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Salsa and its detractors “Caiga quien Caiga”

International Salsa Magazine through salsagoogle.com presents Crisanto Edecio Romero Carpio from the Pearl of the Caribbean, Margarita Island and the history of our Caribbean musical culture.

A few months ago in conversations with my friend Salvador García Landaeta, a man with a great trajectory in the musical and radio field and a great connoisseur of the world of Salsa, I made a comment about the name of the title of this publication.

The history of our Caribbean musical culture has had a roller coaster of ups and downs in terms of our musical heroes.

La Salsa y sus detractores Caiga quien caiga

But the fact is that since our Caribbean musical identity was baptized with the name of Salsa, the so-called detractors began, an endless number of opinions that yes it was me, that yes it was sultanito, etc.

There began the tejemaneque, opinionators of office, radio inquisitors, professional payoleros, businessmen fascinerosos, and there was no shortage of rolo e vivos who took ownership of issues that were not even theirs to feast.

But I go much further because even in the Mecca of cinema some people got rich with some movies that it is better not to remember them so as not to play the game and not to stain the name of one of the best Salsa interpreters of all history.

Now, are we in the XXI Century or are we still in the Middle Ages? Our Latin Thing called Salsa today resists a demonic onslaught of criticism and a musical advance poor in lyrics and a denigrating theme towards women, our women, our daughters, our mothers. A vulgar and dishonest language and with an advertising, radio and audiovisual apparatus that costs millions of dollars worldwide.

But Salsa is still there, in every corner, in every neighborhood, in the old LPs that we keep as true musical treasures, in every gathering and conversation among friends.

It is necessary to point out that all is not lost, people who from their communication trenches make a very important contribution.

It would be mean of me to point out any one in particular but when this “Message” arrives, many will know who I am referring to.

This article was a debt with my Salsera people, and to them I dedicate this reflection a day after learning of the death of one of the best interpreters that Puerto Rico has given, I am referring to Ubaldo “Lalo” Rodriguez.

I admired Lalo since his beginnings with Palmieri, his time with Machito and then with his solo project. A career full of successes, awards, and a situation that led him to face the evils of our society where it is easy to get in but very difficult to get out.

Crisanto Romero, Edgar Dolor Quijada y Salvador Garcia

The musical career of Lalo Rodriguez, a horse that was born among the greats and became Immortal (although some boasted of “killing him” after his death). Sad and painful for those characters.

Salsa does not die and will never die. And I close my commentary with a phrase written more than 2000 thousand years ago; let him who is without sin cast the first stone.

Crisanto Romero.

For the Ataca Quintero Project by Jaime Quintero and Salvador García.

https://www.facebook.com/crisantoedecio.romerocarpio

You can read: Hector Maisonave Manager of the Greatest Salseros in New York

Benefits of music in pregnancy

Music and pregnancy

On a number of occasions, science has shown the benefits that music has for the health of humans in general and of course the stage of pregnancy could not be the exception.

It turns out that listening to music can be highly beneficial for both the future and the baby on the way, who already has the ability to perceive sounds on his own from the sixteenth week of gestation. Throughout this material, we will be talking about the influence that music has on this very special stage of a woman’s life and the child she has in her womb.

A baby can perceive sounds from the sixteenth week of gestation

Music and the realtionship of the fetus and the mother

While it is true that it has not been proven that music affects the baby’s intelligence and development, it is known that it is a very powerful catalyst of emotions for the mother, which will affect her child at a physiological level. This is because the child can perceive both nervous and quite moments that his mother feels at some point as part of the connection that both human beings already have. Although the baby cannot hear as an adult would do, he is capable of capturing the eotions of his mother unconsciously.

This connection is even strengthened by their heartbeat synchrnization, which are in time with the rhythm of the song they listen to at the same time. If the mother listens to her favorite song at that moment, she will relax and feel a state of well-being almost immediately, which will also happen with her child.

If a song makes a pregnant woman happy, her baby will be happy too

Another important detail is that the mother produces endorphins that make her feel happy and comfortable at that moment, which will also be noticed by her little one, who will also be infected by these sensations. Many would recommend classical music or medias designed for future mothers, but songs that are simply to their liking and help to relax them from daily stress are also a good option.

A fetus’s perception of music

Thanks to a study by Institute Marqués entitled ”Fetal facial expression in response to vaginal music emission”, it is known that a fetus can hear clearly sounds from his mother’s body such as her heartbeat and breaths, but outside sounds from are completely distorted, which of course includes music. It was also discovered that the only sound waves that are clearly perceived from the womb are those coming directly from the vaginal canal.

Most of the sounds will be perceived as distorted by the baby

Specific benefits of music for the fetus

One of the main benefits music for the fetus is the stimuation of the brain areas and cells responsible for language by this set of sounds, which greatly helps this area to develop correctly. In fact, there have been ultrasounds that show many babies can be seen opening their mouths and trying to vocalize while there is a background melody.

Another great benefit of listening to music for babies is intense stimulation of heart rate by these sounds, which makes the heart pump faster, the cells achieve a better oxygenation and the brain has a more complete development.

In addition to this, prolonged exposure to music may cause the baby to stay calm for a longer amount of time and cry less once he is born.

Son Del Monte’s musical director and timbalero Manuel Rivera

Who is ”Manny”

Manuel ”Manny” Rivera is the musical director and timbalero of the Son Del Monte Orchestra. We had the great opportunity to have a friendly conversation with him to know in detail his beginnings, career, groups, role as musical director, among other things.

Manuel ''Manny'' Rivera tells us his interesting story — Manuel ”Manny” Rivera tells us his interesting story

Time in the Yambú Orchestra

After apologizing for his deficits in the Spanish language, he continued by thanking us for the opportunity to tell his story and describe his time in the Yambú Orchestra, which was the first group in which he could start developing his talents in the 70’s. ”what we wanted to do at that time was make a mix between jazz with typical music because the pianist, who was of African descent, was who wrote the music with musical director and bassist Ramón Rodríguez”. It is presumed that the pianist focused a lot on these genres because of his roots, but his colleagues were fine with it.

Although he loved jazz, Manuel began to notice that it was not very danceable for the audience, which is what caused him to become interested in charanga, a genre that was already very famous in New York City in those years. That’s how he decided to immerse himself in this set of rhythms because he liked to see people go to the dance floor and enjoy themselves.

He also liked Yambú’s style a lot, but felt he had to take a more accurate path for what he was feeling at the time.

Similarities of Son Del Monte with other jazz big bands and members

I was a bongo player, but I started playing timbales because they are widely used in charanga. What I was looking for was to do a similar thing to what Eddie Palmieri did with La Perfecta, who used trombones and a flute mixed with timbales to achieve a charanga sound” said Rivera on this subject. He also added that ”I also wanted to avoid monotony of charanga so I also started using trombones, violin and a flute. This is what I have baptized as chajunto, a mixture of charanga with the characteristics of an ensemble (conjunto in Spanish) ”.

He also pointed out that New York does not have an orchestra like his because he did not want to do the same thing that all groups of this kind do, but something different and novel. ”Son Del Monte is charanga with something more for the people, not only violin and flutes,” said the artist. ”I have three singers with three different styles and they are Puerto Rican Luis Ayala, Colombian Armando Son Giménez and Puerto Rican-Dominican Luisito Soto Junior,” he added.

The Son Del Monte Orchestra also features from the talent of flutist Mauricio Smith Junior, violinist Erick Salazar, trombonist Juanga Lakunza, trombonist Charlie García, bassist Bert Castro, conguero Joe González, pianist Andy Colón, among others. This is the group that has stuck by his side for more than six years in spite of the storms and they always perform together.

All members of the Son Del Monte Orchestra

Opinion on the academic training of musicians

Rivera was one of the best students at Harbor’s Conservatory of Music in Manhattan, New York and he thinks that institution had done so mucho good for folk music because of all the talent that graduated there. After studying there, he began to read percussion music and learned to play batá, tumbadora, Colombian rumba, guaguancó, yambú, and so on.

The musician stresses the importance of studying, as this knowledge helps to understand the clave, the moment to start playing an instrument, the chime, the reading of music, discipline and many more. Before this, Manuel played led by the spirit and sensations, but his teachers at the conservatory taught him to have the technical tools necessary for being even more professional.

What is more important, experience or studies?

”Definitely experience. I have seen many great artists learn to read music without going to a conservatory and a great example of that is Roberto Roena, who did not need that learning to be who he was. However, that is something that not everyone can do” said Manuel. I can also mention the case of Tito Rodriguez who was not a musician guided by the lyrics, but he knew very well what he wanted. These are some of the many examples of privileged artists who only needed accumulated experience to achieve wonders with their work”.

However, this does not mean studies are not important, as they can teach things that can be useful later on and under some circumstances.

Front cover of the Son Del Monte Orchestra's album ''Una Charanga Con Algo Más'' — Front cover of the Son Del Monte Orchestra’s album ”Una Charanga Con Algo Más”

Covid-19

”The pandemic did not let us do anything on stage. The guys went to the studio from time to time or we met virtually, as we do now. It was so sad because there are many venues that have failed to open their doors again. Since the pandemic started, we have not seen as much activity in New York as it used to be before” expressed the artist sadly.

Also of concern to the musical director of the Son Del Monte Orchestra is that this situation has put many musicians out of work, at least in the industry. Active musical groups have very few members in the vast majority of the cases, contrary to his and the orchestra he conducts. He hopes that it will improve with time.

Salsa singer Angel Rumba and what he has to say

Interview with Angel Rumba

Angel Manuel Ramos Sanchez, better known as Angel Rumba, is a New York singer of Puerto Rican descent with whom we had the great opportunity to talk about several issues of importance such as the beginning of his career with Pancho Bongó Y Su Orquesta, his debut as a soloist, the meaning behind his lyrics, among other things. It is a pleasure for us to have talked with this Latin talent and to bring the story to all our readers of International Salsa Magazine.

His beginnings

Ramos Sanchez was born in New York City in the 1980s, when there was a well-established salsa movement in New York City and the United States in general. Evidently, little Angel could not be left out of this trend, especially if we take into account that through his veins ran Latin blood.

In addition, his father was a singer, musician and guitarist, so he always listened to salsa, merengue, bolero and other genres at home. It was at the age of seven when he started playing güiro, bongo and conga due to the curiosity generated by his father’s work, who spent a lot of time teaching his son to play as many instruments as possible.

In 1992 when Angel was 12 years old, he started playing with an orchestra called Projecto 3 in the city of Allentown, which represented his first opportunity to be on stage and show his face to an audience waiting to see what he could offer. It could be said that this was the beginning of what would become his life’s work.

Moving to California and Pennsylvania

Given that Angel’s father was a truck driver, the family had to move around a lot until 2003, the year in which he moved to Puerto Rico and lived there for three years. In 2006, he moved permanently to Pennsylvania, where he has been living until today.

Release as a solo artist

When asked about his release as a solo artist, Angel stated that ”my beginnings were with merengue, but salsa always fascinated me because I really liked soneros such as Ismael Rivera, Gilberto Santa Rosa, El Canario and many more. I saw them improvising on stage and I always wanted to do the same.”

In 2014, he was given the chance to belong to the group Pancho Bongó Y Su Orquesta, which he was a member of for more than seven years until he wanted to make his own project in 2020. He felt he had the experience and took all the necessary stages to get to that point. In addition to that, being subject to command of a musical director greatly limits the creativity of the artists and the New Yorker singer no longer felt comfortable with what he was doing at that time.

The singer is also a composer and was not allowed to play his own music with the orchestra, which also led him to seek new horizons and, in turn, record his first solo track.

While acknowledging that this was no easy decision, he says that he has no regrets about it and all that he has been given from then until now has been a blessing for him and his family.

Obstacles during his solo career

On this subject, he confessed that many of his orchestra fellows were not happy with his decision to leave the group and he even felt that certain figures tried to put obstacles in his way so that he would not succeed in the way he wanted to. This is one of the reasons why he prefers not to show so much about his work and future projects to the public to avoid problems.

”Mi sentimiento En Rumba”

The process of making this album was not easy, since the artist had to knock on many doors until making contact with Rafael Lozano, who arranged the first song ”Sin Un Amor”. This was a cover of a song by Los Panchos, so we can say that it is a tribute to the group in a totally different genre.

We went looking for musicians from several countries to work with u among whom was Angel Guzman, who plays trombone, baritone, saxophone, trumpet and many more. He also told us about sound engineer José Guerrero, who makes the mixing and mastering of the songs.

The album includes six songs composed by Angel himself and three that were adapted such as ”Perfidia” in a bolero version as a gift for fans of musical trios.

In total, the whole project has two merengues, two boleros and the rest are salsa songs.

Angel Rumba's last album ‘’Mi Sentimiento En Rumba’’ — Angel Rumba’s last album ‘’Mi Sentimiento En Rumba’’

Salsa in a market dominated by trap and reggaeton

”Every genre has its audience and every artist has his fans” was what the singer answered when asked about the challenges facing a salsa singer in these times. With this, he shows that it does not bother him in the least that there are more popular genres than salsa and that every artist could have a strong fan base without this meaning involving damage to another one. He says that he will continue to create music with his favorite rhythms in spite of passing trends.

One thing he did emphasize is that there should be more artists who focus on writing and creating original music instead of doing so many covers. A lot of creativity is needed.

The importance of continuing to promote romantic love in the lyrics

The salsa exponent says that it is very important that music continues to promote romantic love and bring positive messages because unfortunately there are many genres focused on negative stuff such as disrespect for women, drugs, violence and much more. The salsa singer seeks to make his contribution to creating a better society in these hard times.

”The lyrics of the songs have always influenced society because their meanings anchor in the minds and the message endures” said Angel about this issue.

From Repression to Liberation through Salsa

Interview with Isidra Mencos, Author of Promenade of Desire, A Barcelona Memoir

By Luis Medina

Isidra Mencos is the author of the engrossing, page-turning book, Promenade of Desire, A Barcelona Memoir. This book is a frank, honest and revealing coming of age story as a young woman in the transitional period marking the end of the Franco dictatorship to political freedom in Spain. It chronicles her formative experiences growing up with her family, embracing her sexuality, her relationships with men, discovering her liberation through Salsa music and finding herself.

Isidra Mencos, Author of Promenade of Desire, A Barcelona Memoir

LM: In your memoir Promenade of Desire, you describe your fascination with Salsa music as a liberating force during your coming of age as a young woman. Why Salsa music?

IM: I grew up in Spain under a dictatorship closely allied to the Catholic church. It was a very repressive atmosphere, not only politically but also culturally and sexually. From a very young age I learned to associate sensuality and pleasure with shame and guilt, so I felt disconnected with my body.

When the dictator died in 1975, I was 17 years old and in college. Spain transitioned to democracy and the culture went from repression to liberation and hedonism. That’s when I discovered Salsa music and dancing. From the moment I heard Salsa for the first time, I knew it was the music I had waited for my whole life. Although I didn’t know the steps, I was instinctively in sync with the beat.

Salsa allowed me to reconnect with my body and my sensuality in a guilt and shame-free way. It opened the door to a new me, a young woman aware and accepting of her body’s needs and desires. I fell in love with the great Salsa icons of the 70s, from the Fania All Stars to Rubén Blades, and Los Van Van. I went dancing three or four nights a week, until 5 a.m. I couldn’t get enough.

Salsa scene in the eighties

LM: What was the nascent Salsa scene like in Barcelona in the eighties?

IM: Salsa was not yet popular in Barcelona, where I grew up. Spain had been very isolated from other countries during the dictatorship and did not have significant immigration until the mid-70s so the exposure to this music had been limited. When I started dancing in 1977, there was only one dump of a club in the red light district, appropriately named Tabú, full of seedy characters. I was there all the time.

In the 80s Salsa started to gain traction and a few other places popped up. A very famous one at the time was Bikini, which was in a more bourgeois, safer area, and had two rooms, one for Salsa and one for Rock. Every single night the DJ would end the gig with “Todo tiene su final” with Hector Lavoe and Willie Colón. I loved it.

By the time I left Spain in 1992 there were four or five clubs dedicated to Salsa, and live concerts with iconic figures had started to come to the city. There were also Catalan bands that played salsa standards, like Orquesta Platería and others.

LM: What was the popular music in Spain at that time?

IM: Rock and punk were the most popular. Punk represented the rebellious spirit of the youth, who had grown oppressed and now had the freedom, in the new democracy, to be outrageous and excessive without consequences. A very famous punk group was Alaska y the Pegamoides.

LM: Your ex-boyfriend Abili was a prominent pioneer in promoting Salsa Music in Barcelona during that era. Can you describe the triumphs and challenges that he had promoting Salsa music?

IM: Abili had fallen in love with Salsa before me. He was a journalist by profession and had come into some money due to a labor dispute. He decided that he would invest that money into making Salsa as popular as any other type of music in Barcelona. He produced concerts with Salsa greats like Rubén Blades, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barreto, Luis Perico Ortiz and others, who came to Spain for the first time. Unfortunately, he was a bit ahead of his times. There wasn’t still a big enough audience to fill in the venues, and he lost a lot of money. That said, he was a major contributor to popularizing Salsa in Barcelona. For example, he ran a weekly Thursday salsa night for a few years at a club, with a live band (Catalan players) and a DJ, and you could see the club filling up more and more every week.

He later got involved with one of the major Salsa spaces in Barcelona, El Antilla, programming the live bands and promoting the scene.

LM: You have visited Barcelona throughout the years since you immigrated to the United States. What are the differences that you have seen in the Barcelona salsa scene?

IM: Salsa is now very well established in the city, in part due to the increasing numbers of Latin American immigrants who started coming in the 80s and the 90s. There was a big wave of Cuban immigration starting in the 90s which changed the direction of Salsa in the city, making timba and rueda very popular, for example.

Salsa was also taken on by several bands which mixed Catalans with Latina American immigrants, and produced great music, such as Lucrecia or, nowadays, Tromboranga.

That said, when I go back now I notice that there are less venues that offer live bands on a regular basis. It’s more of a DJ scene with dance instructors.

LM: In the book, you described Salsa music as a passionate force in your life as you dealt with your family, relationships with different men, sexuality, and the transition in Spain from Franco’s era of dictatorship and repression to freedom and democracy. What do you want the reader to take from reading your book?

IM: I think we all have repressed one or more parts of ourselves from childhood on, in order to be accepted by our parents, our teachers, our friends, our bosses…. My memoir is an inspirational tale about finding a way to reclaim the parts of yourself that have been hidden and becoming a whole person again.