban peasants whose skin is hard and dry as leather due to the sun and the working conditions that they are exposed to.

Marimba is the name given in Spanish to a very old musical instrument that, over time, has gained visibility and importance in many countries.

The marimba is a musical percussion instrument with a rich history that spans continents and cultures.

Although its exact origin is debated, it is believed that the marimba has its roots in Africa and was developed by different African cultures such as the Bantu and the Marimberos.

The term “marimba” comes from the Bantu “marimba” or “malimba”, meaning “single bar xylophone”.

In America, historical records indicate that diatonic xylophones, precursors of the modern marimba, were introduced in Central America between the XVI and XVII centuries.

The first known marimba in America dates from 1545 in the Santa Lucia hacienda, in the municipality of Jiquipilas, Chiapas, Mexico. In Guatemala, historian Domingo Juarros documented in 1680 the use of marimbas with gourd resonators by Mayan musicians.

Musical Duo of a Guitarist and a Marimba player in Guanacaste in Costa Rica dates back to 1888

Throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, the marimba spread throughout most of the Americas and became a typical element of Mayan and Ladino ensembles.

Today, the marimba is considered a patriotic symbol of Guatemala and Costa Rica, and its music, along with the traditional songs and dances of Colombia’s South Pacific region and Ecuador’s Esmeraldas province, was inscribed in 2010 on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The modern marimba, like the one seen in the image provided, consists of a series of wooden slats of different sizes, arranged from largest to smallest, each with a different sound pitch.

They are struck with mallets to produce musical notes, and each key has its own soundboard.

The development of the modern chromatic marimba was established in Chiapas, Mexico, around 1890.

This instrument has been integrated into a variety of musical genres, from traditional Latin American music to academic concerts, jazz and martial bands.

The marimba remains a vital instrument that celebrates the cultural heritage and musical creativity of the regions where it is loved and played.

Image of a musical duet between a guitarist and a marimba player dated Guanacaste, 1888.

Learning about the materials and components of the marimba, being aware of the playing techniques and learning about the existing varieties helps to broaden cultural knowledge and to discover a wonderful universe of particular sounds.

It is enriching to know, among other things, that a series of woods of multiple sizes arranged from longest to shortest are essential to assemble the keyboard. For the soundboard, on the other hand, it is necessary to work on the tuning so that each wood of this structure is in tune with each key.

As for playing procedures, the four-stick technique and the art of glissando appear as alternatives to keep in mind. Of course, the most advisable thing to do is to attend a marimba workshop in order to master the techniques correctly.

Nor should we forget that, since ancient times, many types of marimbas have been made and used and have contributed their characteristic sounds to multiple musical genres and styles.

Thanks to those who dare to experiment with instruments and musical compositions without being conditioned by prejudices, for example, the folk marimba and the midi marimba can coexist in harmony, to cite two specific cases.

Saurce: Recuperando la historia en Guanacaste

Also Read: Son Cubano is one of the most popular musical styles in Cuba and Kiki Valera is one of its leading exponents

Benny More

Latin America / Cuba

Benny More. The story of the biggest crowd idol that Cuba has given.

Benny More. He is not just another musician, he is unanimously the greatest popular artist that has ever existed in Cuba. It is the symbol, the myth, the legend, as the summary of Cuban popular music that is very rich and abundant. Benny symbolizes the peasant party, the sarao, the bohemia, the download, the coffee, the bar, the theater, the party, the carnivals, the show. El Bárbaro del Ritmo is the best of popular music.

Born on August 24, 1919 at 7:00 a.m. m. in the Pueblo Nuevo neighborhood of the town of Santa Isabel de las Lajas, belonging to the Cienfuegos province. His parents were named Virginia Moré and Silvestre Gutiérrez, and Benny was the oldest of 18 siblings. His surname Moré came from Ta Ramón Gundo Moré (a slave of Count Moré), who according to the tradition of the Congos, was their first king in Santa Isabel de las Lajas.

He was gifted with a flowing tenor voice that he colored and phrased with great expressiveness.

This context was definitive for his future career in music, he learned to play the insundi, the yuka drums, those of Makuta and Bembé, invokers of deities, with whom he sang and danced perfectly, but also to interpret the son, the guaracha and the rumba.

Since he was a child he manifested his great vocation for music, as he would spend all day humming a popular song or improvising and directing ensembles made up of machetes, bongos made from milk cans, guitars made from a board and nails made from strings of string. sew, two sticks as keys, etc. And when he was ten years old, he “grated” a “real” three that had been lent to him, with which he would escape from his mother to the parties near his house.

Moré was a master in all genres of Cuban music.

He could always be found standing on a table singing and reciting a son manigüero, surrounded by listeners. He spent his childhood and adolescence as Bartolomé, without the opportunity to study or get a permanent job. Like his brother Teodoro, Bartolomé was enrolled in the José de la Luz y Caballero School of Public Instruction, where he always stood out for his conduct and application.

He was gifted with a flowing tenor voice that he colored and phrased with great expressiveness.

Since he was a child he manifested his great vocation for music, since he would spend all day humming a popular song or improvising and directing ensembles made up of machetes, bongos made with milk cans, guitars made with a board and nails with strings of thread. cook, two sticks as keys, etc. And when he was ten years old, he “grated” a “real” three that had been lent to him, with which he would escape from his mother to the parties near his house.

Why is the Bacardi symbol a bat?

Moré was a master in all genres of Cuban music.

His voice particularly stood out in the son montuno, the mambo, and the bolero.

Since he was a child, his aptitude for singing and improvisation stood out, which he demonstrated when, barely seven years old, he escaped to entertain Guateques and parties nearby and stayed singing notes with his mother to prevent him from sleeping while ironing until late at night. .

Benny went through a complicated life, but he was willing to do anything to achieve his dreams of success. With almost twenty years of age, in 1940 Bartolomé said goodbye to his mother at the Ritz Hotel in Central Vertientes, where she worked, and traveled hidden, indistinctly, on a train and in a truck, to the City of Havana. He was definitely coming to try his luck in the bustling city. Since then he would be seen in the famous neighborhood of Belén, with a guitar acquired in a pawnshop, wandering through cafes, bars, hotels, restaurants, and even brothels.

That same year he told his cousin, a fellow downloader: “I’ll stay in Havana, here I get up or I sink.” From then on the saga of the downloads began in the bars on the avenue of the port. Once, recalling those times, he confessed: “I went out into the street with a guitar on my shoulder to sing to the tourists. I am not ashamed of it; Carlos Gardel also did it in Argentina and he is the king of tango”

At that time, the Supreme Court of Art began to be broadcast on the CMQ station. Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré appeared on that program animated by Germán Pinelli and José Antonio Alonso. After presenting it and at the moment of starting his presentation, the bell rang for him. Later Bartolomé returned to Monte y Prado to the Supreme Court and on this second occasion he won the first prize. Possessor of a fresh voice, with a beautiful timbre, sensual and evocative, of a black peasant, despite his misery, Bartolo continued to sing with all the inner strength that Cuban rhythms demanded of him.

One of his escapades Siro Rodríguez, a member of the famous Trio Matamoros, heard him sing in the bar of El Templete restaurant, on Avenida del Puerto, and was very impressed by the boy’s voice and tuning. Bartolomé’s entry into the group led by Miguel Matamoros can be considered his true debut as a professional singer, since with said group he had a stable job for the first time as a musician and made his first recordings on 78 revolutions per minute records.

Benny knew he had a voice, an atche (luck), and a destiny. Perhaps he sensed it, intuited it, or simply trusted in his triumph. When he started with Miguel Matamoros and his group, he already wanted to make changes to the picket line. In Mexico, when Miguel got sick, he was able to direct the group, took command and made the friends enjoy themselves at the El Patio cabaret.

When the contract ended, the Matamoros group returned to Havana, but without Bartolomé, who decided to try his luck alone in Mexico. When communicating his decision to the famous author of the son El que sowing his corn, Miguel Matamoros would reply: “It’s very good, but you have to change your name from Bartolo, which is very ugly. You’re not going anywhere with him. You’re right, Bartolo replied, from today I’ll be called Benny, yes, Benny Moré.

The owner of the business was hypnotized by the tasty atmosphere that Benny created as a manager. After singing with several leading orchestras in Mexico, he stood up nicely with the most famous band of the 20th century: Pérez Prado and the Cuban mambo.

With this meeting, two geniuses came together: in Benny Moré there was talent and natural intuition; in Pérez Prado, in addition to all that, mastery of technique and an enormous facility for making music.

With Pérez Prado he conquered the noble Aztec people on tours of different states of that sister country. Due to the success achieved by Benny, the town awarded him the title of “Prince of the mambo” and Pérez Prado that of “King of the mambo”. He sang like no one else in the world and began his international rise.

By that time Benny’s voice was already known in Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Venezuela, and of course, in his native Cuba. In the lively world of nightlife in Mexico City, the Cuban singer performed in countless theaters, among others the Margo, the Blanquita, the Folliers and the Cabaret Waikiki, alternating with renowned artists such as the legendary vedette Yolanda Montes (Tongolele ), the Mexican Toña la Negra, and the prominent Cuban pianist and composer Juan Bruno Tarraza, for whom Benny sang the bolero Ya son las doce. He participates in many films and upon his return to Cuba, he was already sure that he had to be counted on.

Nostalgia for his family, friends, for the Homeland, and the desire to obtain laurels on his Island, where he considered that he was not well known, made him return to his beloved Lajas at the end of 1950. The older sonero was definitely in Cuba, he had left behind comforts, material and spiritual satisfactions, friends and even the loves that winners usually do not lack.

For the next two years, he performed by contract for a program called “De fiesta con Bacardi”, which aired on the Cadena Oriental radio station with the Mariano Mercerón orchestra, and the singers Fernando Álvarez and Pacho Alonso.

As Benny Moré was an exclusive artist for RCA Víctor, this firm demanded his presence in Havana to make different recordings. To fulfill this commitment, he made alternate trips to Havana and thus maintained his commitment to the eastern radio network. After the engagement at Casa Bacardí and master Mercerón, in 1952 Benny Moré returned to Havana.

Certainly Benny concluded an era, closed a chapter of Cuban musical life, that stage of nightlife that was already declining. Benny’s life was related to a world that has already disappeared. Then everything became myths and legends. Benny kept singing, but now it would be on scratch records, which were digitized.

Today’s “oidores” (listeners) must travel back in time, abstract themselves, imagine those seedy bars in the Havana port full of curious tourists. Of Chinese inns that sold “complete” for poor people who passed the hat, after singing through the streets of Havana.

Vocalist of La Moderna Tradición Eduardo Herrera and his fascinating story

This time, we are very pleased to have been able to talk with a talented Venezuelan who has left the name of his country well off thanks to his talent and professionalism. We are talking about bandleader and singer Eduardo Herrera, who was kind enough to speak exclusively to us and give us details on his personal and professional life so that we can get to know a little more about him.

This is vocalist of La Moderna Tradición and Venezuelan singer Eduardo Herrera

How did Eduardo Herrera become interested in music?

Eduardo comments that his parents always spent their time singing in a very cheerful way since he was a child, so his best childhood memories are with music.

He grew up in Caracas, so he always had close contact with all kinds of music and listened to a great variety of artists starting with Celia Cruz, La Sonora Matancera, La Billo Caracas Boys, Los Melódicos, Benny Moré, Oscar D’ León, Daniel Santos, Los Adolescentes La Dimensión Latina, La Fania, among others. These artists strongly encouraged him to lean towards salsa in the 1970s.

In his hometown, he began playing with the Teresa Carreño Chamber Choir, which was his first professional contact with music and, in his own words, was a great school for him during his time there.

In 1987, being already in the state of California, United States, there was an orchestra called Radiante that played Puerto Rican salsa. Eduardo worked with them for a year until he joined Orquesta Sensual, whose strength was romantic salsa that was fashionable at the time.

After that, he also worked with Orquesta Charanzón, which at that time was led by Anthony Blea, a famous violinist from the Bay Area. It was with this band that he began to fully discover Cuban music and develop a great passion for it, which would lead him to continue along this path in the following years.

In those years, he played with an unlimited number of orchestras with which he gained a lot of experience and learned to perform properly on stage. However, his big break came with the Orquesta La Moderna Tradición in 2021, when he was offered to participate with the group in some projects.

Even so, the latter did not prevent him from working with other groups of this style throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, as he has no problem with playing with anyone who wants to invite him.

Eduardo Herrera and Tregar Otton — Eduardo Herrera next to director, arranger, composer and violinist Tregar Otton at Yoshi’s

Reasons to leave Venezuela and go to the United States

Like any other immigrant, Eduardo’s primary reason for leaving his country was the search for new opportunities. Eduardo goes on to explain that he was awarded a scholarship by the famous Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho fellowship programme and managed to obtain his degree in biology in the United States, but unfortunately with the change of government, the things that were promised to him and other fellows such as jobs and revalidations were not kept. As a result, the young man was left in a limbo that made it nearly impossible for him to practice biology.

With his options reduced to almost zero in Venezuela, Eduardo had no choice but to return to the United States, where he started working as a high school teacher until 2023, when he finally retired from his basic profession. In total, he taught for more than 40 years at the secondary level. During most of this time, he combined his school activities with his second profession, which was music.

Other areas of music explored by Eduardo

The singer explained to us that his voice has always been his most important instrument when he gets on stage, but he also confesses to having experimented with hand percussion instruments such as the maracas and the güiro. He pointed out that both are very easy to learn at first glance, but they have their level of complexity once you try them.

At present, he only uses his voice in the orchestras in which he currently plays.

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición

”La Moderna Tradición reached out to me at the beginning to record one of their CDs and I started singing backup and the harmonies, which is how you should always get you started in any group. When you master those areas and have the talent, you may think about being a soloist and that’s exactly what happened with me” Eduardo started saying about the issue.

La Moderna Tradición’s music was mostly instrumental at that time and they wanted Eduardo for their second album, which would include choirs for the first time, but the group had no singer at that time. In view of the good results offered by the vocalist, he found himself in frequent demand to give voice to other old numbers, but now with a singer.

Years later, he finally received the proposal to be part of the orchestra as such, together with Ramón ”Monchi” Estévez on vocal. Already for the third album, all the songs had a singer, who was Eduardo most of the time.

From then on, the artist has continued to be part of La Moderna Tradición with some interruptions because he moved from the Bay Area to the Central Valley in Manteca, which made it more complex for him to play with the orchestra on weekday evenings.

At the same time, he worked with the group Vissión Latina, Carlos Caro’s orchestra or any other that invited him to play on weekends, which were on his days off.

What Eduardo has learned from La Moderna Tradición and other artists he has played with

The most important things Eduardo says he has learned from the great artists he has played with are the study, humility, knowing your limits and the development of the love of music. He says the latter is fundamental, because if you do not love music, you will not do the job right.

”With music, you sacrifice your time and the pay you receive in return does not always go according to what you do, but it is something you’re supposed to do for the love you have for the craft. If you do not love what you do, you will hardly do it well and use your skills in it” said Eduardo. He added that ”you are an eternal student and you never know everything about everything. There is always something to learn from other singers and seeing any of them on stage is an opportunity to emulate what they do as long as it is useful for your career.

He also said that ”the ego of many artists is a really depressing thing because it prevents them from moving forward and takes their focus away from what is really important, which is the love of the genre and the opportunity to learn as much as you can”.

Complex moments for Eduardo personally and professionally

Eduardo mentioned to us that one of the hardest moments for him personally and professionally was his move outside of the Bay Area, which we had already talked about. Being so far away from the area where he did most of his performances was a blow to him, as he had to be near his wife and children.

Eduardo was very late from work and his wife had a job which made her to leave home for several days, so it was up to him to stay with the children during all that time. For the artist, his family comes first every time and no job or hobby goes above that.

His responsibilities with his children let him to distance himself from music little by little, since not being always available to play, orchestras would look for other singers to replace him. This made his opportunities to sing to be reduced, but Eduardo assures that the sacrifice has been worth it, as quality time with his children is the most main thing for him.

Eduardo’s plans to create his own orchestra

Eduardo was able to conduct an orchestra for a few months, which allowed him to see what the work of a director would be like and the truth is that he did not like it. ”During the time that I was conducting an orchestra, I could see I don’t have the right personality for it. I’m not good for working with adults who are irresponsible and many musicians tend to be late for the engagements and not to take this profession very seriously. I’m a very perfectionist person who has very high standards and I don’t expect anyone to work less than me, so I know it would be torturous for me to have a responsibility of that magnitude,” Eduardo said.

He says that being a bandleader is far beyond what he wants to do with music and that he wanted to keep developing as a singer. In addition to this, going back to the family issue, such a position would have forced him to be away from his family again and that was something he was not willing to do.

He also took into account the little stability offered by music as a profession. His work as a biology teacher was much more stable and allowed him to have secure income without having to worry about the bad times of orchestras. He loves music to a fault, but does not like uncertainty and insecurity.

Eduardo Herrera and Maru — Eduardo Herrera performing with Maru Pérez-Viana, La oderna Tradición manager and chorister

Other groups

In addition to playing with La Moderna Tradición, he also works with a Cuban group called Pellejo Seco, with which he recorded an album that is currently being remastered in Cuba. The material was recorded just before September in California, but will soon be released to the public.

Eduardo works directly with Ivan Camblor, director of the orchestra and professional tres player. In this part of the conversation, the artist was very complimentary about Camblor and highlighted his great potential as a bandleader and musician.

Something he likes about Pellejo Seco is that his main genre is Cuban son and it focuses a lot on very rural and traditional Cuban rhythms, so he can explore other elements different from what he does with La Moderna Tradición. They are very different groups with different genres and different characteristics.