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“El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico” in a virtual concert

The musical group will give a concert for their country, Puerto Rico.

It is no secret that 2020 has been one of the hardest years in recent times, with a pandemic that caused a health emergency and economically destabilized many countries, it is normal that most population is negatively affected as a result, and of course, artists have also been affected; many concerts and festivals have been canceled due to the delicate situation, which led artists and organizations within the music industry to “improvise”.

On this occasion, this virtual concert will be presented by the Econo supermarket, on December 26 at 8:00 pm, and will be broadcast on both the supermarket’s Facebook site and on their YouTube channel; It is important to mention that not only El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico will be presented, but the concert will also have the participation of Fiel a la Vega.

The concert is prepared to celebrate the supermarket 50 years of history, and more than a celebration, it is also a gift of gratitude to the people of the region, that is why the event is called “Agradecimiento a Puerto Rico” (thanks to Puerto Rico); Furthermore, the president of Econo, Eduardo Marxuach, said that “The concert is our way of thanking all the public for the treatment, preference and all the support that we have had in Econo Supermarkets throughout these 50 years of history” Marxuach also mentioned how complicated the year has been but from an optimistic point of view. “Even though we have had a difficult year, we want to close it up with a musical celebration, which is the soul of all of us.”

As for the duration of the concert, it is estimated to be two hours of music, the place chosen for the recording is the Coca-Cola Music Hall, so the sound quality is quite guaranteed. Everything has been planned so that the audience can enjoy a great virtual concert, despite the fact that surely most of the people are not yet familiar with this type of show.

El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico — The musical group will give a concert for their country, Puerto Rico.

Virtual concerts during 2020

The unfortunate pandemic caused people to spend much more time than usual in their homes, but is everything absolutely negative? All negative things always have a positive aspect too, and in this case, the fact that people have more time to spend in front of a mobile or a computer, has brought some possibilities that artists had not considered before, and one of those possibilities is virtual concerts. These types of events can help the artists to promote themselves or to connect with their followers; plus, the concert organized by the Econo supermarket has made it quite clear that even organizations that are not directly linked to the music industry, can also take advantage of the situation to present this type of events.

Proof of how well these particular types of concerts have worked out is that not only the most popular artists can carry them out, but organizations that are not huge multinationals can also take advantage of them.

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Villariny Salsa Project from Puerto Rico

Committed to continuing the legacy of the greats in Salsa

Villariny Salsa Project made its debut on July 25th, 2009, at an international event held in Puerto Rico called “Puerto Rico Salsa Congress” where it was presented twice in the same year, as a prelude to Roberto Rohena and later, to the Gran Combo de Puerto Rico.

In the summer of 2010, Oscar Villariny (founder of the group) after working as a professional musician with salsa artists such as Gilberto Santa Rosa, Jerry Rivera, Puerto Rican Power, Viti Ruiz, Rey Ruiz, Anthony Cruz, Jose Alberto “El Canario”, Luigi Texidor, Tito Nieves, Michael Stuart, David Pabon, Johnny Rivera among others; began recording the first musical production which was entitled “En tu tiempo”.

Before making the “relayase” of the musical production, Villariny Salsa Project recorded the Christmas song “Trulla Caliente” to the rhythm of full, being a total success occupying the first positions in the radio lists.

In 2011, the first musical production of the band comes out with 8 songs, which has the hits “Que bien me va”, “Estoy Enamorao”, “Bendita la luz (salsa version)”, “A punto de Caramelo” and “Amigo es un peso en el bolsillo”.

This musical production was in charge of Mr. Tommy Villariny (arranger, musical producer, and trumpet player) who is Oscar Villariny’s father.

Within this production, he had the vocal coaching of Gilberto Santa Rosa, Victor Manuelle, Tony Rivas, Jerry Rivas (singer of the Gran Combo).

Villariny Salsa Project debuted on July 25th 2009 at an international event held in Puerto Rico called "Puerto Rico Salsa Congress". — Music Producer: Tommy Villariny & Oscar Villariny

At the time, it had a great acceptance from salseros and managed to be present in massive concerts such as Luisito Carrión (Roberto Clemente Coliseum), José Alberto El Canario (Tito Puente Theater), and the 2012 National Salsa Day. In 2014, VSP presented its second musical production entitled “De tu mano”.

This production has 10 songs and includes guest artists such as: Manny Trinidad (four Puerto Rican), Prodigio Claudio (four Puerto Rican), Camilo Azuquita, Luisito Carrión, José Alberto “El Canario (We were born in Salsa) and Medina Carrión.

The songs “De tu mano”, “Color Esperanza”, “Nacimos en salsa “and “Con computadora no feat NG2”, occupied the first positions in the radio waves.

In the year 2019, Villariny Salsa Project released a new music single entitled “Homenaje”, in honor of his father’s career and some of his successes by bringing together the same singers who originally recorded them such as Andy Montañez, Eddie Santiago, Rey Ruiz, and Viti Ruiz. “Many artists in the salsa genre have been hand in hand with my father Tommy Villariny to create what are successes today,” said Oscar Villariny.

Villariny Salsa Project released a new musical single entitled "Homenaje", in honor of his father's — Tribute to his father’s career

Our vision at Villariny Salsa Project is to make way for the New Generation and offer new opportunities, which is why Oscar Villariny (Founder of Villariny Salsa Project) is recording his first album with talented young people from the patio, produced by veteran musician Tommy Villariny.

Recently Villariny Salsa Project launched “Agua” available on all digital platforms.

Villariny Salsa Project presenta "Agua" feat. Mari Picorelli — Villariny Salsa Project presenta “Agua” feat. Mari Picorelli

The Villariny Salsa Project orchestra is a group with a lot of projection and refreshing for the industry.

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Puerto Rican American bandleader and singer Elle Jay is proud of her roots

After so many years of coexistence between Latinos and Americans on US soil, there are many citizens who, as a result of this mix, carry in their DNA both identities and that is how they live their lives. Such is the case of Elle Jay, the founder and lead singer of Spanglish Latin American Band, with whom we talked about her life, career, and current orchestra.

Bandleader and singer Elle Jay recording in the studio

Elle’s beginnings in music

Elle has been singing since she was very young. In fact, her mother says that when she was just six months old, she flounced excitedly whenever she heard Latin music. In addition, she comes from a family of musicians, firstly with her father, who played drums in an orchestra, and her mother, who was a singer. For this reason, music was always very present in each and every stage of her life, but she would not become a professional until many years later.

Moreover, once she grew up and became an adult, she felt she did not yet have the skills required to be a good singer, so she had to roll up her sleeves and start to gain experience if she wanted to reach the level she sought. That is how she met the members of a salsa orchestra that played in her area and asked them if they could give her the opportunity to join the group and get better over time. They said yes, and that is when she began to learn everything she could under the wing of various veteran musicians, who taught her to understand the rhythms and clave in the various genres of Latin music.

She also joined other bands like the Orquesta Curaré and Pa’ Gozar Latin Band led by vocalist Laura Sosa, whom Elle considers one of her greatest mentors and teachers in the competitive and complex world of music.

Elle Jay and Jorge Rosario — Guitarist and bassist Jorge Rosario and Elle Jay presenting an evening serenade

How Spanglish Latin American Band got started

Several years later, she finally felt ready to start her own project according to her professional aspirations and therefore stop relying on what others were looking for in a group. In that regard, she took advantage of her half-Puerto Rican and half-American identity and her fluency in Spanish and English to develop an idea that she would share with other musicians she met in her neighborhood. These artists liked it and decided to join her on this road and see what the future held for them.

That was about six years ago, and the project has not done more to grow over time thanks to the tenacity of both Elle and the rest of the team who have made it all possible.

Current and former members of Spanglish Latin American Band

As many other groups of its type, Spanglish Latin American Band has undergone many changes since its founding. One of the few who has stayed in the band from day one is guitarist and bassist Jorge Rosario, who has accompanied Elle at all times and is by her side to this day. He also supports her greatly in everything related to sound and recordings.

The rest of the musicians have come and gone since the beginning. Among the current members of the band are Elle, Jorge, Italian trombonist Mike Matarrazo, and pianist Walter Ávalos. They are currently the most visible and stable faces of the group, while the others only play along with them occasionally.

Elle Jay and the rest of the band — Conguero Mike McSweeney, trombonist Mike Matarrazo, bandleader and singer Elle Jay, drummer Hermidez, bassist and guitarist Jorge Rosario, pianist Walter Ávalos, and bongo player Jay Torres

Half Puerto Rican, half American

In other interviews, Elle has said that she identifies herself a lot with both the United States and Puerto Rico, which she has wanted to reflect in her music. That is why she has always felt a strong connection with artists like Selena, as “The Queen of Tex-Mex” was also very aware of her Latin culture despite being born in the United States. Quintanilla inspired her so much that she wanted to make a tribute to her by singing her famous song “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom” in reggae.

Another example of this is the group Sade with the song “The Sweetest Taboo,” which Elle translated into Spanish and covered in rumba and salsa to “latinize” it. She has done the same with many other well-known songs that have been covered in salsa and Spanish by her group.

Although the majority of the public has shown great receptiveness to their work, Elle also points out that this has caused them some problems with producers and event promoters who think that the group is not American or Latin enough, which has negatively impacted them in some bookings. However, the artist assures that both she and her bandmates stand firm in their convictions and should not change the basis of their project just because a few people do not like it.

“This is who I am, and I can’t please everyone. There always will be people who say yes or no because that’s how this business works, so you have to be strong and move forward despite the obstacles you face,” Elle said on the subject.

Elle Jay and her students — Elle Jay with her students during a salsa class. She is also a dance teacher

To communicate with Spanglish Latin American Band, you can do so via social media or email:

Facebook: Spanglish Latin American Band

Instagram: @spanglishlatinamericanband

Email: [email protected]

Puerto Rican singer Max Rosado and what he had achieved in Washington DC

Puerto Rican singer Max Rosado is one more example of everything Puerto Ricans have accomplished and continue to achieve on a musical level in the United States, so it is a great pleasure for us to speak with this phenomenal artist about his life and career in the following lines. Below are the most important topics covered in our conversation with Rosado.

Max posing for the camera — Max Rosado singing for the camera

What caught Max’s attention in music in the first place?

Since he was very little, Max always had a great love for music and this is largely due to his mother, who loved salsa and instilled this taste in her son from a very young age. She loved La Fania All Stars, Hector Lavoe and Frankie Ruiz, who were practically the first artists Max listened to as a child.

As he grew up, he also listened to other salsa exponents such as Jerry Rivera, Rey Ruiz and Luis Enrique, who strengthened in the youngster his taste for romantic salsa which was very fashionable at the time.

Since he was six or seven, Max was already singing those songs he always listened to on the radio, but he did not take formal music classes until he was 17, which is when he took his artistic inclinations much more seriously. Moreover, at the university level, he started to get involved in bomba, plena and salsa ensembles, thanks to which he met Ramon Sanchez, who is Jerry Rivera’s musical director and arranger for many other artists such as Jerry himself, Frankie Ruiz and Gilberto Santa Rosa.

Professional start in music

The mentorship he received through these ensembles he played with helped him enormously and his first professional contact with salsa was in 2011 with Rey Ruiz, for whom he worked doing backing vocals and with Guillermo Calderon, who gave him the opportunity to do some dates with them.

Max during a celebrating of a quinceañera — Max Rosado during the celebrating of a quinceañera

He was also able to work with great arranger Tommy Villariny, who worked for El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. Gilberto Santa Rosa and finally his son Oscar Villariny. Thanks to this contact, Max may have formed part of the orchestra Villariny Salsa Project for some time.

All these experiences were teaching him what he needed to know about the Puerto Rican musical environment and the musicians of his homeland. He has also been able to improve as an artist and have more experience in the genre.

All this adds up to his training at the university with classes related to piano, arrangements, improvisation and other areas of music to understand it and his colleagues so much better.

The 7th St. Band

Back in 2020, Max was planning on forming his own band and finally becoming independent. When he left Puerto Rico and moved to Washington DC in 2018, he met people like Leonardo García, Dominic Patrick Noel and Eduardo Padua, who were also working on their own projects and aroused the artist’s interest in exploring the idea of creating his orchestra again.

It was then that, the following year, he started to perform with his own group in Cincinnati, specifically at an event known as Salsa On The Square. Since then, he could finally make his dream come true and sing live with his own project, with which he has been able to travel to various cities.

As for the name of the group, The 7th St. Band, it owes it to the name of the street Max grew up in Puerto Rico, but he translated it into English to give it that American touch it has.

Max and Villariny Salsa Project — From left to right, Max Rosado, Villariny Salsa Project (composed of Oscarito Villariny and Victor Gabriel), Michelle Brava, and Kayvan Vega

What has Max learned from the artists he has worked with?

Just like Max has worked with Jerry Riera and Ray Ruiz, he also did the same with Luisito Carrion, Ismael Miranda, Jose Alberto El Canario, Daniela Darcourt, among many others. When we wanted to know what he learned from these big names in the industry, he explained that he tends to observe other artists and their engagement with the public to learn well from each one. In the case of Daniela Darcourt, he told us that her talent, interpersonal gifts and human warmth pleasantly surprised him and he was glad to have been able to meet and work with her.

By working with El Canario, Max noted that he was ”a master of the stage” who has an exceptional and admirable audience management. Talking again about Jerry Rivera, it was an honor for him to have worked with ”El Niño Bonito” of the 90’s whose songs are still chanted with the same feeling as many years ago.

Something that Max admires about all of them is the way they have maintained their positions over the years. He himself notices it in his shows when he plays some of their iconic songs and makes people go crazy with happiness. These are timeless lyrics and artists that Max hopes to belong to one day.

Max and Noel — Max Rosado next to Argentine singer and songwriter Noel Schajris, who is also a former member of the duo Sin Bandera

Salsa at its best, led by the leader of La Puertorriqueña: Don Perignon

The most recent production of the Bailable Víspera de Reyes, which was instituted in 1987 by the timbalero and band leader known in the salsa scene as Don Perignon, was quite an event. Thirty-eight years ago, ‘La Puertorriqueña’ was still known as ‘Compañeros y amigos’.

El líder de La Puertorriqueña, Don Perignon

However, the dance that fulfills a promise made by Perignon to kings has continued to be celebrated beyond the names with which Perignon has identified his band over time.

Each year, the show brings with it a box of surprises. In addition to what is promised during the promotion, the salsa public that comes to the traditional gala knows that anything can happen there. This year, the stage showcased great artists in addition to the luxurious closing that gave us the night by way of El Caballero de la Salsa, Gilberto Santa Rosa performing the emblematic song by Johnny Ortiz, ‘Tu música popular’.

Ángel Martínez, Efraín Hernández, Don Perignon y Miguel Aponte

In this edition, held on January 5, 2025, the concert was started by the successor of the Perignon dynasty, also a percussionist, Pete Perignon; flanked by vocalists Ricardo Rodríguez in the more melodic songs and Julio López in the heavier numbers. López got the first turn at the microphone with ‘Azúcar pa’ un amarga’o’, followed by Rodríguez in the key of ‘Cuéntame tu historia’.

According to Pete himself, he invited Jorge Yadiel Santos to silence rumors regarding the singer’s departure from his orchestra. With the vocal power that characterizes him, the now soloist closed the presentation of the first orchestra of the night; performing ‘Baila’ and ‘Gotita caído en clave’.

Cuto Soto, Gamalier González, Rafy Torres, Pedro Marcano, Carlos __Coamito__ Martínez, Jr., Ángel Segarra y Humberto Ramírez

The group led by Pete Perignon and his timbal offered a great performance with master musicians of the present generation. These were: Jean Carlos Camuñas on the tumbadoras, Carlos Pagán on the bongó, Reynaldo Burgos on the piano, Jorge Rivera on the bass; Víctor Ambert and Jahaziel García on the trumpets; Darnell Febres and César Javier Ayala on the trombones, and Víctor “Yuca” Maldonado on the baritone saxophone.

La Mulenze kept the crowd on the dance floor, with the first song of their repertoire being ‘La sala pa’l baile’, performed by Rafy Andino. The vocal front was completed by Rafy Cruz and Alex Ojeda. The bassist, director of the orchestra of eternal youth, Edwin Morales led his boys, as he affectionately refers to his musicians; Among them were Emanuel Navarro on the tumbadoras, Robert Watts on the timbal, Alberto Muriel on the bongo, Manolo Navarro on the piano, Carlos “Coamito” Martínez, Jr. and Abdel Rivera on the trumpets; in addition to Willie Torres Ortiz and Heity Morales Nogueras on the trombones. The golden touch was offered to those present during the interpretation of the song “Mala paga”, written by our Moncho Rivera, when the Venezuelan master musician and sonero Marcial Istúriz took on the task of accompanying Rafy Andino on the soneos, shortly after Rafy confessed to being a great admirer of one of the greatest exponents of the salsa sound in Venezuela.

Henry Santiago, Joe González, Rico Walker, Marcial Istúriz, Hermán Olivera, Jerry Rivas, Pichie Pérez, Josué Rosado y Pedro Brull

Before starting his presentation, the star of the annual gala, Don Perignon marked and conducted the orchestra to play ‘Happy Birthday’ in honor of the evening’s host, also Z-93 announcer: Néstor Galán, “El Búho”. The timbalero conducted the orchestra, which was reinforced for the evening with guest musicians. The group in its Bailable Víspera de Reyes 2025 version was composed of: Charlie Padilla on the tumbadoras, Miguel Aponte on the bongó, Ángel Martínez on percussion (güiro), Luis Marín on the piano, Efraín Hernández on the bass; Cuto Soto, Gamalier González and Rafy Torres on the trombones; in addition to Pedro Marcano, Carlos “Coamito” Martínez, Jr., Ángel Segarra and Humberto Ramírez on the trumpets. For the vocal front, Perignon called on: Henry Santiago, Pedro Brull, Joe González, Pichie Pérez, Josué Rosado, Jerry Rivas, Rico Walker, Marcial Istúriz, Hermán Olivera and Gilberto Santa Rosa.

The repertoire took the followers of La Puertorriqueña on a historic tour that demonstrated the variety of songs and voices that come together in a salsa key with the cadence and flavor that Perignon manages to give to each project he leads. Joe González performed ‘Ciudad, ciudad’, Pedro Brull excelled singing ‘Represento’, Pichie Pérez was in charge of vocalizing ‘Como mangó’, Josué Rosado visited to sing ‘Cantándole al amor’, Jerry Rivas was in charge of ‘El pin pin’, Rico Walker shined with ‘Que vengan rumberos’, followed by Marcial Istúriz and a masterful interpretation of ‘La familia’ and Hermán Olivera with his spectacular ‘Ritmo Bembé’.

Marcial Istúriz comparte micrófono con Hermán Olivera

La Puertorriqueña was born in 1988 near the promise of Kings, which happens every January 5. The dance of January 5, 2025, which was held at the Sheraton in San Juan, Puerto Rico and was dedicated to trombonist Toñito Vázquez (RIP) showed that the promise of Reyes by Don Perignon -who is the leader of a generation of musicians- established more than three decades ago, remains valid. The participation of El Caballero de la Salsa recreated the beginning of his career, together with his first musical director: Don Perignon. That brotherhood between Gilberto and Perín, like the promise of Reyes, also remains valid. For our part, we will continue in salsa thanks to the call of the leader of La Puertorriqueña.

Also Read: Don Perignon and La Puertorriqueña are prides of Puerto Rico