Search Results for: Salsa Music

Excellent Music Promoter. Remembered for promoting the LP Siembra by W Colón and R Blades. He founded Viera Discos, “Cathedral of Latin Music”.

He was considered one of the main disseminators of salsa in Puerto Rico, Rafael Viera, also creator of Viera Discos, one of the most important points of the movement until 2016, year in which it was closed.

Viera Figueroa was, from the late sixties to the eighties, Fania’s representative on the island. Why? He was the one who brought the music of the label founded by Pacheco and Masucci to the land of Ismael Rivera, when it was mainly distributed in the United States.

He was the promoter of the first Fania All Stars concert in Puerto Rico in 1973 and was in charge of bringing to Puerto Rico the films ‘Our Latin Thing’ and ‘Salsa’, which packed the local theaters in the seventies. According to Primera Hora, he was the one who inaugurated the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan.

In 2014 Viera suffered a stroke that kept him in intensive care. On that occasion his son, Richie Viera, gave these words to the aforementioned media: “I am a man of faith, and in God I trust that Dad will recover and will be able to continue with us for many more years, offering us his wisdom, his anecdotes and promoting and collaborating so that new talents will have a place in Latin music”.

Viera was known for the famous Casa del Coleccionista store, which he ran for more than 60 years in Santurce, for Viera Discos and for the Catedral de la Música.

He was also one of the driving forces behind the salsa boom at the time of Fania Records, where he worked as producer and promotion manager of the conglomerate of record labels; Fania Records, Vaya Records, Tico Records, Alegre Records, Cotique Records, Éxito Records, International Records and Música Latina, among others.

He was also involved in the success of the careers of artists such as Willie Colón, Larry Harlow, Cheo Feliciano, Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz, Celia Cruz, Ismael Miranda, Sandro, Sabú, Willie Rosario, Miki Vimari, Sonora Ponceña, Tommy Olivencia, La Lupe, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Ismael Quintana, Justo Betancourt, Héctor Lavoe, Tito Rojas, Frankie Ruiz, Corporación Latina, Junior Toledo, Viti Ruiz, Guillo Rivera, Ray Barreto, Willie Rosario, Orquesta La Terrífica, Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound, Johnny Pacheco, Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez, Impacto Crea, Ismael Rivera, Raphael, Wilkins, Trio Los Condes, Joan Manuel Serrat and the most important conglomerate of musicians in the history of Latin music known as Fania All Stars, among others. In 1973, he was the promoter of the first Fania All Stars concert in Puerto Rico, which inaugurated the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan.

In the field of cinema, Viera brought to Puerto Rico the film “Our Latin Thing” and Salsa, films that crowded the local movie theaters.

He passed away on January 13, 2019 in Puerto Rico, may he rest in peace and eternal glory to Rafael Viera!

Mayagüez, is one of the 78 municipalities into which the Island of Enchantment is politically divided: Puerto Rico.

It is the eighth in size and located at the western and central end of the island. Its name comes from a Taino voice that means according to the official historian of this town – Don Federico Cedó Alzamora, “Lugar Grande De Aguas”.

It was founded by the Spaniards and history records a September 18, 1760 with the name of “Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria”, in the territory already occupied by a rural population that was called “Sitio de Mayagüez”. The city has also been known as “Ciudad de Dios”, “La Atenas de Puerto Rico”, “La Sultana del Oeste”, “La Ciudad de las Aguas Puras”, “Capital de la Hospitalidad”, among other names.

Giovanni (Yova) Rodríguez Ruiz was born in Mayagüez, being the youngest of six siblings, raised alone by his mother Doña Delia Ruiz Crespo. At the age of 7 years old, he began singing Christmas aguinaldos and was influenced by his maternal uncle José Ruiz Crespo ¨Pipo El Indio¨ and his great uncle Antonio ¨Toño Ruiz¨ who played the Puerto Rican cuatro. At the age of fifteen he began his studies at the Ernesto Ramos Antonini Music School in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.

It is here that he began his singing and percussion career and at the age of 16 he became the singer of the school’s band. In 2004 he began the project ¨Yova Rodríguez & his ensemble Sakao – Akà, Homenaje a Polo Montañez¨.

Since the release of his musical work Yova Rodríguez conjunto Sakao – Akà has become one of the most sought after ensembles in Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela and New York, since 2010 resides in the Big Apple, La Babel de Hierro N.Y, working in musical composition for singers of the stature, Danny Rivera, Herman Olivera, Marcial Isturiz, Orquesta Boricua Legends, and the great Andy Montañez among others and to mention a few and traveling through several Latin American countries with most of the artists already mentioned.

In 2016 he starts with his promotional song ¨Me Quedaré¨ with arrangements by trumpeter Nelson Jaime Gazu, a song dedicated to the thousands of Boricuas who have left their beloved Puerto Rico. In 2017 he composed the song ¨Mi Barrio¨ dedicated to his native neighborhood and was presented in Mayagüez, at the same time the Mayor José Guillermo Rodríguez gave him the keys of the city and a recognition, in the same year he composed the song ¨Borinquén se Levanta¨ with the participation of great luminaries of Salsa in New York such as El Pulpo Colon, Jhon Benítez, Luis Mangual, José Dávila among others and by the hand of the Cuban trumpeter and arranger Agustín Someillan Garcia, in January 2018 is presented in Medellín-Colombia in the outstanding local Son-Habana, returns to New York and composes the theme Medellín, is presented last June 23 with a resounding total success in the event a day of Salsa for Medellín.

Yova Rodriguez himself informs me that he is already preparing his fourth album with pianist and arranger Arturo Ortiz. And at the same time he belongs to the board of directors of the Galería de La Salsa in Spanish Harlem in New York.

Other themes that social networks have been responsible for spreading recently will see the light in the next production of Yova Rodriguez, the same that will be titled YOVA RODRIGUEZ ENTRE LOS PUEBLOS and will be part of this production the recent theme composed to the First Peruvian Port: El Callao; highlighting here the fact that Yova has never set foot in our territory but that has not been an impediment for his pen to recreate scenarios: neighborhoods, corners and, mainly, its people. As he says in his lyric “…he who knows about salsa, knows that it is enchanting there in the Chimpún Callao…”

We come to the final part of this biographical sketch, thanking Yova Rodriguez for his kindness in sharing with this server the data and images that accompany this publication.

We wanted to honor the musician, singer and composer, but without leaving aside the tremendous human being that our guest embodies, both as a son and brother, as a fellow professional musician and, especially, as a family man.

A facet that is hidden behind the public man (singer-songwriter) but that impresses greatly in Yova’s pen: first, when sharing a message in each of his lyrics; second, his constant attempts to honor his children Ariana and Kerby on a daily basis, taking as a guideline that old adage that says: “You preach by example”; finally his constant struggle to shorten the physical distances between them, something that surely his Muse manages to do.

For the year 2022 from the pen of the composer Yova is still in force.

Our nice talk

Good afternoon, we have here José Miguel Ortegón. He is a music producer, composer, DJ and violinist. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ortegón, how are you feeling?

I’m fine. Thank you very much for the invitation.

Your name is José Miguel Ortegón, but you are known as Sr Ortegón in artistic circles. Why?

I think that is a cultural tradition in the Hispanic world. Men are always called by their last name. That was natural and came spontaneously. Taking advantage of that señor is a Latin cliché, it was perfect for the work I was doing.

José Miguel Ortegón at the Latin Grammys

What was your first approach to the entertainment world?

I started recording with Guayacán, which is a salsa orchestra from Cali, Colombia. I received a lot of help from maestro Zumaque, who is a musician that does contemporary and classical fusion with Latin American rhythms. This was during my teens.

Then, you ventured into other facets, correct?

That’s correct. I started studying music at the conservatory when I was five years old and was in some rock bands. You know that our culture is divided into two musical styles in Latin America, which are classical and popular music. My first professional recordings came with the first computer we had at home as well as most of my generation. When the first computers came to our homes, the concept of music also changed.

How did you go from playing rock and classical rhythms to boogaloo and urban rhythms? How was that transition?

Cali has always been very linked to pachanga, boogaloo and charanga. Rock comes from blues and boogaloo is more or less part of the same trend, so it’s not uncommon for rockers to want to experiment with those rhythms I mentioned at the beginning. I also had teachers at the conservatory who taught classical music during the day, but played with professional orchestras at night. For me, that transition is inevitable.

Sr Ortegón doing his job as a DJ

You have created music for series, movies, digital platforms, Disney, Netflix, animated series, etc. Did you think your career would go that far?

Thank you for your words. I make music. I have the same worry since I started in this world, I think I still have a lot to learn and maturing ideas, The truth is I never imagined it. I simply took the opportunity before me in Europe, where I was studying musicology at the Sorbonne. It is true that Latin music is very exotic there because there are not many Latin composers and producers.

At university, I got a chance to make music for a television channel. Subsequently, there was a snowball effect, a colleague who is now working in Hollywood contacted me for one of those jobs and that was my big opportunity. When I got the script, it was a Dominican series, which made me immediately discard salsa and mariachis. I thought about using bachata or something that really belonged to the Dominican Republic.

When you talk about Hollywood, it should be emphasized that there are several generations of Latinos born in the United States of any origin. A Cuban knows that a ranchera is not Cuban but from Mexico. Such a thing happenned a lot in the industry in previous years. The same rhythms and mixes were always used regardless of the Latin country involved in a production like, for example, West Side Story. I love that movie and think it’s excellent, but the music they used doesn’t sound Puerto Rican at all. That’s why I thought I should take this opportunity to respect the rhythms and traditions of each country. I know we all speak Spanish but each country has its own identity, so I respectfully take each rhythm and use it to make it authentic.

Latin music in Hollywood

When you did music for any series or film, were you given parameters to follow or did you have to be free to experiment with your music?

That’s one of the best questions I’ve ever been asked because the vast majority of producers are American and not connected with Latin culture, so salsa and merengue are the same for them. I just tell them to trust me, send me some samples to guide me, we analyze everything and move on. If the director or the editor doesn’t like what I did, we reach an agreement. Nowadays, this process is easier because there is more musical and cultural education on the part of the producers in the United States.

Sr Ortegón at the party in the Jetset Magazine

You were nominated for a Latin Grammy thanks to a mix of boogaloo and urban rhythms that you made. How did you think of it?

I’m 40 years old, so I spent my adolescence at the time when Californian hip hop was in full swing. Cali is one of the most Americanized cities in Colombia, so you were always listening to all those American groups and songs. Mixing all those rhythms with boogaloo has always seemed very interesting to me and I had no idea how to do that until I learned.

Since a mix between hip hop and Latin music is complex to make, a lot of people gsurrended and opted for reggaeton as culture. There are other groups such as Control Machete that have done an excellent job, but I felt they were lacking something. That’s how I started to learn, but it took me a long time because of lack of resources, since I didn’t have the right elements to respect the codes. So, I did a boogaloo song and a hip hop beat to mix them, which made me realize that they are sister rhythms. This work was very popular and even appeared in series and movies.

In fact, I heard about you from an email that included your new album entitled Latin Boogaloo Volume 2. I also listened to Volumen 1 and noticed the difference. What is the main difference between one volume and the other?

Volume 1 includes what I called Boogaflow, which is boogaloo with flow. Volume 2 is pure boogaloo. I tell you this because, for example, salsa is a term, but it’s really Afro-Cuban music made by Nuyoricans in New York if we go back to basics. Prior to that New York sound known as salsa, there was that phenomenon called boogaloo, shingaling or Latin soul.

I had to listen to disco to get to those rhythms because nobody teaches you anything about those genres. Unfortunately, those who created those rhythms are already dead or doing other things like Joe Cuba, Jimmy Sabater, the people from Sexta All Stars, Eddie Pamieri, Ray Barreto and many others. That fashion lasted about six or seven years and that was that. Every time I go to create a boogaloo, I have to listen very well because there are no scores or models to follow. Poncho Sanchez is one of the few who brings up the torch of that sound, although he is inclined more to Latin jazz.

I wanted to do a boogaflow, but my editor David Santiago proposed to me that we make two versions, one boogaloo version and the a little more acoustic one. What we were looking for was to please both audiences, the one who wants something urban and the one that wants something classic.

Which of the two volumes was more successful?

I know you have the answer (laughs). Volume 2 was the most successful. Number one has put me in touch with my salsa friends, but I didn’t want to tell them that I was going to make a volume two because boogaloo is not a very common rhythm.

Cover of the album Latin Boogaloo Vol. 2