Search Results for: Merengue

Multi-Percussionist Carlos Navarro and his Son Y Clave Orchestra

Who is Carlos Navarro?

There have been many celebrities, orchestras, groups of all genres who played their part in the salsa cultural movement in the United States, but we cannot deny that bandleader Carlos Navarro and his Son Y Clave Orchestra played a very important role, since they achieved many goals in the Latin music scene in California, specifically in Los Angeles.

Carlos Navarro was a child of the couple formed by Rafael Navarro and Maria De Jesus Velasquez de Navarro, being at the same time the brother of Alexis Enrique (the famous singer Cherry Navarro), Manuel, Rene, Lelys and Audy. The whole family decided to move to Caracas, the parish of El Valle, where all the children continued their studies.

The first one to start an artistic career at a very young age was his older brother Alexis, who would later be known as Cherry Navarro in the artistic field. Carlos followed the same steps and also dedicates himself to music, but focused on salsa, mambo, merengue, and Latin jazz.

Producer, bandleader, percussionist and singer Carlos Navarro

Las Versalles

In the early 80’s, specifically in 1983, the artist served as co-founder and percussionist in one of the first and most important orchestras in Los Angeles, California, with styles of Salsa, Guaguancó, Merengue, cha cha chá, and Latin Jazz.

This group was called Las Versalles and hired many musicians based in the same city. Here you can see some of the main members and their instruments, Güiro: Carlos Navarro and Jorge Luis Balmaseda, Vocalist, Piano, Arranger: Fito Foster, Vocalist, Guitar, Flute, and Arrangements: Niño Jesús, Bass: Geraldo Zuldo and Luis López, Trumpets: Carleton Smith and Robert Hernández, Trombo: Arturo Velazco, Violin: Gene Hugo, Congas: Humberto Hernández and José “Papo” Rodríguez, Timbales: Héctor Andrade and Edwin Rolland, Backing Vocals: Fitto Foster, Niño Jesús, Bobby Rivas, Jorge Luis Balmaseda and Bass in ‘’Cama Y Mesa’’: Cuco.

Famous singer Cherry Navarro, Carlos Navarro's brother — Famous singer Cherry Navarro, Carlos Navarro’s brother

Son Y Clave

In 1999, the producer, percussionist and singer founded the Son Y Clave Orchestra and became a very important group in the nightlife of Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

One of the most attractive things for spectators of the places where they perform is the ease with which they dance and execute choreography, which are highly contagious, fast and elegant at the same time.

This diversity of performance styles is another one of the many things that has led this orchestra to the summit. In the same way, they have participated in all kinds of festivals, congresses, concerts and much more. They also had an important participation in salsa nights at venues in Los Angeles and the Bay Area such as El Floridita, where they played with Son Y Clave every Monday, until Carlos had to leave for a while and left talented musician Johnny Polanco in charge.

They have been so popular in the last few years that they have managed to open for world famous bands such as the Rolling Stones, who counted on the talent of the orchestra to grace their performances in one of their most important tours.

All members of the Son Y Clave Orchestra

God & Salsa and more

They have also been involved in major film projects such as ”Almost A Woman”, whose director has a long-standing friendship with Navarro. They participated in both the promotional trailer and various parts of the film, especially where there are parties and dancing.

Kaplan was so pleased with Carlos’ work in ”Almost A Woman” that she decided to contact him again to work hand in hand on a project titled ”UNO” which is based on one of the most famous Latin American TV hosts, the famous Renny Ottolina. Once again, Son Y Clave will join forces with the renowned filmmaker to put music to ”UNO”.

”Almost A Woman” had a lot of repercussion at the time, but the film for which they became known in recent years was ”God & Salsa”. Carlos Navarro himself was the main responsible for composing much of the original music that was part of the soundtrack of the film. In addition, they were also present at the filming, displaying their great talent and dedication to the audience.

Currently, Navarro has a lot of contacts, friendships and dealings with other figures and producers of the stature of classical guitarist Yalil Guerra, with whom he has participated in multiple musical projects both with his orchestra and at the production level.

He has also shared the stage with important talents in Los Angeles such as Tito Nieves, Luis Barbarán, Guillermo Canales, Ernie Valenzuela, Melissa Campos, Roosevelt Córdova, among many others.

Carlos Navarro, Luis Conte, Jorge Valmaceda, and the rest of the Siva Orchestra

Romantic duos in Latin music

The month of love is coming, and nothing better than accompanying those moments with good music. Latin music has always been loaded with romance, passion, heartbreak, and despite that each of the listeners feels identified with the lyrics, and moves to their rhythms. Added to the great artists, both the active ones and those who have already left, there have been songs that raise the level due to the union of two of those singers. In this article we tell you about the most romantic duos in Latin music.

These are the most romantic duos in Latin music

Marc Anthony and La India – Vivir Lo Nuestro

One of the most popular salsa songs at the start of the new millennium. This work launched both singers to stardom. To this day it is a song that many couples definitely identify with, with lyrics like:

“En una noche cerrada

Voy a detener el tiempo

Para soñar a tu lado

Que nuestro amor es eterno”

The eternal love between both parties, the desire to shout to the world how much you love your other part, and that there is no obstacle to stop them, is the message they want to give.

“En un mundo sin razas

Sin colores, ni lamentos

Sin nadie que se oponga

En que tu y yo nos amemos”

Despite the resounding success of the song, and the boost it gave to both their careers, they are currently not on good terms, which shows that although the song is loved by its fans, and speaks of a love without barriers, external factors can end a relationship, be it friendship or professional. So it doesn’t look like we’ll be getting a fresh, live version of this romantic classic anytime soon.

Maná and Rubén Blades – Sábanas Frías

This is a combination that few expected back in 2002, but Blades has never hidden his desire to collaborate with many artists. On this occasion it was the Mexican Rock group Maná, who had the great opportunity not only to mix the talent of the group with the great Panamanian artist, but also the fusion of two genres, rock and salsa so characteristic of Rubén.

The song talks about how lonely a person in love feels, without their other half living under the same roof. So as the track progresses, he invites his love to live together, to take care of each other forever, and share everything.

“Y te cuidaré por siempre y donde quiera

Te amaré como uno quiere a su bandera

Yo te quiero compartir todo, todo mi amor

Te comparto mi cuarto, mi cama, mis besos

y todo, todo amor”

This is one of the emblematic songs of Maná Revolución de Amor album, released in 2002. As its name indicates, it is totally dedicated to love, that’s where Sábanas Frías came from, but nobody expected the collaboration with Rubén Blades to bring that tropical sound so typical of Panama.

Eddy Herrera and Liz – A Dormir Juntitos

Merengue is another genre that does not escape love, and one of its hymns is A Dormir Juntitos by the Dominican singer Eddy Herrera, who invited the Venezuelan Liz, known for having been part of Los Melódicos, so that both of them could mix their talents in this song.

If you take a look at the lyrics, it’s not completely a love song, but more about heartbreak, since it talks about a couple who are separated, and although they still love each other, they can’t sleep together again.

“Y yo te veo

A través de la ventana cuando te vas

Y llorando me dan ganas de decirte, quédate

Por qué estamos durmiendo solos

Si nos seguimos queriendo

Si nos seguimos amando

No dejamos de lado el orgullo y volvemos”

Víctor Manuelle and Oscarcito (Yakozuki) – Si Tú Me Besas

Puerto Rican singer Víctor Manuelle is well known for the romantic lyrics that make up his songs. For 2011 he worked with the Venezuelan producer Oscar Hernandez, better known as Oscarcito or with his new name Yakozuki. This is how Si Tú Me Besas was born, a song that was originally covered in 3 versions for the album Busco Un Pueblo, so you can enjoy the song in salsa, pop and ballad.

“Bésame despacio

Y no se te ocurra dejar libre

Ningún beso ni ningún espacio

Con ese cuerpazo

Dame el privilegio de viajar hacia el espacio”

The lyrics talk about the experience of kissing your partner, and everything that this awakens in both parties. It not only talks about the feelings that arise from a kiss but also that you can forget the world through it. There is a fourth version of this song, although it follows the salsa genre, it is sung by both Víctor and Oscar, which got more followers in many countries.

This is just a small glimpse of all the great duos that Latin music has given us over the years. Without counting all those who will come, since the new generations show more and more talent.

Two radio programs of the salsa movement in California

Introduction

After the entire journey, the cultural salsa movement in the state of California is well established, which includes a good number of media outlets that focus on this and other Latin music genres. In this article, we are going to talk a little about two very important radio shows in Los Angeles, which play a very important role in the spread of salsa and its greatest exponents today.

They are the radio shows ”Alma Del Barrio” and ”Canto Tropical”, whose work has provided an immense contribution to the world of music and gained a huge audience both in Los Angeles and in the rest of the world.

Alma Del Barrio

In the autumn of 1973, what would become one of the most important Latin radio shows in Los Angeles started to go on the air, which is known as ”Alma Del Barrio” to this day and its main founders were Enrique Soto and Raul Villa, who were still university students at the time. What Raul and Enrique were looking for with this show was to educate the audience musically speaking and ensure that listeners to learn much more about their favorite artists.

A key part of this show is to interview the greatest exponents of the salsa genre and some of these have been Celia Cruz, Chucho Valdes, Manny Oquendo, Tito Puente, Roberto Roena and many more. Thanks to these conversations, fans of these artists have managed to learn more about their favorite artists and their future projects.

From the day of its founding, the show has been broadcast through the radio waves of KXLU, which is one of the largest radio stations in Los Angeles and offers all kinds of variety and musical genres in its programming.

Host Eddie López and Venezuelan Latin music bandleader Rudy Regalado

Canto Tropical

”Canto Tropical” is a radio show created with the firm intention of serving as a bridge to unite generations, cultures and countries that appear to not have anything to do with each other. The main musical genres on which the programming is based are salsa, Latin jazz, merengue, Afro-Cuban rhythms, among others. The music comes from all over the world, but most of the material comes from South and Central America and the Caribbean.

In addition to being always aware of the latest Latin music, hosts Kathy Diaz and Hector Resendez always make sure to get the best interviews with the most famous local and foreign artists so that their fans can get to know them better both personally and professionally. Likewise, listeners have the possibility to participate in contests and sweeptakes to win free tickets to concerts and events that are of their interest.

One of the requirements to be met by the show is to always invite local artists and singers to help them promote their music, new albums and concerts. In this way, the audience is aware of what local talent is currently doing. In fact, there are many figures who are still thankful for the exposure given the program, thanks to which they have achieved the popularity they were seeking.

Another detail that cannot be overlooked is that several social and community organizations have publicly thanked the show for its voluntary work and its hosts Kathy and Hector, who have even written for major publications such as Hispanic, Bilboard Magazine CASHBOX, among others.

Alma Del Barrio’s logo

Salsa singer Angel Rumba and what he has to say

Interview with Angel Rumba

Angel Manuel Ramos Sanchez, better known as Angel Rumba, is a New York singer of Puerto Rican descent with whom we had the great opportunity to talk about several issues of importance such as the beginning of his career with Pancho Bongó Y Su Orquesta, his debut as a soloist, the meaning behind his lyrics, among other things. It is a pleasure for us to have talked with this Latin talent and to bring the story to all our readers of International Salsa Magazine.

His beginnings

Ramos Sanchez was born in New York City in the 1980s, when there was a well-established salsa movement in New York City and the United States in general. Evidently, little Angel could not be left out of this trend, especially if we take into account that through his veins ran Latin blood.

In addition, his father was a singer, musician and guitarist, so he always listened to salsa, merengue, bolero and other genres at home. It was at the age of seven when he started playing güiro, bongo and conga due to the curiosity generated by his father’s work, who spent a lot of time teaching his son to play as many instruments as possible.

In 1992 when Angel was 12 years old, he started playing with an orchestra called Projecto 3 in the city of Allentown, which represented his first opportunity to be on stage and show his face to an audience waiting to see what he could offer. It could be said that this was the beginning of what would become his life’s work.

Moving to California and Pennsylvania

Given that Angel’s father was a truck driver, the family had to move around a lot until 2003, the year in which he moved to Puerto Rico and lived there for three years. In 2006, he moved permanently to Pennsylvania, where he has been living until today.

Release as a solo artist

When asked about his release as a solo artist, Angel stated that ”my beginnings were with merengue, but salsa always fascinated me because I really liked soneros such as Ismael Rivera, Gilberto Santa Rosa, El Canario and many more. I saw them improvising on stage and I always wanted to do the same.”

In 2014, he was given the chance to belong to the group Pancho Bongó Y Su Orquesta, which he was a member of for more than seven years until he wanted to make his own project in 2020. He felt he had the experience and took all the necessary stages to get to that point. In addition to that, being subject to command of a musical director greatly limits the creativity of the artists and the New Yorker singer no longer felt comfortable with what he was doing at that time.

The singer is also a composer and was not allowed to play his own music with the orchestra, which also led him to seek new horizons and, in turn, record his first solo track.

While acknowledging that this was no easy decision, he says that he has no regrets about it and all that he has been given from then until now has been a blessing for him and his family.

Obstacles during his solo career

On this subject, he confessed that many of his orchestra fellows were not happy with his decision to leave the group and he even felt that certain figures tried to put obstacles in his way so that he would not succeed in the way he wanted to. This is one of the reasons why he prefers not to show so much about his work and future projects to the public to avoid problems.

”Mi sentimiento En Rumba”

The process of making this album was not easy, since the artist had to knock on many doors until making contact with Rafael Lozano, who arranged the first song ”Sin Un Amor”. This was a cover of a song by Los Panchos, so we can say that it is a tribute to the group in a totally different genre.

We went looking for musicians from several countries to work with u among whom was Angel Guzman, who plays trombone, baritone, saxophone, trumpet and many more. He also told us about sound engineer José Guerrero, who makes the mixing and mastering of the songs.

The album includes six songs composed by Angel himself and three that were adapted such as ”Perfidia” in a bolero version as a gift for fans of musical trios.

In total, the whole project has two merengues, two boleros and the rest are salsa songs.

Angel Rumba's last album ‘’Mi Sentimiento En Rumba’’ — Angel Rumba’s last album ‘’Mi Sentimiento En Rumba’’

Salsa in a market dominated by trap and reggaeton

”Every genre has its audience and every artist has his fans” was what the singer answered when asked about the challenges facing a salsa singer in these times. With this, he shows that it does not bother him in the least that there are more popular genres than salsa and that every artist could have a strong fan base without this meaning involving damage to another one. He says that he will continue to create music with his favorite rhythms in spite of passing trends.

One thing he did emphasize is that there should be more artists who focus on writing and creating original music instead of doing so many covers. A lot of creativity is needed.

The importance of continuing to promote romantic love in the lyrics

The salsa exponent says that it is very important that music continues to promote romantic love and bring positive messages because unfortunately there are many genres focused on negative stuff such as disrespect for women, drugs, violence and much more. The salsa singer seeks to make his contribution to creating a better society in these hard times.

”The lyrics of the songs have always influenced society because their meanings anchor in the minds and the message endures” said Angel about this issue.

Are we really what we listen to?

Music and personality

There are many things to say about music and what it reveals about people who listen to it, especially when we are talking about certain musical genres in particular. It has been said that fans of a certain genre behave in a certain way and fans of another have a totally different behavior, while there are others who say that you can’t judge a person based on musical tastes, but how true is the latter?

There have been many studies showing this alleged relationship between the kind of music we enjoy and our personality and the way we are, but there are many who claim that this is a mere myth and that someone should not be analyzed based on the music they listen to. In this material, we will try to shed a little bit of light on this interesting and topìcal issue.

Why do we like one genre or another?

Something very important to know to better understand this topic is that the music we like now was not a product of chance, but of a number of factors to consider and one of them is the power and presence of music in our lives. It seems that every moment or situation we live has a soundtrack that fits perfectly well in what we are experiencing and feeling. We can all link one or several songs with something we are living, whether a party, social event, religious ritual, mourning for the lost of a loved one, love breakup, work stress, among other things.

Is that all of us have listened to music practically from pregnancy, at which time sounds are already familiar to human beings. Since then, our brain begins to associate all this information sonically speaking and translates it as memories or feelings in the future. That is why a certain cong can get us to remember past experiences, whether a person or a situation that made us feel a certain way.

What happens is that this piece of music leads our neurons to make very special connections that would not occur in another situation. Of course, the same piece would not evoke the same memories and sensations for everyone, as each case is very particular and specific. A song or melody can make someone look back on a failed love relationship, while another person can reflect on the value of friendship. It is all about understanding the environment and personal experiences.

Who are we based on our musical tastes?

One of the most important aspects to consider is that we are not going to choose the same kind of music for a party as we would listen to staying alone at home on a rainy afternoon, as well as we do not usually like just one kind of music, but many. It all depends on the occasion and state of mind in at the moment. However, everyone has a special interest in certain genres people listen to spontaneously and without impositions. These genres are usually associated or resemble each other, so it is not uncommon for a salsa lover to also like merengue and bachata.

In a 2007 study conducted by psychologists Adrian C. North and David J. Hargreaves from the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom entitled ”Lyfestyle Correlates of Music Preference: 1. Relationships, Living Arragements, Beliefs, and Crime”, it is suggested that musical tastes may be indirectly related to individual lifestyle.

In this study, 2532 volunteers replied to a questionnaire asking them to indicate their musical tastes in a very specific way and talk about their lifestyles, interpersonal relationships, living conditions, economic situation, moral values, criminal record, vices, among other things. After analyzing the responses, we can see that there is an intimate connection between what respondents listen to and the way they live.

In the end, it was concluded that musical preferences can be taken as a means of discriminating between diverse lifestyles and liberal or conservative beliefs. In the vast majority of cases, ”liberal” music fans should have liberal lifestyles and customes, some of whom may become antisocial. In the opposite case, classical music lovers disployed much more conservative lifestyles and even showed more respect for the law.

Of course, these results cannot be taken as an absolute truth, as not everything is written on this subject. It is important to pursue research on this subject to reach further conclusions and take into account the new tools provided by science and technology.