Search Results for: Oscar D' León

Mariana “The Sonera of Venezuela and for the world”

Janett Guevara García, artistically known as Mariana “La Sonera de Venezuela”, was born in La Pastora, Caracas on January 19, daughter of Reina García and Vicente Guevara.

Daughter of Reyna García and Vicente Guevara, she is the oldest of six siblings and from a very young age she showed her taste for music; an activity that has been her eternal passion, and has led her to make 12 record productions.

She is the oldest of six siblings and from a very young age she showed her taste for music; an activity that has been her eternal passion and has led her to make six record productions.

Educated in a convent school, she always participated and stood out in cultural events, until on one occasion she was suspended for telling the mother superior that there was a song called “La Cárcel” by Septeto Juventud that she wanted to sing at a cultural event.

At the age of 14, during her high school education, she learned to play drums and participated in the choir of the Caricuao Parish church where she lived.

As the years went by, Mariana was invited by Mr. Naty Martinez to a rehearsal, who was impressed when he heard her and decided to make a musical production.

That is when Mariana’s true pilgrimage began, going through stages earning the admiration of salsa greats.

In past years, she received praise from Queen Celia Cruz and has the guarantee and support of the singers of the Fania Stars, the Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, José Alberto El Canario and even her great friend and fellow countryman Oscar D’León.

Oscar El Sonero del Mundo y Mariana La Sonera de Venezuela

Mariana has been worthy of awards such as “El Congo de Oro” at the Barranquilla salsa festival.

She has been praised by personalities such as Don Tite Curet Alonzo. Mariana alternates her exciting career with the media, where she has a radio program dedicated to our Latin music “Sonsoneando con Mariana” winner of the 2010 Excellence Award, as a popular radio space in the Vargas State Venezuela.

She recently participated in the heartfelt tribute to the 50 years of artistic career of maestro Elio Pacheco, founder of the Latin Dimension, where she recorded an excellent song called “Al Olvido”.

She received praise from the Cuban queen Celia Cruz, and has the support of singers such as the Fania Stars, José Alberto “El Canario”, the Gran Combo de Puerto Rico and even her friend and confidant Oscar D’ León.

“Oscar represents more than a friend to me; he is like a brother. When he has a presentation in Vargas he does not hesitate to call me to see us and talk about our projects. I thank him a lot for his advice, because it has helped me to be where I am. The responsibility of being La Sonera de Venezuela falls on my shoulders.”

Y así quedó esta Sonera para su noche boleros

She has managed to release 12 musical productions. Among her best-known songs are “Frases hecha” in 1996, recorded in Peru and “Eres más fuerte que yo” by the composer Enrique Hidalgo.

Awards obtained

La Sonera has been worthy of multiple awards, including the “Congo de Oro” at the Barranquilla Salsa Festival, as well as the nomination three times in a row for the Vargas Excellence.

She has also received plaques as Female New Artist of the Year and Best Sonera in Caribbean Representation.

“I will never forget when they gave me the Catatumbo de Oro in Maracaibo, in the year 2000. It is one of my greatest achievements.”

Mariana La Sonera en el Santuario de La Divina Pastora en Barquisimeto

My family is my life

At just 18 years old, Mariana became a mother for the first time. “It is something that very few people know, but my first husband mistreated me physically, verbally and psychologically. The only thing I can be thankful for from that relationship is the existence of my son.”

She is currently a speaker, producer, and host of her own radio show “SONSONEANDO CON MARIANA,” broadcast Monday through Friday from 12:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Dial Azul 95.9 FM. At the same time, she directs her own group and is part of Jeque y su Banda, the Rumberos Callejón orchestra, directed by the experienced timbalero Carlitos Padrón, where she shares the stage with Rodrigo Mendoza, Wilmer Lozano, among others.

Edgar Dolor, Hayzalex, El Jeque, Janett Trejo, Mariana, Frederick, Carlitos Hurtado

Research Sources:

Djane. Shina Rojas

Luisana Brito, [email protected]

Also Read: “Canelita Medina” Caribbean popular music loses one of its best exponents

The world’s sonero returns to dance with the bass, this time from the Coca Cola Music Hall in Puerto Rico

On October 26, 2024, the Sonero of the World, Óscar D’León, arrived at the Coca Cola Music Hall in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The concert, scheduled for 6:00 p.m., began an hour late. However, attendees waited patiently until Óscar made his energetic entrance onto the colorful stage that was dressed in salsa for the occasion.

The world's greatest singer returns to dance with the bass, this time from the Coca Cola Music Hall in Puerto Rico — The world’s greatest singer returns to dance with the bass, this time from the Coca Cola Music Hall in Puerto Rico

For approximately two hours, the bassist was accompanied by his own orchestra, whose musicians traveled from Miami, Florida, USA. Between soneo and soneo, the Oscar of Salsa informed us that the inconvenience causing the delay had to do with a musician, who having stayed in Miami did not have the possibility of reaching Puerto Rican soil on time.

D´León, with more than half a century of musical career and a long list of hits, delighted the audience with the songs that have made him one of the favorite salsa singers of the Island of Enchantment. He started the evening with “Llorarás”, which ignited the passion of the audience gathered at the Coca Cola Music Hall, and who sang the hit at the top of their lungs alongside the bassist. This was followed by the songs “Bravo de verdad”, “Yo quisiera”, “Hechicera”, “Taboga” -from Dimensión Latina-, accompanied by his backing singer, Johnny Silva, “La murga”, “Detalles”, “La cadenita”, “Idilio” -also a duet with Johnny Silva- and “Mi bajo y yo”. During the interpretation of the latter he was accompanied by the instrument with which he achieved fame to recall his beginnings as a bassist, vocalist and dancer.

The world's sonero dances again with the bass — The world’s sonero dances again with the bass

The historic concert with the bass was followed by ‘Irimó’, ‘Sigue tu camino’, ‘La piragua’, ‘Que buen baila usted’, ‘En mi Viejo San Juan’, ‘La Mazucamba’, ‘El frutero’, ‘El manicero’, ‘Esa mujer’, ‘Juanita Morell’ and ‘Matasiguaraya’.

As usual, the concert was characterized by the energy of El León de la Salsa and the affection he receives every time he visits Borinquen. Rosalis Torres’ production team took care of every detail, making sure that everything flowed with the same impeccability as always. Once again, the salsa audience was pleased and waiting for the next concert.

Oscar D' Leon The Return — Oscar D’ Leon The Return

Also Read: Willie Rosario, El Rey del ritmo by journalist and music researcher Robert Téllez M.

Celesté Polanco. The Salsera Fair

North America/ USA / Pennsylvania

Celesté Polanco “The Salsera Fair” is a young singer in constant ascent in the National Salsa music movement nowadays. This star from Philadelphia with Dominican and Puerto Rican roots has managed to delve into the acceptation of the tropical music market with her two hits: “Traicionada” and “Mi Salsa te llama” in collaboration with great producers and composers of Latin Music.

This Salsera and humble person began her professional career thanks to the support of Héctor Rosado who believed in her talent and gave her the opportunity to be the lead vocalist of his Hache orchestra and at the same time to start working in the musical field, sharing stage with renowned Salsa figures, such as: Frankie Vázquez, Kevin Ceballo, Frankie Negrón, VITI Ruiz, Herman Olivera, Ricky Luis, and Chino Núñez y su Orchestra.

In 2015 Polanco decided to become a soloist with the 2x Grammy Award and 7x Billboard Award winner, Pablo Chino Núñez, recording her first two singles: “Traicionada”, released in 2015 under the production and arrangement of Pablo Chino Núñez, and composition of her authorship together to Linen Church and a year later her second promotional single “Mi Salsa te llama” whose composition, arrangement and production was in charge of Pablo Chino Núñez and Celesté Polanco.

“La Fiera”, nicknamed by her producer Chino Núñez to see her deliver her emotions during the recording of Traicionada, connects her art with her experiences. “The best way to sing is from my experiences. It’s my art, you know, someone will connect with it because they have encountered it too. I love happy music as well that’s where “Mi Salsa Te Llama” comes in”, said Celesté.

“… I love Salsa I feel that in the Salsa music industry there are not enough females emerging in the Salsa Industry.”

Celesté Polanco currently resides in Philadelphia and is recording her first album in which it will include her third promotional single: “El Tiempo Lo Dirá” which will be presented with an official video and will be available on all digital platforms soon.

This representative of the Salsa has performed at major festivals, such as: NAHREP (National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals), LA LIVE (National Convention, 2016), MUSIKFEST in Bethlehem & LEVITT STAGE in PA and for this 2018 “La Fiera” will continue presenting his shows in Miami, Chicago, LA and also in the tri-state area.

Traicionada Cover - Celesté Polanco — Traicionada Cover – Celesté Polanco

“…The market of salsa, in general, it’s worldwide re-known. It doesn’t pertain to one ethnicity it has become multicultural… It’s a worldwide movement”.

“… My main focus is to reach as many people as I can through my voice and become a positive influence to the younger generation and all those who aspire to do great things but are scared to try”. Celesté Polanco

The Latin Music’s influences of Celeste “La Fiera” Polanco:

-Celia Cruz -Oscar D’ León -Yolanda Rivera -Cano Estremera -Orquesta Mulenze, etc…

For more information about Celesté Polanco, please like her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/celeste.polanco.7

El Tiempo Lo Dira Cover - Celesté Polanco — El Tiempo Lo Dira Cover – Celesté Polanco

Yari More Latin Band, the orchestra that accompanied Celia Cruz

Yari More Latin Band is one of those groups whose history shows us that dreams do come true and that there is always the possibility to meet our greatest idols. Today, Yari More, with whom we were able to talk a little about his history as an artist and his band, is an example of what Latin artists in general have achieved over the past decades.

Yari posing for the camera — This is Yari More posing for the camera

How Yari More first became interested in music

Juat like most musicians, he became interested in music when still a child. He remembers getting together with his friends from the block to play with makeshift instruments, moments that he keeps in memory and that marked the beginning of what would become his great adult vocation.

Some time later, he joined the army in his native Colombia, specifically the navy, but that was not the only thing he devoted his time. It turns out that he found a great taste for several of the songs from acclaimed Spanish singer Raphael and started imitating his voice in musical events of the armed forces. He was so good that he began to be called as ”El Rafael de Colombia” by his acquaintances, but the event that would make him see music as a serious profession was yet to come. That came later.

A night where he was celebrating a friend’s birthday in a night club, another boy in the group asked the orchestra director to let Yari sing with them. The audience liked his performance so much that he started going to the same place every weekend to continue delighting those present with his melodious voice, eventually leading the orchestra he was performing with to offer him the position of singer on an ongoing basis.

Never in his wildest dreams did Yari imagine such an offer, but he accepted it, so he began to balance his activities in the orchestra with his daily work in a factory at that time. Since both jobs took up so much of his time, he eventually had to decide on just one, which was, of course, music. It can be said that this was the official beginning of his career.

From then on, he was in several groups both in Colombia and in the neighboring country Ecuador until he was given a great job opportunity in the United States, more specifically in Los Angeles. After some time with the orchestra that hired him there, he decided it was time to pursue a solo career with romantic music.

Yari with Celiz Cruz — Yari More Latin Band playing live with ”La Guarachera de Cuba” Celiz Cruz

Yari More Latin Band

In the 1990s. he decided to form his own orchestra which he named Yari More Latin Band. Since he already had plans about undertaking such a project, he visited universities and talked to many friends in the industry in order to hire the best musicians he could find for his band.

His success earned him the possibility of signing with the company RMM Records & Video owned by the popular Latin music promoter Raphy Mercado. This label was the same one that signed ”La Guarachera de Cuba” Celia Cruz, with whom they shared the stage, since Yari More Latin Band was the orchestra that accompanied her in her performances on the West Coast.

In addition to Celia Cruz, he has also accompanied other musical luminaries like Rubén Blades, Willie Colón, Eddy Santiago, Tony Vega, Tito Nieves, El Grupo Niche, El Gran Cobo de Puerto Rico, Oscar D’ León, Joan Sebastian, Las Chicas del Can and many others.

Yari says he has learned a lot from each and every one of the aforementioned singers and groups, details that he has added to his own orchestra in order to improve it every day more and more.

Yari with Oscar D’ León — Yari More next to ”El Sonero Del Mundo” Oscar D’ León

Private Events

Yari More Latin Band offers its talent for all kinds of private events such as weddings, quinceañeras, corporate parties, charitable activities, award shows, festivals, Latin nights in clubs, among others.

Yari told us that those interested in hiring the orchestra simply have to contact him through his official website, Instagram and Facebook. These are the channels he uses to agree with the client on the conditions, the place, the date and the economic arrangement.

‘‘Fortunately, we have a lot of work here in the Bay Area and many events of all kinds for the rest of the year” said Yari on this subject.

Vocalist of La Moderna Tradición Eduardo Herrera and his fascinating story

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

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

How did Eduardo Herrera become interested in music?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reasons to leave Venezuela and go to the United States

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

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

Other areas of music explored by Eduardo

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

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

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Complex moments for Eduardo personally and professionally

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

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

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

Eduardo’s plans to create his own orchestra

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

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

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

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

Other groups

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

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

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