Search Results for: Oscar D León

Maite Hontele in Concert!

Latin America / Venezuela / Caracas

A great musician is someone who can enlighten the stage only with his/her presence, this is the case when Maite Hontele is on stage. Full-house, the stage full of colors and all the audience is ready to dance and enjoy the best rhythm: SALSA!

International Salsa Magazine had the honor to be part of the last concert of Maite Hontele, the incredible dutch trumpeter, in Caracas, Venezuela.

The silence is interrupted with the beautiful sound of a characteristic trumpet playing a melody, the stage gets full of musicians and Maite comes out with the biggest smile that characterize her.

She starts with a speech where she explains how thankful she is for being there, talks a little bit about Colombia, and then the party starts! Two hours full of hits of herself, Oscar d’ Leon, and many other artists, with the performance of her Colombian band by her side.

But let’s get deeper in who is her. Maite Hontelé is a trumpeter who was born in Utrecht, Holland, and was raised with music. Her parents owned a huge collection of salsa and son Cubano, and every day she would listen to Latin music, quite unusual for a Dutch girl. After playing a few years with the local brass band, she decided to become a musician, and studied latin and jazz trumpet at the Conservatory of Rotterdam.

Her first big tour was life-changing. She went to Colombia, the country where she now lives. In 2004, Maite Hontelé toured with the world-famous Buena Vista Social Club. In 2009 Maite launched her first album, Llegó la Mona, a salsa-tribute to Colombian music. This album was made with the purpose to tour more in Colombia. Among the gigs she played was the Medellin Jazz Festival.

That year has been very important for her. Not only did Maite record her first album, she also found the place where she wanted to continue to live and make music. That’s when she decided to move to Medellin, Colombia.

In 2010, she released her second production, Mujer Sonora. The album is focused on oldschool styles such as son and charanga, but also contains some spicy salsa-tracks.

This album was presented at the 2010 North Sea Jazz Festival, and on various international tours. In 2011 and 2012 Maite toured many countries with her band, and was a guest with Ruben Blades, Yuri Buenaventura, Issac Delgado, Diego Galé (DVD-recording), Juan Carlos Coronel, Oscar D’León, and many others.

Her 3rd album, Déjame Asi, was released in April 2013. She is currently touring Europe and Latin America.

“My Outlaw Loredo is the most elegant gig-bag in the universe. A perfect match for me!” Maite Hontelé

The show ends with the best energy. Maite is not only an amazing trumpeter, but also a great singer and composer. We are glad to be part of his musical journey.

Isidro Infante is one of the most successful producers and arrangers in the history of Salsa

Born August 12, 1952, San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a professional pianist, arranger, composer and music producer, working in genres such as Classical Music, Rock, Pop Rock, Latin Ballad, Rock in Spanish, Salsa, Latin Jazz etc.

In addition, he has 5 awards and 47 Grammy nominations and several Billboard projects, Lo Nuestro Awards and Ace & Paoli Awards.

His parents were Dr. Isidoro Infante and Carmen Santiago.

From a young age Isidro was influenced by listening to his father play the violin, getting involved with music at age 14 when he participated in a band that played songs by Santana and Chicago.

At the age of 15 he formed his band “Carpe Diem” (Live Life), a Rock/Salsa group that played Rock’n’Roll, Pop, Salsa and included Tommy Villarini on trumpet, Cuto Soto on trombone and guitarist Manolo Sastre.

With this band Isidro wrote his first arrangement “Tiempo De Ti”.

Two years later, Infante was in charge of the background music for Myrta Silva’s television show.

After taking private piano lessons with the famous pianist Carmen Socorro Duclerc, he studied at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico and at the University of Puerto Rico, obtaining bachelor’s degrees in music and chemistry.

Although he was inclined towards medicine because it was his father’s profession, he decided to delve into music and graduated in composition and arrangements at Temple University in Philadelphia in the late 1970s.

In 1995, Isidro Infante and ‘La Élite’ signed a contract with RMM Records as an exclusive artist. Isidro also signed as A&R director for RMM records.

With him he gained experience, quality and evident success in his productions for the label. His work with La India earned him double platinum sales and a Grammy nomination for their album “Sobre El Fuego.”

Within just four years of its founding, La Élite became a dominant force in the Salsa music industry. The band’s first release earned a gold record as well as awards from AS, Paoli and Diplo.

Isidro Infante He also has 5 Grammy awards and 47 nominations and several Billboard projects, Lo Nuestro Awards and Ace & Paoli Awards.

The hit songs “Que Tengo de Ti,” “Nave de Papel,” “Ganas” and “Has Quedado Retratada” all topped the Tropical Salsa charts.

On Isidro Infante y La Élite II, the group’s second production, Isidro added vocalist Maggie Ramos. This helped him create an album with an exceptional variety of music.

Songs like “Quítame ese Hombre” and “Santo Militar y Montuno” made Isidro Infante a favorite of many.

Along with Louie Ramírez, Infante was credited as one of the creators and pioneers in the Salsa movement. Romantic Salsa.

In 1998, his production “Licencia Para Engañar” was released, which was the result of his creativity and flexibility as a musician. In his orchestra, Isidro Infante y La Élite, Jennifer Jiménez and Guillermo Duval participate as vocalists.

In his first album “Secretos”, Kevin Ceballo made his debut as a soloist in “Licencia Para Engañar”, produced by Isidro Infante.

His work as a producer earned his album “India’s Sola” a Grammy nomination. Venezuelan Oscar D’León also received a nomination for “La Fórmula Original” which Isidro also produced.

Isidro’s commitment to everything related to the Latin community prompted him to produce the event “Canto Para La Guaira”.

The concert was held with the purpose of raising funds for the victims of the disaster that affected thousands in Venezuela and thus “Poliedro de Caracas” has been filled to full capacity.

Among the RMM artists who performed were Kevin Ceballo, Ray Sepúlveda, Cheo Feliciano, Tito Nieves, Roberto Avellanet, Michael Stuart and Tony Vega.

In 1981, Ramírez and Infante were approached with the idea of producing an album of famous ballads with Salsa arrangements.

Both found the project interesting and ambitious, so they accepted the challenge. Isidro added his experience in the field of ballads, acquired through his work with José Luis Rodríguez, Camilo Sesto and Yolandita Monge, to Ramírez’s knowledge of Latin jazz.

The result was “Noche Caliente”, the first album in the genre to sell over a million copies.

Memories at El Corso Night Club in New York City with my friend and mentor, Master Louie Ramirez, producer, arranger, vibraphonist, timpanist, marimba player

Isidro Infante is one of the most sought-after arrangers in Salsa.

Venturing into a genre other than salsa, he also participated in Willennium, Will Smith’s most recent recording where Isidro played piano and keyboards.

Isidro Infante was working with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Herb Alpert, Gloria Estefan, Dizzy Gillespie, Dionne Warwick, Patty La Belle, Will Smith, Wyclef Jean, Clark Terry, Jon Anderson & Yes, Vangellis, Sheila E., Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Machito, Marc Anthony, La India, Fania All-Stars, Oscar D’Leon, Hector Lavoe, Willie Colon, Larry Harlow, Roberto Roena, Johnny Pacheco, Pete El Conde Rodriguez, Louie Ramirez, Ray De La Paz, Jose Alberto “El Canario”, Adalberto Santiago, Eddie Santiago, Lalo Rodriguez, Paquito Guzman, Marvin Santiago, Domingo Quinones, Camilo Azuquita, Kako, Rafael Cortijo, Ismael Rivera, Manny Manuel, Raul Marrero, Vitin Aviles, Papaito, Tony Vega, Puerto Rico All Stars, Ralphy Leavitt & La Selecta, The Latin Corporation, Jose Mangual Jr,Jr. Gonzalez, Ramon Rodriguez,Orquesta La Terrifica, German Olivera, Wichy Camacho, Johnny Ventura, Sergio Vargas, Cuco Valoy, Ramon Orlando, Los Hermanos Rosario, Los Niches, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Little Louie Vega, Robert Avellanet, Michael Stuart, Yanko, Kevin Ceballo Danny Rivera, Sophy, Mirta Silva, Ivy Queen, Tego Calderon, Mickey Perfecto, TNT and many more.

Among his compositions are “Viejo Pachanguero”, “Vicio de Quererte”, “Esa Niña” etc.

With more than 2,500 arrangements in his resume, Isidro is one of the most successful producers and arrangers in the history of Salsa.

Isidro Infante has been working for major record labels such as Sony BMG (Epic, Sony Discos, Sony International, etc.), Universal EMI Capitol TH Records Salsa International Velvet (Venezuela), Co Discos (Colombia), J&N Records, Univision Poligram, Luna Records Fonovisa, Sono Tone, Caiman Records, Faisán Records, GB Records, Ibero- Records, Salsoul Records and many more.

Isidro Infante produced the Special for Banco Popular 2010: Truibuto Al Gran Combo on CD & DVD which achieved platinum sales.

The project included the participation of El Gran Combo, Ismael Miranda, La India, José Alberto, Isaac Delgado, Michael Stuart, Domingo Quiñones, NG2, Luisito Carrión, Sammy García and El Sabor de Puerto Rico.

He was sharing the Fania All-Stars as musical director with maestro Johnny Pacheco in several concerts throughout Latin America and was involved in musical projects with the Mexican singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel.

In 2010, Isidro Infante and Iván Joy established the new company Artist System Inc. which is in collaboration with Diamond Music and has gained important positions in the market of digital production and promotion and also has a lot of experience in the creation and management of digital content.

Con India y La Cantante cubana, Laritza Bacallao

The company is working with such artists as Isidro Infante, Lucecita Benítez “La Voz Nacional De Puerto Rico”, Lunna, Lourdes Robles, Conjunto Canayón, Сorporación Latina, Manolo Lezcano, Lou Briel, Jowell & Randy, Arcángel, Tego Calderón, Jadiel, Endo, Guelo Star, Kastrofobia, Los Metalicoz and many more.

Awards

5-time Grammy winner

47 Grammy nominations and several Billboard projects

Premios Lo Nuestro and Ace & Paoli Awards.

Also Read: Ezequiel Lino Frías Gómez was an excellent musician, pianist, arranger and composer.

Source and Collaboration: Marino de Jesus (1588) from Salsa History of the Dominican Republic

Samuel del Real was an excellent pianist, orchestra conductor, arranger and educator

Born on August 22, 1953 in Barranquilla, Colombia, he was a well-known pianist, orchestra conductor, arranger and educator.

Samuel del Real was an excellent pianist, conductor, arranger and educator.Samuel del Real was an excellent pianist, conductor, arranger and educator. — Samuel del Real was an excellent pianist, conductor, arranger and educator.

He was part of renowned orchestras such as Pacho Galán, La Dimensión Latina and El Trabuco Venezolano and participated in a series of record productions in Caracas, Venezuela.

In 1983 he recorded his first album with his own band. His first hit “Ella No Baila Sola” became the theme song in every night club in Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Panama, USA among other countries.

In 1985, Samuel moved to Chicago, USA, where he quickly formed his orchestra with members of different nationalities resulting in a mixed sound for his music.

Since then Samuel del Real and his orchestra participated in many festivals, concerts, private events in cities such as Chicago, London, New York, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Detroit, Indianapolis, Miami and more. “Piano Caliente”, ‘Piano Jamboree’ and ‘Piano Navideño’ are the most recent albums that include selections from his extensive Latin jazz repertoire, as well as new interpretations of Afro-Cuban classics from his album entitled Piano Caliente.

Samuel In 1985, Samuel moved to Chicago, U.S.A.

Samuel has ventured not only into the salsa genre, but also into Latin jazz that surprises even those who don’t know him.

It doesn’t take much to realize that Samuel was “El Maestro del Buen Ritmo” and that his music is here to stay.

Samuel del Real: the artist from Barranquilla who triumphed in the United States.

He trained musically and academically, open to the idea of expanding his artistic horizons.

“I began my musical studies in Fine Arts, among my teachers I remember Günther Renz.

In Venezuela I attended the Juan José Landaeta Conservatory and the Caracas Philharmonic Conservatory with the pianist Paul Rosenbloo.

I studied harmony and counterpoint. With maestro Antonio Lauro, composer and guitarist, I completed my academic training”.

At the age of 15 he began his professional career as a pianist in the Pacho Galán Orchestra. There he learned the tricks of popular dance music of the Colombian Caribbean, and the possibilities of sharing with national musicians opened up for him.

DiegoDel Real, my first piano teacher, my advisor, my partner in producing, arranging and recording music.

With him I learned the routine of Caribbean music, he had a very positive attitude towards me. He would summon me before rehearsals to teach me how to play, he would take the score and sit with me at the piano: ‘Play like this’, he would tell me, and ‘play the acor-des this way, this is the tumbao, this is the phrasing’, all with a lot of patience”, he recounted.

“There was Pi¬chirilo on bass, Jorge Pérez on timbales and drums; and Joaquín Pérez on congas. Chicho Sarmiento, Clí¬maco Sarmiento’s son, played the alto saxophone; Pacho Aragón played the tenor saxophone. On trumpets Armando Galán, Raúl Lastra and Chino Acosta.

Rosendo on trombone. Maestro Pacho Galán would arrive to conduct the first set and then he would leave, Armando would be in charge of the orchestra. That’s when my interest in Caribbean folklore began.

I did not record with Pacho’s orchestra because he did not record in that period, but I played a lot of his music and I still play it in Latin jazz.

“For me it was a great school,” he said.

Although he has lived outside the country for many years, when he returns to Barranquilla it is as if he had never left.

It shows in his confidence to walk the streets, to visit places, to call friends, to exchange anecdotes with people he barely knows.

He is a man who lives for music, to which he has dedicated a contagious enthusiasm. That is why when he comes, it is a pleasure to review his career.

“I come to take a little hot temperature and to bring my latest albums for the local public to get to know them,” he said.

In 1975 he formed an orchestra in Venezuela with which he worked at the Hotel Tamana¬co Internacional, while at the same time he was a pianist, administrator and producer of various musical projects in the recording industry of that country.

In 1979 he joined Dimensión Latina, an aggregation with which he recorded Di¬mensión desconocida (1979), el número uno con la núme¬ro uno (1980), Para siempre (1980), Combinación latina Nº 4 (1980), and Cuerda para rato (1981).

“In Dimensión Latina I spent three years with Andy Montañez, Argenis Carruyo and Gustavo Carmona, then I started the orchestra project with my name.

I also recorded with Andy Montañez as a soloist, and made arrangements in recordings for Velvet de Venezuela”.

Samuel also participated in the extraordinary Trabuco Venezolano, led by drummer Alberto Naranjo.

“With Trabuco Venezolano I participated in many concerts in Venezuela.

With them I recorded Irakere and Trabuco, in a live performance at the Poliedro de Caracas. I also recorded Imágenes Latinas.

The Flor y Nata, themes: No me engañes, Rosa de la Noche, Brujería, Almas Blues, Desilusión, (there I do a piano solo that has been highly praised), a pesar de Usted, Orquesta de moda, No quiero Confusión. Retrospectiva del Trabuco Venezolano Vol. 2 (1977- 1984)”.

El Trabuco Venezolano – La Flor y Nata 1984

In 1983 he recorded his first album with his orchestra, the hit was the song Ella no baila sola, which became his letter of introduction.

In 1984 he recorded his second album, repeating his success with the song Cara de Domingo, by the niuyorrican flautist Lou Perez.

The third album with his orchestra was produced in 1987, when he was already living in Chicago.

“When I left Dimensión Latina, Gustavo Cardona, Oscar D’León’s bass player, encouraged me to start my own orchestra.

One of the numbers was Ella no baila so¬la, and when it was played, people stopped to dance. That is why we decided to record that song.

I brought Frankie Paz, a boy from Maracaibo who had auditioned with Dimensión Latina as a replacement for Argenis Carruyo, but César Monje didn’t like it.

I told the boy, I’m going to have my orchestra soon and I’m going to bring you with me”.

Referring to his piano influences, Samuel recalls Noro Morales, Eddie and Charlie Palmieri, Richie Ray and Lino Frias.

Others such as Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Oscar Peterson, shaped his vision.

“I liked Noro Morales a lot, I had only one record of his, ‘Maria Cervantes’, which caught my attention since I was a child. One day I decided to arrange it a little differently. I still play it in my Latin concerts.

Del Real took up residence in Chicago in 1985. There he has continued his work moving between Latin dance music and Latin jazz.

I’ve been living there for 32 years, I have my orchestra, I give Latin jazz concerts, and I’ve also worked for other organizations in other cities like Minneapolis and Cleveland.

We do salsa and different Latin American rhythms. The music business has changed, it’s a big investment to make a record, and you have to project it to the singer, limiting the possibility of moving.

That’s why I decided to make Caribbean Latin jazz instrumentals; with that I expose my music without the need to write ten arrangements for a singer with whom you run the risk of him leaving”.

His recent recordings include the Pianos del Caribe series, which includes the discs Piano caliente, Piano jamboree and Piano navideño.

“The first disc of the series, Piano Caliente, brings songs from the 50’s such as Mata Siguaraya, El que siembre su maíz, Besitos de coco…. I made the themes a little more progressive with jazz, but preserving their essence.

I subtly changed the harmonic structures, without distorting them. There the singer is the piano.

Then came Pia¬no Jamboree, with some of my own themes. I do more complex things, trying to penetrate Latin jazz, looking for a space for my musical identity.

It is an interesting work that I would like music lovers from Barranquilla to listen to.

The third album also in the same series is entitled Piano Navideño,

“The first album in the series, Piano Caliente, brings songs from the 50’s like Mata Siguaraya, El que siembre su maíz, Besitos de coco…. I made the themes a little more progressive with jazz, but preserving their essence.

I subtly changed the harmonic structures, without distorting them. There the singer is the piano.

Then came Pia¬no Jamboree, with some of my own themes. I do more complex things, trying to penetrate Latin jazz, looking for a space for my musical identity.

It is an interesting work that I would like music lovers from Barranquilla to listen to.

The third album also in the same series is entitled Piano Navideño, I took as a reference the themes of Christmas. Christmas is very important to me. I am a lover of that celebration.

I took several themes from the international Christmas repertoire and put them in Latin jazz”.

No one doubts that Barranqui jazz or the International Carnival of the Arts would be the perfect setting for his work. Plus, it would be a homecoming in style.

“I think it would be a great opportunity to showcase my music in my city. I am glad that in Barranquilla they are creating spaces like the Carnival of the Arts and the Caribbean Cultural Park, so that people have access to that part of the culture that is music”.

He passed away at the age of 67 on December 10, 2020.

Samuel del Real, who suffered from diabetes, died in Chicago, United States, where he had settled 35 years ago.

Also Read: Thank you Rafael for all you have done for Salsa. Without you many of us would not be salseros

Source and Collaboration By: Marino de Jesus (15889 of Historia Salsera

Republica Dominicana

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.