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International Salsa Magazine showcases important facts about Héctor Lavoe

(Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez; Ponce, 1946 – New York, 1993) Puerto Rican singer and composer, considered one of the best interpreters of Caribbean music of all time and a pioneer in the introduction of New York salsa in the early 1970s.

He was part of the legendary orchestra of trombonist Willie Colón and was known by the nickname of El Cantante de los Cantantes.

-.Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez was born on September 30, 1946 in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His parents Luis and Francisca are musicians who, from song to song, manage to support a large family of several children.

-. In the year of Hector’s birth, the singers who would influence him are much older: Daniel Santos is 30 years old; Ismael Rivera, better known as “Maelo”, is 15; and Jose “Cheo” Feliciano is eleven.

-. At the age of three, he suffers his first loss: the death of Francisca Martínez, his mother.

-. Juan Morel Campos is a music academy where his father enrolls him. Héctor begins to learn classical music, but he quickly decides to learn what is played in the streets. Jesús Sánchez Erazo, better known as “Chuito el de Bayamón”, is his first idol.

-. Sings the song Campanitas de cristal, a bolero composed by Rafael Hernández Marín, at a school party.

-. In the early sixties, he forms with friends, including Papo Luca, a group that performs boleros and salsas. He earns 18 dollars a night and his talent seduces the people of Ponce. He is invited to sing on television programs. Musicians Felipe Rodríguez and Tito Lara give him a promising future.

-. At the age of 17, being recognized in his native Ponce, he travels to New York. His family does not agree with his departure. In the city he is greeted by the ghost of the death of a brother, who was supposedly a drug addict. He stays in the apartment of Priscila, one of his older sisters.

Before joining the Fania All Stars for the first time, a group directed by the Dominican Johnny Pacheco, he was part of bands such as Orquesta Nueva York and Alegre All Stars.

-. In 1966, at the age of 21, he sings alongside Pete Rodríguez, Adalberto Santiago, Tito Puente, Richie Ray, among other artists, in the incipient Fania All Stars. He meets Willie Colón, an American musician with Puerto Rican parents. “We both knew the world in the Bronx neighborhood. I learned to speak Spanish with Hector, although at first I understood what he was saying. I remember he had a brilliant sense of humor and was a great imitator of singers,” said Colón in an interview.

-. In 1967, he achieved fame with his first album with Willie Colón. It is a mixture of genres such as guaracha, plena and guaguancó, and is entitled El Malo. The album is a tribute to the slum culture of the United States and Latin America.

-. He tries to work as a painter, but his sister won’t allow it. After two weeks, he attends a musical rehearsal with his backing vocalist friend Roberto Garcia. Hector takes the microphone and makes the orchestra directors fall in love with him.

-. At the beginning of 1968 he meets Carmen, a follower he meets at a concert. On October 30 of that year Jose Alberto, his first son, is born.

-. After the birth of Jose Alberto, he has his second son with Nilda Román, another follower. With her, who is nicknamed “La Puchi”, he finally marries and stays in an apartment in Queens. Héctor Junior is the name of his second son.

-. At the end of the sixties he becomes addicted to drugs. In more than one stage he leaves the audience in a daze.

-. In 1971 he is called again to record, together with other stars, Fania All Stars at the Cheetah. This combo featured Cheo Feliciano, Richie Ray, Ismael Miranda, Celia Cruz and the young Rubén Blades. In 1973, the group filled the Yankee Stadium bleachers. Anacaona, Quítate tú and Ahora vengo yo are some of their hits.

-. With Willie Colón, he recorded more than 18 albums between 1967 and 1973. Thousands of reissues of Asalto navideño, El Juicio and Lo Mato were made. Che che colé, Ausencia, Calle luna calle sol, Todo tiene su final are the most requested songs by the Latin American public.

(H3) -. Willie Colón dissolves the duet in 1974. However, both continue to work. Lavoe’s talent continues despite his excesses and the author of Talento de televisión knows it well.

-. In 1975 he releases La voz, his first solo album. This incursion is interpreted as a second wind in his career. So much is his energy to continue that he releases eight more albums. De ti depende (1976) is a collection of boleros and Comedia (1978) breaks sales with the song El cantante, written by Rubén Blades. This work was also produced by Willie Colón, who that year teamed up with Blades to record Siembra, the best-selling salsa album.

-. His interpretation of El cantante helps to build the nickname “El cantante de los cantantes” (The singer of the singers).

-. He performs at the Coliseo Evangelista Mora in Cali in 1977. This concert was attended by the writer Andrés Caicedo, who managed to take a picture with Lavoe in the dressing room. Months later, the author of ¡Qué viva la música! committed suicide with an overdose of barbiturates.

-. As a result of a strong depression, Lavoe is interned in a mental sanatorium in the United States in 1977. His heroin addiction, which he had begun to suffer at the end of the sixties, is not only known by those close to him but also by his fans. “He paid a lot of attention to me and, when he was in trouble, he would call me”, confessed singer Ismael Miranda in an interview.

-. Lives in Cali between November 1982 and March 1983 at the Hotel Aristi. He is a regular singer at the Juan Pachanga discotheque, owned by Larry Landa, a concert organizer. In the capital of the Valley it is said that Lavoe takes drugs during the day and tries to sing at night.

Hector Lavoe el Cantante de los Cantantes

In February 1987, due to a fire, he jumps out of his apartment in Queens. At the same time, in Puerto Rico, his mother-in-law is stabbed to death.

-. On May 7, 1987, his son Hector is hit by a stray bullet. “That death broke his heart,” said Tito Nieves in an interview. “At that moment Héctor Lavoe’s soul dies”.

-. He is diagnosed with AIDS in 1988. Those who visit him in the hospital maintain that he does not lose his sense of humor nor his desire to return to the stage.

-. In Bayamón, Puerto Rico, he sings Mi Gente in a patron saint festival. But his presentation is sabotaged by one of the organizers who supposedly owes him money; in the middle of the song the lights are turned off and Lavoe is left without sound to continue.

-. In 1988, he throws himself from the ninth floor of a hotel in San Juan. He survives to continue fighting the battle. He sings on a Bronx street in 1989. His physical deterioration is a reflection of his state of mind. Lavoe is a ghost of his former self.

-. Tito Nieves is one of his friends who accompanies him in his difficult days. Lavoe depended on other people to live. A thrombosis paralyzes part of his body.

-. In March 1993, pushed by his record company, he makes his last presentation in New Jersey. He sings with Roberto Roena’s orchestra. Maestro Roena is not able to play in front of the “Singer of singers”. “It was too much to put him on stage”, he said indignantly.

-. At the age of 46 he dies of a cardiac arrest, on June 29, 1993, in New York. “He came into the world to enjoy it and suffer it. Although he was not happy, he made many people happy,” said his sister Priscila.

-. He is buried in Puerto Rico. He is accompanied by a horde of followers. The presence of his friend Ismael Miranda stands out, who bids him farewell saying: “He is not here with us, but his music continues”.

-. In 2007, El cantante, a movie inspired by his life, was released. It stars Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez.

-. Currently there are two monuments in his honor. One in his native Ponce, Puerto Rico, and another in Callao, Peru.

Héctor Lavoe

You can read: Génesis of Salsa, its essence, characteristics, rhythm, history and expansión

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.

Joe Arroyo was an excellent Colombian singer and composer of salsa and tropical music

On November 1st, 1955, Alvaro José Arroyo González, better known as “Joe Arroyo”, was born in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

He was an excellent Colombian singer and composer of salsa and tropical music, considered one of the greatest interpreters of music in his country.

His songs were national and international hits, he won multiple Gold records throughout his career, among them, 18 Gold Congos and Super Congos won in the Festival of Orchestras of the Carnival of Barranquilla.

Among his most relevant songs are “La rebelión”, “Tania”, “Mary”, “En Barranquilla me quedo”, “El Ausente”, “Tumbatecho”, “Centurión de la Noche”, “Manyoma”, “La noche”, “La rumbera”, “La guarapera”, “El trato”, “Con Gusto y Ganas”, among others.

In November 2011, Arroyo won the Latin Grammy award for best singer/songwriter at the 2011 Latin Grammy ceremony.

Born and raised in the Nariño neighborhood of Cartagena, Arroyo began his career at a very early age, when from the age of eight he sang in bars and brothels in Tesca, the tolerance zone of his hometown.

Joe Arroyo fue un excelente cantante y compositor colombiano de música salsa y tropical

In his early days he sang with groups such as Los Caporales del Magdalena, Manuel Villanueva y su Orquesta and the Supercombo Los Diamantes (the last two in 1970); in 1971 he recorded with La Protesta.

To look back, he started with the song “Manyoma”, which is Fruko’s, but has my arrangements. That’s where that hit was born, but it really came on strong when I had been with my band for four years. It is a sound that has soka, salsa, African sounds, cumbia, sea breeze and a 50% that comes from me but I have no fucking idea what it is.

Joe Arroyo commenting on the origins of joesón.

In 1973 he got his big break when he signed for Discos Fuentes after the producer, author and artistic director of Discos Fuentes, Isaac Villanueva, in the Suri Salcedo park in Barranquilla, was struck by a “pelao” who sang with the vibe of Cuban Celia Cruz. The announcer Mike Char had recommended him to Fruko and told him that he could see him in action at the El Escorpión stand, in the Pradomar (Atlántico) beach resort, as the voice of the house orchestra, La Protesta.

On Sunday Villanueva was there. And it caused him more impact. He spoke with Leandro Boiga, director of La Protesta, and obtained permission to take him to rehearse days later to Medellín. Thus Joe Arroyo joined Fruko y sus Tesos, an orchestra with which he achieved great fame and with which he recorded uninterruptedly until 1981.

Between 1974 and 1975 he performed with Los Líderes (Los barcos en la bahía), between 1976 and 1981 with The Latin Brothers (La guarapera), in 1976 with Los Bestiales, in 1978 with Pacho Galán (Volvió Juanita) and with La Sonora Guantanamera, and in 1980 with Los Titanes.13 He also sang in other groups such as Piano Negro, Afro Son, Los Rivales, Los Bestiales, Wanda Kenya, los Hermanos Zuleta, el Binomio de Oro, Juan Piña, Mario Gareña, Gabriel “Rumba” Romero, Claudia Osuna, Claudia de Colombia, Oscar Golden, Yolandita y los Carrangueros, among others.

In 1981 he founded his own orchestra, La Verdad, with which he dedicated himself to mixing diverse musical influences, mainly salsa with coastal music (cumbia, porro, chandé, among others) and with diverse Caribbean rhythms (socca, reggae) until he created his own rhythm, the “joesón”.

Some of the hits recorded with La Verdad are classics of the coastal music that earned him many awards and being considered the King of the Carnival of Barranquilla, where he won 10 Gold Congos and a Gold Supercongo (created especially for him) in the Festival of Orchestras.

One of his biggest hits was “La Rebelión” (1986), a song that tells the story of an African couple, slaves of a Spaniard, in Cartagena de Indias in the 17th century.

The piano solo, played by Chelito De Castro, and Arroyo’s soneos made “La Rebelión” an immediate hit that is still danced to at parties and discotheques throughout the continent.

In Mexico the same phenomenon happened since the song was first published in the LP “Tequendama de Oro Volumen 7” by Discos Peerless in 1987 and its LP “Joe Arroyo y su Orquesta La Verdad, Grandes éxitos”, still to this date the song is very popular in the sonidero movement.

Other of Joe Arroyo’s most successful songs were “El Caminante”, “Confundido”, “Manyoma”, “Tania” (dedicated to his daughter) and “El Ausente”, all recorded with Fruko.

The album “Fuego en mi mente” (1988) contains songs with influences from African music and contemporary salsa. With “La guerra de los callados” (1990), he made his first Spanish tour. In 1993 he released “Fuego” and played again in Spain.

Joe Arroyo recorded with Discos Tropical (1970-1971), Discos Fuentes (1973-1990) and Discos Sony (1991-2002). After an 11-year stint with Discos Sony, he returned to Discos Fuentes in Medellín in 2003, where he recorded his latest works: “Se armó la moña en carnaval” (2004), “Mosaico de trabalenguas” (2006) and “El Super Joe” (2007).

Joe Arroyo is one of the five Colombians who have appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

Since the early 1980s, Joe Arroyo suffered multiple health problems that prevented him from touring and for which he was considered dead several times.

On September 7, 1983, he was presumed dead after suffering from a retrospective thyroid condition that kept him away from the stage. In 2000, he nearly died in Barcelona due to a diabetic coma and pneumonia.9

His medical history recorded ischemia, renal and motor problems and difficulty singing. In some concerts he even had to be helped up on stage due to weakness and disorientation.

In 1997, despite his health problems, he made a special appearance in the soap opera Perro Amor.

The singer’s health was affected on April 26, 2011 and he was hospitalized since late June 2011 in the clinic La Asunción de Barranquilla in intensive care for a clinical picture of hypertensive crisis, ischemic heart disease and diabetes mellitus with simple decompensation.

He was connected to an artificial respirator, underwent dialysis and a tracheotomy. His condition caused him to be considered dead on social networks, which was denied by both his relatives and the hospital.

All this took place in the midst of a controversy between the singer’s former family (his ex-wife Mary Luz Alonso and his children) and his friends, who considered that Joe was being exploited by his wife Jacqueline Ramón and his musical representative, who claimed that Joe Arroyo was not suffering from major health problems and announced his early return to the stage.

He died on July 26, 2011, at 7:45 (UTC -5), at La Asunción clinic in Barranquilla due to a cardiorespiratory arrest, as a result of a multiorgan failure (high blood pressure, infections, kidney problems) that had kept him in intensive care since Monday, June 27 of the same year.

He was buried on July 27, 2011 at the Jardines de la Eternidad cemetery in Puerto Colombia.

On October 19, 2011, his body was transferred to a special area for illustrious characters in the Jardines de la Eternidad cemetery.

On December 17, 2011, the Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla unveiled a statue of Joe Arroyo in the Musicians’ Park.

Arroyo had signed with Cenpro TV to produce a miniseries about his life, once Alejo, la búsqueda del amor of Caracol Televisión was finished, but in 2000 Cenpro TV went bankrupt after the crisis of public TV in Colombia.

Between June and December 2011 RCN channel aired a telenovela based on the singer’s life called El Joe “La Leyenda”. Sadly the singer passed away during the broadcast of the series.

After his death, Jacqueline Ramón and Mary Luz Alonso (two of Arroyo’s ex-wives) decided to build two museums respectively. Jacqueline’s museum will exhibit various items that stood out during her musical career, such as the 18 Golden Congos won at the Barranquilla Carnival.

In the future, the museum is expected to be moved to a more appropriate location, once the approval of the Ministry of Culture has been obtained.

A wax statue designed by an American sculptor will also be exhibited there.

The other museum, located in the home of Mary Luz Alonso Llanos and her daughters Eykol and Nayalibe Arroyo, will also feature articles, photos and other Congos de Oro, in addition to a statue.

In July 2011, the Mayor’s Office of Barranquilla decided to name one of the stations of the city’s mass transit system, Transmetro, “Estación de Retorno Joe Arroyo”, in tribute to the singer’s musical legacy. According to the then Manager of Transmetro, Manuel Fernández Ariza, the Joe Arroyo station is the most important station of the integrated transportation system.

On March 1, 2012, a Colombian scientist discovered a new species of bee on the Colombian Caribbean Coast that was named in honor of the singer, the Geotrigona Joearroyoi.

On the same day of Joe Arroyo’s death, singer Checo Acosta composed “Adiós Centurión” while on a trip from Medellín to Barranquilla.

The video and song were released months later. Another song that paid tribute to him was titled El Rey Del Carnaval, with the participation of Juan Carlos Coronel, Petrona Martínez, Checo Acosta himself, the pianist and singer Chelito de Castro, Ricardo El Pin Ojeda, who was timbalero of the orchestra La Verdad and also with Eykol Tato Arroyo, daughter of the Maestro. This song was included in the commemorative album made by Cervecería Águila.

Joe Arroyo

You can read: November 22nd International Musician Day

Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa and his interesting career

José Flores Pérez

Jose Flores Perez, better known as Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa, is a salsa singer who was born in the town of Cidra, Puerto Rico, but currently resides in Georgia. We have had a very pleasant conversation with the salsa exponent, in which we have touched on certain various professional and personal tissues never mentioned before. It is a real pleasure for us that he has agreed to talk with us and tell a little more of his personal story on this platform, which is International Salsa Magazine.

Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa was born in Puerto Rico, but now lives in Georgia, United States

Origin of his artistic name

”Chevy” is a nickname his parents and friends always gave him and ”pitirre” refers to a Puerto Rican bird with very short dize, but a very strong character. Maestro Felix Ortiz name him ”El Pitirre” because of the way he sings and improvise in the stage and the trust between them was such that he even became the music director of his orchestra. This combination of nicknames was what made Flores start to become known by that way during the last four years of his career.

Influences and predilection for salsa music

The reason Chevy opted for salsa was the great influence from his family. His father was a salsa singer for local orchestras in Chicago, which made him listen to various Puerto Rican genres such as salsa, bolero, jibaro music and trova throughout his childhood.

There were years when he really enjoyed listening to hip hop and rap in the late 80’s and early 90’s, but it didn’t take long for him to reconnect with salsa when he started listening to Héctor Lavoe, Ismael Rivera, Sammy Marrero, Bobby Valentín, Cano Estremera, among others. Listening to all these idols and what they achieved led him to take salsa much more seriously.

Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa performing on stage

His time in the military and formal beginnings in music

During his time in the military, he performed in different orchestras and accompanied various artists throughout Atlanta. Although this was a demanding career, he organized himself to pursue his interest in music. When he leaves the armed forces, he went to Puerto Rico, where he lived for a great deal of time until he moved to Georgia in 2016.

His current residence is still in this state for professional reasons totally unrelated to music, but he had been there around the time he served in the army, so this part of the United States was not unknown to him. It is there that he resumesd his musical career after so many years.

In 2017, he began to compose, but it was not until two years later when he decided to launch as a soloist, make his first single ”Instrumento de amor” and carry out his first independent musical project entitled ”Entre el amor y el vacilón”.

In this same year 2019, he took advantage of the internet and social networks to become known at an international level and released his second record production during the pandemic, but the singer does not think this situation has hurt his carrer. On the contrary, he believes that social media and digital platforms gave him the push he needed to promote his artistic proposal.

Chevy El Pitirre De La Salsa recording in the studio

Recent projects

One of his most recent projects was carried out in 2019, is titled ”Atacando en Navidad” and was born from the songs ”Arbolito de Navidad” and ”Compay no se me raje”. The first is written by Chevy, but the latter was composed by the legend Johnny Vega. At some point, the artist decided that these two singles were not enough, so he created a full album based on the Puerto Rican parranda he always enjoyed as a child. The result is a mix of nostalgia, sadness, love and joy. He tells how Christmas was celebrated at home, his childhood dreams, what this time meant to his family and the sadness when a loved one dies that year.

One of the most significant songs is ”Navidad Sin Parranda”, which was written a year before Chevy’s mother died. She was so ill at the time that the whole family thought she suddenly would lose her life, but fortunately she did not. Back then, the salsero was beginning to imagine a life and a Christmas without his mother, as she kept the family together and her house was the meeting place for all the important dates.

It just so happens that Venezuelan musical arranger Willy Melo lost his father within a few days of receiving the song, so he was very connected to that same pain around the same time.

Founder of the Son Latino de Orlando Orchestra Carlos Rodríguez

Who is carlos Rodríguez?

We have been fortunate to talk with founder and bongo player of the Son Latino de Orlando Orchestra, Carlos Rodríguez, who started out with him thanking us for the opportunity to talk a little about the group he leads and how has the process of reaching more and more audiences been.

Founder of Son Latino De Orlando and bongo player Carlos Rodríguez

Rodriguez started in the world of music in the 70’s in his native Puerto Rico, where he was part of a few orchestras. His first group was Imperial Orchestra and later he played percussion with Conjunto Secas in the town of Sábana Seca, but it was not long before he created the Sabrosona Orchestra. He started making vocals with Tony Vega and very small performances until he decided to retire for a while and go to Florida.

While in the United States, he realized that his love for music was still intact and decided to form another orchestra in the city of Orlando about eight years ago, which he decided to name ”Son Latino de Orlando ”. It was Carlos himself who decided to name his group that way while he was at home one day, which was when he thought of ”Son Latino” and decided to add ”de Orlando” in honor of the place where they are living and working.

In addition to being the owner and founder, he also plays the bongo, does vocals and plays minor percussion. Another role he plays in the orchestra is to carefully select the members who will become part of his orchestra, but he confesses that he has been lucky enough to have several of the same collaborators for many years, such as Davin Rojas, Rafael Rico, Luis Soriano, Danny Rojas, Chris Torres and Kevin Figueroa (music director of the orchestra and pianist). All of them have been very important in the group’s growth in recent years from their very specific roles. If there are any changes, they are made known to the fans so that they keep it in mind.

Danny Rojas, Rafael Rico, and Luis Soriano from Son Latino de Orlando

Biggest challenges

Carlos tells us that one of the biggest challenges faced by he and his guys is that those who usually hire their services do not pay what is fair for their work. Club owners are not really interested in paying for a good orchestra that offers a quality show, so they just choose the cheapest.

One of the biggest problems they have had to face is that if contractors consider that those in charge of the orchestra are asking for a very high payment, they will always choose the group that less money demands, no matter its quality is not the best.

Rodríguez makes it clear that at no point does he criticize any colleague for this, since all musicians do what is necessary to survive and excel in the industry through the work they do. However, he thinks that club owners and managers should modify the elements relied upon by them to choose their artists, since the bigger loser is always the audience.

How to balance business affairs with the love for art and music (título 3)

”You have musicians behind you and you have to meet with them. To be able to keep your orchestra, you have to go outside to look for your events and guarantee your work” was the first thing the musician said when we asked him how he balances business with the love for music. It is he himself who is in charge of knocking on the doors of the establishments, making his proposals, waiting for calls, indicating prices, signing contracts and arranging dances.

He also stated that it is very important to always lay out the terms of each contract so there are no unpleasant surprises such as last minute cancellations or misunderstandings.

How to balance original music with covers

”We always try to have a balance between romantic salsa, melodic salsa and hard salsa,” says Carlos. The orchestra has three singers who take turns on lead vocals depending on the type of salsa to be played, but there are mamy times when they are all combined in one song and adapt to the rhythms.

In all its performances, the orchestra sings both covers with different arrangements and original numbers. Depending on the place and the type of event, they always try to combine the music and build up a whole repertoire based on that specific audience preferences.

Opinion on new talent

On this topic, Rodriguez said that there are very talented new artists, but they must be allowed to grow and be original. ”Just because you have a middleweight name doesn’t mean you have to be arrogant and put aside humility. You have to be willing to listen and learn from the older guys in the business” said the artist.

For the bongo player, the speed of progress in this career makes many talented kids lose the north and get carried away by arrogance and the desire to know everything. He always tries to give advice to the kids who want to devote themselves to music with whom he has the opportunity to talk so that they can do their best.