Search Results for: Salsa Fest

Latin America – FEB 2021

Did you know that the popular, traditional or folk musical manifestations in Dominican Republic came up thanks to Spanish and African music with regards to the rhythmic, tonal and harmonic aspects many years ago? [Read more]

It was founded on February 19th, 1932 by Concepción Castro Zaldarriaga and her sisters, being the first son female Sextet and expanded to the jazz band and typical charanga format… [Read more]

Many Latin American rhythms have been present in different countries worldwide, especially in Latin America because of its culture and customs through time, and in Colombia music has its own history… [Read more]

Did you know that … Carnival is a party that is celebrated all over the world: Carnival has many characteristics and with slight variations in the type of celebrations that depends a lot… [Read more]

Hello there, regular Salsa Escrita readers, here is your ever friend, Professor Carlos Colmenárez MSc, greets you from Barquisimeto, the musical city of Venezuela… [Read more]

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ISM wants you to know a little about the Orchestra Oeste 11

Meet the Venezuelan Orchestra Oeste 11

Did you know that tropical music arises from the region surrounding the Caribbean Sea and the Antillean region of the American continent (Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Cuba Dominica Grenada Haiti Jamaica Dominican Republic Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Lucia Trinidad and Tobago) where, there is a mixture of rhythms from the African continent, fused with the folklore and rhythms of the different American countries such as merengue, bachata, salsa, reggaeton, samba, rumba, ranchera, bolero, bossa nova, cumbia, tango, tambourine, fado, milonga, latin rock.

In this edition we can say that many of music and dance lovers tend to choose Salsa and / or Tropical Music, since they are musical genres that people enjoy as a couple or in a group, whether at an event, party or festival, giving it essence, life and sharing among all the members, for that reason there are many singers and members of orchestras who specialize in these genres, today we have as a special guest the Orchestra Oeste 11 of Caracas, Venezuela.

It was made up of young musicians belonging to the Venezuelan Orchestral Movement, among them the Venezuelan percussionist Alejandro Alfonzo, who baptized it in 2007 with the name of ” Orchestra Oeste 11 ” for all the musical experiences they shared since childhood, because most of their members were formed together in said parish.

It is currently composed of 13 musicians, who specialize in the musical genre “Salsa”, giving life to 2 discographies, the first entitled “AL NATURAL” that came out in 2015, consists of 8 unreleased songs and a cover.

“With its themes I lie, Al natural, I forgot about you, Forget you, Medicine, You made fun of Me, I have decided to forget you, My sweet friend and Dancing”

Orchestra Oeste 11 on stage — Orchestra Oeste 11 (Venezuelan) on stage

And for month of May 2019 their second discography “Amor y gusto” will be available, which will be composed of 11 unreleased songs, and to give a preview of the new album they already presented us this March 31 their first single (theme), entitled ” I want you to feel Mine ”, which is accompanied by a music video that you can enjoy on its YouTube page https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpleKvxCg9Y.

And over the years they had the opportunity to share on the stage with various well-known artists and / or groups, such as the Latin Dimension, Rafael el Pollo Brito, Proyecto A, Los Saélites, Magia Caribeña, Grupo Mango, and other national artists. of different musical genres.

Among their achievements, they mention that in the National Festival of Salsa Orchestras Say no to the Payola of PDVSA La Estancia were the winners in 2014, they were also selected to honor Sonora Ponceña for their 60 years of artistic career and they were in the Festival Sounds Caracas.

If you want to listen to their discographies “Al Natural” and “I want you to feel mine”, they are available worldwide on the platforms Amazon, Itunes, Spotify, Tidal, Google Music, among others.

For more information the Orchestra Oeste 11 :

E-mail: [email protected]
Facebook: @Oeste11
Twitter: @oeste11
Instagram:@oeste11
YouTube: Orquesta Oeste11
Phones: +58 4242251360 / +58 4265161630 – manager Alejandro Alfonzo

Ángel “Cucco” Peña and a great legacy

Cucco Peña has donated his emblematic tuxedo to the Spanish Harlem Salsa Gallery Museum

By Johnny Cruz

News from NY City

Who is Cucco Peña

The emblematic tuxedo — Ángel “Cucco” Peña

On September 1, 1948, Angel ‘Cucco’ Peña was born, someone who from elementary school showed his interest in music and as the years passed, showed that there were little flashes of that brilliant talent he had. His talent and passion were aligned, so he always spent his life surrounded by music. Today he could be considered an icon of Latin music thanks to his achievements as an artist and thanks to everything he offered to the industry; he has managed to trace a career full of successes, one that today continues to inspire many people.

Peña’s talent led him to interact in many music-related activities, not only did he graduate from the Puerto Rico Music Conservatory, but also, after graduation, he joined the Pan-American Orchestra, starting with what would be a career full of reached goals. In the orchestra, he would familiarize himself with many different styles that would help him as a musician, since in the orchestra he played a wide variety of music, from bolero, blues and jazz, to pop and even rock.

Cucco Peña’s path

Cucco Peña is a great artist

Cucco left the band and began to trace his own path with everything he learned, he didn’t just become a music director, but a producer, composer, and arranger for many internationally famous artists such as: Ricky Martin, Chayanne, Ricardo Arjona, Olga Tañon, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Luis Fonsi, Franco de Vita and many other artists; despite each artist’s very different styles, Peña’s talent has allowed him to understand perfectly what all of them needed. In his own words, “it is important to see that music has three perspectives: the artist perspective, the company’s perspective, and my own.” Finding a perfect harmony between these three perspectives, Peña has participated in the creation of great themes.

Achievements

The North American has not only managed to collaborate with a large number of renowned artists, but has also achieved a lot of recognition for his work, he is a two times Grammy winner, the first is the Grammy for the best tropical album contra la corriente, Marc Anthony’s album (1999), the second is Latin Grammy for best musical production, this thanks to Olga Tañón’s album, Yo por ti. Grammy is not the only award he has won, he also received a total of 60 Cuspide awards and 40 Addy awards, plus 20 awards from the New York Theater Festival and an “Agüeybaná de Oro” for Director of the Year.

The awards are not everything, he has been both the director and the composer of the Central American games’ opening and closing ceremonies, and the composer of two movie soundtracks (“La Gran Fiesta” and “Nicolás y Los Demás”); Plus, he has produced more than 100 compositions, not to mention that he also worked as a producer for important figures in the industry, such as Lunna, Jerry Rivera, Chayanne, and many others.

Without a doubt, Ángel “Cucco” Peña is a very important figure for the industry, and after a long career dedicated to music, he has shown that his talent is worthy of being recognized.

The invitation to tune in to the new Fm / Internet radio station on Live365.com: Salsagallery continues. Great music, artist interviews and much more.

At the Spanish Harlem Salsa Gallery Museum we are happy to affirm that New York City is preparing to resume its activities little by little. We hope to have more news soon and that we can return to normal soon.

The Museum is open free to the public. We wait for you!

“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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Latin rhytms preferred by Europeans to learn to dance

A brief introduction about Latin music

In the last several years, Latin music has become a real phenomenon throughout much of the world, especially in Europe. Currently, Latin rhythms are heard in almost every corner of the Old Continent, which has been really beneficial for the great men of these musical styles, who have started their artistic careers in major cities of Europe.

After becoming an overwhelming success for this music in Latin America and the US, it gradually expanded throughout many European countries, in which Spanish and family languages have a strong presence. In these countries, the Latino community has been growing steadily, which has made locals take an interest in its culture and traditions, including music. There are many Europeans who want to learn how to dance many Latin rhythms, but there are some that distinguish themselves from others.

Salsa

Europeans love Latin music — A drum for Latin music

Among the many Latin rhythms that many Europeans wanted to learn how to dance, salsa can never be lacking. This is because this world-renowned musical genre is very sociable and entertaining, which few Europeans were accustomed to see in ages past. Salsa is commonly danced in Los Angeles and very present at all kinds of parties and amateur competitions, especially in Continental Europe. In that part of the continent, it is quite common to find dance academies that teach this specific style.

There are many European nations that organize dance championships in which salsa occupies a very special place.

Bachata

Another genre preferred by Europeans in order to learn how to dance is bachata, which is from the Dominican Republic and characterized by very slow and sensual movements on the part of the members of the couple. After all the success achieved by bachata artists, this genre has become one of the rhythms with the largest presence in European music festivals.

There is no denying that a set of soloists and groups have offered an unimaginable contribution to the expansion of bachata throughout the world, such as Juan Luis Guerra, Romeo Santos, Prince Royce, among others.

Tango

Europeans dancing Latin music — A young couple dancing Latin music

If there is a genre that cannot be out of any list of options to learn how to dance, it is Argentine tango. One of the reasons why this elegant and distinguished dance has had this incredible success in Europe and elsewhere in the world has been the huge presence it has had in numerous Hollywood films and the great interest which ballroom dances have awakened in countries like England.

It is anticipated that its popularity will increase and have as much presence as salsa and bachata in dance events throughout the Old Continent. It is not long before it does.

Rumba

One of the most interesting details of a genre like rumba is that it has undergone a great number of changes in the mists of time. This is due to its Cuban origin and its many fusions with certain Spanish and African rhythms, so no wonder the sympathy that many Europeans have for this colorful musical genre.

The ones greatly responsible for the expansion of rumba in Europe have been the dance masters who have devoted much of their work to the promotion of this and other rhythms from Latin America.

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