| Karina Bernales present | June 2026 | FESTIVAL |
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Rumbia FestivalJune 25 / 28, 2026 National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) $ 330 |
| Directory of Australian and New Zealand nightclubs | ||
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Search Results for: Salsa Fest
Asia / June 2026
| Karina Bernales present | June 2026 | FESTIVALS |
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Jeju Latin Culture FestivalJun 17 / 22, 2026 Jeju Shinwha World $ 250 |
Directory of Asian nightclubs |
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 Graffiti LKFG/F, 17-18 Lan Kwai Fong, Central Central, Hong Kong |
 SOLAR LKFCentral 2nd Floor, Ho Lee Commercial Building, 38-44 D’Aguilqr Street, Lang Kwai Fong Central HKI Hong Kong |
 Sole MioUpper Ground Floor, 51 Elgin Street, Soho Central Hong Kong, Hong Kong |
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 Bar Mirage5F VORT Roppongi Briller, 3-14-14 Roppongi, Minato-ku Tokyo 106-0032, Japan +03-5860-6946 |
 Fiesta Latin Spot Bar3F, 1 Chome-14-6 Kabukicho, Shinjuku City Tokyo 160-0021, Japan +81 90-1086-2878 |
 El Cafe Latino3 Chome-15-24 Roppongi, Minato City |
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 2F Thi Sach Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 70000 +84 799 741 261
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Gafieira Rio Miami brings the best of Brazilian music to Miami
In this space, we have interviewed artists and groups from different countries of Latin America, but there have been a few times we had the opportunity to connect with talent from Brazil and not only that. They also sing and play typical music of their country, which makes them even more interesting, so we could not fail to speak with Diogo Brown and Isabelle Duarte.
Both have been very kind and shared with us some of their most significant experiences as Brazilian musicians in the United States and how that has shaped their way of making music.
How Diogo and Isabelle got into music
The first to take the floor was Isabelle, who informed us that she started singing at a church in her home country, Brazil, when she was just six years old. Over time, she also got to sing at weddings, quinceañeras, local festivals, and events of all kinds.
About 10 years ago, she fell in love and married an American man, with whom she moved to the United States, where she met Diogo, a compatriot of hers who was born and raised in a city far from her own. However, their “Brazilianness” and love for music brought them together in the project they now share with other musicians, Gafieira Rio Miami.
In Diogo’s case, his passion for music awoke at 15, the age at which he knew he wanted to be a professional musician. His mother convinced him to enroll in a music school and an English academy, as she suspected that English would be extremely useful for his future career and this was indeed the case. His arrival to the United States was very similar to Isabelle’s, as he also met an American woman online; they eventually fell in love and moved there together. He attended a screening of a Brazilian film in which he had appeared, where he met her and finally live their relationship in person. That was over 20 years ago.
Since then, Diogo has worked with countless artists and companies such as Sony Music, Univision, and Warner. Among the stars he has collaborated with are Gloria Estefan, Ricky Martin, Lara Pausini, and many others.
How was the connection with Spanish and Latin Music
Something interesting that Diogo tells us is that, in his early years as a musician in Brazil, he spent listening to Latin music, and some of his favorite artists were Buena Vista Social Club, Cachao, Jimmy Bosch, and many others of this kind. By his own admission, this is uncommon for a Brazilian resident in Brazil, who usually only listens to music of their own country. Both he and Isabelle agree that, in Brazil, very little music in Spanish is consumed, among other factors, due to the language barrier.
Isa tells us that her connection to Hispanic music began to form in the United States, and her husband contributed a lot to that, since he is of Hispanic origen. In addition, they settled in Miami, where there is a mix of cultures of each country, so she started to be exposed to genres like salsa, cumbia, merengue, and other rhythms that are not usually heard in Brazil. For her, Gafieira Rio Miami is a golden opportunity to demonstrate that Brazil is not separate from the rest of the Americas.
In addition, he noted that globalization and major musical phenomena in Portuguese and Spanish have managed to break that language barrier over the years.
Gafieira Rio Miami
Gafieira Rio Miami was born from a much smaller idea that began with just seven musicians. As the project grew, the group managed to have a total of 11 members, including five brass players, the rhythmic part, and a singer. There are 10 musicians and one vocalist, Isabelle. The members include Brazilians, Venezuelans, and Americans, but they are all united by the passion for Brazilian music.
In a music scene that pushes bands and orchestras to make themselves smaller, Gafieira Rio Miami has always chosen to remain intact despite the circumstances. Diogo has been perfectly clear that if he’s offered a gig with fewer musicians, he prefers to say no. He says there are 11 members and all are needed for every performance, since otherwise, the impact of the live music would not be the same.
Read also: Rafaelito and his career between Munich and New York
Let’s talk about Una noche en Old Town “en vivo,” while staying true to the musical journey of “El Calvito” Reyes
“Yes, Una noche en Old Town was an event held for about 100 people at a restaurant in the area known as Old Town in Kissimmee, Florida. Old Town is a park that feels like a year-round festival, 365 days a year,” the artist explains. This marks the third musical production from the Puerto Rican singer-songwriter known in the salsa world as “El Calvito,” one of the most fervent champions of the Salsa Nueva movement.
With this release, Edwin puts his salsa and his talent at the service of his followers. His repertoire spans classic salsa, romantic salsa, and what he calls “conscious salsa.”
Edwin “El Calvito” Reyes acknowledges that while everything has already been invented, the key is to stay focused and execute the ideas swirling in his mind. The press release for the new live album, titled Una noche en Old Town, notes: “Remember in the ’90s when many artists (…) recorded live productions? That was a trend that (…) went down in salsa history.”
The Production
The final product is a “live” recording of his orchestra. The production turned what was originally planned as a birthday party at Old Town Park in Kissimmee into a full album. Sound engineer Joseph Díaz captured the session, which was later mixed and mastered by pianist and engineer Víctor Romero. The content was further polished at Harmony Recording Studios in Orlando, Florida.
The album features the collective performance of the musicians who have accompanied the singer for years, including their appearance at the 2025 Día Nacional de la Zalsa in Orlando. The lineup includes:
- John López: Congas
- Daniel Ortiz: Timbales
- Manny Urbina: Bongo
- Víctor Romero: Piano and Musical Direction
- Yasmani Roque & Marcos Rivera: Trumpets
- Bert Laboy: Trombone
- José Castro Marchán: Baritone Sax
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Una Noche en Old Town Edwin El Calvito Reyes - The night at Old Town also featured guest appearances by heavyweights such as Kriptony Texeira, Harold Montañez, and José Novoa. Additionally, Richie Nieves, the well-known voice of KQ FM Radio in Orlando, handled the album’s intro.
The Origin
The stage was set specifically at El Cilantrillo restaurant within Old Town. The event celebrated the birthday of Javier Colón, owner of La Feria Salsera and Edwin’s partner for the veteran-focused dance events that Edwin has successfully led in recent years. Javier hired “El Calvito’s” orchestra, the performance was recorded, and from that session, this authentic album was born.
By chance, the date of the party coincided with one of the most important days on the Puerto Rican salsa calendar: the traditional Holy Saturday Dance (Sábado de Gloria). “Many Latinos don’t understand and ask, ‘Are you guys seriously holding a dance on Holy Saturday?’ So, unintentionally, we tapped into that tradition—and it is a tradition in every sense of the word. By trying to keep it alive, we (Puerto Ricans) have shared it with the rest of the Hispanic public.”
According to Edwin, the performance was originally recorded for promotional purposes. However, the artist felt it was such a great capture of the evening’s energy that he consulted his musical director, Víctor Romero, to see what he thought of the idea.
The Release
Coincidence dictated that the album be published and available on digital platforms exactly one year after the recording. The producer admits it was a high-risk project because it was recorded live during an organic event outside of a controlled studio environment. The classic covers Edwin included as tributes to “those who have passed” (arranged as medleys) were his biggest concern, yet they ultimately earned widespread approval.
“El Calvito” Reyes says he doesn’t fear the critics. Driven by passion, he decided to release this 10-track production—eight of which he wrote himself, plus two salsa hit medleys—aiming to win over dancers, listeners, and collectors alike.
Tracklist:
- ‘Medley salsa nueva’
- ‘Así llamaban al Conde’
- ‘Homenaje a los que se nos fueron I y II’
- ‘Dime mi Buen Señor’
- ‘Tú del sur, yo del norte’
- ‘El karma’
- ‘Tócame la moña’
- ‘Baila cha cha chá’
- ‘Solo tiempo pa’ rumba’
- ‘Orgulloso de ser latino’
Stream & Connect: The album is available digitally on YouTube Music, Spotify, and Apple Music. Each track has a corresponding video at: https://www.youtube.com/@ElCalvitoReyesOficial/. The orchestra is available for bookings. You can reach the office via phone or WhatsApp at +1-912-980-8476 or by email at [email protected].
For more on the music of Edwin “El Calvito” Reyes, visit: https://solo.to/elcalvitoreyes
Read Also: Edwin “El Calvito” Reyes el Sonero de la Sangre Nueva “Amor de Actualidad”
The Piano That Schooled the World the Eternal Legacy of “Professor” Joe Torres
The history of salsa is not only written by the voices of its idols or the thunder of its brass; it is written, fundamentally, on the black and white keys of those who knew how to sustain the pulse of an era.
On April 13, 2020, in the quiet of a Bronx hospital, the “backbone” of Salsa Dura passed away at the age of 76: José Manuel Torres, known universally as “Professor Joe.”
Born in Manhattan on November 29, 1943, a son of the Puerto Rican diaspora from Guayama and Ponce, Torres embodied the pure essence of the Nuyorican.
Raised on Fox Street, his destiny was sealed in the hallways of P.S. 52 an elementary school that would eventually become the academic sanctuary of Latin music in the South Bronx.
Excellence as the Standard: From Neighborhood Sound to Musical Glory
His nickname, “The Professor,” was no mere poetic license. In a musical ecosystem where many relied on intuition, Joe possessed an almost mathematical skill: sight-reading.
His technical precision allowed him to navigate elegantly between formal discipline and “street” flavor (sabor).
After debuting in the 1960s with the “King of the Bass,” Bobby Valentín, on seminal albums like Bad Breath, his career took a definitive turn when he joined the orchestra of a young, rebellious Willie Colón.
Replacing the virtuoso Mark Dimond, Torres didn’t just fill a void; he defined an aesthetic. For a quarter-century, he was the harmonic architect behind the two greatest giants of the genre: Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe.
“As the pianist for the band, Professor Joe Torres was excellent,” Colón would recall years later.
It is his piano that resonates in the urban chronicles of Cosa Nuestra; the piano that provides the festive nostalgia in both volumes of Asalto Navideño a cornerstone of Puerto Rican identity and the piano that sustains the rhythmic tension in classics like The Big Break (La Gran Fuga) and Lo Mato.
There was no Fania milestone where Joe did not leave his mark, from the social lyricism of Siembra and Maestra Vida with Rubén Blades, to the raw power of Lavoe’s solo career.
Humility in the Shadows: The Man and the Legend
Despite participating in more than thirty productions that are now considered world cultural heritage, Joe Torres never felt the urge to claim the spotlight of a frontman.
As his colleague José Mangual Jr. noted, his humility was as vast as his talent. He preferred the rigor of the studio and the camaraderie of the stage, balancing his musical genius with his work as a computer technician a duality that spoke to his sharp intelligence and adaptability.
His legacy was celebrated in the year 2000 during the historic reunion concert of the “P.S. 52 Alums,” immortalized in the documentary From Mambo to Hip Hop. There, surrounded by titans like Ray Barretto and Manny Oquendo, Joe remained the same: a man with a kind smile and a sharp mind who, according to Blades, represented the true “gentlemanliness” of salsa.
Today, years after his passing, the void at the piano bench remains felt. The “Professor” didn’t just teach people how to read music; he taught that true greatness does not require noise.
His music lives on in every descarga, reminding us that as long as there is a piano playing in the Bronx, the echo of José Manuel Torres will never stop schooling the world.
Also Read: International Salsa Magazine presents essential trivia and facts about Héctor Lavoe.