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Search Results for: Son

Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy

North America / USA /  New York

At Salsa Fever On2, they take great pride in being the only licensed Adult and Children Salsa / Mambo dance academy in the state of New Jersey! Salsa Fever On2 has been in business for 12 years.

Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy
Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy

Here, we have a reputation throughout the dance community for providing our students with an Award-Winning, structured curriculum that is conducive to all different levels of dancers while maintaining a fun and stress-free environment.

Whether you want to take your dance to the next level, support your exercise regimen, work on social skills or scape the daily stressors in your life, you can rest assure that you will be surrounded by a supportive staff in a non-intimidating environment.

The instructors at Salsa Fever take pride knowing that their students are held to the highest calibre and it’s evident on the dance floor. Under the artistic direction of Mario J. Gonzalez and his staf, SFOn2 Dance Academy aims to create true “On2” dancers – trained equally in dance and musicality.

Mario Justo Gonzalez a.k.a Mario B Founder & Director Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy

Professional Dancer, Instructor, Choreographer, Actor, MC, DJ Date of Birth: April 23, 1976 Birthplace: Hoboken, NJ EthnicBackground: Puerto Rican/Cuban [email protected]

Mario has had an interesting start to what is now a SALSA / MAMBO lifestyle!

Mario was very athletic throughout his grammar and high school years. In 1999, a really good friend and high School teammate, Danny Useche, introduced Mario B. to the “Salsa Scene”. This, in turn, inspired Mario to sign up for his first dance class. It did not quite work out as well as he expected, as the class was slightly more advanced than he predicted. This left Mario even more determined to prove his point, size, shape and color was irrelevant when it comes to MAMBO!

Photo 1: Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy
Photo 1: Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy

Mario was down, but definitely not out. He then came across one of the smoothest and most humble instructors in the Mambo scene, Greg Taylor, a prodigy of Delille Thomas and Original Eddie Torres dancer. After a few days with Greg Taylor, Mario was in Mambo Heaven. Took classes with Greg for approximately 6 months and was eternally grateful to Greg for this time, patience and expertise. Mario knew it was time to move forward and take on more of a challenge; he began taking more advanced classes with other established instructors.

Mario was immediately sought out and asked to become “The Papa” to Abbey Plotkins “The Mambo Mamas & The Papa”. Mario was now the Mambo Papa! By joining The Mambo Mama & The Papa, Mario was gice the opportunity to perform for what would become an instant hit LATIN MADNESS, an off-Broadway Dancical / Musical depicting the evolution of latin dance from past to present. The director and producer agreed that Mario would be a great addition to their all-star cast. Mario was now dancing alongside the BEST Mambo Dancers in the world! Latin Madness gave Mario the opportunity to dance, work and share the stage with the most sought out professionals in the world.

With stage experience and help from an acting coach, Mario earned the respect to appear in the movies “Empire” and “Kal-ho-naho”. Mario acted for the NY International Independent Film & Video Festival at Madison Square Garden, which then opened the doors for Mario to perform in two latin concerts at MSG… the largest stage in the world! In a short amount of time, Mario has come a long away to become a Professional Dancer, Choreographer, Instructor and Actor.

What’s most amazing I that he achieved all of these goals with NO background in dance!

It’s true what they say “Hard work does” pay off! “Hard work does pay off!” Who would have thought that Mario would transition from a full – time athlete to becoming a future Mambo Legend? In addition, his love for music and dance was Mario’s motivation to name his youngest daughter Jazzlyn.

Cycle Classes

Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy - Dancers
Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy – Dancers

Mambo On2 Partner & Floor Shine

  • Beginner Level 1: Beginner Students learn from a syllabus to help track their progress & pinpoint problem areas in floor shines & turn patterns in a 6 week cycle.
  • Advanced Beginner Level 2: students learn from a syllabus reflecting from Beginner Level 1 to help track their progress & pinpoint problem areas in floor shines & turn patterns with more of a challenge in a 6 week cycle.
  • Pre Intermediate Level 3: students learn from a syllabus reflecting from Beginner Level 2 to help track their progress & pinpoint problem areas in more complex floor shines & turn patterns in a 6 week cycle
  • Intermediate 4 Level: Students learn from a syllabus reflecting from Advanced Beginner Level 2 to help track their progress & pinpoint problem areas in more complex floor shines & turn patterns. Advanced beginner Level 2 will also prepare you for Advanced classes

What to bring to class

Please bring comfortable shoes with a leather or suede bottom. The best investment you can make as a dancer is a pair of quality dance shoes.

Do NOT recommend rubber soles or thick soled shoes as it will be difficult to find your balance, spin, and do the other exercises that to do in class. Bottled Poland Springs water is sold at the studio for a dollar.

Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy - Photo 1
Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy – Photo 1

Come dressed to dance. A short sleeved shirt and comfortable pants, tight & wind breakers are recommended. This class is a workout, you will sweat & enjoy it. There is a changing are at the studio, as well as restrooms.

The school is also equipped with state of the art central air conditioning & heating for both the summer & winter.

What to expect

Every class begins with a warm-up as a group, with introductory footwork drills for the first hour.

This gives students a chance to review the material that they know, and also gives them opportunity to assess new students and makes sure that they are in the appropriate group. For the second hour you split into partner work & continue with turn patterns & instruction. At the end of the class students have time to practice the moves that they learned, as well as ask question & clarify things that may have been missed.

Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy - Photo 2
Members of the Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy – Photo 2

Location: 83 Franklin Street

Jersey City, NJ 07307

Phone: (201) 792-116

[email protected]

Crunkchata came to stay in USA

North America / USA / New York

Crunkchata is the new rhythm that takes over the Latin street in USA. All lovers’ music enjoy this type of melody for its contagious tempo that makes dance to latin dancer professional or amateur.

The name Crunkchata comes from the mixture between Crunk + Bachata. Crunk, from its origins, is a musical genre that fuses hip-hop music and electro music and originated with the concept of the word crunk, which come from the union of two words, crazy and drunk. For its part, Bachata is a cadence genre from Dominic Republic very famous around the world. Nowadays, the Bachata’s leaders are: Juan Luis Guerra, Romeo Santos and Prynce Royce, among many others.

However, the Crunkchata is leading vertiginously the top ranking of the most prestigious radios, web pages of specialized music, lists of downloads and nightclubs gaining the acceptance of a young public. The people don’t stop to sing the songs. It’s so exciting to dance when women and men get together as a couple to move their hips from side to side with the count of 1,2,3 gentle jumping up one foot to continue with the same  count to the son of the Crunkchata. This rhythm so sensual comes to stay and its creator is TOBY LOVE.

This musician whose real name is Octavio Rivera, better known as Toby Love born in the Bronx – New York, on March 20, 1985. He is an American singer of Dominican and Puerto Rican origin.

“Toby” comes from the nickname of his father with the same (Octavio Rivera, former member of the group Classic Cluster Salsa) and “Love” is the second nickname that hey put him when he was a teenager for his amorous character.

Crunkchata came to stay in USA
Crunkchata came to stay in USA

Toby Love originally started as the second voice of the bachata group Aventura before becoming a soloist in 2006

During his stayed in Aventura he learned a lot about Bachata and later became part of Scarlito Enterteiment together with composer Anthony Lopez known as “Tony CJ” creating his own style. The main objective of Toby is to make the genre of bachata accessible to all the urban young people of the world.

His music is a fusion of R &B, hip hop with elements of traditional and modern Bachata; it defines as result a sound that the same artist likes to call “crunkchata”.

This style unique with the mix of urban rhythms and romantic genre whose songs are in English and Spanish, occupy the third in ranking popularity of the traditional Dominic’s music after Romeo Santos and Prince Royce in the period 2016 – 2017.

Only “Tengo un Amor” became viralized among the top popular Bachata’s videos on the youtube raking chart to get the third place with more than 28 millon views. Toby Love with much effort, dedication, perseverance, more than 11 years of career as soloist and seven studio albums has managed to position the Cruckchata within the music industry and in the heart of the people.

Bachata Super Star Toby Love will be performing all his hits on Friday, October 28th!

TOBY LOVE – BACHATA EDITION AT CULTURA EVENT CENTER

5602 S Washington. St, Tacoma 98409

Date: October 28

Time: 9:00 pm

Cost: GA: $40 (presale)

VIP:$60 – includes: Front of Stage Access, Autographed copy of Toby Love’s Newest Album and Meet and Greet!

Facebook: tobyloveofficial

For more information and VIP Table reservations please call: 253.444.2314

Rudy Regalado. The legend of percussion

North America / USA / California

Rudy Regalado was a composer/ educator and one of the top Latin Rock Timbaleros based in the area of East Los Angeles, California during the 1970s and the second more famous Latin percussionist after Tito Puente. His legacy has been exceptional, 23 recorded albums, participated in big Festivals from USA and shared the best platforms with the best in the world. This artist was well known for his style, his contagious rhythm and eccentric presence.

Photo 1: Rudy Regalado
Photo 1: Rudy Regalado

Rudy Regalado was a genuine and outstanding timbales maestro; he was inspired as a child by big bands Machito and Tito Rodriguez, who were two of favorites he became interested in playing music and the Timbales.

His beginnings in this instrument go back at the end of the 1950s. During that period as s teenager, he learned to play the drum and timbales in home town (Caracas-Venezuela). For 1963 and with desire to eat the world with his music he moved to Puerto Rico and started playing in hotels and clubs in the San Juan area with Julio y su combo, the first house bands he played with in Puerto Rico’s at Hotel Caribe Hilton. They were the backup house band for all the famous musicians that performed in the Island in 1965; at the same time he studied harmony and percussion at Pablo Casals Conservatory of music.

Photo 2: Rudy Regalado
Photo 2: Rudy Regalado

A decade later the restless Venezuelan timbalero migrated to Southern California, where he joined playing with local jazz and Latin groups before joining with the extremely popular Latin Rock Band called El Chicano.

The timbalero of timbaleros spent twelve years with El Chicano, singing and playing the timbales in 5 albums, which was included in Top 40 hits during the 1970s with the songs “Viva Tirado” and “Tell Her She’s Lovely”. El Chicano also created the theme song for the television series Baretta, which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978.

After, Rudy formed his own Latin Jazz All-Star / Salsa Band in 1983, which included a selected group of musician from Los Angeles. Initially known as Todos Estrellas, the band eventually became known as Chévere (aan expression of Venezuelan popular slang) and appeared at the PlayBoy Jazz Festival, Disneyland and Fiesta Broadway, among other engagements. The band also performed overseas in summer festivals in Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and throughout the European continent.

Photo 3: Rudy Regalado
Photo 3: Rudy Regalado

As part of an El Chicano reunion in 2009, the Timbales maestro performed during the 40th anniversary of Woodstock festival at the Golden Gate Park Music Concourse in San Francisco, where the group actually celebrated their own 40th Anniversary, and last played with them at the Greek Theatre of Los Angeles in front of over a 100,000 screaming fans.

In addition, he participated in a variety of sessions with the Zawinul Syndicate, Quincy Jones, Alphonse Mouzon, Caravana Cubana.

Photo 4: Rudy Regalado
Photo 4: Rudy Regalado

Rudy also toured with Aretha Franklin in charge of her percussion section, was a drummer for Los Melódicos in its 1980 tour of United States, and performed on the Tonight Show, the Nancy Wilson Show and American Bandstand. His film credits include The Skeleton Key (2005), as well as the television series Pepe Plata (1990) and Clubhouse (2004).

Héctor José Regalado better known as Rudy Regalado passed away on November 4th, 2010, in Las Vegas – Nevada, where he died from complications of pneumonia at the age of 67.

Photo 5: Rudy Regalado
Photo 5: Rudy Regalado

Currently, his daughter Norka Tibisay Regalado founded in 2013, the Rudy Regalado Foundation. The goal of the foundation is to provide inner city music programs with instruments and financial support. “Let no child be left behind due to lack of funds”. In February, 2014, they donated over 2500 instruments and donated $2000.00 to help with cost for instructors. Her goal is to get financial support from big companies and the community in order to reach many more music programs; she is also working on bringing music programs inside children´s hospital to help the healing process to their mentally ill children and burned survivors.

Rudy Regalado will be forever remembered as one of the greatest Latin exponents of Salsa / Jazz sound of all time, undoubtedly, The Legend of Timbales (January 29, 1943 (Caracas – Venezuela) – Covember 4, 2010 (Las Vegas – Nevada).

Photo 6: Rudy Regalado
Photo 6: Rudy Regalado

For additional information or to make a donation, please contac Norka Regalado at 323.270.8176 or go to website www.rudysfoundation.org/

ISM / October 2025

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Tito Puente Jr.: perpetuating a legacy with its own rhythm

In International Salsa Magazine, we cannot contain our joy for the conversation we had with the son of one of the greatest legends of Latin music, who is now writing his own story of grandeur thanks to the education he has received practically since birth. This is none other than New York producer, composer, and percussionist Tito Puente Jr., who shared about 40 minutes of his time to answer some questions exclusively for Augusto Felibertt and yours truly, Karina Garcia. 

Tito puente jr. smiling
Producer, composer, and timbalero Tito Puente Jr. smiling for the camera

The burden of Tito Puente’s iconic legacy

Having a successful father is a great blessing, but sometimes, it can become a veritable martyrdom for a son who wants to follow his path, as comparisons between them will always be inevitable. Being able to share with Tito Puente Jr., son of the legendary King Of Timbales Tito Puente, gives us the opportunity to get his perspective on this interesting and important subject. 

Fortunately, the artist does not see this legacy as a burden, but quite the opposite. Although he admits that his father is one of the greatest masters and ambassadors Latin music and our culture in general have ever had, and that it is not easy to fill his shoes, he proudly bears his father’s surname and promotes his music.

Moreover, he sees the surname “Puente,” as well as the Spanish word implies, as a union among several generations because many young people this day do not know Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, and many other exponents of that salsa’s golden era. Tito Jr. wants to be part of that “bridge” between generations so that people of all ages can learn about these prodigies, including, of course, his father.

Childhood with Tito Puente as his father

Regarding his childhood and adolescence, Tito emphasized that he always saw his father play all types of instruments such as timbales, marimba, saxophone, percussion, and many others, which inspired him and made him want to imitate him from the beginning. Today, his career is largely influenced by everything he saw at home, and he plays his father’s arrangements and compositions, which are divided between a total of 186 albums. 

Everything learned within his family has taken him so far professionally, to the point that he now has seven Latin Grammys and 14 nominations, all thanks to the legacy he carries. 

Tito Puente and Tito Puente Jr.
Tito Puente Jr. and his father Tito Puente on the 1998 Grammy Awards red carpet

The Puente family today

On the more personal side, Tito is the youngest of his brothers, among whom he is the only one who works on music as a profession. To some extent, this has made him take upon his shoulders Tito Puente’s legacy through his own art.

The musician currently resides in southern Florida, specifically in Miami, although he works with orchestras from different cities and countries. He is married and has two children who are Miranda, 18, and Tito Puente Jr. Jr., 17. Miranda studies marine biology at university, while her younger brother is in high school but travels constantly with his father and enjoys composing and playing the guitar.

He also told us a little about his wife, who loves salsa but is not in music. On the other hand, he spoke lovingly of “the boss,” his mother Margarita Puente, who is currently in charge of royalties, record labels, publicity, and the documentary on Tito Puente’s life.

He also has two siblings: Audrey Puente, 55, who is a television meteorologist, and Rony Puente, 77, who is also a musician like his father and younger brother. 

Other musical influences besides that of his father

In addition to salsa, mambo, and guaguancó, Tito really enjoys English rock and several bands such as Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and others into this style. These tastes of his have led him to the idea of, at some point, blending heavy metal with mambo to see which result he gets.

As well as he can really enjoy the music of Bon Jovi and Ozzy Osbourne, he is also fascinated by El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, which he finds to be a very interesting mixture of genres that he would like to experiment with someday. 

He also said laughing that his father did not share his musical tastes and that the only rock band he liked was Santana, and that was because they did their own version of the hit “Oye Cómo Va” in psychedelic rock and Latin rock. 

Tito Puente holding his son
Tito Puente carrying his son Tito Puente Jr.

Current singers

Today, Tito works with various singers, including Aymee Nuviola, Lucrecia, Yolanda Duque, and his great friend, “La Princesa de La Salsa” La India. His father worked with great vocalists such as Tony Vega, Michael Stuart, Oscar D’León, José Alberto “El Canario,” Miguel Ángel Barcasnegras Díaz “Meñique,” and many more. 

Tito’s latest album, “The King And I,” also features other big voices such as Domingo Quiñones, Frankie Negrón, José Alberto “El Canario,” Tony Vega, Sheila E., Pete Escovedo, and many other salsa superstars of today and yesterday. 

The timbalero has worked with many figures who also worked with his father in the past, so it is clear that they see him and respect him as the continuation of his musical legacy.

Tito’s views on academic training in music

On the important issue of academic training in music, Tito pointed out that there are not enough educational programs aimed at teaching Afro-Cuban music in schools and universities, which in his view needs to change as soon as possible.

In fact, he noted the importance of promoting programs in educational institutions around the world so that their students learn much more than just symphonic music and become more rounded professionals. Although he recognizes the importance of knowing Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, he also believes that aspiring musicians should know about Eddie Palmieri, Charlie Palmieri, Larry Harlow, Pupi Campo, and other artists in this style. 

The artist believes that the above mentioned artists and many others related to jazz and salsa are part of a very important era of music in the world, which is why he believes that teachers must take them into account during their classes. For him, it is a mission to promote both his father’s music and that of other exponents of his kind in the academic field.

Tito Jr. and his family
Audrey, Margarita, Tito, and Tito Jr.

Upcoming tours

For our research, we could notice that Tito has several performances and tours scheduled for the rest of the year, more specifically for November. In this regard, he told us that in the first week of September, he went to play his father’s music on his weekly show Mambo Mondays, which is held to delight dancers eager to keep enjoying Tito Puente’s music.

About international tours, he plans to go to Germany in February next year and Spain next summer. He is also close to release a documentary in 2026 and a new album with the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra, which has 77 musicians and instruments such as violins, violas, harps, bagpipes, flutes, French horns, among others.

Tito Puente Jr. and his son
Tito Puente III and his father Tito Puente Jr.

Final comment

We still cannot believe we had this great conversation with the talented Tito Puente Jr. and it has been a great pleasure to share this time with him. Those who wish to contact him can do so through his social media channels, which are as follows:

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TitoPuenteJr/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/titopuentejr/

X: https://twitter.com/titopuentejr

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/tag/titopuentejr 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-es/artist/2ROkqvVDXj5JgmN6z2uFrM

Read also: Venezuela violinist and former musician in El Sistema Ali Bello has many interesting things to say

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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.