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In September: Latin Festival Madras In Their Ninth Edition

The Oldest Latino Festival In India Returns With More Salsa Immersion

Latin Festival Madras started in 2014 and is the only one of its style in Chennai

The largest and oldest ten-day Latin gathering in Chennai (India) will bring the Maestro Jimmy Bosch “El Trombonista Criollo” and one of the best timbaleros in Europe today, Joaquín Arteaga live at the five-star hotel, Vivanta Chennai It Expressway located at 309, Old Mahabalipuram Road, Shollinganallur Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India 600119.

In this ninth edition of the festival, you will also find carefully designed Salsa, Bachata, and Kizomba workshops, special training camps with instructors with more than a decade of teaching experience at festivals around the world, performances by national and international dancers (Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Canada, Vietnam, China, and Russia) acclaimed worldwide, also social dancing in the company of the seven best DJs from Asia, pool party, theme parties, surfing, buffet lunches, and dinners with a luxury stay that characterizes this event as the only one of its kind in Madras, currently known as the Chennai city, capital of the Tamil Nadu state.

Friday, September 2nd will be the opening of the Latin Festival Madras https://www.latinfestivalmadras.in/ at Surf Turf beach, where you can dance all day long with delicious local food, and if you prefer a little more excitement you can surf in the Bay of Bengal with your fellow dancers. But, if you don’t know this sports discipline, don’t worry because there will be instructors on-site to perform this water sport with the correct technique.

7 DJs will participate in this Latin event from Malaysia, Japan, Canada, Thailand, and India.

On Saturday, September 3rd, and Sunday, September 4th, all the activities (workshops, camps, shows, and parties) will take place at the Taj Vivanta hotel, a five-star venue to have a luxurious, memorable, and family experience.

Two of the peculiarities of this Festival are the parties before to the Latin event (August 29th – September 1st) and the getaway after the closing of the festival (September 5th – September 6th). The event’s organizers have planned to visit Pondicherry through Mahabalipuram for two days, the latter place a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In Pondicherry they will be able to taste the typical dishes, dance, and do a guided exploration of the ruins and historical sites of the town.

On the second day, you will explore the old Franco-Tamil city. During the day they will visit the old Auroville community located 10 km from Pondicherry and during the night they will dance at the pool party at Anandha Inn Convention Center and Suites. And on Wednesday, September 7th, will be the big farewell to Chennai.

But, before leaving the city of Chennai, we must talk about the live music that will be present at this Latin event in India. The greatest exponents of the Trombone and the Timbal will say here, the maestro Jimmy Bosch and the creator of the hard Salsa orchestra Tromboranga, Joaquín Arteaga.

The objective of this festival is to provide a memorable experience and exposure to the educational value for future talents, artists, and instructors.

Jimmy Bosch is an exceptional Latin Music Trombonist acclaimed in more than 70 countries and has 11 Grammy Awards and more than 100 recordings in the Salsa and Latin Jazz genres. “El Trombonista Criollo” has worked with the FANIA All-stars, Eddie Palmieri, Ruben Blades, Ray Barretto, Machito, Cachao, and more. He has participated in Salsa conventions and Latin and Jazz music festivals around the world, as well as performed in clubs in Asia, Europe, America, and Oceania.

On the other hand, the second artist to perform on this special evening is the Leader, Director, and Timbalero of the Tromboranga salsa orchestra, Joaquín Arteaga. This Venezuelan timbalero based in Barcelona (Spain) has been part of the Gerardo Rosales Orchestra (2004) and has toured Europe accompanying international artists such as Andy Montañez, Andrés Cepeda, Jhon Lozano, Venezuelan Masters Orchestra, and Bloque 53, among many others.

Since 2009 he has been a sponsor of the prestigious Latin Percussion LP brand. Joaquín has produced and recorded nine albums for Tromboranga and has toured extensively throughout Latin America, North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. This Venezuelan composer has also organized and taught salsa percussion workshops in Spain, Japan, Australia, Colombia, the USA, France, the UK, Morocco, Lebanon, Thailand, and South Africa, among many other countries.

The Full Passes for the event are USD 140 (travel to Pondicherry and Mahabalipuram is not included). The online sale ends on August 31st, and the prices of the passes increase every two months.

La Muñeca de La Salsa is here with us again

La Muñeca de La Salsa or La Chica del Bling

For the second time, we have here Puerto Rican artist Almodovar. She is a salsa singer and other genres, composer and dancer. Pleasure to meet you, Melina, how are you doing? Glad to have you here.

Thank you, Karina. Thank you for the time and I’m super pumped to be here with you for international salsa magazine (laughs).

Melina Almodóvar is a salsa singer, composer, and dancer

Why do they call you La Muñeca de la Salsa or La Chica del Bling?

La Chica del Bling comes from maestro Bobby Cruz, who did a song with me in 2016. We made a recording that was called Salsa Factory Bunch. He wrote that song specifically for me, which was called El Bling. That’s how he starts calling me La Chica del Bling and, as there are so many people who know the trajectory of Mr. Bobby Cruz, those who know that he wrote the song for me identify me as La Chica del Bling. That is something very special for me, since he is one of my salsa icons from day one.

In the case of La Muñeca de La Salsa, when I moved here to Miami, I was looking for a nickname similar to El Caballero de La Salsa or El Niño Bonito de La Salsa. Seeing how my name is like that of another renowned singer in Puerto Rico Melina Leon, I wanted to find another name that would identify me and noticed that many Latino men called me muñeca (doll in English). That’s how I came up with the name La Muñeca de La Salsa.

Your family has always been closely related to arts. Your father was a singer, your mother was a dancer and your grandmother was an artisan. What did you get from each of them?

That’s an excellent question. I’m often asked that, but not that way. My dad was a bolero singer and like ballads and old music like Camilo Sesto, and it was thanks to one of his songs that I was named Melina. He also liked Marco Antonio Muñiz and all the singers from that era. He would go to bars to sing until five in the morning and he used to take me to these gatherings in Puerto Rico. He always had his guitar in his car and was invited to parties to sing because he did it for free.

My mom was a flamenco dancer, she studied dance all her life and wanted me to dance too. So, she put me in jazz ballet classes since I was little. I studied with a lady whose name was Sophy Sanfiorenzo, who was also Chayanne, Ricky Martin, and Los Menudo’s teacher of that time. She was very well known in the city of Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Dancing was something secondary for me, but my mom wanted me to take it more seriously. At the end, we made a deal and agreed that I would study salsa and Caribbean dancing.

My grandmother always wanted me to be an artist and pushed me to be what I am today. She does a lot of crafts such as sculptures and paintings. I didn’t inherit those skills (laughs). My aunt is an architect and also paints very well, while another aunt is also very good with crafts. My family is very artistic and I followed that road.

Melina Almodóvar is very proud to be boricua

Her referents

I understand that your grandmother gave you some cassettes with songs by Celia Cruz and Rubén Blades, did these artists influence you or were there others?

My grandmother gave me a Rubén Blades CD and my aunt was the one who introduced me to salsa music thanks to her taste for this genre. Most of the family liked bohemian songs made by Pedro Flores, Rafael Hernández, Bobby Capó, Sylvia Rexach, among others. My grandmother and the rest of my relatives liked bolero a lot. In my case, I like bolero very much and I have done concerts dedicated to this genre, but what moves and motivates me is salsa.

You always listened to tropical music as a kid in Puerto Rico, but I understood that I was cut out to sing salsa when started studying it and understand it deeply. In high school, I came to sing pop, jazz, country, merengue, bachata and many other genres. However, salsa is what I like the most.

You described your move from Puerto Rico to Memphis as a culture shock. What was the most shocking thing about that time?

It’s one thing to move from Puerto Rico to Los Angeles or New York or Florida where there are a lot of Latinos. When I moved, I was very young and went to live in the southern United States, where they listen to country and blues. For me, the most shocking thing was the culture. In Puerto Rico, everyone talks on the front doors and there was a lot of closeness. When we moved to Tennessee, we didn’t know anyone, so we had to start creating a new life and finding our way in this new city.

Melina Almodóvar performing at North Beach Bandshell

You were part of Orquesta Caliente. According to many, that was the first successful Latin salsa orchestra in Memphis. What do you think was the formula for success of this orchestra?

It was a combination of many things because I have been part of many groups and tried to organize orchestras in different places. After that experience, I tried to start an orchestra in Nashville, Tennessee, for a while and tried to start another one in Atlanta, Georgia.

When I was 17 years old, I was called and asked if I knew how to sing salsa, to which I replied yes. That’s when i was given a cassette tape with several songs made by Tito Puente, Ruben Blades, Celia Cruz, among others. I went home and started writing the songs down letter by letter to learn them by heart and audition for the orchestra. That day, I realized that all the musicians were American and extremely talented. I was 17 years old at the time and had no idea who I was playing with, which led me to look up their histories and they were really well trained and talented. Almost all of them were professors at the University of Memphis at the time, but they wanted to form a salsa orchestra.

So, we started playing in different places. Given that there was no internet and no social media, we had to create our own flyers by hand, make copies, go to the houses and put up them there. The first day we played, not a lot of people showed up, but it was a good start for us. After three months, not one more body fitted there.

For me, it was a beautiful experience because we started playing everywhere and were at plenty of festivals in South Florida. We were so into what we were doing and all the members wanted the music to work out spectacularly, so we were united in a common objective. I think that was the key to our success.

Tell me about the Hollywood Salsa Fest

We have been doing this festival for about seven years now and it was a dream come true because I never thought there would be more than 10,000 people there for throughout the day. It is a culmination of all the work we have done since I came to Miami. It was a great achievement.

This Hollywood Salsa Fest of this year included Maestro Charlie Aponte, Timba Live, Salsa Ballet de Cali, Maestro Bobby Cruz, Tito Puente Junior and many others.

Melina Almodóvar next to Oscar D’ León

In Concert: Hacenoba Salsa & Jimmy Bosch In Saint-Étienne

They will be together in an exceptional concert at Le Fil this May 14th

Adiel Castillo (Musical Direction – Piano), Aymel Gómez (Voice), Wilbert Valera (Voice), Nadir Slimani (Bass), Miguel Río Puntilla (Bongo), Philippe Fougerouse (Timbales), Hamid Benabella (Art Direction – Congas), Guillaume Monier (Saxophone), Laurent Sedent (Trumpet), Romain Bourlhonne (Trombone)

The Hacenoba Salsa group and the world-renowned Trombonist Jimmy Bosch will present a unique salsa show in which lovers of this Latin rhythm will sing and dance from the first notes. This concert will be preceded by a Salsa lesson by the couple (Aurélie and Rémi) belonging to the Barrio Latino humanitarian association under the best salsa mixes of the DJ from the city of Callao (Peru), Oscar D Lyon.

This show will take place on the second Saturday of May at Le Fil, an artistic platform for contemporary independent music and cultural life developed in the city located in southeast France, Saint-Étienne. Its address is 20 bd Thiers 42000 Saint-Étienne, France, and the cost of pre-sale tickets is €20 and the Box Office €22.

The Cuban Salsa orchestra, Hacenoba, brings to this concert the essential rediscovery of the island’s music (Mambo, Salsa, Cha-Cha, and Timba) accompanied by brushstrokes inspired by internationally famous composers and artists of the genre such as Oscar D’ León, Héctor Lavoe, and others.

This ten-member band with its explosive music combines percussion with piano, saxophone, and bass for a frenetic and bewitching rhythm that has led them to participate in different festivals, cultural events, parties dedicated to Cuban music (or Latin music ), and private parties in the region.

Jimmy Bosch has collaborated with Rubén Blades, Ray Barretto, and Celia Cruz, among many others.

Likewise, the master Jimmy Bosch is acclaimed in more than 70 countries as an exceptional Latin music Trombonist, has 11 Grammy Awards, and more than 100 recordings in the Salsa and Latin Jazz genres. He also has a great career as an orchestra leader and is coveted by his audience due to his extraordinary performances on stage.

The creator of hits like Otra Oportunidad (1998), La Cacharra (1999) Qué Bonito es Soñar (2004), La Noticia (2004), El Avión de la Salsa (2004) y Ay Mamacita-Boogaloo (2018) among many others, also will be dictating a Masterclass for professional musicians where he will explain and demonstrate the variations in Salsa. The lessons will be oriented towards practice and active participation with the instrument during the clinic. This masterclass will be held on May 24th -25th at Kafésynk located at Øvingshotellet, Trondheimsveien 2, Bygg H, 0560 Oslo, Norway from 5 PM to 8 PM, and tickets cost NOK 1,600 approximately $174.26.

The trombone master has worked with FANIA All-stars, Eddie Palmieri, Ruben Blades, Ray Barretto, Machito, Cachao, and many more. He has participated in Salsa conventions, Latin and Jazz music festivals around the world, as well as performed in clubs in Asia, Europe, America, and Oceania.

Jimmy Bosch’s record productions include Soneando Trombón (1998), Salsa Dura (1999), El Avión de la Salsa (2004) ,and A Millón (2009).

Oscar D Lyon was born in Callao, known as the capital of Salsa in Peru.

The perfect DJ for this magnificent evening at Le Fil will be Oscar D Lyon, who has more than 30 years of career in the music scene. He started in Lyon in the ‘90s, continued at Latino 1, and pursues his rise at Casa Latina for ten years. His likes and musical inclination from South America have made him stand out in the Latin environment of the region. Currently, Oscar D Lyon mixes the rhythms of Salsa and Bachata in various clubs in Saint-Étienne, such as Cabana Café, the Fox, and recently, Barrio Club.

 

Dislocados is a group from Ukraine that is taking Salsa to the whole world.

Dislocados Ukrainian Latin American band, exploded onto the Kyiv music scene as the Kiev Salsa Kings in November 2005.

Led by Ilya Yeresko, one of Ukraine’s most respected young pianists and composers, with – among others – Dennis Adu (named best jazz musician in Ukraine at the Dodj Competition 2009) they started playing in Kyiv’s best live music bars.

This first salsa band in Ukraine was soon joined by Karolina Patocki and Lesya Zdorovetskaya, finalizing the group’s vocal flavor, and now the 10-piece band has become a force to be reckoned with in the country.

Dislocados’ new name, literally translated as “dislocated”, plays on the crazy personality of the band, and the idea that the birth country of the musicians does not dictate their musical direction and expertise.

While continuing to perform three times a week to live audiences around Ukraine, on February 10th 2008, Dislocados made its world debut by being the first international Hard Salsa band aired on Hard Salsa Radio and on WHUT 91.9 FM in New York City with their promotional song “Resaca.”

Minutes after “Resaca” aired, emails poured in like wildfire from worldwide listeners asking for more information on this particular band from an unknown land, which led to Dislocados’ inclusion in Salsa Dura Mundial, a worldwide salsa compilation album out of New York from Latin Soul Records.

After gaining popularity in New York and Western Europe, Dislocados released the first salsa album to come out of Ukraine, with an intro written by salsa legend Andy Harlow, featuring ten original salsa tracks, inspired from Puerto Rico, New York, and Cuba.

Since its release, La Salida has enjoyed overwhelming international praise from top musicians such as Jimmy Bosch and Andy Harlow, promotion from top respected salsa review sites such as descarga.com and has led to the band’s inclusion in international salsa projects, such as the Summer Salsa Festival in Stockholm where the band played with Huey Dunbar, of DLG fame.

Dislocados’ internationally recognized top musicianship is now the vehicle by which they try to popularize the musical style of Hard Salsa in Ukraine in order to include their country among the list of top contenders for worldwide attention in the genre.

Awards:

Winner of the Independent Music Awards 2012 with Best Latin Song, ¨Como Tú¨.

Winner of the Independent Music Awards’ Vox Pop Award for Best Latin Album 2012, ¨Pasaporte Universal¨.

Winner of the Independent Music Awards’ Vox Pop Award for Best Holiday Song 2012, ¨Navidad en Heathrow¨.

Winner of the Independent Music Awards’ Vox Pop Award for Best Latin Song 2012, ¨Como Tú¨.

Winner of the Independent Music Awards’ Vox Pop Award for Best Latin Album 2011, ¨La Salida¨.

Facebook: Dislocados

The Tempo Latino Festival is Back

The major European festival of Latin and Afro-Cuban music will present Los Van Van, Pacific Mambo Orquestra, Interactivo, and Minyo Crusaders (H2)

The benchmark Festival of Latin and Afro-Cuban music in Europe, Tempo Latino, resumes its activities after the forced cessation of its activities for two years due to the Pandemic.

From Thursday, July 28th to Sunday, July 31st, on the main stage Les Arènes, the whole family, heterogeneous public, and inveterate traveler will enjoy the performances of Los Van Van, Pacific Mambo Orquestra, and Interactivo, as well as an exceptional set & exclusive presentation on Saturday, July 30th  at 11 PM of “Con Tumbao All Stars” with the winners of Best Traditional Tropical Album at the Latin Grammy 2021 for their album “Chachachá…Homenaje a lo Tradicional”, Issac Delgado and Alain Pérez, as well as Oscar Hernández, Robby Ameen, Tony Succar, and many more.

Minyo Crusaders rediscovered the songs associated with the working classes.

The festival to be held in Vic-Fezensac, the heart of the Gers de Gascony department (France), will open its doors on Thursday, July 28th, with Tempo Latino Social Club on the stage of its satellite “Geo-rhythmic” Conga with a special performance by the Tokyo band, Minyo Crusaders.

This Cumbia band with a Japanese identity aims to make reversals between the traditional and foreign rhythms. Guitarist Katsumi Tanaka was in charge of bringing together the twelve musicians to perform these magnificent melodies with a fusion of the Caribbean (Reggae, Cumbia, and Cuban Salsa), Africa (Afro-Blues, Afro-Funk, Ethiopian rhythm), and Asia (Thai Pop) after of the Fukushima accident in 2011. The ticket for this show costs €15.80, and the opening is at 6 PM.

Pacific Mambo Orchestra is the only active Latin Big Band on the West Coast of the United States.

Continue on Friday, July 29th with the concerts of the Pacific Mambo Orchestra and Los Van Van together with the Cuban trumpeter, composer, singer, and leader of the band Havana D’Primera, Alexander Abreu.

The first orchestra to perform at the festival in its twenty-eighth edition at 9 PM will be the Pacific Mambo Orchestra. This North American band, a winner of the Grammy Award in the category “Best Tropical Album” in 2014, is the revival of the Latin sound of the Big Bands of the 40s with the combination of Mambo, Pop, Cha Cha, Timba, and Bolero. Pacific Mambo Orchestra founded 12 years ago by the Mexican pianist Christian Tumalan and the German trumpeter Steffen Kuehn has collaborated with renowned artists such as Carlos Santana, Poncho Sánchez, Pete Escovedo, and Arturo Sandoval.

Currently, this Latin Big Band performs on the West Coast of the United States with elite musicians from the Bay Area, and their repertoire is in English and Spanish. Their third album “The III Side” (2020) fuses the traditions of the Mambo of the 50s with the musicality of the moment. This Latin Big Ban considered one of the best in the United States will also is at the prestigious San Francisco Annual Jazz Festival on Wednesday, June 8th from 7:30 PM to 9 PM. Address: Miner Auditorium, 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco (EEUU).

“Legado” is an album in homage to the legacy left by maestro Samuel Formell.

The second orchestra is to take the stage on Friday at 11 PM and will be Los Van Van with their special guest Alexander Abreu. The emblematic Cuban music orchestra will celebrate its more than 5 decades of history.

Los Van Van known by many as the “Rolling Stones of Salsa” was founded in 1969 by bassist and composer Juan Formell, a legend of Cuban music, who accompanied by José Luis Quintana, known as “Changuito” and César “Pupy ” Pedroso, invented the “Songo”, a Cuban rhythm predecessor of the “Timba” or “Salsa Cubana”, which generated the “Salsa – Son” with a Cuban sound that has made generations dance.

In 2018, they recorded their first record production “Legado” since the physical departure of Juan Formell in 2014. This tribute album has 14 songs with 3 new versions of the international singles Te extraño, Por qué lo haces y Amiga mía.

On the third day of the Festival, Saturday, July 30th, the Latin sound will be awakened by the performances of the Interactivo group and the exclusive presentation of “Con Tumbao All Stars”. On Sunday, July 31st, Tempo Latino will close its doors on the Les Arènes stage with London Afrobeat Collective and Alain Pérez & La Orquesta Bassiste.

Most of the members of Interactive are representatives of currents such as Nueva Trova, son, and Cuban jazz.

The avant-garde collective, Interactivo, is one of the most representative bands of the current Cuban generation and will take to the Tempo Latino stage at 9 PM.

This emerging orchestra of international stages brings together the most brilliant and eclectic composers and producers in Havana. Each member contributes their specialty: Timba, Funk, Jazz, Hip Hop, Rock, Rumba, traditional Cuban music, and Soul for a result of great richness, where individual originality, musical creativity, and avant-garde ideas enrich the group.

London Afrobeat Collective has hypnotic flashes and powerful percussive beats.

Similarly, the addictive London Afrobeat Collective has been offering festive music based on Jazz, Funk, Rock, Dumb, and African Vibes for ten years. Its international DNA made up of nine members from England, Italy, France, Congo, Argentina, and New Zealand with the powerful voice of the Congolese singer Juanita Euka has made its rhythm addictive music with powerful and committed messages. The London-based band will open the night of concerts on Sunday, July 31st at 9 PM.

Alain Perez and the Bassiste Orchestra will offer a mixed show of Salsa, Son, Timba, and Latin Jazz

This musical evening ends with Alain Perez, bassist, singer, arranger, and who composes his orchestra of 13 young musicians on stage to offer a mixed show of contemporary Cuban Salsa, Timba, and Latin Jazz. His talent has given him wonderful experiences with internationally famous orchestras and musicians such as Los Van Van, Irakere, Issac Delgado, Paquito D’Rivera, and Celia Cruz. Always accompanied by his elephant-headed cane, in homage to Cuban musician Benny Moré, Alain has been influenced by flamenco through his work with Cuban artist Paco de Lucía.

The versatile artist born in Havana was twice-nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards in the category of Best Traditional Tropical Music Album with “El alma del Son, tribute to Matamoros” (2015) and “ADN” as Best Salsa Album. (2017).

El Cuento de la Buena Pipa (2020) is his most recent record production, and you can enjoy it on the main stage of the festival at 11 PM.

You can get the tickets for Tempo Latino 2022 on their official site http://www.tempo-latino.com/ for a four-beat tempo. The Tickets for the four nights of concerts are €86.70.

And while you wait for the Tempo Latino Festival (28th edition) you can enjoy its free predecessor event Clutcho at La Grainerie this May 4th. This place is emblematic of the circus and itinerant disciplines that take place with a large space that involves a large open-air square, and a performance hall with a capacity for 230 people through an “interior street” that serves for creative studios and workshops.