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International Area – October 2021
North America – Octobre 2021
Ray Santos ¨ The last of the Mambo Kings ¨
He was the last surviving member of the glory days of mambo preceding what we know today as salsa.
Ray Santos was a Latin musician, was born to Puerto Rican parents on December 28, 1928, in New York City, attended the Juilliard School of Music where he studied saxophone.
He was a Professor at the City University of New York (City College), where he teaches a Band or ¨performance¨ course.
Ray Santos ¨The last of the Mambo Kings¨
He was a musician in the orchestras of Machito, Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez. He was also was an arranger and musical director for recordings of Tommy Olivencia, Junior Toledo, Willie Rosario, Lalo Rodriguez, and Rudy Victorino and an Oscar winner in 1992, for the music of the film “The Mambo Kings” starring Armand.
Maestro Santos is a Puerto Rican man who has made significant contributions to Latin music as an arranger, bandleader, and musician.
However, beyond the circles of mambo lovers and Latin music big bands of yesteryear, not much is known about his distinguished professional career in Puerto Rico.
Part of it, happens because of the nature of Ray Santos himself. This is a literate person but with an amiable and accessible character, totally devoid of vanity, presumption, or ostentation exhibited by other music personalities with attainments less than him.
For instance, unless he is asked directly, Ray Santos is not going to say that he participated with three arrangements on the compact disc “Palo Pa’ Rumba” CD of Eddie Palmieri, which received a Grammy Award from the Recording Academy in 1985.
Nor will he say that he also arranged for Eddie Palmieri and Tito Puente on the CD “Obra Maestra” which received a Grammy Award in 2001.
For Linda Rondstat he wrote all the arrangements and was the conductor for her CD “Frenesí”, which received a Grammy Award in 1993.
In the movie “Mambo Kings” he was a mambo director and arranger, including the arrangement of “Beautiful Maria of my Soul”, a song that was nominated for an “Oscar®” as “Best Song from a Motion Picture” at the 65th Academy Awards® of the Academy of Picture Arts and Sciences.
In other words, this is a person who has reached a seat of honor in the world of Latin music, is Puerto Rican, and is practically unknown by his countrymen.
On the one hand, the album “Mi Luz Mayor” celebrates the legacy of Machito, Puente, and Rodriguez. And on the other, The great contribution of Ray Santos to Afro-Caribbean dance music.
We would like to present the outstanding professional career of Maestro Ray Santos after he suffered a recent health problem.
Ray Santos passed away at his home died on October 17, 2019, at the age of 90.
Facebook: Ray Santos
Sources:
By Ewin Martinez Torre
Latin Heritage Contributor
San Juan – Puerto Rico
Jaime Torres Torres
National Foundation for Popular Culture
Articles of Interest: Ralph Irrizary, a well-known percussionist, is considered one of the most “Swing” timbaleros in the world
Víctor Porfirio Baloa Díaz, more commonly known as Porfi Baloa
He is a Venezuelan musician, composer, producer, and arranger. Creator of the group Adolecent’s Orquesta.
His work as a pianist, arranger, and director in the orchestra has been intense, but his compositions have been the base for the triumph. He has been nominated for New York City’s star award a total of 11 times, the ACE, winning 7 of them. Apart from the prices already won in different places of America and Europe.
About 39 songs of his own composition came in first place in the Record Report, which was unique to a Venezuelan composer and a musical group (Los Adolescentes).
Personal life and beginning of Porfi Baloa
He was born on September 19 in the city of Caracas. At age 8, he was already playing the bass with matchless skills, knowing his talent as a composer at that young age.
He started very young in the world of music, having been a pianist for groups such as Las Vibraciones and Dimensión Latina.
He was the creator of the youth orchestra Salserin, being both its owner and musical producer.
Musical career
Since then, he decided to create an orchestra with a different concept, being born La Adolescent’s Orquesta, better known as “Orquesta Los Adolescentes”, so that all the songs of his four musical productions were in top positions of the national and international charts.
Adolescent`s Orquesta, a group formed by young Venezuelans between the ages of 19 and 23, was consolidated in 1995 with the support of Luis Francisco “El Negro” Mendoza and the label of Korta Record.
The band’s innovative style of performing the salsa genre rapidly earned hundreds of fans who made the release a success at home and abroad in a few weeks.
The passion for music and the creative magic in lyrics took Porfi Baloa to compose infinities of music hits, which, along with his Adolescentes, has managed to show and take to the 4 continents.
Porfi Baloa is the winner of approximately 87 awards, 4 Billboard Awards nominations, and 3 lo Nuestro Awards nominations, and has a record of 60 first places in the Venezuelan Hit parade.
The high degree of expertise in his arrangements and compositions, coupled with the playing of the piano, bass, congas, bongo, timbal, and trombone have made him a well-rounded musician and composer in his genre.
He went inside of the hearts of the public thanks to the records made by his group such as: “Reclamando nuestro espacio”, “Persona ideal”, “La misma pluma”, “Ahora más que nunca”, “Búscame”, “Sellos de mi ADN”, including his other groups such as “Chiky Salsa” and “El Klan de Porfi”.
Songs like Persona ideal (me Tengo que ir), Virgen, Me negó, Aquel Lugar, Anhelo, among others, have had great commercial success at both national and international levels.
After 20 years of artistic career, he returns in 2016 with a new single, Bésame, which spent 17 weeks in the musical bill and rises to the post of honor to become the 61st hit that Porfi Baloa obtains as First Place in the Record Report.
Porfi Baloa y sus Adolescentes will be performing this coming Saturday October 2, 2021 at Dominic Hall Event Center in Miami FL.
Facebook: Porfi Baloa y sus Adolescentes
Article of Interest: Yolanda Rivera The Lady of Salsa and the Sonera of Ponce