Search Results for: Soneros
Roberto Rodríguez was a Cuban trumpet player and composer, author of Ray Barreto’s hit song “Que viva la Música” (Long Live Music)
Roberto Reimundo Rodríguez (Cienfuegos, January 23, 1936 – April 18, 1988), was a Cuban trumpeter and composer, who belonged to Ray Barreto’s orchestra, which he would later leave to belong to Fania All-Stars, as lead trumpet player.
Roberto is the author of Ray Barreto’s hit “Que viva la música”.
Roberto was born in 1938, in Cienfuegos (Cuba). He began his musical career at the age of 12, in his native province; cradle of the world famous Orquesta Aragón.
From an early age he participated in “Las Comparsas de Cuba” and with the orchestra “La Unión Fraternal de Cienfuegos”.
In 1955, he emigrated to the United States and in 1957 he married Nancy Zayas, with whom he had three sons: Roberto Jr., William and Richard.
While growing as an artist, Roberto co-founded the orchestra “Los Jóvenes Estrellas de Cuba” with his long-time friend Ernie Stairs. He later moved on to Wilfredo Figueroa’s orchestra and “Ritmo Swing”.
In 1965, Roberto was recommended to Ray Barreto by Eddie Martinez. Eddie was a pianist for both the TataVazquez and Ray Barretto orchestras.
After listening to Roberto, Ray Barretto recognized that he was in contract with Vivar, one of his former colleagues and musicians, and brought him on board. Roberto remained in Ray’s orchestra for 11 years.
His performance as first trumpet soloist was extraordinary. While in Ray’s orchestra, Roberto composed several famous songs such as: “Yo Soy La Candela”, “Fuego y Pa’Lante”, “Invitación al Son”, “Cienfuegos, Perla del Sur”, “Se Traba”, “El Tiempo lo Dirá”, “O’Elefante”, and the worldwide hit: “Que Viva la Música”.
In 1972, Roberto became a member of the Fania All-Stars as first trumpet and soloist. The documentary “Our Latin Thing” launched Roberto along with the other members of the All-Stars to international fame.
Our Latin Thing
On August 26, 1971 New York City gave birth to a sound that would change Latin music forever. That night at the renowned Cheetah nightclub, the Fania All Stars took the stage with their unique sound that echoed across all borders and reached every country. Fania Records re-releases “Our Latin Thing” on DVD, the film that sparked the salsa movement of the seventies.
From the concert came a double LP entitled “Live At The Cheetah” and the historic film “Our Latin Thing”. Its director, Leon Gast, documented the events at the Cheetah with the addition of footage of the musicians in the recording studio and scenes of New York’s Spanish Harlem.
The 40th anniversary edition of “Our Latin Thing” includes a DVD with the remastered film, and two CDs with the music from the film and some additional tracks, which can be purchased on the label’s official website.
In 1975, Ray decided to take a turn towards a new musical facet and Roberto became part of the group “Los Kimbos”.
Two years later, in 1977, Roberto joined the charanga band “Orquesta Broadway”. In this group he not only excelled as a trumpet soloist but also as a vocalist. Here he composed new hits, including: “No Se Va a Poder” and “Como Nueva York no Hay”.
In 1982, Roberto decided to assist his sons in their desire to continue their musical journey and produced the album: “Roberto Rodríguez Presenta a Los Rodríguez”, under the “Combo Records” label.
In 1983, Roberto joined the “Los Rodriguez” Orchestra, to perform with his sons Roberto Jr (trumpet player) and Willie (bass player).
His health deteriorated in early 1988, and he finally passed away in April of that year, victim of skin cancer. His son Roberto Rodriguez Jr. followed in his footsteps and has excelled in salsa orchestras in New York.
Roberto Rodríguez was a Cuban trumpet player and composer
Read Also: Miguelito Cuní recognized among the best soneros of Cuba
Mayito Rivera “El Poeta de la Rumba” was the distinctive voice of Los Van Van de Cuba
Mario ‘Mayito’ Rivera is, without a doubt, one of Cuba’s most outstanding contemporary singers.
For more than 20 years he was the distinctive voice and recognizable face of Cuba’s most famous musical group, Los Van Van.
Regardless of the musical genre he performs -rumba, son, salsa, bolero or timba, modern or traditional style, with strength and dynamism or with delicacy and tenderness, Mayito Rivera’s performances, with passages adorned with tremors and coloraturas, are always stellar.
Mario Enrique Rivera Godínez was born on January 19, 1966 in Pinar del Río, a province located in the westernmost part of Cuba and famous for its handmade Havana cigars.
It was there that ‘Mayito’ began his musical training as a child. Later, he moved to Havana, where he studied percussion at the renowned National School of Art (ENA), which he later extended with advanced studies at the Higher Institute of Art (ISA).
After completing his training, which lasted a total of 15 years, Mayito Rivera joined the musical ensemble of the well-known Cuban singer Albita Rodríguez.
Later, he played bass in the Moncada Group, a formation belonging to the Nueva Trova Cubana movement, whose renovating spirit is firmly rooted in traditional Cuban rhythms.
At the age of 26, Mayito was discovered by Juan Formell, the director of Los Van Van, an orchestra that by then had already become a legend. Initially hired to play bass and sing backing vocals, he soon established himself as the group’s lead vocalist.
Over the next 20 years, Mayito Rivera, more than any other musician, put his stamp on Los Van Van.
He burst onto the scene as the representative of a new generation of musicians, and his fresh style contributed to the group’s endurin Singer of the group’s countless salsa hits that were played in the discotheques, he has been nominated twice for a Grammy and won it once.
At the same time, he was also working on other projects: in 1999 he released his first solo album, Pa’ bachatear.
Chappotín, in which he transports the past to our days with a brilliant interpretation of traditional Conjunto Chappotín songs.
But Mayito Rivera is not only a singer and percussionist. In 2005, he released Negrito Bailador, his second solo album, produced by the Timba label of the German music publisher Termidor, in which he performs only songs of his own composition.
The music, with a rumbero tinge, is fresh, lively and of timeless quality. Subsequently, Negrito bailador was marketed in the United States under the title Llegó la hora and was immediately nominated for a Grammy in the Best Salsa Album of the Year category.
Mayito Rivera is probably the most requested special guest by other Cuban orchestras; so much so, that in recent years he has sung with almost all of Cuba’s star casts.
Nor has his career suffered any interruptions since he left Los Van Van in 2011: currently, Mayito Rivera tours the whole world relentlessly, giving concerts in countries as diverse as the United States, Canada, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, France, Germany, Denmark, Spain and Italy.
The great popularity and multiple talents of this ‘poet of rumba’ are reflected in his performances as guest singer for salsa greats such as Oscar D’Leon, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Issac Delgado, Adalberto Alvarez, Mayimbe, Son Como Son, Timba Live, Pupy y Los que Son Son, Charanga Latina, Havana D’Primera, Tumbao Habana and Elio Reve Jr, to name just a few.
In 2012, Mayito Rivera established himself as a permanent member of Los Soneros de Verdad, the most successful orchestra of the moment dedicated to son and its related rhythms, led by singer Luis Frank Arias.
Two sold-out world tours of three months each in Europe, Asia, Russia and the United States attest to the high quality and great interest in this amalgam of traditional son and the vocal artistry of Cuba’s most dynamic rumbero.
In 2014, the superstar will be touring with his own orchestra. But before that, from June to September 2013, he will give a series of concerts with Los Soneros de Verdad performing songs from his as yet unreleased album Alma de Sonero.
During this project he will return to his musical roots: son and rumba, bolero and guaguancó, both in their traditional interpretation and in their more modern variants.
The album Alma de sonero includes 11 tracks and will be released in September 2013 worldwide success.
The musicians include Alexander Abreu (Havana D’Primera) on trumpet, San Miguel Pérez on tres and Luis A. Chacón ‘Aspirina’ Bruzón on bongos and cajón.
Website: Mayito Rivera
Read Also: Carlos “Patato” Valdés one of the best percussionists in the history of Latin Jazz.
The Conjunto Bailatino “La Resistencia Salsera” again “Antes los ojos del Mundo” and here, “No hay quinto malo”
On April 21, 1991, in Venezuela, Bailatino “La Resistencia Salsera” was founded.
The Bailatino Ensemble, was born as a need to revalue and revitalize the Caribbean musical heritage so diverse and original; a heritage that refuses to die because it is part of our Cultural Identities, that is to say, it does not obey the dictates of fashion, nor the whims of the record companies, but our sense of belonging and our pride for the cultural contribution we have given to the world.
Bailatino represents the Salsa Resistance, Salsa without Concessions; it expresses the influences of the best musical groups that interpret the “Salsa Dura”, but, with its own identity.
The versatility, trajectory and professionalism of each of its members are known and recognized not only in the salsa world, but also in the wide range of Venezuelan music.
The musicians that make up Bailatino are constantly invited to accompany the best national and foreign orchestras that visit Venezuela; they are also requested in important international stages;
They have recorded different musical genres and are members of various Venezuelan orchestras. José “Cheo” Navarro, Marcial Istúriz, Edgar “Dolor” Quijada, Felipe Blanco, Johan Muñoz, Eliel Rivero, Alberto Crespo, José “Mortadelo” Soto, and Alexis Escobar (R.I.P) and replaced by Leo Pérez, make up a compendium of talent, knowledge and experiences whose result cannot be other than excellence and quality expressed in each of their interpretations.
Bailatino is the result of national and international musical influences, such as: La Dimensión Latina, Federico y su Combo Latino, El Grupo Mango, La Salsa Mayor and Tabaco y sus Metales, just to mention a few Venezuelan groups; likewise, Eddie Palmieri, Charlie Palmieri, Grupo Libre, Grupo Experimental Newyorkino, Ricardo Ray, Sonora Ponceña, Fania All Star , Mon Rivera, among others.
In 1995, Bailatino debuted in the framework of the International Theater Festival of Caracas, coincidentally in the spaces that previously was one of the temples of salsa and dance, the now disappeared “Sabor Latino”, formerly called “La Pelota”, sacred contexts of salsa and the nightlife of Caracas.
Bailatino has become one of the most popular and requested groups by the legion of “rumberos” and “rumberas”; salsa men and women, true experts and connoisseurs in the matter.
Who organize throughout the year the best salsa parties in Caracas, promoted and spread by means of oral tradition or selling tickets in the famous “Tío Pepe” of Sabana Grande, in Caracas.
These CDs are dedicated to all of them, because with their encouragement we were able to make our dream come true.
Bailatino has also performed on various stages in our capital and internationally:
Museo de Bellas Artes, Corp. Group, Espacios Unión, Trasnocho Cultural del Paseo Las Mercedes; Banco Central de Venezuela, Colegio de Ingenieros, Colegio de Médicos, El Maní es Así; “El Rincón Caribeño (currently “Rumba Aché”), Hawai Kai, El Atrio, Centro de arte la Estancia, celebrated its tenth anniversary at Casa del Artista, Aula Magna, first Metropolitan Salsa Festival, Herman among others. Internationally Bailatino makes his first presentation at the Jorge Isaac theater in Cali Colombia, he was invited to the festival “Salsa al parque” in Bogota Colombia, in 2007 he travels to the city of Dax France for the festival “Toros y Salsa”, in 2008 he travels to Mexico and that same year he performed at the Salsa summer festival in Cali, in that city, he also performed at the prestigious Changó nightclub; in 2009 we were in Australia; all these presentations with resounding success and acceptance.
Bailatino is a network of alliances, solidarity and complicity between musicians, composers, arrangers and friends from different professions and trades, who have contributed their grain of sand so that the Bailatino project, once the proposal was approved by music lovers and dancers, would not remain only in multitudinous presentations and excellent comments from its heterogeneous audience that multiplies every day.
Bailatino, is musical memory transmitted from one generation to another, reinterpreted with all the care and respect that the great masters deserve, who have contributed to design the musical map of Latin America.
The Bailatino group vindicates, once again, the place of honor that Latin Music deserves, not only for the Caribbean, Andean and Afro-American countries; it is a proposal within the framework of a globalized society, but also in a historical moment in which our cultural identities have a great capital to contribute in this multicultural and multiethnic counterpoint that currently exists in the world, in diverse fields and of course in the musical plane.
Currently they are preparing their fifth production entitled “No hay quinto malo”, and at the same time they have released two excellent songs with the brand of “Bailatino”, “Lo mismo de siempre” from the pen of José “Cheo” Navarro and a masterful arrangement José Soto “Mortadelo” in the vocal part Edgar “Dolor” Quijada, the second song entitled “Salsero Soy” composition and arrangements by pianist Alberto Crespo in the voice of the talented young Francisco Rojas and as special guest in this production the Sonero del siglo XXI Herman Olivera performing the song “El que te ama” another excellent composition and arrangements by Alberto Crespo.
For next Friday May 5, 2023 from 8:00 PM they will be performing at the public works club of Maracay in Venezuela with the help of “Taylor Productions” celebrating their 28th anniversary, an event that promises for the public of Maracay since La Ciudad Jardín is their second home.
El Conjunto Bailatino “La Resistencia Salsera”
Read also: Ronald Gòmez One of the most respected young soneros of the New Generation
Edwin “El Calvito” Reyes
Edwin El Calvito Reyes, Winner of the Paoli Prize 2019, as Tropical Revelation of the Year
Undoubtedly, today, considered by legends and colleagues of the salsa genre, as one of the fastest growing exponents, projecting and establishing its brand, at a firm pace and worldwide; Winner of the Paoli Prize 2019, as Tropical Revelation of the Year, he is Edwin “El Calvito Reyes”.
Born on April 19, 1974, he had his childhood in a humble 20-foot-square wooden house and graduated as an Electrician from the Higher Vocational School in his beloved Trujillo Alto in May 1992.
He then graduated with studies in Tele-Communication at the University of the Sacred Heart of P.R. This 2020, “El Calvito” is scheduled to finish his Master of Science, with a major in Entertainment Business, at Full Sail University in Orlando, FL. (Entertainment Business, Master of Science).
Although in OCT 2018, it was his first appearance in the world, with his own musical proposal, “El Calvito” has a career and / or musical history, of more than 25 years, which began to the tune of Plena in his native Trujillo Alto.
Since childhood, music has been his passion. Edwin continued to show his leadership and passion for music, and already in 1993, Edwin began to make himself known in his hometown with PLENA, keeping the culture and tradition of a people alive. As early as 1996,
Edwin joined the US Army and, in his spare time, began singing salsa, thanks to Mr. Víctor París and Mr. Godreau “Papo Salsa” who offered him the first opportunity to share his talent with the community of Hinesville, Ga in 1996, singing salsa classics.
Since then, “El Calvito” has been performing all genres of Latin music in the United States; Never leaving behind its origin, nor its vision.
“El Calvito” Reyes has several many LIVE SALSA performances in South Korea and the Middle East (Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Turkey), with more than 10 thousand soldiers (combined count) dancing to the rhythm of live music, relieving all types of stress in combat and highly raising their morale. A genuine leader, who brings that same leadership to the sauce in a very entertaining way.
Over time, thanks to Sergeant Alberto Sánchez and Sub-Officer Carlos Negrón, he joined the Official Salsa Orchestra in the U.S. Army (LATINO CONJUNTO DEL ARMY DE USA), to later become the officer in charge of it.
An Officer who, for 6 consecutive years, was personally tasked with selecting and forming the Only Latin Music Orchestra, ever assembled, in the US Army, whose purpose was to act for dignitaries and personalities (Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Jennifer López, Olga Tañón, Vicente Fox, etc.), within the National Conventions of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Annual Presidential Galas. Clearly leaving an immense legacy in that difficult world. Also, El Trujillano is one of the few salseros in the world that has been able to perform live at the Seoul Olympic Stadium in South Korea.
Immediately after that performance, “El Calvito” performed in 2012, at the Asian Salsa Congress, where dancers from around the world gathered to compete along the rhythms of their music in the course of an extravaganza of 7 days.
He is an artist without equal. After 22 years of active military service, including more than 65 months accumulated in combat, “El Calvito” Reyes has established his own brand, appearing before a large number of people throughout the American country and Puerto Rico. “El Calvito” is a true warrior and avant-garde in this new era of salseros that will surely keep them dancing from start to finish.
Don’t wait for the magic call. He seeks his own, very professional, and has earned the respect of many employers, DJs and Promoters around the world, for his kindness, professionalism and above all his show.
In this past March 2020, “El Calvito” was one of the guests of honor for one of the Bailables prior to the National Day of Zalsa in Puerto Rico, sharing the stage with greats such as NG2, N’Klabe, Carlos Javier, and Abrante, as well as, Julio Badillo and the Salsa Stars, Julio López, Kayvan Vega and many more, making their music shine by its own light and gain the respect and admiration of several present, the international press and their colleagues.
Also, Edwin is part of the first star cast to perform at the FIRST NATIONAL DAY OF LA ZALSA in ORLANDO, FL, alongside stars like Willie Rosario, Eddie Palmierie, India, Jerry Rivera, Grupo Niche and many more “El Calvito” does not stop here, as he has also been chosen to be a fundamental part of the 22nd Anniversary of the Salsa Cruise, along with stars such as Maelo Ruiz, Luisito Carrion, Andy Montañez, Grupo Gale, Grupo Niche and Chino Núñez.
Publicly blessed by Legends such as TITO NIEVES, TITO ROJAS, TITO ALLEN, BOBBY CRUZ, CHINO NÚÑEZ, LALO RODRIGUEZ, WILLIE ROSARIO, PAQUITO ACOSTA LUIS GONZALEZ “EL TSUNAMI”, among others, confirms Edwin “El Calvito” Reyes, as a S Today, at the level you deserve.
Since it came out live on OCT 2018, “el Calvito” has not stopped shining in its own light. Now, he celebrates the worldwide successes of his latest songs, “QUIERO BAILAR CON ELLA”, “TOCALE LA MOÑA”, “MI RITMO SE LLAMA” ZALSA “,” MI TIERRA QUERIDA ”SONEROS DE SANGRE NUEVA, and the most recent SO CALLED THE COUNT.
So what’s next for Edwin “El Calvito” Reyes? “Work hard, with honesty, respect and dignity, in favor of the genre of salsa, in general. Stay humble, loyal to my followers and, of course, continue with my faith in God.
Edwin “El Calvito” Reyes The music of our Hispanic brother and Boricua, Edwin “El Calvito” Reyes is found on all digital platforms (CD Baby, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, Google Music, YouTube Music, etc.) His music continues to occupy prestigious positions on Global Radio.
Edwin “El Calvito” Reyes has a high reputation, as a truly dedicated human being, passionate about contributing to the salsa genre, who studies and respects the genre’s pioneers and their contemporaries.
With an energy on stage that will make you dance from start to finish. Also, as a person who provides a great environment with his leadership and professionalism, with Latin Music for his communities, but above all, as a family man; and of faith.
