Latin America / Puerto Rico / Puerto Rico
Hernan Olivera, this excellent Salsa singer named Hermenegildo Olivera was born on January 30, 1959 in Newark, New Jersey.
Hernan Olivera is the son of Puerto Rican parents and from an early age he felt a great affinity for Latin music since his father listened to the groups of the moment such as Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Machito, Ismael Rivera with Cortijo y su Combo, Alegre All Stars, Tito Rodríguez, Santitos Colon, etc.
Then, in the 70s, in the midst of the Salsa Boom, Herman began his love of singing listening to the performances of Chamaco Ramírez, Héctor Lavo’e, Cheo Feliciano and Marvin Santiago, among others. These vocalists were mainly his source of inspiration; That school of soneros served as an apprenticeship for him and that is when he made the decision to sing professionally.
When he was just 15 years old, Herman began his career as a Salsa performer with an orchestra called “La Justicia”, after this he was part of the band “La Sónica” where he met his friend and trombonist Jimmy Bosch, after this He spent time with the “Caramelo” orchestra and later made the most important leap in his career by joining the “Con Conjunto Libre” in 1978, where he left his voice for the first time on the LP “Increíble” from 1981 under the direction by percussionist Manolo Oquendo and Bassist Andy González where he stands out with the song “Decide”.
Then in 1983 he would record with the Conjunto Libre in the production “Rhythm, sound and style” the song “Que Humanity” that would become a success. In 1988 Herman left the group “Libre” and became part of a project by Mr. Fernando Pastrana and under the musical direction of trumpeter Miguel Santiago whose album was called “La Exclusiva” which shared the vocal part with Roberto Mier, in this album stands out interpreting the songs “Xiomara” and “Te vi pasa”.
After this, in 1990 he was invited to record on the album “Salsa Sudada”, for the Valdesa Records label of Víctor Raúl Sánchez “Patillas” and with the musical direction of Isidro Infante, sharing vocals with Mario Muñoz “Papaíto”, Adalberto Santiago, Eladio Peguero “Yayo El Indio” and Pablo Villanueva Branda “Melcochita”; in this work he interprets the themes “La needle” and a tribute to the city of Cali called “Valle plata de salsa”.
He continued with his career as a performer and in 1993 he was once again invited to record the production “Now” with the Free Ensemble, where his great conditions and resources as a singer are undoubtedly reflected, there the song “You belong to me” became a hit in addition to other songs such as “Obsesión” and “El Son” stand out on this album.
Subsequently, he launched an independent project called Herman Olivera and La Exclusiva “Chequea La Mercancía” produced by Fernando Pestana, where the song “Me Extra Spider” is one of the most outstanding. In 1996 he reunited with the Conjunto Libre and made the live album entitled “On The Movie”.
In 1997 he participated in the CD of the band Rikoson All Stars called “Evoluciones Del Son” where he stands out very well in the romantic theme “Aquella Noche”.
In 1998 he was requested by the piano teacher Eddie Palmieri and together with the vocalist Wichy Camacho they recorded the album “El Rumbero Del Piano” in which he stood out as a singer in the songs “Malagueña salerosa” and “Oiga mi guaguancó” that same year. he is invited to the recording studios by the trombonist Jimmy Bosch and they release the album titled “Soneando Trombón” which contains the hit “Otra opportunity” that he performs as a duet with Frankie Vázquez, on this CD the song “Descargarana” is also inserted. ”.
That same duo Olivera and Bosch meet the following year (1999) and make the production “Salsa Dura” where Herman shines interpreting the full “Impact we will have” this album also has the participation of the singers Frankie “Nene” Morales and Frankie Vázquez parallel to this album, the RMM label launches a live CD and DVD entitled “Eddie Palmieri & Friend’s” where Herman looks excellent in the number “Palo Pa’ Rumba”.
