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Search Results for: Salsa Music

Santa La Salsera and Diva of Mexico with her unique voice and style will continue to conquer us all

Originally from Boca Mar, in the beautiful port of Acapulco, Mexico.

From a musical family lineage, from the age of 3 she began her interest in the artistic medium; despite this her parents did not agree that she should dedicate herself to this career, but motivated by the musical taste of her mother she was inspired by great divas of the genre such as Mrs. Celia Cruz, La Lupe, Celeste Mendoza, Mercedita Valdes and Omara Portuondo.

Originaria de la Boca Mar, en el bello Puerto de Acapulco, Gro. México
Originaria de la Boca Mar, en el bello Puerto de Acapulco, Gro. México

She alternated with the Cuban actor and singer Zamorita, who invited her to sing solo in the well-known ECO Program and from there encouraged her to sing tropical music, since it was more in line with her image and voice; Later she got a job at the emblematic Blanquita Theater where she alternated with the legendary Sonora Santanera of Carlos Colorado, where she had the opportunity to compete against representatives of several Latin American countries in the international program “Sábado Gigante” with Don Francisco, in the section known as “Tropicalísimo” winning first place shared with Venezuela and thanks to her triumph she was discovered by the Director of Radio Tropical in Mexico, Mr. Manuel Durán, who recommended her to the Vice President of Musivisa, Mr. José Manuel Presa.

The Company was interested in her and from then on Santa signed a contract with Fonovisa Tropical. La Acapulqueña recorded her first production in Mexico City, titled “No me Provoques”, which was presented on August 15, 1994 at the Salón Verde y Oro of XEW Radio.

Verde y Oro of XEW Radio in Mexico City. “No me Provoques” reached the top of the charts with songs such as: “Corazón de Acero”, “Amor Pasión y Locura” and “Rey de mi Habitación”.

The second production “Lo Quiero a Morir” was recorded in Puerto Rico (in the then Gran Combo studio) for its internationalization, the song of the same name, was placed in the first place of popularity in the island itself, some countries of Central America and the United States of America.

The third production “Santa la Fiera” was recorded in the city of Miami, under the label On Top Records and produced by the renowned composer Victor Daniel, author of “La Vida es un Carnaval” with songs of more varied genre such as: “No vale la pena llorar”, “Tú eres hielo” and “Soy demasiado Mujer”.

After an absence, Santa resumed his career in 2012, with his fourth production “Yo soy santa para ti”, from which he managed to three singles “No tengas miedo”, “Sólo mírame” and “Como agua entre las manos”.

Santa has had the opportunity to participate in numerous television programs, as well as massive festivals, to mention a few: opening of the “Festival Boca del Río Veracruz, 1995” “Los Maestros de la Salsa 1996” (in Mexico City) “La Convención de Radio y Música 1996” (in Puerto Rico), “Festival 5 de Mayo 1997” (in Chicago), “Fiesta Mexicana de Raisin y Milwakee”, “Teletón Internacional de Chicago”, “Viva Chicago y Teletón de Honduras”.

Nino Segarra y Santa La Salsera y Diva de México
Nino Segarra y Santa La Salsera y Diva de México

As well as international television programs such as “En Vivo”, “Hoy con Daniela, Zambombazo, Pácetelas”:, “Un Nuevo Día” and “Siempre en Domingo”, “Dr. Simi”, who dedicated a special to him, to mention a few”.

He has also had the opportunity to perform with great figures of his genre, such as: Tito Puente (who was his godfather), Celia Cruz, Jerry Rivera, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Grupo Niche, Eddie Santiago, Cheo Feliciano, Rey Ruiz, Los Hermanos Rosario, La Ponceña, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Luis Enrique, among many others. In 2012 she resumes her career after an absence, she returns with her production “Yo soy santa para ti” placing herself in the taste of the genre lovers with songs like “Sólo mírame” “No tengas miedo” “Arrepentida”.

In 2013 she released the single “Llorarás” from her production “Yo soy como soy”, which includes unpublished songs, under the direction of the Veracruz producer and arranger Xavier Reyes.

Most of the songs were recorded in Mexico City, with the exception of “No quiero más mentiras” in New York, and “Mío primero” in Puerto Rico” with musicians of international stature. It includes two duets “Amiga” with Frakie Ruiz Jr. and “Cosas del amor” with Ariana Dao as well as the covers “Bidi, bidi, bom, bom” and “Si una vez” as a tribute to Selena Quintanilla.

After his tour he took a short break from music to participate in a short theater production dedicated to the “divo de Juárez” Juan Gabriel, called “Ya lo sé que tú te vas”, which he enjoyed very much in his acting career.

In addition, she received awards in her country such as the AMS AWARD for best female Salsera and the “Candilejas de oro” for her career.

She also participated as a host in the magazine show “Reventón musical”.

In 2018 she was invited to participate in the project “Divas de la salsa”, which took place in New York City representing Mexico and sharing the stage with various divas of the genre from other countries.

In May 2019, she toured Canada for 3 months, leaving her mark and in the last quarter of the same year, she travels to Colombia to continue expanding in the international market.

Her salsa version of “Si una vez” gives her the surprise to be placed naturally in the taste of the Colombian public and, as a result, the doors are opened to participate in events of the Feria de Cali alternating with the most important figures of the genre; she also participated as a special guest to sing in the tribute made to the master Gilberto Santa Rosa.

Once again Santa had the opportunity to leave her country high and show that Mexico also has and makes its good “molcajete salsa” as she calls it, inspired by these joyful Caribbean countries.

Back in Mexico, Santa started her online entertainment program “Santa con Ton y Son” with Raul Silva “El Titan de la Salsa” as her partner, which lasted only a short time on the air, due to some commitments she had to fulfill in the U.S. that were postponed because of the COVID pandemic; However, in the meantime Santa dedicated himself to write some songs that reflect feelings generated from that global chaos, such as “Chao Chao” which he recorded in Mexico City in December of 2021 as a duet with Ricardo Amador, accompanied by La Internacional Orquesta Controversia, of which a live video was recorded with great acceptance.

Santa Salsera y Diva de México con su voz y estilo único seguirá conquistándonos a todos
Santa Salsera y Diva de México con su voz y estilo único seguirá conquistándonos a todos

In addition to new duets and surprises that he is preparing in 2022 for the pleasure of the dancers.

Surely with his voice and unique style, coupled with his charisma and stage presence, Santa will continue to conquer us all.

Enlace Externo: Santa Salsera and Diva of Mexico

You can read: Irakere was a Cuban group that developed an important work in Cuban popular music and Latin Jazz under the direction of Chucho Valdés

Europe – February 2023

Latin America – February 2023

Goodbye to El Canario de Carolina

Music in mourning

The world of music, more specifically salsa, has lost one of its greatest stars later this year 2022 and is none other than the unforgettable Lalo Rodriguez, who leaves a huge void after his unfortunate departure. In view of the unfortunate things that happened to the humanity of the great artist, we want to take this opportunity to remember the most important of his musical work and the importance of the legacy left by him.

A little of his biography

Ubaldo Rodríguez Santos, better known as Lalo Rodríguez, was born in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico on May 16, 1958 in the family formed by his parents José Rodríguez and Magdalena Santos. As a child, he soon started singing in music festivals and radio and television shows, in which he already showed the great talent that would carry him for the rest of his life. So much so that, a few years later, he was already part of his first musical group, the Tempo Moderno Orchestra.

Lalo Rodríguez was found dead on December the 13th
Lalo Rodríguez was found dead on December the 13th

When he was 15 years old, he received the necessary support to move to New York City, a place where some of the biggest salsa stars of the time were located. While there, he joined Eddie Palmieri‘s band and provided vocals for several songs on the album ”Sun of Latin Music”, which became the first salsa album to win a Grammy. The following year, the artists would team up again to create ”Unfinished masterpiece”, which got a nomination for the aforementioned awards. At that time, it was Palmieri himself who named him ”Lalo” for the first time.

After walking away from Palmieri, he participated in the Machito Grillo’s orchestra, with whom he recorded the album ”Fireworks”. Incredibly, this album also got a Grammy nomination, which represented fabulous numbers for Lalo. Upon coming of age, he already had three albums, a Grammy won and two Grammy nominations.

1980s

During these years, Lalo recorded a significant amount of albums and was beginning to be considered as one of the precursors of romantic and erotic salsa, a subgenre that was beginning to gain much more notoriety in those years. One of the biggest hits of his entire career was the song ”Ven devórame otra vez”, which won him a Lo Nuestro Award in the category of Tropical Song Of The Year and reached very good positions in the Latin Music charts.

Lalo Rodríguez and Eddie Palmieri
Lalo Rodríguez and Eddie Palmieri

1990s

In the 1990s, he continued working hard in his career, resulting in the albums ”Nací para cantar” and ”Estoy aquí”, with which he won gold and platinum records due to the large number of copies sold. These were the last record productions of the artist to be released to the public.

Recent years

Lalo never stopped being active on stages of all types, both in his native Puerto Rico and in other countries around the world. In 2020, it was announced that he was going to release a new album and already had a song selection to include in the material, although no further details had been offered.

Unfortunately, fate would not allow him to go forward with his plans and he was found dead near a basketball court in Carolina, Puerto Rico. One of the first relatives to make an appearance was his road manager.

Lalo Rodríguez and Johnny Cruz
Lalo Rodríguez and Johnny Cruz

After knowing that Lalo was found dead, his road manager Francisco Pérez, who had been working with the artist for several years. He indicated that he had communicated with him that same day and they had agreed to meet, but instead, he received the unfortunate news about his death.

During the following days, many artists expressed their sorrow for the departure of the singer and highlighted his great talent in life, such as Víctor Manuelle, Elvis Crespo, Arnaldo Vallellanes, among many others.

Read also: This is the story of Percussionist Joe González

        By Johnny Cruz, ISM Correspondents, New York, New York City

Miguel “Angá” Díaz the percussionist who made his name in the ranks of Cuba’s legendary and enigmatic Irakere group

Miguel “Angá” Díaz (1961-2006) was a valuable and prolific Cuban percussionist. With his explosive solos and the creation of five conga toques, “Angá” was widely acclaimed as one of the world’s great congueros.

One of the mainstays of Afro-Cuban rhythm in recent times, Angá played with a multitude of jazz stars, from Chucho Valdés, Chick Corea or Steve Coleman, to Roy Hargrove, Minino Garay, Chano Domínguez and Herbie Hancock, among others.

The claim that he was one of the best percussionists in the world is backed up by the Grammy awards he won, his participation in such important projects as Buena Vista Social Club and the Afro-Cuban All Stars, and his status as sideman of geniuses like Tito Puente, Herbie Hancock, Carlos Santana or Danilo Pérez, as well as his membership in legendary groups like Irakere, according to Más i Más, the organizer of his concerts in Barcelona.

 Miguel "Angá" Díaz el percusionista que se dio a conocer en las filas del legendario y enigmático grupo Irakere de Cuba
 Miguel “Angá” Díaz el percusionista que se dio a conocer en las filas del legendario y enigmático grupo Irakere de Cuba

Father of three daughters – the eldest living in Cuba and the two younger ones in Paris – Angá never stopped searching for new forms of musical expression, experimenting with the fusion of different styles, such as jazz, African sounds, rock and hip-hop.

He was committed to the development of the conga, breaking the traditional barriers of percussion, to introduce them into classic Latin rhythms while preserving their distinctly Cuban roots.

He played with several Cuban artists, including Irakere, Afro-Cuban All Stars, Buena Vista Social Club, Omar Sosa, Omara Portuondo, Tata Güines, Rubén González and Orishas.

Miguel “Angá” Díaz
Miguel “Angá” Díaz

At that time he recorded and toured frequently with international musicians such as Steve Coleman, Roy Hargrove, Baba Sissoko, Ry Cooder, Pascal Coulon, Mezzadri Malik, Montgomery Buddy, Pascal Coulon and John Patitucci. Angá’s musical journey was a personal quest to investigate and create new sounds and rhythmic fusions.

More than just an artist, Angá demonstrated his commitment to the development of his instrument, teaching master classes at various schools and universities in North America and throughout Europe.

For Paris-based Argentine percussionist Minino Garay.

“He is indisputably one of the great percussionists of his generation; the greatest of all. His death causes me enormous sadness, as if it were a story that did not end,” lamented Garay, who will not attend the funeral this Friday, due to the fact that on that day he will give a concert in Vance, in the south of France. “I will certainly dedicate it to him,” he added.

Miguel Angá Díaz (1961-2006) fue un valioso y prolífico percusionista cubano
Miguel Angá Díaz (1961-2006) fue un valioso y prolífico percusionista cubano

Angá Díaz received his formal education at the Escuela Nacional de Arte in Havana, Cuba, and after joining the Latin jazz groups Opus 13 and Irakere, where he perfected his conga playing technique, he moved to Europe, where he devoted himself to exploring the fusion of styles, bringing Cuban music closer to other musics and thoroughly investigating the relationship between Afro-Cuban polyrhythms and technology.

In the summer of 2005, Angá released his first solo album EChu Mingua, which the musician himself described as “a musical religious mass. Spiritual music is when the spirits are invoked to come down to earth, inviting them to a party or to talk to them”, and that is “the whole concept of the album”.

Transgressor of conventions, Angá emerged as an independent, free and committed musician with a wide variety of projects, from experimental jazz with Steve Coleman and Roy Hargrove, and hip-hop with the Orishas, to his participation in Omar Sosa’s tours, in addition to participating in numerous alternative projects with musicians from all over the world.

Angá’s musical trajectory was a tireless search, whose main purpose was to explore and create new sounds, as well as rhythmic fusions.

Source: jornada.com.mx

Miguel “Angá” Díaz

You can read: Freddy de Jesús Ortega Ruiz “Coco & su Sabor Matancero”

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International Salsa Magazine (ISM) is a monthly publication about Salsa activities around the world, that has been publishing since 2007. It is a world network of volunteers coordinated by ISM Magazine. We are working to strengthen all the events by working together.