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Search Results for: club
California Directory / 2024
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 2410 San Ramon Valley Boulevard San Ramon, CA 94583 +1 925 560-6556 |
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 510 Embarcadero West Oakland, CA 94607 +1 510 238-9200 |
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The Royalty of our Latin Music Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez first singer signed by Fania Records label
Pedro Juan Rodríguez, Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez “La Realeza de la Salsa” (Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on January 31, 1933).
First singer signed to the Fania Records label in conjunction with the Johnny Pacheco Orchestra and of outstanding participation with the Fania All Stars and his own orchestra.
His father, who made his living as a musician playing in a string quartet that entertained parties and social gatherings, guided him during his first steps as a musician.
By the age of 6, little Pedro was very skilled with the bongo and singing popular Puerto Rican songs of the time.
Things became difficult after the death of his father and as a teenager Pete had to emigrate to the United States (1946) to live with his aunt in New York.
Once in New York, Pete managed to establish himself as a percussionist in the Orquesta Oriental Cubana. Before, long before joining the great Pacheco, Pete had to go through several orchestras among which stand out: Las Jóvenes Estrellas de Cuba (57), the Típica Novel and the Broadway from which he left for personal reasons.
In May 1962 Pete Rodriguez (he was not yet called El Conde), joined Pacheco in a Charanguero orchestra (flute, violin, rhythm and chorus). The first album with Pacheco was Suavito in 1963.
By 64 Jhonny Pacheco and Jerry Massucci founded Fania Records and created the internationally recognized Fania All Stars.
Pete was the first singer that Fania had, and on his shoulders was the responsibility of taking that project forward. On Fania’s first album Cañonazo (1964) Pete performs the song Fania, a composition by Josualdo Bolanos, with which the orchestra was inaugurated.
Rodriguez’s first appearance with Fania was at the Greenwich Village Red Garter Club in 1968.
For reasons of life Pete had to leave Jhonny Pacheco’s group; the concrete reasons for this separation will remain a mystery, but it seems that his departure was due to personal disagreements with other members of the group.
After Pacheco, Pete packed up his motets and moved with Rey Roig and the Sensación group (1964-1968). From his time with this group w For the years 66-67, Pete returned to the ranks with Pacheco. This was a more mature stage where the marvelous duo achieved their greatest hits: Azuquita Mami, Convergencia, La Esencia del Guaguanco, Sonero, Viralo al Reves and others.
The turmoil of the time, the world events, the new way of dressing and people’s way of thinking made Pete change his appearance; he let his beard grow and changed his hairstyle a little. This change gave him a new image and a new name “EL CONDE”.
The Pacheco-Rodriguez duo lasted approximately 8 years, since in 74 El Conde decided to go solo.
That same year El Conde released his best selling and Grammy award winning album El Conde (1974). Two years later (1976) El Conde became part of the Salsa Hall of Fame immortalizing himself with Catalina la O.
With the appearance of Salsa Romántica and the onslaught of Dominican merengue in the markets, salsa entered a crisis which was reflected in the musical work of El Conde. So between 1983 and 1990 El Conde managed to record only 5 albums of which Salsobita (1987) stands out.
In 1993 El Conde made way for his son Pete Emilio and his daughter Cita Rodriguez who joined the group as second voice and backing vocalist.
The family was already complete because Francis Rodriguez, his wife, was in charge of the administrative and financial part of the group.ere the following songs Salsa, Bailando Conmigo and his hit El Rincón.
El Conde made his last recording on the Masterpiece Album (1999) with Tito Puente (1923-2000) and Eddie Palmieri. This album is considered posthumous because in that same year (2000) Tito and El Conde passed away.
El Conde had suffered from heart problems for many years, but was always reluctant to have open heart surgery. Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez passed away of a heart attack on Saturday, December 2, 2000.
His remains were taken to his native Puerto Rico. He is survived by his wife Francis, his two sons Cita and Pedro Emilio, and his grandchildren.
Remains of Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez finally rest on the island. December 7, 2023 – After his death in 2000, the remains of Ponceño singer Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez were transferred from New York to the National Cemetery for veterans in Bayamón.
Source: El Pozo de la Salsa
Also Read: Héctor Martignon has been one of the most sought-after pianists on the Latin jazz scene in New York
Tracy Jenkins from Lula World Records spoke exclusively with us
There are many Latin artists residing in Canada who have gone to the North American country to seek opportunities in music and, little by little, they have found them thanks to people like Tracy Jenkins and her label Lula World Records.
Tracy Jenkins, with whom we had the opportunity to talk a few days ago, is one of the co-founders of Lula World Records, part of the Lula Lounge nightclub team and an artist manager.
We found it very interesting to discover a record label belonging to a project focused on managing artists who make Latin music, which is a great opportunity to further promote our culture and genres that have been disseminated throughout the world in recent years.
Tracy has done an immeasurable work to guide and make known soloists and groups from all over Latin America and we want to recognize her great work with the most important details of the conversation we had with her.
Lula World Records
When we wanted to know a little about the context of creating Lula World Records, Tracy told us that this was a project born from the vibrant Latin music scene at the Lula Lounge club, which has 21 years of operation in the city of Toronto.
During this time, the venue has established itself as one of the best places to enjoy live Latin music throughout the city of Toronto and Canada in general. Attendees can usually enjoy live singers, orchestras and DJs on Fridays and Saturdays, although there can be more days.
Currently, it is the only place in Canada that offers a total of 12 salsa orchestras and each one has its own sound and repertoire. It is the club that gave rise to what would later become known as Lula World Recodrs, which was born as a means to share the best quality salsa music produced in Toronto with a much more global audience.
The first official release of the project took place in 2012, but in the form of a musical complication under the name ”Lula Lounge Essential Tracks”, including the best tracks from artists such as Roberto Linares Brown, Yani Borrell, The Puentes Brothers and many other important names in the Canadian music industry.
Tracy says that, from that moment, they saw the opportunity to continue producing and releasing albums and tracks from other renowned singers and groups such as Lula All Starts, Conjunto Lacalú, Lengaïa Salsa Brava, Salsotika, La Borinqueña and El Charangon del Norte led by Wilver Pedrozo.
Why Lula World Records focuses on Latin Music
”We have centered our efforts on Latin music because of the relationship this project has with Lula Lounge, which opened its doors in 2022 with a concert by Isaac Delgado. From that point, the club has been remaining current for more than 20 years, time in which it has been the birthplace of new projects and emerging artists who have used the venue as a platform to develop and promote their music to local salsa fans,” Tracy said.
Among the many genres supported by Lula World Records all this time, we can mention salsa, Latin jazz, merengue, Cuban son, samba, bossa nova, reggae, classic tumbao, Latin-leaning funk, among many others. However, Tracy and his team are not limited to Latin genres, as they have also promoted Caribbean, Arab and European styles.
Something else Tracy said is that it is highly unlikely that the line followed by the label will change, since there are many migratory waves from Latin America that Canada continues to receive, so he knows that the Latin scene will keep growing in the coming years.
What Lula World Records looks for in an artist
As with any other music label, Lula World Records has its own requirements for managing an artist, Tracy explained that she and her team generally engage with artists who have made great strides in recording, mixing and mastering their own music.
During the evaluation process carried out by them, aspects such as the quality of the songs, excellence in production, catchiness of the tunes and the overall authenticity and originality of the project are taken into consideration.
The label has a particular interest in original and innovative mixes of diverse musical elements and used as an example an Afro-indigenous punk rock group of Brazilian origin called Xocô, which recently released one of its latest albums. Two other great examples of this diversity are Ahmed Moneka, the creator of Arabic and Afro-Iraqi jazz, and Nastasia, a Ukrainian soul singer.
Another detail they take into consideration is the artist’s ability to collaborate with them during the process of releasing their albums. Releasing a record production requires a lot of work from start to finish and a lot of things to do such as marketing and promotion of music. Lula World Records wants artists who fully live up to their commitment and use all the platforms and tools available to promote what they are doing.
To close the conversation, Tracy told us that any artist who want their musical work to be promoted can submit their EPK to the company for evaluation by the board of directors. They are still a small label, but hope to grow a lot more over the next two years and even manage artists outside of Canada.
Read also: Christmas salsa albums to listen to this December
Latin America / January 2024
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