Search Results for: Mambo

José Madera

North America/ United State / New York

José Madera, Percussion & Arranger of Machito, Tito Rodriguez and Tito Puente

One would think that a job with the world famous Tito Puente

Band keep busy a percussionist.

But the musician, arranger and composer José Madera had yet found the time to record and write music for some of the most influential bands in the world.

Prior to joining Tito Puente over 35 years ago, Madera play for four years with the famous Machito Orchestra, and recorded with many artists of R & B (including James Brown, Diana Ross, David Sanborn and Aztec Two – Step).

As an arranger for Fania Records Plant, played in several comerciales successes, and through the years has composed music for the Fania All- Stars, Larry Harlow , Johnny Pacheco , Willie Colón, and Celia Cruz .

Although he has recorded some 75 albums in 20 years, as well as numerous radio jingles and film soundtracks, Madera still had time for his other career for 15 years he had worked as a teacher and conductor in a high school for the performing arts with private funds, in the city of New York.

Jose has written many arrangements for countless commercial Latin artists and has recorded or worked with many of them as well. Some of them include: Larry Harlow, Johnny Pacheco, Chico O’Farill: The Lincoln Center Afro-Cuban jazz orchestra, Celia Cruz, Tito Rodriguez, Fania All-Stars, Willie Colon, Joe Farrell, Machito, Graciela, Mario Bauza, Willie Rosario, Earl Klughand Eddie Palmieri, just to name a few.

Jose has also worked and recorded with many pop, R&B and jazz artists.

Some of them include Diana Ross, James Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, Paquito D’Rivera, George Benson and Lionel Hampton among others.

Jose has performed on over 250 recordings. He has worked on several television show soundtracks including “The Simpsons” and several motion picture soundtracks including ”The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love” where he was the musical arranger and conductor for the Tito Puente segment of the film.

Jose also taught the art of playing Latin percussion instruments at BOYS HARBOR in New York City for 28 years.

Jose has done and continues to do musical clinics around the country at various schools.

¨He was the musical director of the Latin Giants of Jazz from 2001 to 2009¨.

José Madera continues his musical direction with the Mambo Legends Orchestra, a band comprised of former members of the Tito Puente Orchestra, which is dedicated to performing new creative Latin and Latin jazz concepts, as well as some of the music of Machito, Tito Rodriguez and Tito Puente.

José Madera has personally re-created and re-arranged much of the music that the ban ds performed during the heyday of the Mambo at the Palladium Ballroom in New York City, which is considered by many critics to be the “Greatest and Mostinnovative Era” in the history of Latin music.

Madera’s saxophonist father Jose “Pin ” Madera, was one of the original members of the Afro -Cuban Orchestra Machito .

Young Joseph was influenced by drummer Machito (The best Latin Big Band drummer I’ve ever heard).

Later I was influenced by José Mangual and the same Tito Puente. The LP Timbale bell (circa 1966) was the first instrument Wood LP , today plays a variety of congas , bongos , guiro and bells LP.

Compared with the instruments that were used years ago , the sounds I get from the LP instruments are very authentic.

As an arranger, it is very gratifying to know that whatever you write will be accompanied by instruments LP, which only improve the quality of interpretation.

In 2008, Madera was entrusted to the Department of Research and Development LP designing the Signature Series José Madera Congas .

José Madera is proud that these drums, bearing his name, present a sound and a visual such outstanding features.

Know the connections of tropical dances

Latin America / Venezuela /Caracas

Tropical Dances:

Did you know that people have several ways of communicating?

Oral communication is what we normally use to communicate in such a way to establish and maintain personal relationships, and to show not only words and express emotions and/or feelings, body communication is used, which can be said in a few words that it is a form creatively expressing through gestures, eye contact, poses, and arm and leg movements; turning this form of communication into something more intimate and accurate without the need for the use of words.

In social activities, one of the most popular is dancing, where body communication is very important since the couple or group needs to know certain signs that indicate “when” or “how”, in order to perform the steps and how. As a result, the success of said interpretation will test the quality, maturity and growth of the dancers in the rhythms they dance.

Of course, it should be noted that each musical genre has its own rules, especially in the counting of steps in music, which gives grace, stability and rhythm to the dancers in the song played either in a musical event and is of vital importance not only for a casual event but for a competition. For this reason, it is important to know the steps and turns to perform and have excellent body communication (especially if it is as a couple) to know what they are going to do.

dancers dancing salsa, bachata and other tropical dances

In Latin rhythms, this type of communication is really important, otherwise the grace of the dance is lost. Among the most important Latin rhythms that are essential and/or significant are:

Salsa: a Latin tropical rhythm that, although it was born in Cuba due to the mixture of “Guaracha”, “Son”, “Mambo”, “Cha Cha Chá” with a unique style, through time several types emerged ( Salsa Cubana, Salsa en Linea, Salsa Casino, Salsa New York or Mambo style, Salsa Cali style, Salsa Puerto Rican and Venezuelan sauce). In this dance it is very important to pay attention to the look, the hands and arms (the latter in the case of the man since with him he dominates and/or controls the woman in the dance and she must interpret what the next movement is) to thus being able to perform either a simple step or a few laps, of which there is a great variety of them.
Bachata: is a danceable musical genre originating in the Dominican Republic, within what is called urban folklore. It is considered a derivative of the rhythmic bolero, with influences from other styles such as the Cuban son and merengue. This dance has great sensuality like the rest of the Caribbean rhythms, where it requires an unbeatable appearance on the part of the dancers when performing it, where that connection with the couple is important so that it can impress the public.
Merengue: is a dance music genre originated in the Dominican Republic at the end of the 19th century. It is very popular throughout the American continent, where it is considered, along with salsa, as one of the great dance musical genres that distinguish the Latin American genre.
Kizomba: a very sensual rhythm that emerged in Angola, which resulted from the mixture of 3 cultures (Angolan colony, Portuguese colony and part of Cape Verde “Brazil” as well as the French Caribbean of Martinique and Guadeloupe.). In this rhythm, the connection of the couple, especially the woman, is of vital importance, since the movement of the hips is slow and sensual, as are their steps. Did you know that many people have the prejudice that it is a very sensual dance, however, it is as sensual as you want to project it, in the same way it happens with Bachata and Merengue, they can be as sensual as you want to project them or as normal how you want to do it.”

So, if you want to give life, grace, elegance and popularity to your dance, keep in mind, keep in mind these characteristics and how you manage to synchronize with your partner and show your spectators either in a personal party, competition, event and/or or congress, whether national or international, which is a true dance.

“My best inspiration and my best teacher is my dad.” Inheritance, discipline and academic training forged the Padilla dynasty that empowers salsa.

Robert and Ricardo Padilla have a fundamental importance within the musical movement we know as salsa. The father is a historian, curator and consultant. The son is a journalist, producer and broadcaster.

The role of Robert Padilla, who tropical music connoisseurs consider the most important salsa collector in the world, is unrepeatable, as he weaves together history, characters, facts and archives; delivering a holistic approach to salsa as a concept. His motivation is pure interest in preserving and spreading the culture.

The relevance of the museum that he conceived and guarded is unquestionable. He acquired the property and fitted out the building with the required specifications and ambience with the purpose of having a repository that keeps the salsa memory alive and in force.

When Ricardo was asked if his father influenced his training in the preservation of the musical archive, his successor answered: “That’s right. My dad and I have many things in common; among them, we love salsa. I grew up watching my dad play records and listen to music. But, my grandfather also had an influence because during the 1940s and 1950s, (the golden era of the Palladium, with Tito Rodriguez) Don Hector Padilla Rosado (RIP) had bodegas in New York.

My grandfather was part of what was happening there and danced mambo in that environment. My grandfather told me all that story and my father repeated it to me (…) the Padilla family would not be the Padilla family if we did not talk about my grandfather, Don Héctor. So we are three generations that in one way or another have dedicated ourselves to supporting music because it has changed our lives for the better.”

Robert Ricardo — My best inspiration and my best teacher is my dad.” Inheritance, discipline and academic training forged the Padilla dynasty.

Ricardo considers his father the biggest fan of salsa. “Beyond being a historian, he is the number one salsa fan. My dad has the largest collection of tropical music in existence.” That collection includes records in different formats, photographs, memorabilia, videos and audios of live shows, all documented and classified. Recently to his already incalculable collection was added that of Don Mariano Artau (RIP), who was collecting and curating unique musical treasures for more than seventy years.

In Ricardo’s case, he studied Journalism at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. What the father began as a hobby, the son saw as a profession. The gratitude and admiration he has for his father is evident when he says: “I thank my dad (…) all those concerts he took me to as a child formed me. And all those people he connected me with, later became mentors for what I do today as a Salsoul programmer.” And he adds: “my greatest inspiration and my best teacher is my dad; and he will continue to be so in every sense of the word”.

Speaking of orchestras, the salsa sound that Robert favors is that of the duo that popularized Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe. For his part Ricardo affirms: “I say that Willie Rosario doesn’t have a bad album. He is a role model; being true to himself, molding a sound supported by great arrangers that he himself chose to refine that style.

He is so special in so many areas (…) So much so that even his life has been compiled in a book, and at 99 years of age, without having the need to play, he continues to do so because music is not necessarily something that only generates money for him; it is something that generates motivation to continue living. Without detracting from Don Rafael Ithier with his mulatos, or Don Papo Lucca with that southern giant, or the orchestra of the King of the bass, Don Willie transcends music and is an example of how to live”.

The Padilla’s, organically; to the succession they added a good dose of discipline and polished themselves with the commitment to take their musical training -which has not yet culminated- seriously, becoming the most admired influencers of salsa.

This dynasty is committed to their self-imposed mission of excellence. They say goodbye as a team and almost in unison affirm: “we are at your service”. I responded gratefully with “we’re still in salsa”, knowing that neither Puerto Rico nor the salsa world can repay this dynasty for the monumental contribution to the culture and musical history of this archipelago that has been the cradle of the greatest exponents of salsa, which the Padillas empower by sharing these stories of Puerto Rico with the world.

Bella Martinez ISM correspondent – Puerto Rico

Yma América

Yma América “Every time I go out to play, to sing, I show my training and above all I put the name of Venezuela up and without speaking much.”

Yma América, she reaffirms that; We have done a good job, making our Latin music and culture known.

The trace that many Venezuelan artists, who have decided to settle abroad, are leaving behind is passing through the world, because they distinguish themselves by their achievements and place the name of Venezuela in a big way, making their fellow citizens proud of their successes, such is the case of Yma América Martínez, born in Caracas and based in Germany for almost 30 years.

With a musical vein that he inherited from his parents who points us out, they were the fundamental pillar in his training and career, and why not, for having grown up in one of the most musical parishes in Caracas, the San Agustín del Sur neighborhood, Marín sector, from where great characters have come out including his uncle the choreographer and dancer Carlos Enrique Orta (+), who traveled with his dance company, “Coreoarte” great stages throughout the world.

His musical beginnings were with a group created by his father “Los group created by his father “Los Azulitos Juveniles” where he sang aguinaldos with his sisters and neighbors, and then entered the San Agustín Choir at Don Pedro School “Fe y Alegría”.

(Yma América) She received her academic preparation at the “José Ángel Lamas” School of Music and the “Simón Bolívar” National and Youth Orchestra, to continue her cello studies in Paris at the “Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris” and song and composition at the CODARTS of the World Conservatory of Music in Rotterdam.

Yma América is a singer, musician, songwriter, arranger, plays the violoncello and the cuatro. It’s clear and powerful voice makes it very popular throughout Europe. He has worked with different groups; Kimbiza, Latin Sampling, Francisco Zumaqué, Connecting Latina, Mirta & The Goalgetters, Duo Ymaya, Cubop City Big Band, among others. He has participated in major jazz and classical music festivals, such as the Ruhr Guitar Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, the RuhrTriennale, the MusikTriennale Köln and the Elblandfestspiele. In 2004 his record made her the winner of the international competition “Voice and Guitar” in Saarbrücken – Germany, obtaining the first prize with the Colombian guitarist Andrés Mendoza Villamil.

Another relevant fact in the life of this artist can be seen in the song “Play it”, a song that he composed and sang for the commercial of the Bacardi company, which became a success in the summer of 1998 and 2000. He participated in the musical “King of The Lions” with WDR Big Band in the main role of Lilipuz’s children’s concert “Die schlaue Mama Sambona”; and has performed more than 30 times with the production “Adventure Weltumrundung” of the Fly & Help Foundation.

She has on her shoulders the responsibility of a great project that he has in Germany and wishes to perform in his native country, to make music with percussion for deaf people called “FEEL SOUNDS”, due to this proposal in 2010 he was awarded La Disability Policy of the Cologne Innovation Award (KIB).

He assures us that; “The language of music is the same throughout the planet,” with this phrase we enter to discover the virtues, dreams and desires of the interviewee.

How is Yma América defined?

“It is not easy to answer this, but I think I am a very patient and calm person, I would say too much. I do not give myself a bad life, fortunately I have done what I wanted, thanks to the support of my parents and family in general”. “I am a character who, thanks to the gods, things and opportunities have been offered to me, some have taken advantage of them, some have not, there are some that I have not realized in time that they have been there waiting for me and I have lost.

But I can say that I have lived my life, with the ups, downs, good and bad, without involving anyone and thus I have been leading and learning.”

Part of his training was obtained through the Conservatory of Music “José Ángel Lamas” and the National and Youth Orchestra “Simón Bolívar”

What do you thank and how he gives back his training with them?

“I thank you for part of my training as the musician that I am, because the other part I owe to my family and my people where I come from.” “-Retribute-“, I think that every time I go out to play, to sing, I show my training and above all I put the name of Venezuela up and without speaking much”.

What do you think of the phrase “Nobody is a Prophet in his Land”?

“-Sincerely do not know what you mean-“. “I don’t think I would have started singing professionally if I had stayed in Venezuela. I was quiet there, I played Violoncello in the National and Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, I played and made substitutions for cellists in the Philharmonic Orchestra of Venezuela and in the Municipal Orchestra of Caracas, I sang solo of vacilón in each party and family celebration, and Actually I was very calm in my house. ”

“I don’t think I’m a” prophet “where I am, I always do my best and people value it and often criticize it, of course.”

Why did you choose Germany and not another Latin American country? How many years have you lived in German Colony?

“I left Caracas in 1986 to Paris-France, thanks to my grandmother working in a wealthy family home and they offered to help a family member to study abroad, specifically in France because they had relatives there. First my uncle Carlos Enrique Orta – Choreographer-dancer with a lot of international professional career – left, many years before and then I wanted to “take the floor” after a while ”.

“Actually I wanted to study violoncello for 1 year in Paris and return to Venezuela, but at the end of my 1st year of study at the “Ècolle Normale de Musique de Paris”, they offered me to stay and I did not refuse. The last year of studies in Paris I did not have much money to live and in Köln-Germany lived the musicians of ‘COREOARTE’ (Dance company created by my uncle Carlos Enrique Orta with dancers and musicians of San Agustín), at that time I was leaving every weekend, on Fridays after school, from Paris to Köln and I returned on Monday at 6 am and arrived directly to classes in the afternoon.

I did that because we played; Renis Mendoza, Felipe “Mandingo” Rengifo, Charles Peñalver, Orlando “El Diablo” Blanco and I was in the street to collect some money and brighten the streets and faces of the Germans, and with that I could buy food for the whole week in Paris until the following Friday that I was returning to Köln … and so for many months until after finishing my studies, I decided to move to Köln and the first months I lived at the home of Renis Mendoza who shared his apartment with another ‘Coreoarte’ boy and then I got my room sharing an apartment with a German girl. ”

“I lived first in Paris from 1986 to 1990, 4 years and from 1990 to the present day in Köln, next year I am 30 years old based in Germany, I say “I have my bed in Köln “, because in reality I am almost never in my home, thanks to the music and the life that has given me so much ”

“I never thought, nor have I imagined living in another country in Latin America, I think that from here, I’m going to my house … Pa ‘Venezuela (to Venezuela)!”

How has been the receptivity of the German public with Latin rhythms, there was no resistance?

“At this moment there is a stagnation in the development of activities with Latin music, but in the same way there is more and more receptivity, I know we have done a good job, making our Latin music and culture known, there are several Salsa bands with German musicians, there are more and more dancers, more dance classes, many have understood the message and others interpret it to its wave but there is a lot of atmosphere and places with Latin music, with Dj of Salsa-Merengue and the crap they call Reggaeton music”.

“I must say that some years ago there were more Salsa orchestras with German musicians and there were more Salsa Festivals that unfortunately has been reduced by the phenomenon” Salsa Dj “I think and I am almost certain, because it is cheaper and people dance the same. That has done a lot of damage to live music. ”

What memories do you have of being under the baton of these great maestro Abreu, Aldermaro Romero, Carlos Riazuelo and Yehudi Menuhin?

“I don’t really remember at this moment any particular experience or directly with them. Although I had more contact with José Antonio Abreu, the experience was the same as with many of the ONJV members. But of all of them, the security with which they could dominate and control the amount of musicians an Orchestra has, and especially that in style and classical pieces, the feeling that is transmitted is that of the conductor and not that of the conductor musician or performer. Of course they were wonderful experiences. ”

How many compositions have you performed?

“Honestly, not many, about 12 but arrangements have been made, played and recorded, only 4.”

Your parents have been promoters of your career, how do you thank them?

-Chacha! –

“My parents are the reason for my profession, from them is that this Yma America that you are interviewing for my work has come out. Thanks to their way of being, their offspring, their education, I thank them for what I am and what I have done … My life. ”

Are you constantly growing anecdotes of your time at the “Normal School of Music in Paris” and the “Conservatory of World Music”?

“In Paris, I think, having to change the mentality of learning everything little by little and without hurry like in Venezuela, to the need to charge the “batteries” because here they do not wait, I have to go for it and comply daily, in addition to that that impelled me to learn the French language faster ”.

“And in Holland, going from being a student to being the singer of the Cubop City Big Band of the Prof. of the conservatory Martin Verdonk (percussion), Leslie López (bassist) and directed by the drummer Prof. Lucas van Merkwijk that was strong, especially at the beginning that it was to understand how they interpreted Latin music that is something other than Latin Jazz, there we started with Mambo of one, and as Leslie López was the bassist of Puerto Rico there was a balance and there we were learning and obtaining experiences all alike. ”

How do you feel about working alongside the Dutch percussionist and producer Lucas Van Merwijk and being the vocalist of the hit band “Cubop City Big Band”?

-Chévere! – assures us

“Working with Lucas and with those wonderful musicians, people with an extraordinary musical level, is very relaxed, zero stress, there we have all learned, failures and successes have gone hand in hand with everyone. Next year (2020), with CUBOP CITY Big Band we will be 25 years old together and surely something good will be done, something wonderful is being cooked, with maestro Edy Martínez – Colombian pianist, composer and arranger -, of course, also thanks to the Lucas’s wife, Roosje who does a great job, is the organizer/ manager of that crowd and all the tours. ”

Have you surrounded yourself and trained with musicians who, due to their quality and career, are considered the best, what do you think you still have to do?

“I have done and learned many things from life, both personally and musically, I believe and I know that I am missing a lot, now I have to do and learn.”

Hasn’t language been an obstacle?

“No, musically speaking, no, the language of music is the same on the entire planet.” “The French language I had to learn quickly because I came from Venezuela directly to the Conservatory of music, in Holland the classes are in English and I did not have to learn Dutch and the German language has been strong in other daily situations or life in general.”

In which festivals have you participated in both Europe and Venezuela?

– Oh! – “How many exactly I cannot tell you, but in these 30 years living in Germany and making music professionally there have been many, in almost all of Europe.”

There is a project with deaf people in Germany, which we hope can also be carried out in Venezuela. Tell us about that musical project and why did you decide that this topic should be precisely?

“TO FEEL (FEEL) – SOUNDS (SOUNDS), but as my name I put” FEEL SOUNDS “in view of the fact that the sense of touch is much more developed in deaf people and my work is based on making music with percussion, so that the vibration of sound is what they feel. ”

“It is a project that I have had in mind for many years, 1980, when I was studying” Hospitality and Tourism Administration “at the University College of Caracas and doing a field job in San José de Río Chico, at the end of my activity and visiting people, they gave me a party, drums and fulías until dawn, there were 5 drummers, dad and 4 children and in the end dad tells me that one of them was deaf. And the young man played very well, I never imagined he could be deaf, he played perfect and we even danced salsa. And from there I had the idea of working and teaching percussion to the deaf. ”

“After all that time, it was that in one of those turns that gives life, I had the courage and I started studying” German Sign Language “and I planned my workshops, I went to the deaf schools in Köln, many percussionist friends helped me Renis lent me his drums and plays with us each presentation at the end of the workshops, other friends lent me his rehearsal room to teach, my Sign Language teacher supported me looking for money to move on … and so…

This year I will be 10 years of having developed it here in Germany and the experience has been wonderful, every day I learn more and more of that world that I cannot imagine, but seeing everyone’s face when they feel the vibration of the sound when they play a drum – event listeners, people without hearing problems – that feeling is uniquely Fascinating! ”.

Working with children and adults with special conditions is a great challenge. What do you feel when you see that experience come true?

“I feel that I must move on, I have already been invited to several cities in Germany, the Netherlands and Poland and I want to continue doing it, take it to my country and fulfill my desire to develop it there, carry it out, execute it and make it known in my Venezuela.

Although several years ago I attended a conference held by FEVENSOR Federation of the Deaf of Venezuela, with the assistance of several Latin American countries, Spain and Australia, I made an exhibition and presentation of several deaf young people who attended, with the participation and collaboration of Naifer Hernández and Juan Carlos “El Indio”, Betancourt percussionists from San Agustín / Marín, but everything remained there. Of course, I must always be present in order to move forward, it is like that.

I lack the financial support because the program, project, the subjects, the desire, the yearning and the cravings are already there, but I keep moving and insisting, searching and “cursing” until I find the support itself. ”

What new projects are coming?

“We recently started with a new project for the Latin American Music Trio, from Mexico to Argentina, with Prof. Thomas Böttcher, German pianist, Renis Mendoza Venezuelan percussionist, also from San Agustín / Marín and I singing and playing Violoncello, we are in the preparations, making videos, propaganda, looking for program and composing, also in conversations and looking for an agency to sell it and move it forward. The 25th anniversary of Cubop City Big band next year, has finished looking for the musical program for those celebratory concerts. ”

“Continue with my musical project“ FEEL SOUNDS ”, teaching my classes and music workshops to groups of children, youth and deaf adults and from January 1st, start giving talks on this new proposal to students of” Education and Special Pedagogy “to keep moving forward with this and carry it forward until it reaches Venezuela and the entire world. ”

What does the San Agustin parish mean to you?

“It is the neighborhood where I was born, there is all my childhood and adolescence, I love it and I respect its inhabitants very much, besides there is my family whom I love with all my being, there have always been many valuable people, thanks to that work that artists have been doing and all that cultured and fighter generation that lives and has always maintained that training and information contact with the new generations. San Agustín is the good people who live there, the rest is everywhere in the world”.

Venezuela in one word?

“-MUSIC-” in capital letters.

Eiling Blanco Latin America Correspondent

Hansel and Raúl, The Charanga Legend duo

Hansel and Raúl is a charismatic and transgressive Charanga duo of the line of romantic lyrics of the time. They positioned the Cuban “Charanga” rhythm on the top of global popularity, a danceable genre that they imposed on each stage they were invited to and which incorporated their unique Caribbean essence.

This particular duo with three decades of trajectory was born in Miami in 1984 after breaking from the orchestra “Charanga 76”, where they were co-founder members and their main vocalists. With this New York orchestra, born in Brooklyn, they won international recognition and their first Grammy for the album “Encore” in 1978.

Photo of Hansel and Raúl — Hansel and Raúl – The Charanga Legend duo

“Many of the artists who recorded with them during their stay in “Charanga 76” include the renowned pianist – for many years – by Héctor Lavoe, Gilbert Colón and the first Jewish-American flutist woman, Andrea Brachfeld.”

Very pleasant memories come to Hansel‘s mind during this interview, especially his first composition “Si no te encuentras tú” for Charanga 76, his voice took a turn and he showed nostalgia as well as pride in remembering it: “I don’t sit to write a song with a guitar or piano. The Inspiration comes to me alone, there is nothing personal”.

Each anecdote that he tells us is remembered as facts that have led to their musical maturity. Each fun fact has been defined as part of their career, such was the case of the great master, Israel “Cachao” López, who with all his musical wisdom and mastery of his instrument, the Double Bass, taught the rhythmic base to the orchestra. “The conguero and the timbalero even the güirero he taught them to play well. He was a teacher of all, including us who learned a lot from him. R.I.P, he was a glory of music”, Hansel said to us.

But that wasn’t all he told us about the legend of Cuban music, “Cachao”, who was the Double Bassist of the “Charanga 76” orchestra for 12 years, also he told us that every time they wen a tour the “Inventor of Mambo” had them buy a plane seat to his Double Bass, he sat it next to him and even put the belt on the string instrument, as is dictated by airline regulations.

The funniest thing would come later when the Double Bass received the same attention as each member of the orchestra. Amazing! The Double Bass also had its portion of food during each trip as each musician of the orchestra, and when the flight attendant brought it was when the offer was presented by each musician for that fabulous portion, although the end was always the same, the trumpeter won!

Hansel y Raúl - Photo — Hansel y Raúl concert

Photo in concert - Hansel and Raúl — Hansel and Raúl – Photo behind the scenes

Each experience with Charanga 76 made them evolve in music and although with this orchestra they made themselves renowned professionally, as a duo they flew the fence. They have received multiple musical awards, their sympathetic lyrics, and in some cases, satirical or burlesque have won the applause, admiration, and respect of colleagues in the music industry and the general public on three continents: America, Europe, and Asia.

“The Jersey Boys” was their first youth musical group with only 5 members and although the musical instruments they played were the basics of Rock, their rhythmic concept was Cuban music.

“María Teresa y Danilo” was one of the compositions that brought many satisfactions to this duo. Nowadays it’s still preferred by the fanatical public of the genre. Many debates and speculations were made about this song, but here we tell you the true story. “María Teresa y Danilo” dates its beginnings to the 80s when soap operas like “Dallas” were in fashion.

Hansel came up with the idea of diving and writing on this topic. He magically composed the lyric during the plane trip with San Francisco – Miami trajectory and the rest we already know, multiple copies sold, and hundreds of awards granted to them for the feeling that caused this popular theme.

After such overwhelming success as a duo, Hansel and Raúl decides to separate in 1988. What was the reason?

Everyone wanted to make another kind of music. Each one followed a different path, for his part, Hansel recorded five solo albums including metals, more trumpets and trombones, and in three of these albums, he included neither the violin nor the flute, assuming almost completely the end of the Charanga rhythm in his music. However, a short time later he realized that this Caribbean rhythm was what identified with his audience and two years later he joined Raúl again to continue their successful career.

Hansel and Raúl has a total of 330 songs recorded and on December 31 this Charanga duo will have a performance in Los Angeles, CA and you may be lucky and they play your favorite single and if don’t you can ask for it. Classics such as “Soy”, “Se me nota”, “El ayer”, “María Teresa y Danilo”, “Kukucha kucha”, “Balancea mi corazón” (Yordano), “Ojos Verdes” (Alfredo Gutiérrez), among many others, will be present at this 1: 45min show.

Purchase your Tickets quickly before it´s sold out

https://www.facebook.com/events/crown-plaza-hotel-and-casino/new-years-eve-2020-the-great-gatsby-presents-hansel-raul/271515257093512/

We hope to see them there singing each of their hits and if you later travel to New York, don’t be surprised to see Hansel in that city because he and his family will be celebrating their daughter’s sweet sixteen, on the second day of January 2020.

Is Hansel a stage name?

Although some may consider that Hansel is a characteristic name of the children’s story “Hansel and Gretel”, this name comes from Germany and it’s of Jewish origin. Hansel Enrique is the name of this singer and songwriter “Charanguero” and he is named so to differentiate himself from Hansel Horacio (father). In Cuba, the tradition is maintained that every male child must bear the name of his grandfather; this is the reason for all his cousins are called Hansel.

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