He began touring the world in 1949 and met his later wife in 1960 in Peru.

That same year, he settled in New York, participating in the local scene.
He participated in the LP “Patato y Totico” in 1967, he also participated with his brother Eloy Martí, in a Quintet accompanied by Gene Golden, for the year 1979.
Israel López (Cachao), Arsenio Rodríguez, Héctor Cadavieco, Francisco Valdés, Papaíto, Tony Mayari and Mario Cadavieco also worked on that album.
He participated in the “Grupo Folklórico Experimental Newyorkino”, where he was their vocalist and percussionist, in 1975. During his stay with them, he composed the song “Cuba Linda”.


“Iya Modapue”, constitutes in itself, a guaguancó with open rumba being at the same time the favorite number of the “Grupo Folklórico”, and even the first groove that was recorded.
The levels of experimentation and the freedom to unload several rhythms in a single musical performance are the factors producing the attraction of the musicians for “Iya Modupue” (which means Thank You Mother).
The vocal part is in the hands of Virgilio Martí. The trumpet of “Chocolate” Armenteros, the trombones of José Rodríguez and Reinaldo Jorge, the flute of Gonzalo Fernández and the percussion of Frankie Rodríguez stand out.
“Se Me Olvidó” – a bolero by Lolita de la Colina – but adapted in guaguancó to the style of the Grupo Folklórico, which, by the way, turned out to be the piece with the greatest radio airplay in the tropical environment and, therefore, the one that would open the doors to the group. The song was performed by Virgilio Martí, who also plays the congas. In “Se Me Olvidó”, the violin of Cuban Alfredo de la Fe, the quinto of Julito Collazo, the street redoblante of Jerry González and a Mexican marimba played by Andy González in counterpoint to the notes of the double bass, also played by Andy, stand out.
In the early 80’s he formed a band with brothers Andy and Jerry González, and percussionist Ignacio Berroa.
It is worth mentioning Virgilio Martí’s 1985 performance in the film by Cuban filmmaker León Ichaso entitled: “Crossover Dreams” (Sueños truncados). In it, the Havana native plays the role of “Cheo Babalú” and sings the song “Llora Timbero”.
In this film production made in New York City, the actor Rubén Blades, who plays the role of “Rudy Veloz”, also participates. There they sing the song “Todos Vuelven”.
In 1990, he contributed to the “Soundtrack” of the movie Azúcar Amarga.
He maintained a great skill in converting songs from other genres into rumba arrangements. We can mention the adaptation of the song by Brazilian composer Jorge Ben, “Más Que Nada”, which appears on the LP with Patato y Totico. Martí died on October 17, 1995. (Tom Data “Facebook”)

Virgilio Marti – Guaguanco (1979)
Tracks:
Information realized (June 1, 2024)
Sources:
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Patrón Latin Rhythms is one of those many bands from the San Francisco Bay Area that continue to demonstrate the taste the inhabitants of the area and its surroundings have for Latin music and other rhythms stemming from it. For this reason, we decided to talk to Vanessa Ojeda, the band manager, to know more in depth her work and everything that has to do with the group.

Vanessa told us that music has always been present in her life, as she remembers, from an early age in San Leandro, California. Her father was responsible for managing musical groups, so he taught his daughter all he knew about the administrative and business part.
In fact, the young woman recalls that, since she was five years old, she already saw her father playing his trade and explaining some things about it. As she got older, she gained more responsibilities and learned more about the internal functioning of a group. She started answering e-mails, drawing up contracts, making reservations, among other things.
When her father sadly passed away about three years ago, Vanessa had to learn to do the rest of the things on her own, so she greatly appreciates the prior learning she experienced before the time came.
Today, she is in charge of all the band’s contacts, social networks, publicity, promotion, musician fees, hotel bookings, travel, among other tasks.
Vanessa explained that it was her father who initially selected the musicians and talent that made up the band. He began by looking for the congueros, whom he took home to determine who was the best choice for the group. He also had some friends who were dedicated to music and he knew they would do a great role if they joined his project, so he contacted them to make the proposal.
Later, the first musicians selected to be part of the group created their own orchestra, which led Vanessa’s father to look for new musicians and a different name to the proposal that he had in mind and search for the right talent for it. This is how Patrón Latin Rhythms was born.
Vanessa comments that her father was a lover of the musical work by Poncho Sanchez, Tito Puente, Santana, among other artists of this style, so he was looking for musicians who could emulate those sounds and ways of playing. He also wanted the new members of the new 10-piece band to understand what he wanted at that time, which was the salsa of the time.
As for the name of the band, Vanessa and her father wanted something attractive and playful for the audience, so after thinking about many things, they decided that ”patrón” was a memorable term and that made them think of something or someone ”strong” and ”with character”, just as they wanted the band’s music to be.

Another thing Vanessa’s father was very careful with was knowing very well the background of each of the musicians he selected and, of course, ensuring that they came from reputable bands. ”My father knew many of the musicians before forming the group, so he knew they would do an excellent job if he gave them the chance. In fact, some of them are still with me despite my father’s death and the time elapsed,” said Vanessa.
The permanence of most of the old team is considered by Vanessa as a sign that Patrón Latin Rhythms is much more than just a job for its members. It is also like a family that they take care of and strive to make it better every day.
This was achieved thanks to the training provided by her father, who always made sure that Vanessa knew all the details related to the band’s operation so that she would be able to take care of it and its members after his passing. One of the most important things he taught her is that she should always treat others as she would like to be treated, which she has very much in mind to this day.
Regarding the genres played by the group, Vanessa said that they have tried to incorporate a lot of salsa into their repertoire recently. Her father was a big fan of Latin rock, which occupied a privileged place in the band’s work, but when Vanessa took the reins of the project, she began incorporating a little more salsa and diversify the rhythms played by Patrón Latin Rhythms. To this we must add that she likes R&B a lot, so it was also taken into account to be part of the group’s repertoire.
It is precisely this blend of genres that the group always seeks to achieve is what guarantees them a mixed audience in which all nationalities and tastes converge. Something that stands out from the group’s musicians is that many of them have their own salsa repertoire due to the experience they bring from other orchestras, which helps them attract audiences of different generations.
In addition to that, Latin and American public tend to enjoy Patrón Latin Rhythms’ music depending on the genre being played at any given time.

At the time of creating a cover of a well-known song, the musicians of the group take into account the characteristics of the audience they are going to entertain that day, and one of them is the crowd size. If the audience is big, they know they should play faster songs, but if the group of attendees is smaller, then they start with something softer and calmer.
However, in all their performances, they try to vary all genres so that their shows do not become monotonous and the audience does not get bored. In fact, their repertoire has included from songs by Marc Anthony or Santana to others by Bruno Mars or the group Chicago, which shows how diverse a Patrón Latin Rhythms concert can be.
On this subject, we can say that each musician is a fundamental part of the orchestra, as each one plays a role in each song they are going to play because not everyone can play everything. In fact, Vanessa tells an anecdote in which one of the musicians quit and it was difficult for the rest of the them to play the chords and the percussion part of certain songs he played. For the same reason, each member and instrument is of vital importance in the band and it is not always easy to cover some of them.
Read also: Eric Maldonado from La Paris All-Stars’ work behind the scenes
North America / USA / Las Vegas
The main international event in Spanish that brings together the best of Spanish-speaking music reaches its nineteenth live broadcast, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada for the fourth time, to reward and honor the achievements of professionals of music throughout the year. The ceremony of the 19th Latin Grammy Awards is here, and on November 15 you will be able to enjoy it through the Univisión signal for the United States and with the #LatinGrammy you will be able to follow it minute by minute during its three hours of transmission by all social networks.



Each year the Latin Recording Academy awards recognition to Latin music in 49 categories for work recorded in two languages: Spanish and Portuguese. This prestigious institution also endorses musical genres, identifies new talent, recognizes legendary living artists, and preserves and archives both recordings and videos in order to preserve the valuable Latin American musical culture.
The global impact that Spanish-language recordings have caused this 2017-2018 has proven once again that this year each category will be close to its maximum exponential, which shows that MUSIC made by Latinos has an enormous export capacity, and further evidence that the Latin Grammy awards continue to be one of the specials with the largest audience in the country, as it integrates the largest audience of diverse generations united to witness the annual event with the greatest presence of artistic talent gathered in the same show.
FOR THIS 19TH AWARD OF THE LATIN GRAMMYS, THE NOMINEES ARE:
BEST SALSA ALBUM
Pete perignon
Record Label: Pete Perignon Music
“La Esquina Del Bailador” is the second production by musical director and master percussionist, Pete Perignon. This album contains five unreleased singles and five re-interpretations of classics. “Gotita Falling in Key” was his first promotional theme. This album released in 2017 has versions of classics with modern arrangements such as: “De Mi Para Ti” (Bossa recorded by Tito Puente and Santos Colón), “El Beso Discreto” original from the Cuban songbook Trio Matamoros, among many other original songs and versioned

Alexander Abreu and Havana D’ Primera
Record Label: Páfata Productions

Charlie aponte
Record Label: CA Records Inc.

Chiquito Team Band
Record Label: Planet Records

Victor Manuelle
Record Label: Sony Music Latin

BEST TRADITIONAL TROPICAL ALBUM
José Alberto El Canario & The Santiaguero Septet
Record Label: Los Canarios Music
In this category, the Septeto Santiaguero, originally from Cuba, is nominated for its fourth album “A Mí Qué- Tributo A Los Clásicos Cubanos”. This ensemble founded in 1995 recorded this production in the company of the Dominican interpreter José Alberto “El Canario” and other music stars. This record material has 13 Tracks and was released on May 25, 2018.
Rubén Blades With Roberto Delgado and Orchestra
Record Label: Ruben Blades Productions

The Sonora Santanera
Record Label: Sony Music

Omara Portuondo
Record Label: Egrem

Maria Rivas
Record Label: Angel Falls Artists Inc.

BEST TROPICAL SONG
Juan Carlos Luces & Víctor Manuelle, songwriters (Víctor Manuelle Featuring Juan Luis Guerra)
Cut off: 7/25
Record Label: Sony Music Latin

The prominent Puerto Rican singer-songwriter and producer, Víctor Manuelle, began his professional career in 1993, and to date has sold millions of records worldwide. He has earned 16 LATIN GRAMMY and GRAMMY nominations, thus establishing himself as one of the most admired artists of his generation. He has placed 46 singles on Billboard’s weekly Hot Latin Songs chart. Eleven of his albums have reached the place of honor in the Salsa genre for sales in the United States and Puerto Rico.
His hit “Imaginar” (2016) as a duo with urban artist Yandel, broke records, reaching #1 on the tropical charts thanks to his fusions of salsa with urban rhythms. In addition, it was named the most popular tropical song of that year, marking the third time that Víctor has obtained this important recognition, after his hits “Me Da Lo Mismo” and “ Tengo Ganas”.

In this 2018, Víctor celebrates his silver anniversary as a professional artist with his new record label “25/7” under the Sony Music Latin label. This album nominated for best Salsa album features collaborations with international artists, such as: Wisin, Bad Bunny, Juan Luis Guerra, Gilberto Santa Rosa and Glenn Monroig. The single “Quiero Tiempo” taken from this production is designated as one of the candidates to win the award in this important category.
Silvestre Dangond, Nicky Jam, Juan Medina, Mauricio Rengifo & Andrés Torres, songwriters (Silvestre Dangond Featuring Nicky Jam)
Record Label: Sony Music Entertainment US Latin

Jorge Luis Piloto, songwriter (Reynier Pérez y Su Septeto Acarey Featuring Gilberto Santa Rosa)
Cut from: Fall in Love Dancing
Record Label: Independent

Jorge Luis Piloto, Jean Rodríguez & Tony Succar, songwriters (Tony Succar Featuring Jean Rodríguez)
Record Label: Unity Entertainment
Fonseca, Mauricio Rengifo & Andrés Torres, songwriters (Fonseca)
Record Label: Sony Music Latin
BEST LATIN JAZZ/JAZZ ALBUM
Bobby Valentin & The Latin Jazzists
Record Label: Bronco Records

| Tracks: | |
| 1. De Nuevo a la Carga | 7.El Cumbanchero |
| 2. Latin Gravy | 8.Mellow Funk |
| 3.Orocoa | 9. Endless Love |
| 4.Smooth Ride | 10.Freedom |
| 5.Blast Off | 11. God Bless the Child |
| 6. Coco Seco | |
Roberto Valentin, better known as Bobby Valentin, was born on June 9, 1941 in the town of Orocovis on the island of Puerto Rico. At a very young age, Bobby learned to play the guitar thanks to the teachings of his father. At just 11 years old, he formed his first musical trio with which he won his first prize, after participating in a local competition. In 1963 Bobby Valentin joined the Tito Rodríguez orchestra traveling to Venezuela twice.
This phenomenal bass player and arranger belonged to the Fania All Stars for 20 years and also arranged music at the same time for celebrities such as: Charlie Palmieri, Joe Quijano, Willie Rosario and Ray Barretto.
In 1975 he formed his own record label “Bronco Records” and released the album, “Va a la Cárcel” Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, among others.
Over the years, Bobby has made collaborations on recordings for great artists of international fame, such as: Larry Harlow, Ismael Miranda, Roberto Roena, Cheo Feliciano and the always remembered, Celia Cruz.
Likewise, Valentin has taken over the stages performing live in the United States during this year, and more recently launched his new production “Mind of a Master”, on April 14, 2018, with which he is nominated. for this important award.
Adrian Iaies Trio
Record Label: DBN
Hermeto Pascoal & Big Band
Record Label: Scubidu Music
Dafnis Prieto Big Band
Record Label: Dafnison Music

Nestor Torres
Record Label: Alfi Records

For more information visit the official website of the Latin Recording Academy: