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Christmas salsa albums to listen to this December

Christmas albums

Christmas is one of the best times to celebrate with family and friends and a very important element of any celebration is music, especially in Latin countries and communities.

Because we are in December, we thought it would be a great occasion to relive some of the most iconic salsa albums of all time with which our dear readers can enjoy this wonderful month at the rhythm of the most joyful Latin music from some of the best exponents of the genre.

Asalto Navideño Vol. 1

This album should never miss in a list of this type and it could not be in another way, since it is part of the incredible path traveled by the New York orchestra Willie Colón & Héctor Lavoe. The material is the group’s sixth studio album and was recorded during the first week of December 1970.

Prior to this, the boom that was taking the orchestra in those years made Jerry Masucci and Johnny Pacheco suggest to the artists that they take advantage of the fame they had harvested so far to create an album dedicated to Christmas, which they both gladly accepted.

It is then when they got hands on and invited the talented musician Yomo Toro to participate in the album. The artist was not well known by the fans, but he ended up occupying a very important place in the final result.

Although at first, the material was focused on honoring Puerto Rico, but ended up embracing the Latin community living in the U.S., which had been the main responsible for the strengthening of salsa in the liking of the people and the profit received the Fania Records label.

The album was recorded in the studios of Fania Records in New York and had a total of 12 songs dedicated to the most beautiful time of the year. Aires de Navidad” and ”La Murga” are among the most successful tracks of the album and the most listened to so far.

album Asalto Navideño — Cover of the album ”Asalto Navideño Vol. 1”

Nuestra Música

El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico never disappoints and certainly did not do it with its Christmas production ”Nuestra Música”, with which it seeks to pay tribute to this wonderful time and put everyone on dance in their homes during the Christmas holidays.

The album was released in 1985, the year in which salsa was going through a very challenging time, since merengue was gaining a lot of momentum, displacing the aforementioned genre to some extent. However, this was no impediment for the orchestra to demonstrate, contrary to what many believed, that salsa was more alive than ever.

The album’s release was surprising as well as exciting for the fans of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, which managed to rescue much of the holiday spirit that was lost and gave life to hits such as ”La Fiesta de Pilito”, ”Desenfunda”, ”Arbolito” and ”No Hay Cama Pa’ Tanta Gente”.

album Nuestra Música — Cover of the album ”Nuestra Música”

Navidad Criolla

Another great recor production that could not miss in this list is ‘‘Navidad Criolla’’ by La Sonora Ponceña. A very particular and different thing about this Christmas album is that, instead of using the typical Christmas aguinaldos, salsa dura is the predominant genre. However, the vocalists and musicians do their best to maintain the essence of Christmas at all times.

The album was released in 1978 and includes the unmistakable voices of Luigi Texidor and Tito Gómez, who add an exciting and cheerful touch to the music with the power of their vocal cords. In addition to that, Adalberto Santiago and Yayo El Indio participated on backing vocals along with the talented musicians of the group.

The album includes songs such as ”Aguinaldo Antillano”, ”De Noche Buena”, ”Canción de Navidad”, ”Vamonos Pa’l Campo”, among others.

album Navidad Criolla — Cover of the album ”Navidad Criolla”

Felices Pascuas

Ricardo Ray and Bobby Cruz delighted the public during the December holidays in 1971 with this extraordinary musical work with which they conquered the public one of those countless times they did it.

Ricardo delighted the duo’s fans from the piano and musical arrangements, while Bobby was on voice and backing vocals. Both artists were accompanied by Miki Vimari on voice and backing vocals, Ismael Cocolia Rodríguez and Ismael Rivera on trumpet, Manolito Gonzales on bongos, José Hidalgo on conga, Charlie Cotto on timbales and Plito Huertas on bass.

Among some of the best-known tracks of the album, we can mention ”Bomba en Navidad”, ”Mi Niñez”, ”Aguinaldo Navideño”, ”Kyrie Eleison”, ”Sinfonia To Cantata No, 29”, and so on.

album Felices Pascuas — Cover of the album ”Felices Pascuas”

Legacy of the Cepeda family after eight generations

As all our readers may know, this is a space devoted entirely to the promotion of salsa and other derivative styles, but that does not mean we should leave out other Latin genres that also deserve to be promoted and recognized worldwide. Such is the case of bomba and plena, which we are going to talk about in the next lines.

Bomba and plena are two Puerto Rican musical genres that initially became popular at the local level, but little by little, they have received international notoriety thanks to certain groups of Puerto Ricans who have devoted considerable effort to take their culture to as many places as possible in the world. This is how we get to the theme of the Cepeda family and all that its members have done for bomba and plena.

Bárbara and Margarita — Bárbara Liz Ortiz Sánchez and his mother Margarita ”Tata” Cepeda

The Cepeda Family

The Cepeda family is a cultural institution that has been given the task of promoting bomba and plena for eight generations, so that they can be heard and danced all over the world. Don Rafael Cepeda Atiles, a professional musician and composer with an extensive career who has left a great legacy thanks to his hard work during his lifetime, which keeps current thanks to his descendants.

When he married Caridad Brenes Caballero, he involved her in all his artistic activities and became a fundamental support for the musician in his work. The lady became a professional bomba and plena dancer, costume designer, and choreographer, which made her shine with her own light in every project directed by her talented husband.

During his career, Don Rafael created several musical groups and, over the years, he and his wife involved their children and other family members to collaborate in what would become a renowned family business.

One of the artist’s greatest achievements was the development of a cultural movement around the rescue and preservation of local traditions related to bomba and plena, which were thought to be lost. He was also decorated with the Smithsonian Institute’s National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for his contributions to music.

All this legacy remained in the hands of Don Rafael’s family and one of the first to do something about it was his son Modesto, who founded the Escuela de Bomba y Plena Don Rafael Cepeda in Santurce, Puerto Rico. This institution was created in order to teach bomba and plena in the areas of dance and percussion.

Those who would follow these steps would be Margarita ”Tata” Cepeda, granddaughter of Don Rafael and Caridad, and Barbara Liz Ortiz Sanchez, great-granddaughter of Don Rafael and Caridad. Margarita currently runs the Escuela de Bomba y Plena Doña Caridad Brenes de Cepeda and her daughter, Barbara Liz, runs the Escuela de Bomba y Plena Tata Cepeda in the state of Florida. It was precisely the latter with whom we had the pleasure to talk about this project and the plans she has for the future.

Bárbara and her bomba custome — Bárbara Liz wearing her bomba attire

Barbara Liz from the Escuela de Bomba y Plena Tata Cepeda

Barbara Liz belongs to the seventh generation of the Cepeda family and her children, who also dance bomba and plena, would belong to the eighth generation. She says that each family member has tried to endorse Don Rafael’s legacy in their own way. In her particular case, she has spent five years running the Escuela de Bomba y Plena Tata Cepeda in Florida, which she decided to baptize with his mother’s nickname, which is Tata, to pay tribute to her in life.

Although the operation of her school and his mother’s are different, they usually work together in cases that require it. For example, if for some reason a student cannot pursue his education here because he is going to Puerto Rico, he can continue studying at the school located on the Island of Enchantment without any problem.

”We didn’t have a curriculum or educational program to follow to teach bomba and plena, but my mom was responsible for creating one so that we could teach dance and percussion with a clearer methodology,” said Bárbara Liz.

As a result of Hurricane Maria, many Puerto Rican families went to live in Florida due to the loss of their properties and material things, so the students of the school in Puerto Rico became able to enroll in the Florida school instead. It can be said that they are sister schools working together towards the same goal.

Percussion and dance in bomba and plena

Something Bárbara Liz wanted to highlight about this point is that many girls are enrolling in her school to learn to play percussion, something that did not happen very often.

At other times, it was believed that percussion in bomba and plena was exclusively for men and dance for women. In more conservative versions of these genres, women only sang and men were responsible for dancing and playing instruments.

That has been changing over time. Nowadays, there are many guys who are setting their sights on dancing and many girls are having an interest in the percussion part. Every day, the female part is becoming more and more relevant in the different areas of bomba and plena.

In addition to all this, the institution’s teachers also teach quite a bit about the emergence and history of these two genres, so that their students are not just dedicated to playing and dancing, but also know the origin of everything they learn now.

Differences and similarities between bomba and plena

When we wanted to know a little about the differences and similarities between bomba and plena, Bárbara Liz explained to us that both genres were very different from each other. The rhythms, the instruments used and the ways of dancing have many differences in both.

In the case of bomba, this is the oldest musical genre and dance in Puerto Rico and is born from a barrel-shaped instrument, which is one of its most representative elements. It is also known as the ”first sung newspaper”.

Similarly, it is the dancer who sets the pace for the percussionist, not the other way around. The musician should be guided by the footsteps of the dancer, which often gives rise to completely new rhythms.

Plena was born a few years later with certain variants of bomba and is called the ”second sung newspaper”. It was plena that inspired several of the Cepeda family members to create their own groups such as the Grupo Gracimá (a variant of bomba), which originated in the school owned by Margarita in Puerto Rico.

In contrast, Bárbara Liz named her professional group Kalindá in honor of one of the most popular variants of bomba.

Bárbara and Kalindá — Bárbara Liz and her professional group Kalindá

Tributes

Something that makes Bárbara Liz very proud is that both she and her mother had the opportunity to go to the Smithsonian National Museum in March to pay tribute to their ancestors and the genres that her great-grandfather promoted so much in life.

At the time, Don Rafael donated some items related to bomba and plena such as barrels, a güiro and barrels However, some bomba costumes were missing to complete the collection, which were given by Bárbara Liz and Margarita to be exhibited in the institution, so anyone interested in learning more about Puerto Rican genres and musical culture can visit the place and cherish these valuables.

Alex Sánchez “Salsa has always had a special place. It is a genre that will never go out of style ”.

Latin America / Venezuela / Miranda

Mulato en Rumba his greatest bet Alexis José Sánchez:

He is a versatile artist, who like many other musicians begins his training from home, with his brothers he learned to play the cuatro and the guitar, this motivated him to continue his formal studies at the School of Music “José Lorenzo Llamozas”, where he also studied trumpet alongside maestro José “Cheo” Rodríguez; He jointly studies Afro-Latin percussion with maestro Orlando Poleo, Barloventeña percussion with Alfredo “Pandilla” Bolívar and Arturo Piñango, African percussion with José Shalons and Yonder Rodríguez.

At the “Nicomedes Marrero” Cultural Training Center in Tacarigua, he took piano lessons with professor Manuel Sepúlveda, Afro-Venezuelan percussion with maestro Alexander Livinalli and Choral Direction in the free art workshop of “Río Chico”.

Photo- Alex Sánchez — Photo by Alex Sánchez

Although he was born in the city of Caracas, all his life he has lived in the Barlovento region, an area with a great cultural and musical richness, there he also performs the role of teacher, being a facilitator of the Afro-Barloventeña, Afro-Venezuelan and Afro-Venezuelan percussion chairs. Afro-Latin, in School District No. 4.

From a very young age he has been linked with the traditions of his town; Tacarigua. This young man is an active part of the cultural development of the area and together with his wife Yermy Martínez and his mother-in-law Zenaida Gamboa, founders of the group “Danzas Tacarigua”, they are in charge of training the youth of relief, in order to keep the demonstrations alive. traditional barloventeñas for many generations.

Sánchez, assures us that he has a great responsibility, to preserve the legacy that the Africans left in their path through our land, that despite the obstacles he gets along the way to carry out his work, he is overcoming them one by one with perseverance and dedication. that love he feels for music, his family, his traditions and his other passion for teaching.

Salsa and Venezuelan Folklore, two different worlds, each rich and varied in rhythms and styles, however, it takes them by the hand, something that is not strange in a country where the mixture abounds, that we Venezuelans are the product of an ethnic and cultural mix.

How were your beginnings in music?

“I started in music at home with my brothers. I learned with them to play cuatro and guitar. That was the fundamental basis of what has been my musical career up to now and it also inspired me to continue with formal studies in music ”.

Your musical training has been very broad. Why did you decide precisely to specialize with the trumpet?

“I decided on the trumpet, since it has been the traditional instrument in my family, first my great-grandfather Gregorio Machado, then my great-uncle“ Perucho ”Machado and my brother Wilman”.

A man from Caracas who decides to emigrate to Barlovento Why not Barquisimeto or another region?

“My whole family is from Barlovento, since I was born I have lived here in Tacarigua, Brión municipality. After studying music I realize the musical wealth that exists in this region. That is why I decide to bet on the musical production of my homeland and also be part of that artistic movement that represents Barlovento and that has given so much to our country ”.

Composing and arranging music, the work that leads its creators and orchestras to position themselves in the first places. Which of your works as a composer and arranger have been positioned in that place?

“That is the dream of every arranger, to achieve that an orchestra reaches the first places of popularity and in sales. I haven’t had that luck yet, but it’s my dream as a songwriter. I have arranged for many orchestras that have been quite popular and are playing in various countries ”.

Alex Sánchez — Mulato in Rumba your biggest bet

There are many orchestras for which you have done this work, could you name them?

“I have arranged for orchestras and singers such as: Bailatino, Cheo Linares and his Orchestra, Víctor Cardona and the Salsa Machine, Cheo Navarro and his Tribute, Francisco Pacheco and his People, Hildemaro Jr., Orquesta Sarayé (Colombia), Orquesta La Suprema (Panama), Orlando Watussi and my musical project “Mulato en Rumba”, among other national artists “.

Percussion is another of its virtues, of the different rhythms. Which of them is more difficult to teach or learn?

“Percussion is a world that allows you to express yourself and make contributions based on its rhythmic quality. All rhythms have difficulties, but their great musical richness and the magic of the ancestral charge make it possible for us to digest them naturally ”.

“I invite the musicians and the community in general to come to Barlovento to learn about the regional culture, so that they learn to play Mina, Culo e puya, Quitiplás, Fulía and Parranda.”

In the vineyard of the Lord there is everything and for everyone. What has been the most difficult thing about this profession?

“Music gives you a lot of satisfaction, but around it there are circumstances that create disappointments – they can scam you, you have friction with colleagues, etc. – you will find obstacles, but I think that all this is overcome with perseverance and dedication to work. That is what it takes to stay in the musical world ”.

The Music Producer is the architect of a record. What do you feel at the end of each record? What do you feel at the end of each work done?

“Music production is hard work, bringing together musicians, writing and selecting songs, directing, molding and creating a pleasing product for the public, where feelings are reflected on paper, which in turn become sounds that will mark the life of anyone who is a music lover. That is the greatest satisfaction ”.

Each era has its ups and downs, do you think you can make a living from music?

“Of course, if we think of music as an industry we can find that starting from being a composer, arranger, through instrumentalist, singer, among other things, always keeping in mind the quality of the work to be able to sell it, it can be said that we are prepared to live from what we love to do ”.

How does it feel to be part of the cultural development of Barlovento?

“It is a great responsibility to know and feel that you are the bearer of such an important heritage for the development of the culture of an area where the legacy of the Africans who populated our lands will always prevail. Maintaining, disseminating and promoting the culture of my people through workshops, talks and exhibitions will guarantee that tradition is not lost and that these children and young people, just like I started, will be the future protagonists of the traditional Barlovento demonstrations. ”

Tell us about the Black Theater of Barlovento and Danzas Tacarigua. How do you undertake the preparation of the new generations so that the traditions last over time?

“The Black Barlovento Theater, a group that has 43 years of artistic experience, also proudly carries the cultural heritage of the Miranda State. It is and has been a great school for me for 27 years when I made my first presentation with this great family. I say that it is a great school because it is characterized by being an avant-garde group and that it has given me the green light and total confidence to develop and put into practice all the knowledge acquired musically throughout my career through the different productions of the theatrical works brought to the scene ”.

“Following this example and great experience with the Black Theater of Barlovento, we have been working with the Danzas Tacarigua group, directed and founded by my wife Yermy Martínez and my mother-in-law Zenaida Gamboa for 20 years, training children and adolescents in terms of traditional Venezuelan culture, emphasizing the Barloventeña. They are currently part of the main actors in the traditions of my Tacarigua people. It is an arduous work in favor of the diffusion of the same ”.

His wife is an active part of the Cultural development of the young people of Barlovento, here we could say that “Next to a great man goes a great woman”?

“When one is passionate and responsible with what he does, with his profession, his home, that is accompanied by a great companion, I thank my wife very much, a large part of who I am and what I have achieved is accompanied by her great support, she is passionate about what she does, and that gives me a lot of strength ”.

Salsa and Venezuelan Folklor take you by the hand, how does it unfold between these two worlds?

“Despite the fact that they are two different worlds and from different markets, I have tried to take them by the hand, since from a very young age I was linked with the tradition of my town and the Barloventeño region in general, participating in the demonstrations held throughout of the holiday calendar. The salsa world has helped me understand and handle our culture in a more respectful way through arrangements, compositions, and also when interpreting it”.

Flyer Alex Sánchez — Alex Sánchez & Mulato in Rumba

How do you see the sauce right now?

“Salsa has always had a special place. It is a genre that will never go out of style. We must thank the DJs very much, who, whether they like it or not, have been a fundamental part of the salsa being maintained over time, since the media have lost that interest in promoting and promoting new salsa talents for their music. respective development.

In Venezuela the salsa movement has suffered a lot, since orchestras and producers have had little support at the level of the music industry, since it has diverted its attention to urban genres, which according to them is the most commercial. Despite all this panorama, many musicians, singers, producers have made efforts to continue working in favor of Venezuelan salsa with what we call “record pocket” -hahaha-. All this so that his musical work does not remain only in a dream ”.

Barlovento and its sauce, what can you tell us about “Trabuco Barlovento”? “Trabuco Barlovento is an initiative of my cousin Richard Frías. He told me one day at a salsa concert held in Mamporal, seeing that the great stars were accompanied by musicians from Barlovento, -with all those musicians who are there you can make a blunderbuss that represents Barlovento- and that is how the group was born ” Trabuco Barlovento ”, with more than 10 years of artistic life and 1 recording production to be finished.

I remember that among those musicians who accompanied the artists were Rodolfo Rada (trumpet), Ángel González (saxophone), Darlin Palacios (trombone), among others who are today the fundamental pillar of this group. It has 14 members, where I work as the musical director and main arranger of this prestigious group”.

Orlando Poleo, a national and international percussion reference. What anecdotes do you have of his training with him?

“Orlando Poleo arrived in Tacarigua in 1986 as a percussion teacher at the” Nicomedes Marrero “Cultural Training Center, which was a great experience for me, since he was venturing into the world of Afro-Caribbean music”.

“I remember that once he came with his orchestra“ Casino ”and as he was quite advanced in his classes, he rewarded me by playing a song. It was the glory for me to play with the maestro. It was a great experience for the musicians of Tacarigua and other nearby towns because it helped improve playing techniques and understanding of the use of the clave. Much of that learning I apply to create arrangements. ”

He is a teacher and a student, what is more difficult for you to teach or learn?

“Both are difficult, because to teach well you must learn well.”

You are working with a new musical proposal. What do you have in store for us with the Mulato en Rumba project?

“Mulato en Rumba is my biggest bet. This movement has more than 15 years, began as “Alex Sánchez and his Orchestra” to accompany artists and participate in ¬estas and salsa events in the area. One day recording for another orchestra, we met my brother Edward Plater, my compadre Yoryi Pacheco and I fine-tuning details of what we had already recorded. We saw each other’s faces and said -Why don’t we make an orchestra that is ours? -; we always record and produce for others ”.

“It is then that we decided to set up and start this musical project with our own songs composed by Yoryi Pacheco and myself and arrangements made by me as well. The main members are: Yoryi Pacheco (singer), Edward Plater (trumpet), José Madera Niño (tumbadora), Jonal Rivero (trombone), Rodolfo Frías (bassist) and Alex Sánchez (trumpet, piano and musical direction). Soon our first record production will be ready, which has been done uphill because it is financed by “Pocket record”

–”jajajajajajaja”-.

That name sounds like ¬esta, joy and sauce. How was the name Mulato born in Rumba?

“This name was given to him by my friend and brother Cheo Linares. I told him that we had a new project and he told me

-The mulattoes are going to start partying in Barlovento- and from that moment we call ourselves “Mulato en Rumba”.

Creativity is in decline in Venezuela, you are a composer and arranger and many of the Salsa orchestras are betting on versions or tributes, they do not risk innovating, creating or inventing. What do you think about this matter?

“I think that covering is very fashionable, I think that for many people it is easier to live attached to the shadow of another than to risk producing their own.

Perhaps it is fear of failure due to the lack of support for the artist that exists in our country. There are those who do take risks and bet on other markets (other countries), where the appetite for good music is always thanks to the fact that in those countries there are people eager for new things. In our country that culture of wanting to hear something new and as the saying goes: “-No one is a prophet in his land-” has been lost.

If you bet on innovating and creating, what are the themes of your production?

“We have 10 songs, 2 versions and the other 8 songs are unpublished, we bet on ourselves, not to be in the shadow of others, here the lyrics and music are by José Madera Niño, and my person, Yoryi Pacheco also writes some of the topics. In the version of “Tú mi Delirio” I sing ”.

“The song, get ready, Dancer, the lyrics and the music are by Freddy Junior Solórzano.”

The support of the media is important to show the work done by national talent. Do you feel that there is little dissemination by the media to show the work done by the different groups?

“-Well-, in previous questions I have said that there is no support from the mass media. Hopefully that will end one day and they give importance to Venezuelan music and talent as much as they give it abroad.

La Payola, many criticize it and want it to disappear, however, there are musicians who contribute to this scourge that hurts everyone. Would you ever pay to play?

“I don’t agree with the Payola. Colleagues have told me that if they have done it that it is a rather shameful situation, since many times they have to play without any remuneration in exchange for playing on the radios several times a month. Personally, I would never pay for what he calls Payola ”.

What would be the good and not so good things about this beautiful but tough profession?

“I think there are more good things than bad things, and more when we take music as a profession. The musical world is very satisfying, since it makes you live unique experiences that fill your soul and spirit with joy ”.

Teacher, musician, arranger, music producer What do you feel you need to do?

“Learn, learn and keep learning to make good music and also be able to make” Mulato en Rumba “recognized nationally and internationally.”

His daughters have grown up in an environment full of music, tradition, folklore, they have the musical vein Sánchez, would you like them to be musicians, what legacy would you leave them?

“Hopefully they decide to be musicians, I would never force them to do something they don’t want to, because I think that everyone should do what they really like and are passionate about. The legacy that I will leave you will be all I can do in my musical life, since a large part of what I do is for my family. My daughters at their young ages have already been immersed in the artistic world, they sing, dance and participate in the cultural manifestations of our people. ”

In a word, who is Alex Sánchez?

“A fighter”.

Barlovento and Venezuela in one sentence

“My homeland, My Dear Homeland”.

Eiling Blanco Latin America Corresponded

Tommy Olivencia Jr’s career and support for the salsa museum

Inherited talent

The salsa museum has received several of the greatest artists and their families, who have donated valuable objects related to their careers. Today, it was the turn of Ángel Tomás Olivencia Rodríguez, who is artistically known as Tommy Olivencia Jr.

Tommy Olivencia Jr. is a percussionist and timbalero born on March 19, 1969 and is the son of the famous Puerto Rican musical icon and director of the Primerísima Orchestra Tommy Olivencia, from whom he inherited his great talent and has left his family’s name very high.

Tommy Olivencia Jr., son of maestro Tommy Olivencia

Planté bandera de nuevo

Eager to find his own way and make his own name in the industry, the artist made his debut with the recording ”Planté bandera de nuevo”, which was carried out in his native country and presents a total of nine tracks, some of them created by composer and percussionist Jerry Ferrao.

A very important fact during this period is that the timbalero made his official debut for AJ Records, Inc. in the framework of the 40th anniversary of Tommy Olivencia Y Su Orquesta at the beginning of this millennium, making this event even more special.

It is also important to highlight that this colorful musical work included the participation of figures such as Luis ”Perico” Ortiz. Máximo Torres, Tito Rivera, Pedro Bermúdez and many others. All these big talents made it possible for Tommy Olivencia Jr.’s first step as an artist to be on the right foot.

After Tommy Olivencia’s death

Once the incomparable Tommy Olivencia passed away, his son took the lead on the Primerísima Orchestra, which represented a great professional challenge for his career considering that many of his father’s hits are already salsa classics worldwide.

Tommy Olivencia Jr. next to Lalo Rodríguez

At the beginning, ”Tomito”, as he is also affectionately known, wanted to keep alive his father’s legacy with his most famous songs such as ”El Son Cubano”, ”Trucutú” or ”Doroteo”. However, there came a point where Olivencia and the rest of the members of La Primerísima had to get to work with new songs to join the previous hits.

When asked about these changes he had to make, he said that he has always worked on his father’s original repertoire, since the audience always asks for those songs in his performances. However, he says he is very happy to be able to contribute his grain of sand with the song ”Mi Querido Viejo”, which was dedicated to Tommy Olivencia senior and of which he is proud for the strng impact that it has had.

Something that made him very happy is that he was finally able to record his first video clip with the orchestra and other great artists such as Gilberto Santa Rosa, Lalo Rodriguez, Sammy Gonzalez, among others.

Although he feels quite pleased to be able to continue with the steps taken his father, he is very proud to offer completely new songs to join the already prolific repertoire of La Primerísima. Among the new songs are ”Un Legendario de Pueblo” and ”Evelio”.

Tommy Olivencia Jr. at the Spanish Harlem Salsa Museum

As well as a good number of other stars and their families, we were fortunate to enjoy the pleasant presence of Tommy Olivencia Jr. at the Spanish Harlem Salsa Museum, where he and the president of the institution, Johnny Cruz, had a nice chat and walk around the facilities of the place.

At these visits, it is very common for visitors to make donations to contribute to the extensive collection that the museum has to present and this was no exception. ”Tomito” donated a suit and the güiro of maestro Tommy Olivencia that whosoever visits the museum has the opportunity to appreciate some of the elements that his father used during his career.

From this space, we really thank his visit and his contributions and we wish him the greatest success in all the projects he undertakes both professionally and personally, especially what has to do with music.

By Johnny Cruz, ISM Correspondent, New York, New York City

The legacy of Leopoldo Pineda, the ambassador of the trombone in La Maquinaria Fania All Stars

The Dominican trombonist was part of Las Estrellas de Fania and stood out for his virtuosity on his instrument, as commented by musicians Joe de Jesús and Willie Álvarez.

Leopoldo Pineda, “Palma Sola” was born on May 8, 1939 in a small batey called Palma Sola, in Barahona, southern province, Dominican Republic.

El legado de Leopoldo Pineda, el embajador del trombón en La Maquinaria Fania All Stars

He passed away on June 27, 2019 in New York City. Due to his solvency on the instrument, Leopoldo was a participant in hundreds of salsa recordings for more than three decades.

At 80 years of age, Leopoldo Pineda, the Dominican trombonist who earned the respect of his colleagues in the most courageous years of salsa, has passed away.

A case of diabetes had undermined his health in recent years and the fatal outcome came on Thursday, June 27 in New York City.

In recent years, Pineda had been retired from musical activity, due to health problems and diabetes.

Willie Álvarez y Leopoldo Pineda (Foto Willie Álvarez)

He began at a very young age to seek out musical instruments. In his hometown, Pineda would often visit a neighbor’s house to watch him rehearse different instruments.

There he began his first lessons, learning to play trumpet and tambora.

He studied music at school for compulsory education and there he developed certain tropical rhythms.

In Barahona, there was a music school where Leopoldo graduated and later, because of his talent, he was referred to the National Conservatory of Music in Santo Domingo.

As he grew in knowledge, musically speaking, he learned to play several instruments, among them, the Saxophone and the Trombone, the latter being his weapon of choice for the rest of his life.

In his native Barahona, he was known as “Chanchito”, but it was at the Conservatory where the nickname “Palma Sola” was born, identifying him to his classmates by the name of the town where he was born.

After participating in various groups in the Republic, Leopoldo went to New York City and there he started playing with Tito Rodriguez’s orchestra in the 60’s.

He also recorded with Los Cachimbimbitos and Los Cachimbales.

He also recorded with Ismael Rivera’s Los Cachimbos and was producer of one of Milly Quesada’s first albums.

Musician Jimmy Bosch used to include Leopoldo Pineda in the select group of trombonists from whom he learned. Willie Colón, el Malo del Bronx, had emotional words for don Leo. Indeed, the Dominican Pineda is part of the glorious history of the best salsa, the one that was born in the neighborhood and that has deeply penetrated in this part of South America.

Alfredo de la Fe posted on his Facebook account: “Leopoldo Pineda, great musician, we played together with Típica 73 and Fania All Stars.

Lepoldo Pineda Trombonita de la Típica 73 y Fania All Stars

Then he began to walk the best paths of Salsa, being part of orchestras such as Típica 73, Orquesta Harlow, Willie Colón, Fania All Stars, Sar All Stars, Jose Mangual Jr, La Conquistadora, Jose Alberto “El Canario”, Rubén Blades, Orlando Watussi, Laba Sosseh, Monguito El Único and Héctor Lavoe, among others.

Fania Records