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Manny Mieles Singer, Musician, Arranger and Producer

By: Diana Marie (ISM Correspondent in Miami)

From his own recording studio located in New York, the talented Manny Mieles has been providing good music to an extensive fan base around the night within their respective cities and alternating with big ones within the tropical market.

Born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, Manuel “Manny” Mieles began his career as a pianist at the age of 15.

In 1983, he joined the Orquesta Generación and remained with it for four years. In 1987, he joined the Orquesta Herencia Latina as a lead singer. That same year he recorded his first musical production with Conjunto Imagen entitled “Algo Nuevo” since then Manny Mieles has become a sensation in the salsa genre.

Years later, he collaborated as lead singer with Johnny Ray “Salsa con Clase”, his performance within the salsa market has given him the privilege of sharing on the stage and being part of the musical repertoire of great artists and salsa legends such as; Marvin Santiago, Ismael Miranda, Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz (Carnegie Hall. NY), Hector Tricoche and Lalo Rodriguez among others.

From his own recording studio located in New York, the talented Manny Mieles has been bringing you great music. — Manny Mieles Singer, Musician, Arranger and Producer

And in other occasions, he has participated in tours of artists like Frankie Negrón, Nino Segarra, Anthony Cruz, Roberto Blades, Viti Ruiz, Paquito Guzmán, Michael Stuart, and artists of the LP signature. All-Stars.

Manny Mieles participated in 2005 in the song recorded by the great singer Ray Villegas titled “Puerto Rico” which has become an anthem for the inhabitants of the island of enchantment and the entire world; and which is heard as a voice of encouragement for all Puerto Ricans not to let themselves be defeated by difficult moments that are happening in the present.

His dedication and professionalism have led him to participate in various festivals within AND outside of New York City, recreational parks, beaches and private events, such as “The 116th Street Festival”, “South Street Seaport” “The National Puerto Rican Day Parade”, “NBC Stage”, “Univision” and “Telemundo”, among others.

Manny Mieles Singer, Musician, Arranger and Producer — From his own recording studio located in New York, the talented Manny Mieles

He also worked with Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez in the film “El Cantante The Story”, based on the life of the legendary “Cantante de los Cantantes”, Hector Lavoe. In his spare time Manny Mieles is a producer, composer, sound engineer and chorus player.

In 2006 he produced and recorded the production “Paso de Gigante” of the conguero “Pequeño Johnny” and his own production “Sabrosexy Plin”, where the song “Llego el Amor” stands out.

At present Manny Mieles is part of the presentations of the artists of the new movement of the Dominican salsa within the United States, such as Yiyo Sarante, Michell, Alex Matos, Asdrubal, David Kada and Sexappeal, among others.

In July 2015 the new production Manny Mieles mi princesa was released with the first song that was titled.

INFIEL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53T5PGw-R1I+

A mix of Bachata recorded by Karlos Rose, the arrangements were made by Carli Maldonado, percussionist who accompanies artists such as Tony Vega, Victor Manuel, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Tito Nieves and others. At present this song is being played a lot in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru and Mexico. The song has had the privilege of being selected for broadcast by Salsa RD of La Republica Domicana and has been heard extensively on Fuego 90. A few months later I continued working and had the opportunity to listen to a song entitled

I BELIEVE IN YOU

The song that the group Riek recorded is a mix of Balada, which touched my heart when I listened to it and I could identify with it. It was arranged by J.R. Rivera, a young man who in spite of his youth is gaining popularity and many singers with recognition have noticed something different in his arrangements because of the unique and peculiar way that his style has. Continue working and the theme that followed and recorded was

DIGITALISE

Theme recorded by Master David Bisbal, Spanish singer recognized nationally and internationally. When I heard the song I immediately identified with it and it touched my heart, without wasting time I contacted J.R Rivera who was the one who made all the musical arrangements to turn it into a Romantic Salsa.

At this moment Dígale is occupying the first places in Canada, Toronto, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and New York by the radio station Tropicalísima located in Mexico.

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Bella Martinez, the irreverent Salsa writer

Life is fun. Dare to live it

Bella Martínez was born in Puerto Rico. She is a graduate of Natural Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus. She lived in the state of North Dakota as a member of the United States Air Force. She completed her master’s in Health Services Administration and Quantitative Methods at Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

In 2016 she published Schizophrenic: Imaginary Episodes from a Different Life. In 2020 she wrote Insurrecta: Schizophrenic Chronicles of an Indomitable Life from Ediciones Scriba NYC. She maintains contact with her followers through the blog Life is beautiful, dare to live it. Her mission is to inspire Spanish-speaking people around the world to live life to the fullest.

Her writings have been published in several international literary anthologies, including: Divina, la mujer en twenty voices by Ediciones Scriba NYC -awarded at the International Latino Book Awards 2019, in Los Angeles, California- and in various editions of the poetry book Siglema 575, of minimalist poetry, Ediciones Scriba NYC. If you want to know more about Bella, you can do so by visiting Bellamartinezescribe.com or through her pages on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest.

Bella Martinez led a pretty fun life — Bella Martinez, the irreverent Salsa writer

Bella Martinez I lead a pretty funny, sometimes complicated life; although I try every day to simplify it. I’ve even thought that one day I could be a minimalist…. Sure, in my own way; like everything else. I almost forgot to mention that I’m a vegan and a salsa dancer who dances until she collapses.

I should add that I love music that allows me to dance and express what is otherwise impossible to write or draw. In short; I dance salsa, I cook, I write and I dare to face whatever life brings me.

My mission is to inspire Spanish-speaking people around the world to dare to live a unique life because as I titled my blog: “La vida es bella…. Dare to live it”; I believe that life is to be lived the way you want it to be lived, doing good without looking out for others. I invite you to take a look at my blog .

I post about dance, music, beauty, fashion, vegan cooking, literature and everything else I can think of. Well, at least that’s the intention.

As for my narrative; and according to my great friend of always, Dr. Lopez Feliciano: “Through humor, and the narrative of the transgenerational transmission of the tribe, core values such as freedom, truth, integrity and fidelity are exposed.

The schizophrenic chronicles unveil an imaginary world in which cats, heifers, lice, mice are personified; and shoes, brooms, cars, keys and paper dolls are animated. The approach to reality is fantastic spun with ideas of references that are only experienced by an untamed life.”

And I say, “I expose in my memoirs through wacky stories and mocking the harsh daily reality of an ordinary routine; visiting stamps of my memories and nostalgically longing for the peasant activities of my ancestors whom I remember daily. You can’t help but fall in love with my picturesque narrative…”

The memories of Jimmie Morales comes to us from the pen of Puerto Rican writer Bella Martínez. In this new proposal by Martinez, she herself reported that: “it details the memoirs of the conga player who made his way into the world of salsa to become one of the most influential percussionists in the genre he has dedicated his life.”

From the pen of Puerto Rican writer Bella Martínez comes: A Conguero for History, The Memoirs of Jimmie Morales. — Bella Martinez, the irreverent Salsa writer
Life is fun. Dare to live it

The official launch of this daring text in which the author stresses the importance of our music and the influence that Puerto Rican performers have had throughout the history of salsa beyond our shores was on Thursday 19 November 19 2020.

This launch coincided with Puerto Rican’s Day. The list of contributors Bella counted on during drafting included the maestro Willie Rosario, who wrote the prologue, and the most prolific soloist of commercial salsa: Gilberto Santa Rosa, who wrote the introduction and the back-cover text. The virtual presentation of Un conguero para la historia was sponsored and streamed through the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña.

The text is available in paper form through the following links:

Amazon.com – Global:

Un conguero para la historia: Las memorias de Jimmie Morales (Paperback).

Walmart.com:

Un conguero para la historia, Las memorias de Jimmie Morales (Hardcover).

The book is also available at: – Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular, Old San Juan – Puerto Rico.

– El Candil Library, Ponce – Puerto Rico

– Laberinto Library, Old San Juan – Puerto Rico

– Pure Sound, Bayamón – Puerto Rico

– RZayas Music, Juana Días – Puerto Rico

– The Bookmark, San Patricio Plaza – Puerto Rico

In the following text, fro-Antillean music researcher and Colombian journalist Robert Téllez Moreno, who is a biographer of Ray Barretto and Willie Rosario, summarizes what the reader will find in the memoirs that the conga player Jimmie Morales shares with his followers through the voice of Bella Martínez:

Percussionist Jimmie Morales was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The son of Puerto Rican parents and owner of a natural talent, he developed an interest in music when as a child he listened to groups such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

As from 1967, Jimmie and his family settled in Puerto Rico, from where his connection with Afro-Caribbean music emerged, after having listened to various Cuban, Puerto Rican and New York conga players such as Ray Barretto, Patato Valdez, Candido Camero, Mongo Santamaria, Johnny ‘Dandy’ Rodriguez, Milton Cardona and Eddie Montalvo, among others.

His first approach to the instrument occurred when his neighbor, Rubén Beltrán allowed him to play congas at his home. Later, he joined the youth group ‘La Justicia’ , with which he began to work permanently, while having his own instrument given away by his father.

After three years of work with ‘La Justicia’, Jimmie Morales joined Beto Tirado’s ‘La Predilecta’, in which he remained until he joined Tito Allen’s orchestra to work as a conga player until 1978, when he received an invitation from the maestro Willie Rosario, ‘Míster Afinque’, to join his orchestra in place of Papo Pepín.

According to Jimmie Morales, during those eight consecutive years, he lived his most formative stage, and what he considers his “formal training in the music industry”. This happened when he was a member of Willie Rosario’s orchestra, which was one of the greatest institutions of the salsa movement.

With Willie Rosario’s orchestra Jimmie Morales participated in the productions: ‘El Rey del ritmo’, ‘El de a 20 de Willie’, ‘The Portrait of a Salsa Man’, ‘Atízame el fogón’, ‘The Salsa Machine’, ‘Nuevos Horizontes’, ‘Afincando’ and ‘Nueva Cosecha’.

In 1986, Jimmie Morales joined Gilberto Santa Rosa’s nascent orchestra ‘El Caballero de la Salsa’, participating in multiple recordings and traveling the world.

At the same time, Morales began an impressive career as a top-level studio musician. He received credit for hundreds of recordings of such artists as: Lalo Rodríguez, Oscar León, Paquito Guzmán, Eddie Santiago, David Pabón, Héctor Tricoche, Edgard Joel, Marvin Santiago, Tito Rojas, Rey Ruiz, Ismael Miranda and Frankie Ruiz, the latter, with this latter he participated in all his solo albums.

As an accompanying musician, Jimmie Morales has appeared as an accompanying musician on hundred of recordings of great figures such as: Willie Colón, Ismael Miranda, Juan Luis Guerra, Tito Nieves and Jerry Rivera, among many others.

In 2010, as a leader of his own proyect, Jimmie Morales released ‘El Tumbao’ with the songs “Píntate Los Labios María” popularized by Cuban guitarist of the Buena Vista Social Club Elíades Ochoa and arranged Louis Cruz, who was Ray Barretto’s pianist in the 70s. The recording also includs “The Continental”, a jazz standard, arranged by seasoned José Madera, who was percussionist and arranger for Tito Puente’s orchestra for more than 30 years.

Recently, Jimmie Morales has contributed with his talent to the recordings: ’40… y contando en vivo desde Puerto Rico’ by Gilberto Santa Rosa, an album that captures one of the most emotional nights of the recent tour of the ‘Caballero de la Salsa’ and ‘Opus’, the eighth album by singer Marc Anthony, and recorded at Art House Society and Criteria Studios in Miami under the direction of multi-Grammy Award winning pianist and producer Sergio George.

Jimmie Morales, continues his commitment to music, from the area of pedagogy, sharing his experience and knowledge through workshops and clinics provided to young people from different countries, who have a genuine interest in music.

Bella Martínez: Amazon

Bella Martinez, the irreverent Salsa writer

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Mercadonegro Orchestra of Switzerland

Mercadonegro Orchestra was created in Europe.

Mercadonegro Created at the end of 2000 with influences of Salsa Dura thanks to their experiences working with artists such as Celia Cruz, Alfredo de la Fe, Cheo Feliciano, Tito Nieves, many more.

Mercadonegro has managed to create a new style in the salsa music genre. Its musicians come from different parts of Latin America and each bring their own tendencies, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, Italy and Brazil are musically mixed and give rise to the unique style and sonority of the Mercadonegro Orchestra.

Its musicians come from different parts of Latin America and each bring their own tendencies, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, Italy and Brazil are musically mixed and give rise to the unique style and sonority of the orchestra mercadonegro. — Mercadonegro Orchestra of Switzerland

Thanks to their meeting with violinist Alfredo de la Fe, they participated in prestigious concerts, such as Ronnie Scott in London, New Morning in Paris, Istanbul Jazz Festival, Pavarotti and Friends (Modena, Italy), Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Fiesta (Rome, Italy), Bal de la Rose (Monte Carlo), Monaco, Athens (Greece), sharing the stage with Carlos Santana, Metálica, Buenavista Social Club, etc.

They had the opportunity to work for three consecutive years with the queen of salsa Celia Cruz, and have accompanied artists such as Cheo Feliciano, La India, José Alberto ”el canario”, Albita Rodríguez, Willie Chirino, Ray Sepúlveda, Willie González, Andy Montañez, Adalberto Santiago, Richie Ray, and others.

Mercadonegro is part of the New York Salsa all Stars project with Giovanni Hidalgo, Jimmy Bosch, José Alberto “El Canario”, Dave Valentin, Frankie Morales.

They participated in the recording of the album “Latitudes” by Alfredo de la Fé and then they made their own productions. The group stands out for the energy they exude in their compositions and performances, and it is also worth mentioning their good taste and adoration for their idol: Eddie Palmieri.

Conducting this dozen of professional musicians requires the character that César Correa fortunately has, as well as a rigidity well applied to the service of the music.

Surely, we are before a group of talents that already contributes significantly with its quality, to the internationalization of Latin music.

Mercadonegro is undoubtedly one of the best salsa groups that can be found in Europe.

The Mercadonegro project was born when three Latin-American musicians, emigrants in Europe for love, met with Bibomusic’s producer.

The four friends, strongly feeling the emotions, the problems of the emigrants, the legacy of their Latin culture, have kept their musical heart in Latin America.

They therefore decided to spread throughout the world the sounds of these countries, together with new beats and vibes, expressive of their own style and of the new musical and life experiences they were making abroad. On this basis they created Mercadonegro.

The group was named Mercadonegro not to forget the roots and the legacy of Afro-American music, and also to describe the difficult pattern, for a group of young and almost unknown musicians, to become popular and appreciated worldwide, starting from an unexpected location for Latin-American music, and with a young and independent label, Bibomusic.

The musical founders of Mercadonegro are: José Armando Miranda, born in La Habana, Cuba, the lead singer and the author of many of the songs of Mercadonegro. Cesar Correa, the son of two well-known Peruvian musicians, was born in Trujillo, Peru.

Cesar play piano and keyboards as only few masters in the world can do.

Rodrigo Rodríguez was born in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia’s most Caribbean town. Rodrigo, who sings, plays timbales and much other percussion, writes, like Armando, some of the most successful songs of the group, and is a very versatile artist and showman.

MERCADONEGRO, thanks to its great live performances, has rapidly become the most interesting new act in high quality Latin music, starring at the most important jazz, Latin and world music festivals, like “Umbria Jazz” in Perugia, “Fiesta” in Rome, “Latinoamericando Expo” in Milano, Afro-Pfingsten Winterthur, Montreux Jazz, “Lugano Estival Jazz” in Switzerland, “Vic Fenzensac”, “Paris Jazz Festival”, “Marseilles Féte de la Ville” in France, “Red Sea Jazz Festival” in Israel, “Rotskild” in Denmark, Rotterdam Carnival in Holland, North Sea Jazz Festival etc. often with TV live coverage.

On this basis they created MERCADONEGRO, a group that has become the orchestra of choice for major salsa festivals and congresses around the world. — On this basis they created Mercadonegro. The group was given the name Mercadonegro in order not to forget the roots and legacy of Afro-American music.

On this basis they created MERCADONEGRO, a band who therein has become the orchestra of choice for the main Salsa Festivals and Congresses worldwide, a band who was called in 2009 to make the opening concert of the most important Latin Festival of the world, the Latinoamericando Expo in Milano.

The group was named MERCADONEGRO not to forget the roots and the legacy of Afro-American music, and also to describe the difficult pattern, for a group of young and almost unknown musicians, to become popular and appreciated worldwide, starting from Switzerland, an unexpected location for Latin-American music.

MERCADONEGRO, thanks to its great live performances, has rapidly become the most interesting new act in high quality Latin music, starring at the most important jazz, Latin and world music festivals, like “Umbria Jazz” in Perugia, “Fiesta” in Rome, “Latinoamericando Expo” in Milano, Afro-Pfingsten Winterthur, Montreux Jazz, “Lugano Estival Jazz” in Switzerland, “Vic Fenzensac”, “Paris Jazz Festival”, “Marseilles Féte de la Ville” in France, “Red Sea Jazz Festival” in Israel, “Rotskild” in Denmark, Rotterdam Carnival in Holland, North Sea Jazz Festival etc. often with TV live coverage.

Mercadonegro Salsa — Mercadonegro Somos del Barrio

Members

Aismar Simón – Piano

Armando Miranda – lead vocal

Rodrigo Rodríguez – timbales & voc

Eduardo ” Dudu” Penz- Bajo

lisbel acosta – trombón

Humberto Amesquita – trombón – director

Giancarlo Ciminelli – trompeta

Oscar Cordero – trompeta

Amik Guerra – trompeta

Edwin Sanz – congas

Walter Rebatta – bongo & campana

Josbel Rodriguez – voc

José Mendoza – Ingeniero de sonido

Eddie Villanueva – Tour Manager

Mercadonegro Salsa

BOOKING:
[email protected]
www.mercadonegro.ch
Tel : +41 78 883 31 96
Tel : +41 78 973 21 83

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“Pandemia”, the Johnny Ray song about the pandemic

Pandemic

We all know that 2020 was a tough year for everyone, the reason is quite obvious, the pandemic. Although more than a whole year has passed since the disease began to reach the whole world, the repercussions of covid-19 continue to affect many people today, that is exactly what the new Ray’s song is about, it is called “pandemia” (pandemic) after all.

There are many artists who have taken the unfortunate health situation to create art out of it, in this particular case, a song, after all, inspiration can come from anywhere, something that great artists clearly know, and this is the case of Johnny Ray and this song.

In charge of the direction and the percussion of the song is Johnny Ray himself, while the person in charge of the composition of the song was Johnny Zamot. Sammy González Junior was chosen to sing the song, and after listening to his interpretation, we realize it was a good choice.

The song is relatively short if we compare it with the average genre’s songs, but it is enough to comprehend the message, plus, but with just over two minutes in length, we can enjoy the authenticity of the salsa’s sound at its best.

On the other hand, as everyone could imagine just by reading the song title, the lyrics focus on the changes that have arisen as a result of the crucial pandemic and the desire for it to finally end. If we translate the lyrics, these say “you can no longer hear the drum that makes you so happy, all this ended when the pandemic arrived”, these are the first lyrics we listen to after the song’s introduction. “I would give a to be able to cheer people up, beating my drums, watching people enjoy,” sings Sammy Gonzáles, making the message of the song clear in that phrase.

Johnny ray

Johnny Ray is not just another salsa artist, he is a veteran musician with almost forty years of experience, which makes him someone very recognized within the salsa industry. Together with his group called Salsa Con Clase (Class salsa), Ray has participated in countless events of different nature, from schools and universities to different fairs and many private events; Furthermore, they have been indifferent shows in more than a dozen countries, so his international journey has allowed him to gain a lot of experience.

From a very young age, Ray was a talented percussionist, and his interest in music would lead him down the road to success. As he grew and developed himself more as a musician, he would go from playing congas in different places in New York where salsa was constantly present, to sharing the stage with some of the most internationally recognized salsa (and other music genres) artists, such as: Marc Anthony, Rubén Blades, Celia Cruz, Oscar de León, Tito Nieves, Eddie Palmieri, Jerry Rivera and many more.

Despite such a memorable career, Johnny Ray continues to produce songs to this day, and will surely continue to do so for many years to come, as we see that even the pandemic is far from discouraging him, in fact, does the exact opposite, inspire him.

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Bella Martínez presents “Las memorias de Jimmie Morales: un conguero para la historia”

North America /  Puerto Rico

Bella Martínez “Salsa has always been important to the writer”

Bella Martínez is an author born in Puerto Rico, who defines herself as a funny but complicated person, like life itself. But she has always carried in her veins her passion for salsa, and music that makes her dance and express herself, which is not surprising as she is from this caribbean island. What was not expected of her was that she would present us with a book about the memories of a great percussionist like Jimmie Morales, who is one of her great friends.

Apparently the idea of making this book belonged to Bella herself, who once told Jimmie to tell her what he considered important in his life, for her to write his memoirs. Despite Bella’s great love for salsa, it is rare to see instrumentalists being the star in productions or projects, but here the Puerto Rican author dared to tell the life and professional career of whom is considered one of the best percussionists of the genre, that has belonged to great bands and has accompanied great names.

Bella Martínez wrote a book about Jimmie Morales — Un conguero para la historia, by Bella Martínez

Just as it’s stated in the book’s sinopsis:

“When all the congueros imitated the king of heavy hands, Ray Barreto, Jimmie managed -without intending to- be the one chosen by maestro Willie Rosario to accompany the afinque that Rosario had already established with the conga … Jimmie paid the luck that accompanied him at that crucial moment with an immense dose of vocation. And that stroke of luck in the leather failed to erase the humility of his being.”

That is why this book has become of vital importance for all those followers of salsa or merengue, genres that despite their importance for Latin music no longer have so many representatives in the new generations, and are being eclipsed by the new trends in the urban genre. It is the big names who continue to leave their mark and write the history of tropical music.

Celebrating the book — Bella Martínez and Jimmie Morales

Bella Martínez: Who is Jimmie Morales?

Jimmie Morales is considered one of the most influential percussionists and conga players of the genre in the last 30 years. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut from Puerto Rican parents, Jimmie grew up with the influence of American music but in 1967 his parents returned to the island which led Morales to encounter the popular music of the Caribbean: salsa.

It was his father who gave him the first conga drum, which fascinated him from the first moment he had it and this fascination was his impulse to pursue his studies of it. This also allowed him to learn more about Cuban, Puerto Rican and New York salsa, along with the great congueros, including what would be his favorite: Ray Barreto. At the time he began to participate in bands on the island and accompanied Tito Allen.

Jimmie Morales performing — Decades of successes that you need to know

But it was not until 1978 when his great moment arrived, when he was part of the band of the renowned Willie Rosario, in which he was for 8 years and that formed him in the professional part of music, not only with conga but in the production and recording of the different projects. This band led him to build a solid career as a studio musician, participating in the productions of artists such as: Oscar D’León, Lalo Rodríguez, Eddie Santiago and Frankie Ruiz.

In 1986 he decided to follow the young Gilberto Santa Rosa, whom he met in Willie’s band, and who would become one of the most prolific salsa soloists of the last 25 years. This stage was the launch of a successful career that would lead him to perform on different continents and share the stage with artists such as: Willie Colón, Ismael Miranda, Tito Nieves, Juan Luis Guerra, Grupo Niche and Jerry Rivera. If you want to know more about Jimmie, just open the book “Las memorias de Jimmie Morales: un conguero para la historia” and look at his anecdotes.

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