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Founder of Yambu Productions and host of ”Alma Del Barrio” Guido Herrera-Yance

Singers, dancers, musicians and artists in general are usually the first thing the public sees during any type of event, but very little is spoken about the companies, producers and promoters that are in charge of managing all the logistics behind these shows, so we wanted to talk to Guido Herrera-Yence, founder of Yambu Productions, which is an important music production company based in Los Angeles, so he could tell us a little about all these subjects.

Guido working at KXLU 88.9 FM — ”Alma Del Barrio” host Guido Herrera-Yance working at KXLU 88.9 FM

How Guido Herrera-Yance started in the world of music as a radio host

Many years before Guido even thought about the idea of forming a company, he began to establish himself as a radio host on the popular public radio station KXLU 88.9 FM, specifically on the show ”Alma Del Barrio”, which is about to turn 51 years on the air in October. In Guido’s case, he has been hosting the show for more than 30 years, bringing the best Latin music and artistic news to all his listeners.

The also producer confesses that he did not really like locution and that he was simply in the right place at the right time, resulting in the career he has built in this type of media. What it does say is that he was a frequent listener of several radio shows and a voracious music collector, which led him to meet certain personalities who saw potential in him to belong to ”Alma Del Barrio”. When a show was opened, he was the leading candidate for the job and accepted immediately.

Guido did not have any kind of experience in radio, but his employers trained him and taught him everything he needed to know to carry out his tasks properly. 30 years later, Guido is still one of the main hosts of the show and a reference in terms of Latin music radio.

From radio to event production

In 1995, one year after having joined ”Alma Del Barrio”, a friend told him that Chucho Valdés was going to the United States after many years and proposed him to make a show together with the artist as the main attraction. When Guido accepted, they began to look for artists to accompany the Cuban that night and some of them were Alex Acuña, Justo Almario, Luis Conte, among others.

The results were so good that Guido was left with the desire to keep experimenting with this field of the industry, so he continued to produce events of all kinds on a small and large scale since that year.

As the years went on, he realized that he would need a bigger and more elaborate structure if he wanted to continue to work on this, so the idea of founding a music production company began to take shape in his mind.

Guido and Chucho Valdés — Guido Herrera-Yance next to Cuban bandleader and pianist Chucho Valdés

How Guido created Yambu Productions

On the creation of Yambu Productions, something that Guido highlighted is that, in the United States, ”everything must be done very formally”. In light of the obligation to declare the income from his musical activities, Guido saw the need to create a company that would facilitate the procedures related to taxes and issues of this sort in order to cover his back.

Regarding the name ”yambu”, the businessman was inspired by a song by the Cuban popular music singer Carlos Embale, who was one of his favorite artists, so he wanted to honor him in that way. Taking this detail into account, it is not surprising that Cuban music and its exponents play a fundamental role in the events and groups that Yambu Productions seeks to promote, but it is not limited to nationalities or genres.

The company has set up events for Los Papines, El Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba, Chucho Valdés, Los Van Van, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Tito Nieves, José Alberto ”El Canario” and the list goes on. Guido is very proud that Yambu Productions was the one that produced the only concert given by Los Van Van Van and El Gran Combo in the United States, which was in the year 2029. He says he is a fan of both groups, so this was a dream come true for him.

Upcoming Yambu Productions Events

This year, Yambu Productions was about to hold the Cuban American Music Festival on 2 June this year, but it has been suspended due to multiple factors, but the main one is that Guido feels that many things have changed in the entertainment industry after the pandemic such as demographics and the public tastes. This has caused the producer to rethink many things, as he is not quite clear what will be the path to follow by the company, so he prefers to wait.

In addition to the above, Guido is focused on his own restaurant that opened just six months ago and needs to dedicate all his time and effort to this new project, so it is very possible that the previously festival will be back better than ever for the year 2025, when he will be clearer about what he wants to do with this event.

However, he said he does not want to be away from live music, to which he attaches a great deal of importance in his work, so with the support of one of the most important jazz clubs in California, Catalina Jazz Club, he rolled up his sleeves and organized the Salsa Meets Jazz Concert Series for 26 April this year (at the time of publishing this article, the concert must have taken place). In this way, Guido wants to recreate that golden era of Latin jazz and salsa in New York, but in his own way.

The Salsa Meets Jazz Concert Series is expected to pay tribute to a different artist who has contributed to these genres each edition and this year it was the torn for Tito Puente. In addition, Catalina Jazz Club proposed Guido to hold events of this type several times a year, so tribute concerts to Ray Barreto and Andy Gonzalez are also scheduled before 2024 is up. He maintained a close friendship with both musicians, especially with Gonzalez.

Guido and Alfredo de La Fe — Cuban violinist Alfredo de La Fé next to Guido Harrera-Yance in front of Sabor! Peruvian Rotisserie Chicken, a venue in which Alfredo would perform some hours later

How are the logistics behind a Yambu Productions event?

When Guido plans to hold an event, the first thing he should do is to find a venue that complies with the requirements for the type of show he plans, analyze the costs involved, find the best talent for the show, hire sound engineers, recruit the people who will be in charge of the logistics part, among other things. It is an arduous work of at least six months before the event takes place.

An example of the above is the Cuban American Music Festival, which has always been held in May, so he should start organizing and planning for it since November or December of the previous year. This in order to have every detail ready on the day of the festival and to avoid any unforeseen problems that could put those involved down.

On this subject, Guido said he feels lucky to be able to have so many friends in the world of music, to stay on ”Alma Del Barrio” for so many years and to know people like Nelson González, Johnny ”Dandy” Rodríguez, Genaro Rivera and many others who are always ready to come to Yambu Productions events without even asking about payment, since they know that Guido and his company are very responsible about these issues.

How talent is selected for events

”Everything falls on me. I believe that I have the capacity, knowledge and experience to know what the public wants. It is for the very reason that we will not be making the Cuban American Music Festival this year, since the pandemic changed everything in the industry and I have to accept that what sold yesterday is not the same as what sells today” said Guido when asked how he chooses the talent he wants for his shows. He also added that ”I’m still debating with myself on which way to go with the company after quarantine”.

What Guido will never do is let go of live music because, in his words, ”it feeds his spirit”. As long as he is dedicated to music production and Yambu Productions is still operating, live events will always have a highly important place in the activities carried out by the company.

Guido and Poncho Sánchez — Guido Herrera-Yance next to conguero, Latin jazz band leader, and salsa singer Poncho Sánchez

Oskar Cartaya “My Music, My Friends, My Time” He counted with the collaboration of illustrious friends such as Eddie Palmieri, Giovanni Hidalgo, Dave Valentín and Justo Almario.

Friendship and personal relationships seem to have always played a key role in Oskar Cartaya‘s recording career.

This was demonstrated Cartaya in his first recording, “My Music, My Friends, My Time” (2004) in which he had the collaboration of illustrious friends such as Eddie Palmieri, Giovanni Hidalgo, Dave Valentín and Justo Almario.

Bajista, arreglista, compositor y productor neoyorquino de nacimiento y bayamonés

This is also demonstrated by the second one, “Lifetime Friends”, which he co-led with trumpeter Humberto Ramírez and which was chosen as one of the best Puerto Rican productions of 2015.

For the bassist, arranger, composer and producer – born in New York and raised in Bayamon – connections with other people are a vital element for the development of any musician.

Those connections coupled with the tenacity Cartaya has always shown to continually improve himself as a musician allowed him to be part of the legendary progressive jazz-rock group Spyro Gyra for five years, produce albums for Willie Colón or Herb Alpert, and play with a long list of stars including Jennifer López, Christina Aguilera, Rubén Blades, Héctor Lavoe, Tito Nieves, Tania María, Arturo Sandoval, Steve Winwood and Randy Brecker, among others.

To all of them he has lent the sound of his electric bass, able to insert itself with total naturalness in modern jazz, Cuban rumba, Spanish flamenco or Brazilian cadences, but without ever losing its funky essence, which gives rhythmic impulse to the musical genre before him. For Cartaya, music is not a profession, but a passion of life.

That passion manifested itself at a very early age, when he told his Cuban-born father that he wanted to be a musician when he was just 10 years old. He completed his initial studies at the Escuela Libre de Música de San Juan, which he remembers with pride and affection.

However, he has affirmed that his first real musical school were the records of Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe, which he listened to at full volume in his room.

At the Escuela Libre de Música he was able to meet teachers and classmates who today are great masters of Latin music and colleagues of his, such as Humberto Ramírez himself. He also studied at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico.

Cartaya recalls that, although he studied chamber music in school, his real passion was Latin music…until he discovered jazz, thanks to an album by the great bassist Stanley Clarke. A new world opened up to his ears.

“I found a freedom in jazz that I didn’t find in Latin styles,” the musician said in an interview. “In salsa, for example, the maximum is when you are playing as part of a unit. Unlike jazz, whose pinnacle is when all the musicians improvise and go crazy playing, but everyone knows what they are doing.”

At 18, Cartaya moved to Los Angeles, where he began studying at the Musicians Institute of Technology. There he practiced for 15 hours a day, a devotion that brought him his first recognition: being accepted as a professor at the prestigious institution, two years after graduating from it.

However, his restless spirit and continuous desire to improve led him to make what he has described as the best decision of his life, moving to New York City. In the Big Apple – the place many consider the jazz capital of the world – he had the privilege of playing and recording with the late Argentine pianist Jorge Dalto; with Willie Colón and Rubén Blades; Celia Cruz, Tito Puente and Dave Valentín.

“I learned a lot, matured and saw firsthand what it was like to be on my own,” the bassist said in an interview about this period of his life. “If the opportunity was going to be given to me, it wasn’t going to come to my house. I would have to look for it.” And so he did.

At that time he also had the opportunity to meet the late rock icon Prince, at his Paisley Park, Minneapolis studios, and to become a member of Spyro Gyra. By being accepted into that group over 10 other bass players auditioning for the position, Cartaya realized that success belongs to those who work hard and have faith in themselves.

“I was able to show a lot of people that there’s nothing worse than feeling bad about yourself if you don’t try,” he said in an interview. “All the nights I played for free or for five bucks to earn a chance were well worth it.”

In 1997, the bassist produced the “Passion Dance” recording project for veteran trumpeter Herb Alpert, an experience he has described as a new learning experience in his career, as well as a chance to expose himself to a wider audience.

“My Music, My Friends, My Time,” released in 2004, is a fusion of Latin, Brazilian, American and Flamenco rhythms that was very well received by critics.

“I wanted to do a project that would fill that gap that exists between Latin music and the world. I truly believe that the world needs to know that Latin musicians can do countless things within music, without throwing away their roots,” Cartaya said of the recording.

“Lifetime Friends,” produced alongside Ramirez, was described upon its release in 2015 as “an album of a cohesive and jubilant band,” in which all participating musicians – representatives of the new jazz generation in Puerto Rico – have a chance to stand out. “It’s the album we always wanted to make… to describe almost 40 years of friendship,” Cartaya and Ramírez indicated.

In 2017, Oskar presented the production “Bajo mundo” in tribute to the great Cuban bassist Israel “Cachao” López. This intense, exuberant album, with a multiplicity of rhythms, colors and guest musicians was distinguished as one of the most outstanding productions of the year by the National Foundation for Popular Culture.

It also won a Latin Grammy Award nomination in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album.

Source: Rafae Vega Curry

National Foundation for Popular Culture

“This biography is part of the archives of the National Foundation for Popular Culture. In our interest to disseminate knowledge about our great figures, it may be cited as a basis for research studies or as an assignment for pedagogical purposes, as long as credit is given to the Foundation and its author, if indicated. All rights reserved. The reproduction of the same in any printed, technical or mass media, with or without commercial purposes, is not authorized without prior written request to the Foundation and its consequent approval”.

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Lenin Francisco Domingo Cerda, better known as Frankie Dante, the “Underground” and “Irreverent” of Salsa in New York in the 60’s and 70’s.

“Cerda If I were president, if I were a president, there would be no armed forces, wars would end, the boys would go home where they belong.”

Lenin Francisco Domingo Cerda, mejor conocido como Frankie Dante el “Underground” e “Irreverente” de la Salsa en New York

Lenin Francisco Domingo Cerda, known as Frankie Dante, was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on September 15, 1945.

He traveled to New York City in search of the sound of the barrio, influenced by Willie Colón and Eddie Palmieri with his Orquesta La Perfecta.

Frankie Dante, always characterized for being an authentic sonero, who interpreted the stories of the Latin barrio.

In 1968 under the label Cotique he appears in the album “Los Coquetones”, where Ismael Quintana also participated, the great influence in his development as a vocalist, this album is produced by Mr. George Goldner.

Cerda records a second production with La Orquesta Flamboyán, entitled: “Different Directions”, following the line implemented by maestro Eddie Palmieri with La Perfecta, where he continues the emphasis on social issues, raised in his first musical work, this time with the production of Ralph Lew.

Orquesta Flamboyan Con Frank Dante Different Directions1970 — Orquesta Flamboyan Con Frank Dante Different Directions
1970

Launches the album: “Se Viste de Gala”. Resuming his social commitment, he includes the piece “Venceremos”, accompanied by the electric guitar played by Harry Vigianno, who also plays the tres in this production.

In 1972, Frankie Dante is invited by Larry Harlow to produce a new album entitled: “Orquesta Flamboyán Con Larry Harlow”.

Here Frankie achieved hits such as: “La Cuna del Son”, “Yo Te Seguiré”, “Vive La Vida Hoy” and “Presidente Dante”.

The album featured the participation of Larry Harlow on piano and musical production, Ray Romero and Jerry Gonzalez on Congas, Ismael “Pat” Quintana and Milton Cardona on backing vocals.

This album is considered as a recognition of Frankie Dante’s talent when he was asked by the “Wonderful Jew”, Larry Harlow to record together.

Frankie shows all his irreverence by substituting the montuno for a political speech in the manner of a candidate.

As a representative of the Underground current, Dante prefers to perform in a bohemian way in Clubs such as: El Caborrojeño and the Cheetah.

While in these clubs he meets pianist Marcolino Demond and they release the historic album: Beethoven’s V.

One of his best productions was with the extraordinary musician and pianist Markolino Dimond, who had played with Willie Colón, the album was titled: Markolino Dimond Con Frankie Dante Beethoven’s where in addition to his extravagances he imposed a different way of playing.

The album included five compositions by Marcolino Dimond: “Sabrosón”, “Camarones”, “El Quinto De Beethoven”, “Maraquero” and “Ahora Sí”, two songs with reserved author’s rights: “Los Rumberos” and “Yo No Tengo Amigo” and the hit “Porque Adore” by maestro Tite Curet Alonso.

Markolino Dimond Con Frankie Dante Guest Star Chivirico* Beethoven's V — Markolino Dimond Con Frankie Dante Guest Star Chivirico* Beethoven’s V

Dante and Marcolino were a duo without precedents, taking into account that both had the stigma of rebelliousness.

The album features Frankie Dante and Chivirico Davila on vocals and Yayo “El Indio”, Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez and Ismael “Pat” Quintana on backing vocals.

Other great musicians that participated in the band are Nicky Marrero – Timbales, Bongos; Pablito Rosario – Bongos; Barry Rogers – Trombone; Mike Collazo – Timbales, Eddie “Guagua” Rivera – Bass; Lewis Kahn – Trombone; Reinaldo Jorge – Trombone and Frank Malabé – Congas.

In 1976, again with Marcolino, he released: “Los Salseros de Acero”, in an attempt to reunite the original line-up of Los Flamboyán with Joe “Chickie” Fuentes on trumpet, Ángelo Rodríguez on trombone and Alex Ojeda on timbales, plus the participation of stars of the moment such as: Charlie Palmieri, Tito Puente and Ricardo Marrero, in what was called: Flamboyán All Star Band.

Frankie Dante & His Orchestra Flamboyan Los Salseros De Acero

Among the songs on the album were “Ciencia Política” by Frankie Dante and “Chupa El Pirulí” composed by the wonderful Ciego Arsenio Rodríguez.

That year he published his seventh album “The Flamboyán All Star Band Frankie “Be Bop” Dante”, also recorded for Cotique Records, which included songs such as: “El Pipón”, “Son Retozón” and “Mumbo Jumbo”, compositions by Frankie Dante himself and a version of the song “María Cervantes” by the Puerto Rican Noro Morales.

Sonny Bravo, Norberto Cruz and Marty Sheller participated in the arrangements; Charlie Palmieri – Arrangements and Director and Mr. Ralph Lew as Producer.

The album also counted with the participation of other great musicians of the salsa movement such as: Leopoldo Pineda – Trombone, Ray Maldonado – Trumpet, Frankie Malabé – Congas, Orestes Vilató – Timbales, Ronnie Cuber – Sax and Flute, Willie Colón – Chorus and Tito Allen – Chorus.

One of Cotique’s recordings was entitled “Frankie Dante and his Orquesta Flamboyán Best Foot Forward”, a compilation album with Frankie’s hits such as: “Paz”, “Los Rumberos”, “Presidente Dante”, “Venceremos” and the well known song “Yo Te Seguiré” written by the great Catalino Tite Curet Alonso.

The Legendary Frankie Dante And His Orchestra Flamboyan Best Foot Forward

His last recording appearance would happen in 1979 with the release of “Los Rebeldes”, where he decided to name his group: Frankie Dante Y Los Rebeldes.

This album has songs such as: “Los Congresistas” by Frankie Dante, a version of the song “Semilla De Caña Brava” by Cuban Luis Martinez Griñan “Lily” and “Vuelve El Rumbero” by Puerto Rican Johnny Ortiz.

Also participating in the recording were: Sal Cuevas – Bass, Louie Cruz, Marty Sheller, and Louie Ramirez in the Arrangements, Alberta Dering – Artistic Director, Ralph Lew as Producer and Milton Cardona as Musical Director.

Dominican Frankie Dante developed his musical career in New York City, where he died of cancer on March 1, 1993.

Dante, emulating his compatriot Johnny Pacheco, settles in the city of skyscrapers and takes with his “precursor” lyrical talent in terms of social conscience in salsa. With good artistic sense he perceives that the sound of the neighborhood and its hurtful musical style will be the main axis of the new concept that is born in the land of Uncle Sam.

“He recognizes in the almost adolescent Willie Colón a style to follow, he is enormously attracted to that “sour” way of arranging the songs, the maestro Eddie Palmieri and his Orquesta La Perfecta (already in full swing) also influence the young Dante as well as Ismael “Pat” Quintana’s way of interpreting, a style that Frankie incorporates immediately in his first production in 1968 under the Cotique label (Ref. CS-1043) titled Los Coquetones”.

Sources and Bibliography:

http://www.megaupload.com/pt/?d=FR6AAPU0
• http://ww.malianteo.com
• http://www.salsajazz.com/i
• http://apostolsalsero.soy.es/frankie-dante-la-orquesta-flamboyan/
• Latinastereo 100.9 FM nuestra música

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Wilmer Lozano from a very young age his mother saw in him the desire to be a musician

Wilmer Lozano is a Venezuelan singer and composer. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela, on October 7.

When talking about successful Latin singers and good salsa, one has to talk about Wilmer Lozano, one of the greatest exponents of Latin music in the world, who has made millions of people around the world dance.

Among his musical hits are: “Me marcharé”, “Aún estoy de pie”, “Si acaba bien”, “Descarga pa ti”, “Se me pasó la mano” and “Igual que yo”.

Childhood, Youth and Family Life.

Wilmar Lozano’s mother saw in him the desire to be a musician since he was a child.

Every night before going to sleep and saying his prayers, he would dedicate himself with his grandfather Lino Lozano to practicing décimas, which would be very useful in his career as a sonero.

Wilmer Lozano’s Beginnings in Music.

Wilmer Lozano’s career began when he was in school, participating in all the events that took place there.

He got his first singing lessons at the Casa de la Cultura Germán Lira and that’s how he arrived at a very popular radio program for the time, rumbos, coplas y canciones directed by the great Venezuelan Simón Díaz.

Wilmer Lozano and his union with different groups.

Soon after, he belonged to an orchestra in the block where he lived and shared his studies with music. Little by little he belonged to orchestras based in Caracas, such as: Grupo Autana, Grupo Rayta, La Quinta Galaxia, Quinteto Visa, Conjunto Sensación, Sonora Habanera, Hildemaro y su Orquesta, Orquesta Selecto, Marianela y su Orquesta, Orquesta Vía de Escape and Orquesta La Júnior.

He later joined the ranks of the Dimensión Latina Orchestra. With this orchestra he has the privilege of sharing with the excellent bolerista Wladimir Lozano and the sonero Rodrigo Mendoza, both recognized nationally and internationally, with whom he further nurtured his knowledge as an interpreter and sonero.

He also formed part of the youth orchestra called Los Adolescentes, where he is a key piece of it, standing out as a leading artist.

With this project he recorded two productions where he performed several hits, with which he became known worldwide.

Musical genre.

Wilmer Lozano is a performer who is considered one of the best salsa singers due to his graceful voice register.

Career and Legacy

Wilmer Lozano has managed to place eleven songs in the first place of the Hit Parade. According to information provided by the company Record Report, besides being the only Venezuelan singer, who in two opportunities being in the first place, is incorporated again to the same place of honor with the same interpretations.

Wilmer Lozano, Tuky Torres, Dj. Augusto Felibertt y Rey Torcatt

Then his artistic life assumes another challenge, which he achieves with great professionalism, since his talent exceeds many expectations. Proof of this was his record production “Wilmer Lozano Original”, where he took the opportunity to launch himself as a soloist.

In this work he shows all the experience he has acquired during his artistic career, with the help of producer Thomas Bernal.

He achieves an excellent production, with very varied Latin rhythms and social themes. This album has the participation of the composers: Thomas Bernal, Ruby Pérez, José Luis Perales, Amaury Gutiérrez, Ángel Flores and Pedro Vargas, among others.

Among the hits of his debut are: “Me han contando que existe un paraíso”, “Me marcharé”, “Se me pasó la mano”, “Completamente” and “Sueño guaireño”, this last one was dedicated to the people who had something to do with the tragedy of La Guaira, Vargas, Venezuela.

In many of his songs he also talks about the social content, as well as the concern of many people to move forward beyond their borders.

He has also collaborated with renowned interpreters of the salsa genre, such as: Tito Puente, Tito Rojas, Rey Ruiz, Victor Manuel, Cheo Feliciano, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Tony Vega, Celia Cruz and Oscar D’León.

Wilmer Lozano is a salsa performer who has achieved musical success. His career has excelled nationally and internationally, with his arduous talent that has characterized him.

His tours have taken him to Latin America, the United States, Asia and Europe.

Theme: Se me paso la mano

Album: Wilmer Lozano “Original”.

Composition and Arrangement: Tomas “Monchy” Bernal (RIP)

Year: 2001

Label: Plátano Record

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with me, today I’m destroying myself little by little, I was wrong I lost my way because of her my destiny is transformed, because I don’t know what to do with this love that makes me run amok, she makes me see everything differently”.

Sources: Buena Música

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Career and interesting facts about Venezuelan singer and musician Omar Ledezma Jr.

Venezuelan singer, percussionist and music teacher Omar Ledezma Jr. has already talked to us in the past and has revealed important details regarding his life and career, but this time, our editor Eduardo Guilarte has been in charge of interviewing him and revealing some unknown details about his different facets professionally and personally.

Is such a pleasure to have the chance to talk to one of the most talented Latin musicians who currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and know so many things that the artist had not previously revealed.

Venezuelan percussionist Omar Ledezma — This is Omar Ledezma Jr., Venezuelan singer, percussionist and music teacher

Omar Ledezma’s beginnings in music and childhood

Omar Ledezma Jr. was born on February 17, 1972 in Caracas, Venezuela, and was raised in a very close family that gave him a lot of love and care since he was a child. Both the Ledezma and López families were very important in his growth, but it was from the Ledezma’s that he got his musical vein.

His mother and cousin José Vicente Rodríguez López decided to enroll him in the marching band at the Claret School, where he had his first contact with music by playing the snare drum, an instrument he was first assigned to play. It is also in the band where he started making friends with other teens who were already forming gaitas groups to compete in contests related to this traditional Venezuelan genre.

When he turned 16, he began to participate in these gaitas inter-school competitions in 1987 and 1988. In 1989, he participated in his first big musical event at the nightclub Mata de Coco. Omar assures that this was the official start of his career in a more professional way. A few years later, going hand-in-hand with his father, he began to take a deeper interest in music as a profession and wanted to experiment with other genres such as Afro-Cuban music and Latin jazz.

This path led him to join the orchestra La Charanga Clásica led by Mr. Frank Luzón. While playing there, he met several inspiration timbaleros such as Daniel Cádiz (from the Andy Durán Orchestra).

In parallel with all of the above, Omar was admitted to study in law school at the Santa María University, so he shared his time between his university studies and his professional musical activities. In his spare time outside the university, he played Latin jazz and was formed as a percussionist with his orchestra.

In 1995, Omar graduated as a lawyer as part of the class ”Honor a Venezuela” ranked in 12th place among his classmates. Although today he is not engage in law at all, he considers that having continued his studies was very important to him as a person because he would have a base on which to stand on in case his plans with music fell through.

However, the artist never thought about practicing law, since he was very clear that it would be difficult to do so due to the legal situation in Venezuela, so he continued to focus on his great passion, which was music. Besides, after analyzing it, he decided that he did not have a natural talent for that career.

In parallel, during those years as a law student, he made a trip to Cuba, which he claims changed his life completely. Some friends he made there, when seeing his skills as a musician, told him that he could be studying law, but that his life was and would be music forever.

Omar graduating as a lawyer — Omar Ledezma Jr. graduating from Berkee College of Music

The United States and Berklee College of Music

Just a few years after graduating, specifically in 1998, Omar made the decision to move to the United States looking for new opportunities and describes this trip as an exploring experience because many of his friends, orchestra fellows and acquaintances from the musical environment in general started taking new directions in the mid 90’s. The young man knew he wanted to do the same and chose the city of Boston to settle in at first.

Although he finally moved to Boston in 1998, already in 1997, his mother gave him the idea of going to the United States with an open ticket so he could decide whether to stay permanently or return. In the end, he opted not to use the return ticket and stayed in Boston to try to enter any music school through a scholarship.

After checking several options, he chose Berklee College of Music because it was the only college that allowed him to study composition and arranging as hand percussionist, so he auditioned to be admitted and was selected in the fall of 1999. He obtained a 70% scholarship, but he had to work hard to get the remaining 30%. In that sense, Omar assures that the same school helped him to obtain the corresponding permits to work legally in the country and thus be able to pay the percentage that is not covered by the scholarship.

Omar also told us that it was his friend Gonzalo Grau who helped him do the demo with which he auditioned to enter Berklee and it was a song of his own titled ”Cacao”. Today, he assures that that recording gave him one of the greatest opportunities he has ever had in life, which was to study there. He spent a total of four years studying in that institution and graduated in 2003.

During his undergraduate studies at Berklee, Omar had the option to study business and intellectual property and his lawyer’s training made it easier for him, but he defines himself as a ”natural born performer” and his life was the stage, so he did not see himself stuck in an office solving cases.

One of the first jobs Omar had in Los Angeles was replacing the singer from Johnny Polanco’s prestigious orchestra and that one that helped him take that place was Ray Barreto’s flautist, the late Artie Webb. The concert was held at the Mayan.

Omar playing the conga — Omar Ledezma Jr. playing the conga in a live performance

Family

As to the family part, Omar told us that he had married his wife Jennifer Radakovich about seven or eight years ago, but they have no children for the moment. This is because they are still analyzing their opportunities to settle permanently in the state of California, so he assures us that they are still building their future as a couple and as a family.

Jennifer’s family comes from Serbia and settled in Detroit, Michigan. They had to leave their country, which was then the former Yugoslavia because of the war that went on in the territory at the time. In fact, at a family reunion, his in-laws told him that his wife’s father arrived in the country on the boat anchored in Long Beach, California, The Queen Mary.

Pacific Mambo Orchestra

Omar Ledezma started his journey with Pacific Mambo Orquesta practically since its foundation in October 2010, when he started playing at Café Cocomo. Santana’s timbalero Karl Perazzo, who was already included in the lineup of the venue, proposed him to go to this place to play as a percussionist on Monday nights. The problem was that there was no money to pay him for the moment.

That’s when the directors of Pacific Mambo, Christian Tumalan and Steffen Kuehn, proposed to the owners of Cafe Cocomo to give them some space to have band practice. These Monday meetings ended up being paid rehearsals open to the public in exchange for 10 dollars a night. This lasted some years in which the 20 members of the orchestra were in charge of developing much of the repertoire that has made them famous internationally.

About this time, Omar said that, on several occasions, he and his orchestra fellows sat down to talk about the continuity of the band owing to the lack of money. The wonderful thing is that everyone always voted in favor of their stay in the group despite the adversities. According to the Venezuelan musician, it was this hunger and desire to succeed that made the orchestra what it is today.

Omar, Eric, Karl, and Edgardo — Omar Ledezma Jr., percussionist Eric Rangel, music producer Karl Perazzo, and bandleader Edgardo Cambon

These efforts worked and Pacific Mambo Orquestra managed to win their first and only Grammy so far in 2014. That year began with the orchestra’s appearance in one of the main banners of the iTunes page for a little over a week, which gave them a lot of popularity at that time and was not common for Latin artists and groups.

That same year, the group began touring with Tito Puente Jr. in August and were so successful that Omar and five other members of the group decided to begin campaigning for that year’s Grammys via e-mails to all the members of the jury promoting their latest album. Then, on tour, they received the news of their nomination (the second of Omar’s career), but they did not think they would win.

Much to the surprise of Omar, in January 2014, he received word that Pacific Mambo Orquesta won its first Grammy in the category of Latin Tropical Album of the Year. This event changed the lives of everyone in the group to the extent that large media outlets started looking at them. One of them was world-famous Billboard magazine, which published a piece talking about the band and its talents.

It is important to stress that, although it was an experience the musician will never forget in his life, he is aware that this is in the past and has to look ahead and focus on his future successes. At this moment, Omar and his companions are focused on making up for time lost during the pandemic and performing all the activities that confinement prevented them from doing.