Search Results for: Van Van

The Conga Room closes its doors, but says goodbye in style

Recently, we learned some unfortunate news for the Latin music scene and the community in general and it is that The Conga Room, one of the most important nightclubs in Los Angeles, will close its doors this March, which has shocked those who used to frequent the cheerful and colorful place to forget their everyday problems for a few hours of dancing.

This great place was opened in 1999 by businessman Brad Gluckstein thanks to the support of leading figures in the entertainment industry such as businesswoman, actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, actor Jimmy Smits, actor Paul Rodriguez and actress Sheila E.

Although it first opened its doors on Wilshire Boulevard in 1999, it was moved to L.A.A. LIVE about nine years later. After the change of venue, there were personalities interested in investing in The Conga Room due to the great project it represented at the time, such as rapper and member of the Black Eyed Peas William Adams (better known as will.i.am), actor of Puerto Rican descent Amaury Nolasco, former basketball player Baron Davis and former basketball player Trevor Ariza.

It was these great figures in music, acting and sports who made The Conga Room one of the most recognized meeting places for Latin music fans and its greatest exponents.

Jimmy Smits and Paul Rodriguez at The Conga Roo — Jimmy Smits and Paul Rodriguez celebrating The Conga Room’s 20th anniversary some years ago

The achievements of The Conga Room all these years

During the years following as of its reopening, The Conga Room became an iconic place for music lovers and contributed greatly to the development of the Latin music and cultural scene in Los Angeles.

During 25 years of operation, it has not only brought the best singers and DJs from California and the United States in general, but also managed to create a lively environment composed of all kinds of cultures that transcended musical genres, to the point that there were people of all nationalities dancing to the same rhythms without any problem, proving once again that music is a universal language we can all understand perfectly.

And speaking of music, its little stage witnessed more than 500 live shows that included big stars such as Celia, Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colón, Tito Puente, Ocar D’ León, Tito Nieves, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Carlos Santana, Elvis Crespo, Los Van Van, Buena Vista Social Club, Alejandro Sanz, Juanes, Fito Paez, Jerry Rivera, Eddie Santiago, Tony Vega, Zacarias Ferreira, Invasión Latina, Andy Montañez, Atercipelados, Aleks Syntek, Beto Cuevas, among many others. As for newer idols, The Conga Room has also received Ivy Queen, J Balvin, Maluma, Bad Bunny, Luis Fonsi and many more.

It should also be mentioned that; while The Conga Room’s approach is to promote salsa, merengue and bachata; the nightclub is not limited to Latin genres. In fact, there have been great performances by rock, hip hop and R&B artists such as Prince, Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz, Justin Timberlake, Avicci, Snoop Dog, Ed Sheeran, Andy Grammer, Jamie Foxx and on and on.

This shows that The Conga Room was not limited to the original concept of its founders, but sought to go above and beyond to increase its assistance every day. Its management knew how to reinvent itself in spite of trends and circumstances, which is why it managed to survive so long.

Oscar D’ Leon at The Conga Room — Oscar D’ Leon performing at The Conga Room

The Conga Room’s definitive closure and farewell show

The Conga Room was inaugurated with music, so it must also say goodbye with music, so it will offer a private concert this March 27th featuring famous personalities who will meet at the club that day to say goodbye in style.

The main star of the event will be the renowned Puerto Rican singer Gilberto Santa Rosa, who will be one of those responsible for livening up the night for the show attendees with his greatest hits. Likewise, the host will be Jimmy Smits and he will be accompanied by Paul Rodriguez in the hosting of the show, who were bot very important in club maintenance for so long.

As for the reasons for the closure, founder Brad Gluckstein has issued statements saying that the ravages of the pandemic, the few events at the convention center and the difficulties in booking national artists with AEG Live (a company focused on the production and promotion of musical events) have made the business model of The Conga Room no longer viable in today’s economy. Not to mention that cost of living, inflation and high interest rates have changed the priorities of potential consumers.

However, despite the sadness that Gluckstein and the rest of those involved in the Conga Room project have, the businessman pointed out that not everything related to this mythical place will be forgotten, since Conga Kids, a non-profit organization aimed at promoting the social-emotional well-being of children through dancing, will continue to operate as before. This beautiful sister project of The Conga Room will keep its doors open despite the setbacks for the sake of the kids.

Pupy Pedroso An Ambassador of Cuban Music in the World

Latin America / Cuba / La Habana

When we talk about the beautiful island of Cuba, it is impossible not to automatically think of its rich and ancient musical culture. We are talking about a small piece of land in the world, of that long Caribbean, but it is full of the most successful musicians of Cuba. the history of Latin rhythms.

It all lies in the Spanish and African influences that came to the Island hundreds of years ago, that race that was created from the strings and the drum, from the white and the black, from singing and dancing.

On this occasion I feel very proud to be able to speak directly with a cultural ambassador, recently appointed by the Latin Institute of Music, the leader of those who are are and one of the founders of the very famous Van Van orchestra, the great Cesar Pupy Pedroso, teacher of teachers, as we have called him for this occasion.

Good morning maestro, thank you in advance for the time you give us to all the readers of the International Salsa Magazzine and the portal www. salsamundi.com.

“Well, here I am very happy to be able to talk a little with you and grateful that you want to talk about this server”

Maestro with 19 years of foundation with Pupy and those who are maestro, tell us how the idea of founding this great orchestra was born after making the whole world dance with the Van Van.

“The idea for the project ‘’Los que Son Son’’ arose from a recording I made (while in Los Van Van) with songs of my authorship performed by an internationally renowned performer. (Omara Portuondo, Rolo Martínez, Xiomara Laugart, Raúl Planas, Caridad Cuervo, Pedro Calvo, Raúl Planas etc…etc..) From that moment on I got the idea of making another album with other performers, with a German publisher, and The album was called César Pedroso y Los que Son.

There came a time when I was on tour with Van Van and the dancers came with the records, so I could sign them, and it was then that the idea came to me of forming an orchestra and leaving Van Van and calling it ‘Los que Son Son’. . ”

Why Pianist?

“In my house when I was born there was already a piano, my father was a pianist, and children always want to be like their parents, and I was not going to be the exception, regardless of the fact that I liked the piano since I was little.”

What theme do you consider the flag of Pupy Pedroso’s new journey? When your orchestra opens

“Themes of the new transit: themes like ”What are the things in life” ””A crazy man with a motorcycle” ”Mommy behave well”, ”They’re calling me” and of course ”Six weeks “”

Tell us the story of the musical piece “De la timba a Pogolotti” does it tell us about a change in your life?

“From Timba to Pogolotti: It arises from a piano solo that I did in ”Sandunguera” and Pedrito Calvo identified me, as ”Pupy the sandunguero of Pogolotti” and the neighbors of La Timba (neighborhood where I I was born) they asked my older relatives why they said about Pogolotti, if I was born in La Timba, then I wanted to be okay with the two neighborhoods, when I made ”Los que Son…”

Well, I made that song in honor of the two neighborhoods, because I was born in La Timba, but I grew up in Pogolotti, and all my childhood friends are from Pogolotti, I don’t have friends in La Timba, and I consider that one is from where one is from. upbringing, not where he was born, because all the customs, friendships, first ”girlfriend” were Pogolotti’s.”

Which song is your favorite from Van Van’s golden era?

“If you talk to me about the songs from Van Van’s golden age, there are several, of mine the authorship of Maestro Formell and others of mine, for example of the maestro, there are several, “My doubts” ”Marilu”” The Painful” ”There are women” ”I’m everything” and one of mine: ”Six weeks “Sugar” ”The Negro is cooking” ”It must be over” ”That’s good ”, among many others, we live in a wonderful time”

Since August 2018, he was named Cultural Ambassador by the Latin Music Institute. Do you consider it an achievement or a new commitment?

“I consider both things, an achievement because it is not easy in a country with so much talent and so many performers to take me into account for said recognition, and at the same time a commitment, because I am obliged not to let my musical guard down in any way.” sense.”

Maestro comes from a family of great musicians, his grandfather a director, his father a pianist, both from great Cuban orchestras. Can we say that being a musician in your family comes in your blood? Is it inherited in the genes?

“Yes, sir, I am grateful for having been born in this family where there was so much musical talent, where only music was breathed, my autistic grandfather, director of an orchestra called ”Cuba”, my uncle a percussionist in an orchestra very famous for that ”Arcaño y sus Maravillas” era, and I believe a lot in the musical heritage because I consider myself a product of it.

As a pianist, it is because my fundamental patron was my father, from whom I copied and learned a lot from what I could discreetly practice and as a conductor, because I had the joy of having worked with different directors, Rolando Valdés, Enrrique Pérez, I assisted in substituting for my father and the ones I spent the longest time with, Elio Revé and Juan Formell, I spent 6 years with Revé and 32 with Formell and I learned a lot with both directors, I was lucky.”

To what do you owe your great success as a pianist and conductor?

“I think that to be good at any career, the fundamental thing is that you like it and have the aptitude for it, I think that music does not escape from that rule, because you can like it, but if you don’t have the aptitude, don’t waste your time, and Maybe if you have aptitude and you don’t like it, over time you may like it and fall in love with it, so aptitude is the fundamental thing.”

What is your greatest reference or influence in music?

“My greatest influence is Son, I love Son, rumba, guaguancó, Cuban music and Brazilian music, jazz, but my greatest influence is Son.”

Currently, how do you see timba within the island of Cuba? Minimized by Cubaton or leader of local rhythms?

“I believe that at all times, there have been different musical genres, which have been in the preference of the dancer, in the era of Rock and Roll they danced with Elvis Presly, with Bill Halle and his comets, with Little Richard, but also they danced with Aragón, Benny Moré, Sonora Matancera, among others,…

but today the balance leans more towards these foreign movements, good and bad, and that is happening all over the world, in the dance area, but I do not consider our dance music critical or dead, because there is taste for everything and every time “A convening orchestra performs on an open-air stage, it overflows with audiences, that means we are in battle, and the country that has the most musicians making a living from music is Cuba.”

Tell us about the 2019 projects? New CD? Tours?

“Fundamentally starting the next album, the release of a documentary of a tour we are doing in Cuba and some presentations abroad, to reappear again at the end of the year in Europe, with one of the dance hits from France:

”Having a good time”, I make a parenthesis, clarify that there are countries where our music prevails (El Son, La Timba, La Salsa) like Peru and Colombia, Cuban rhythms are still in fashion, thanks to many musicians and orchestras that make a great job for the dissemination, to the printed media and now the digital wave that quite develops our work, look, you are an example of this, we hope to continue giving our audience reasons to dance.

In August we return to South America, it is the tour we are most looking forward to, the Latin public is one of the best, we think about stopping in August in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, in the same way we are now planning to organize the calendar, for businessmen or producers who wish to have us in their cities, must contact our direct representatives, talking to them is like talking to Pupy”

What should a producer do to have them in their Latin American projects?

“No compadre, very simple, contact them at these numbers +573022582306 and +51992630351, they are the only ones authorized to market our tour, we want to be in all the cities of Latin America.”

Grateful teacher for your time and for letting us get to know you a little, may the successes continue for what they are.

“Grateful to you, thank you for the dissemination you make of the popular dance music of my island.

It remains to leave you the social media links of such an important orchestra so that you can follow in its footsteps and find out about the development of the successes of this great band, on Facebook:

@pupypedroso and the numbers

+573022582306 and +51992630351.

El Tresero Moderno San Miguel Perez

Cuba is and will continue to be one of the main cradles of the best artists in Latin America and San Miguel Perez is one of those cases. The producer, composer and singer gave us an exclusive interview to talk about his musical beginnings, his history and what he is currently working on. Don’t miss it!

Tresero San Miguel — This is San Miguel Perez, ”El Tresero Moderno”

San Miguel, El Tresero Moderno

San Miguel is known in his country as ”El Tresero Moderno” (the modern tres player in English) due to the styles he uses when playing. He chose the Cuban tres as his main instrument because it is a very important icon in the music of his country and the one that most represents Cuba internationally,

His first contact with music occurred at the age of 10, when he began studying classical music, but adding the Cuban tres. He followed this same path throughout high school and university until he became part of some Cuban popular music groups such as Los Jóvenes Clásicos del Son and Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son.

Together with the latter group, he released the album ”Respeto Para Los Mayores”, which was very popular at the time. This success led them to collaborate with great orchestras such as Los Van Van, with whom they shared the stage sometimes.

On one occasion, one of the members of Los Van Van took the stage to jam with the guys of Adalberto Alvarez y Su Son, including San Miguel. Seeing the Cuban’s talent and style with the tres, he baptized him with the nickname ”El Tresero Moderno”. This nickname had to do with his playing and the influences that the artist brings to the instrument when making a solo.

San Miguel playing — San Miguel Perez playing the Cuban tres live

Cubadisco

San Miguel was twice awarded with the Cubadisco Award, one in 2011 in the category of Best Tresero and the other in 2013 in the category of Best Traditional Cuban Music. These recognitions were very important for the musician, as the award was the result of a previous contest, which was focused on the work of treseros, singers and pianists from all over Cuba.

The primary objective of this contest was to rescue Cuban music and give new talents a chance to make their art known. Adalberto Álvarez, Frank Fernández, and Mayito de Rivera were part of the contest’s presidency.

Given that San Miguel was one of the winning treseros, the Bis Music label released an album called ”Treseros de Cuba”, material in which the young man was included. This was the album which won the Cubadisco award in 2014.

After receiving both awards, Adalberto Álvarez met up with San Miguel to invite the Cubadisco winner to join his group. He took advantage of the departure of the former tresero in the group to invite him.

Los Angeles

San Miguel’s move to Los Angeles was due to a purely professional issue at first. He went to play with Adalberto Alvarez, Peruvian-American singer Cecilia Noël, her husband Colin Hay from Men At Work and other artists living in the United States. Due to this and other work proposals, he decided to stay in Tampa and, time later, to move to the city of Los Angeles and make it his permanent residence.

It should also be mentioned that many other artists have had to work other jobs outside of music in order to make ends meet, but fortunately this was not the case of San Miguel, who had the opportunity to work only in music and did not need to resort to other activities out of his passion. He has dedicated himself fully to playing, recording and producing music for the past 10 years.

San Miguel won the Cubadisco Award — San Miguel twice won the Cubadisco Award in his native country

Composition, production and singing

Regarding the areas of music in which he has specialized, San Miguel began by explaining that he made a good improvement in composition during the time he played with Los Jóvenes Clásicos del Son. He also learned to make arrangements based on traditional music, something in which the director of the group, Ernesto Reyes Palma, played a very important role.

Regarding production, the artist did not participate much in that area, but he eventually did in the United States. It is in this country that he officially started his career as a soloist, tresero and artist. Three years after arriving in Los Angeles, he produced a first album called ”Un Poquito de Amor” in collaboration with Cecilia Noël and Colin Hay in 2017, which was a great learning experience for him, as he was able to experiment and mix many seemingly disparate rhythms.

Other areas in which San Miguel would like to specialize are sound engineering and remastering, but he is working hard to do so.

Current projects

As for the current projects, he is currently promoting his single ”Besito Bon Bon”, which is the main song of his new album. In fact, San Miguel and his team are planning to give this same name to the whole album. On this occasion, he mixed electronic sounds with traditional Cuban music to give a much more modern rhythm to the traditional genres coming from the island. The album has nine songs, is produced by Jay Carona and contains some collaborations with Cecilia Noël.

Tempo Latino 2023

Tempo Latino is a music festival held in Vic-Fezensac, France, in the region of Gers in Gascony it is the first and the greatest Latin American and Afro-Cuban music festival of the summer in Europe. The festival was founded in 1994 and has been held annually since then.

“In 2020 and 2021, the festival was only interrupted for two consecutive years due to the containment of the new crown pneumonia (COVID-19) epidemic.”

With around 600 volunteers from all over the city for four days of intense activities and an audience of around 60,000 people from all over the world.

Tempo Latino offers a variety of Latin American and Afro-Cuban music, including Salsa, Bachata, Kizomba, Cumbia, Merengue, Rumba, Latin-jazz, Reggaeton and more. The festival also features dance workshops, food stalls and other cultural events.

International performers and instructors from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Africa, the United States (primarily New York, Miami, and California), and Europe have participated in a number of concerts and workshops

Tempo Latino has grown from a small festival to one of the most important Latin American music festivals in Europe. The festival hosts some of the biggest names in Latin music, including Celia Cruz, Ruben Blades, Eddie Palmieri, Oscar D’ León, Johnny Pacheco, Adalberto Álvarez, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Kassav, Totó la Momposina, and Los Van Van. Tempo Latino has also helped advance the careers of many new artists.

Here’s more information on Tempo Latino:

The festival takes place in a beautiful setting in the heart of the French countryside.
The festival is family friendly and has activities for all ages.
The festival is a great opportunity to experience a different culture and learn about Latin American and Afro-Cuban music.

A festival of concerts takes place in the square and, at the same time, many free outdoor events for those who want to discover music in the city’s dance halls in the afternoon and evening. In the second edition, they have integrated dance, music, and percussion lessons.

The 28^th edition of Tempo Latino will take place from July 27-30, 2023.

The lineup includes:

La Conga

27 July – Ana Tijoux (France)

Les Arenes

28 July 2023

21:00 – Orchestra Baobab (Senegal)

23:00 – Grupo Compay Segundo (Cuba)

29 July 2023

21:00 – Lila Downs (Mexico)

23:00 – Cimafunk (Cuba)

30 July 2023

21:00 – Bernard Lavilliers (France)

23:00 – La Excelencia (USA)

and many more!

Pass Concert:

On the official website, tickets for four days are available for 120 € (during the festival, they cost 150 €).

Eric Duffau

The current director of Tempo Latino is Eric Duffau from Toulouse, France. He is also the founder of the music festival which he started in 1994. A passionate lover of Latin American and Afro-Cuban music, Dufour devoted his life to promoting this music to a wider audience and serves on the board of the French Association for the Promotion of Latin Music (AFMPL).

Dufoe was a tireless promoter of Latin American and Afro-Cuban music. He travels the world in search of new talent and works hard to make Tempo Latino a major cultural event. He is a passionate advocate of Latin music and works to bring this music to a wider audience.

Dufour graduated from the National School of Arts and Crafts (ENSAM) in Paris. In the early 1980s he worked as a DJ, during which time he became interested in Latin American and Afro-Cuban music. In 1989, he decided to create a festival to showcase this music and Tempo Latino was born.

https://www.tempo-latino.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/TempoLatinoFestival

The Tempo Latino Festival is Back

Life, Career, and death of Juan Carlos Formell

Juan Carlos Formell

Latin entertainment is in mourning the departure of one of its most talented figures, who leaves a very big void in all his followers and fans. We are talking about former composer, bassist, guitarist and member of Los Van Van Juan Carlos Formell, who sadly departed from this world on Friday, May 26th after a live performance in New York City.

In view of such an unfortunate loss for those of us who have spent years of experience promoting Latin music in all four corners of the world, we consider it appropriate to recall the most important moments in the life and career of this extraordinary artist and all that he contributed to the salsa movement during his lifetime.

Juan Carlos Formell died on May 26th — Juan Carlos Formell died on Friday, May 26th after a live performance in New York City

Story of Juan Carlos Formell

Juan Carlos Formell was born in the city of Havana on February 18, 1964 and was the son of Juan Formell and Natalia Alfonso. He was the oldest of three brothers who would also dedicate themselves to music.

Contrary to what people might think, the fact of belonging to the fourth generation of a musical family and being the son of world famous bassist Juan Formell did not make things easier for him on the path with music. When he was barely three weeks old, he was sent to live with his grandparents in the outskirts of the Havana city.

They were through many financial needs and Juan Carlos himself would admit in an interview years later that other children used to make fun of him for having holes in his shoes, but that did not make him desist from his dreams, far from it. He became interested in music at a very young age, which led him to train professionally at the Alejandro García Cartula Conservatory and the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory.

In the 1990s, he concluded his studies at the National School of Arts in Cuba with almost three decades of life, so he made the decision to move to New York City to fully exercise his career as a musician. Before this, Juan Carlos had already accompanied several jazz orchestras on stage, but Cuban authorities banned him from traveling due to his regular yoga practice (considered subversive in his native country).

Since he could not leave Cuba directly, he had to use a tour with the Rumbavana orchestra in Mexico to cross the Rio Grande in Texas and later settle in New York. His process of adapting to this new country was not easy from any point of view, but it was all so worth it.

From then on, what came was success for the artist. During the course of his solo career, he recorded some five solo albums, one of which earned him a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Traditional Tropical Latin Performance in 2000.

Juan Carlos Formell at PiPiKi Studios — Juan Carlos Formell recording at PiPiKi Studios

Entry into Los Van Van

Los Van Van is one of the most important Cuban musical groups of recent times, which was founded by Cuban bassist Juan Formell, Juan Carlos Formell’s father. After having participated in several son and jazz groups, the musician decided it was time to innovate and change the style he was using until now.

It was then that he decided to incorporate new instruments and voices, which gave rise to a completely different concept baptized as Los Van Van and that gave much to talk about among critics of the time, and for the better.

After a very successful career in the group, Juan Formell died on May 1, 2014 at the age of 71 as a result of a heart attack during a concert in his hometown, Havana.

This unfortunate event is what led his son, Juan Carlos Formell, to join Los Van Van as a bassist. His brother Samuel was on the drum kit and his sister Vanessa was on backing vocals, so it can be said that this was a bit of a family business.

Since that moment, the intense activity that he had together with the rest of the group in performances, concerts and new songs earned him the recognition of the public in a very short time.

In spite of carrying the fame of his father on his shoulders, he did not let this stop him or be a limiting factor for him. On the contrary, he always left his family name and his father’s legacy high.

Unfortunately, 10 years passed before the artist left a huge void among those who respected and loved him.

Juan Carlos Formell on stage — Juan Carlos Formell performing on stage

Death

On May 26 of this year, Los Van Van was performing at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in New York. About 40 minutes after the start of the concert, Juan collapsed on stage in front of all the attendants.

Minutes later, he was aided by ambulances and a fire truck. He was then taken to the nearest health-care center, but unfortunately the doctors could do nothing for him. This is how his bandmates announced the sad news through their social networks.

At the end of the concert, Eduardo Livia himself confirmed the death when he walked off the stage and greatly regretted what happened. The cause of death was determined to be a heart attack and his life came to an end at the age of 59.

After this, the group continued with the rest of the tour they had planned and the performances they had outstanding were in honor of the great Juan Carlos Formell and all that he gave to music during his life.