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Toñito Laya

Latin America / Venezuela / Caracas

On this occasion we have the privilege of meeting the new Venezuelan talent Toñito Laya (singer), son of Maestro Antonio “20 DEDOS” Laya, who was one of the most significant conga players in the Venezuelan salsa movement in the 1980s, director of the “ Banbankere Orchestra” of Petare with two musical productions; giving him more than enough reason to grow in Latin music, such as “el Son”, “la Rumba”, “la Guaracha”, “el Danzón“, “Boogaloo”, “la Timba” and “la Salsa” being This is the beginning of his artistic and musical career.

Starting in the 90s, he entered the Bigott Foundation where he had the opportunity not only to learn the various rhythms in Afro-Venezuelan percussion, but also developed as a dancer in one of the most important groups in Venezuela when it comes to popular traditions. “Vasallos del Sol”, eventually becoming “Vasallos de Venezuela” in 2016, where he had 16 concerts, productions, albums and national and international tours; Colombia, Mexico, United States, South Korea and Japan, among others.

In 2006, a project called “Comprehensive School of Latin Tradition Dance 100% Tumbao” began, where many dancers were trained in the Cuban Salsa Casino genre, combining this training with Venezuelan traditions, making them understand that traditions come first. Venezuelans. Then they participated in the most important events and competitions in Venezuela, they even became Latin American Champions of “CUBAMEMUCHO 2009” in the city of Caracas-Venezuela, thus managing to represent the country in the grand final to be held in the city of Munich-Germany, 2010 .

He also tells us that in 2009, they were invited to participate in a new project but this time not to dance, but to “sing” in a group that by then had no name but a particular genre such as “Son Cubano” . From that moment Toñito began his musical career to develop in a somewhat unexpected way, he was a founder and assumed the commitment of being in charge of this group as one of its leading singers for more than 7 years, where the themes arose:

To me that, La Ruñidera, Bilongo, El Jamaiquino, I hear a drum, among others; They were part of his first musical repertoire. With two record productions together with the already structured band “La Séptima Bohemia” he consolidated his musical career as a singer, going through a training process with different teachers and vocal coaches such as:

Ronald González, Fanny Olano, Gustavo Gerardo and Marcial Istúriz, among others. others, who would help him develop in the middle of music. National tours, award nominations and concerts allowed him to share the stage alongside large-scale national and international groups such as:

Francisco Pacheco, Canelita Medina, Alexander Abre y su Habana de Primera, Manolito y su Trabuco, El Septeto Santiaguero, José Alberto “El Canario” to mention a few. Toñito records for the year 2012, the song “She takes me”, a song that in turn would be the title of the second album becoming an icon of parties, dances and social events not only in Venezuela but in many salsa and salsa dancing countries. casino in the world.

In the year 2016 Toñito Laya arrives in Aztec land to embark on a new path, he begins by residing in the city of Cancun-Mexico to sing in some local groups and participate in various projects such as: Los Panas.com, La Formula Perfecta, Grupo Swing Latin among others.

This new stage as an artist prompts him to consider a new musical challenge but this time as a solo singer with a well-defined and focused vision, his pleasant experience as a dancer motivates him to dedicate his first promotional single “ABRE QUE VOY”, this being the complement of an orchestra, for the musicians and their singers “EL BAILADOR”.

“ABRE QUE VOY” is the result of the work of talented and renowned Venezuelan musicians who give an important plus to this Musical production of “Maurice Melo”, this first single is created, performed by Toñito Laya, in the company of the Venezuelan talent of the following musicians:

Piano and arrangement: Joel Uriola.
Bass: Jesús Torres “Mandinga”
Percussion: Yomar Méndez “Caballo”
Trombone: Jhonal Rivero.
Trumpet: Edward Platter.
Baritone sax: Michel Peña.
Choirs: William “Wywy” Buznego, Carlos Guzmán and Ramfis Fajardo.
Recorded in the studio: A Tempo Records by Heyzer Cabrera.
Mixing and Mastering: Heyzer Cabrera.

Caracas – Venezuela 2018

If you want to meet or contact Toñito, you can follow him through:

● E-mail: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonito.laya
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUkjU7SFnPc_W-XJDlMMzRg
Twitter: https://twitter.com/negrolaya

Unstoppable Hollywood Salsa Fest focuses on the importance of Salsa

In the midst of the release of the single in which she collaborated with Edwin “El Calvito” Reyes ‘Dos pa’ lante’, on April 13, 2024; Melina Almodovar performed at the most important salsa festival in South Florida in the U.S. Melina also serves as an entrepreneur, along with her partner Cristina Moinelo, for the past nine years.

“La muñeca de la salsa”, Melina Almodóvar

Each year, the Hollywood Salsa Fest focuses on the importance of salsa music, recognizing that Afro-Latin music fuses us into a culture that draws from diverse roots. This year’s festival – sponsored by the city in a public-private partnership with various businesses – was held at the Artspark at Young Circle.

As masters of ceremony, the festival featured the winning team of “Meca” from Salseo Radio and “El Cacique” from Zeta 93 FM, Puerto Rico’s leading salsa radio station. On the decks was DJ “Boricua loco” with a tremendous selection of salsa, in addition to coordinating from his musical corner the dance exhibitions by the salsa dancers of YC Dance Studios.

The first orchestra in charge of starting the concert, Latin All Stars, counted with the vocal and scenic mastery of Marlon Mendioroz, Yorman Clay, Adrián Marchant, Yomil Rivas and Frank Cróquer, backed by a musical team that did not fall short of the expectations of those who waited patiently for the stage to light up with good salsa. Latin All Stars was followed by “Juano, tu cantante” from Cali, Colombia. The team of musicians of the orchestra with the second shift shined accompanying who for 16 years was part of Orquesta Guayacán.

The trumpet player also performed in the mid-afternoon block, preceding the arrival of the Hollywood Salsa Fest Orchestra in a segment in which they accompanied Hilda Naranjo from Cuba, Fabián Rosales from Chile and Joey Hernández from Puerto Rico.

At around 6:00 p.m., it was the turn of the Cuban sound known as timba, with the Julio Montalvo Orchestra and Miami’s Huracán. Once the hurricane winds that accompanied Julio Montalvo ceased, tribute was paid to the late Venezuelan percussionist Robert Vilera thanks to the staging of Vilera Son. The tribute to Vilera’s legacy featured the talents of Los Gaitanes from Panama, Avelino Romero from Venezuela, El Mola and Braidsman from Cuba, as well as Robert Vilera’s first singer, Felix Argenis.

“La muñeca de la salsa”, Melina Almodovar, was backed by Luigi Flores from Costa Rica on piano and musical direction, Johnny Fortunato from Dominican Republic on bass, Pablo Molina from Venezuela on timbales, Juan Pablo Camacho from Venezuela on tumbadoras, Carlos Molina from Venezuela on bongo, Carlos Perez from Cuba on first trombone, Ramon Benitez from Colombia on second trombone, Carlos Frank from Cuba on first trumpet and Julian Cifuentes from Colombia on second trumpet.

On backing vocals, Melina was backed by: Joe Arroyo from Puerto Rico and Freddy Lugo from Cuba. Melina gave us a first class show. As part of Melina’s performance, “El Calvito Reyes” joined her for the first time to perform the recently released single ‘Dos pa`lante’ as a live duet.

During the afternoon, the festival took place under a beautiful blue sky that kept the crowd’s enthusiasm positive. During the night, the clear Floridian skies kept the attendees dancing at full steam. Of course, to that end, the aforementioned talents kept the stage in salsa.

The festival closed with the always remembered for the classic ‘De barrio obrero a la 15’, Chamaco Rivera, who with a stellar salsa career to his credit, not only kept the audience engrossed in his impeccable staging, but also introduced us to his guest artist, his son: Christian Ray.

Melina contó con el respaldo vocal de Joe Arroyo de Puerto Rico y Freddy Lugo de Cuba

Christian delighted us with his repertoire shortly before inviting us to listen to his recently released CD entitled El legado continúa. To bid farewell to the musical day, which lasted nearly ten hours, the grand finale invited the group of singers who had paraded on stage during the day and part of the night to come in and jam with the “papa de los pollitos” (father of the chicks).

We are waiting to enjoy the next ‘Hollywood Salsa Fest’, for which the businesswomen in charge promise to throw the house out of the window. Melina and Cristina have delivered nine festivals in a row. So see you in April 2025 to dance in the tenth edition of the same.

Also Read: A party of dancers at the concert to celebrate Willie Rosario’s 100th birthday

Latin America / May 2024

DIRECTORY OF NIGHTCLUBS
ARGENTINA	ARUBA	BELIZE
BOLIVIA	BRAZIL	CHILE
COLOMBIA	COSTA RICA	CUBA
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	ECUADOR	GUATEMALA
MEXICO	PANAMA	PERU
PUERTO RICO	VENEZUELA

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

Nahití Ortega. Dance is her Passion and Life

Latin America / Venezuela / Caracas

Nahiti Ortega, is a Venezuelan with exceptional talent, more than 25 years as a performer of traditional Venezuelan dances, this time International Salsa Magazine has the privilege of conversing with this artist of international stature.

She began her Dance studies in the Popular Culture workshops of the Bigott Foundation, taking classes in different regions of the country.

It also conducts courses in other international dances such as: African, Colombian, Cuban, Argentine, Dominican, Bolivian, Brazilian, Chilean, among others.

She expands her knowledge by taking other workshops on dance accessories, body expression, rhythm, dance analysis, theory of popular culture, anti-stress elements of music and singing, vocal technique, artistic makeup, stage costume design, organization of special events, corporate image, online tradition, training of teletrainers, pedagogical resources of a virtual classroom: moodle among others.

Augusto: What does dance mean to you personally?

Nahití: Dance is life…

Life begins with a dance, since we are conceived, we dance when a child is inside his mother’s womb, when the earth turns on its own axis, when the waves of the sea reach the shore, when the wind blows and moves the leaves of the trees… in all those movements a beautiful dance is produced, as well as life itself.

“The Dance is so important that the celestial heroes created the world with the power of the dance, and the whole earth is the magical work of the first dancers. The very existence of human beings is the result of the dance. Therefore, dancing is ensuring the continuation of existence” (Morela Maneiro)

For me, dance is a way of life that connects me with the depths of my being and allows me to undress and show myself as I am. My movements are the physical expression of everything intangible that happens to me. By moving I highlight the relationship I have with myself and with my surroundings.

Augusto : Is there or was there any guide that inspired you to this art?

Nahití : My father has always been my inspiration and my guide; Since I was little I always wanted to dance, one day he asked me, do you really want to dance? and I said yes, it was then he who took me by the hand to study dance and introduce me to this wonderful world.

Throughout my career I have had incredible teachers, which I must mention Professor Freddy Medina who, due to his discipline, demand and dedication, I learned to differentiate and perform a large part of our traditional dances and Omar Orozco who taught me that dance, beyond if interpreted, it serves us for life itself.

Augusto: Name me the best anecdote in your career, nationally and internationally

Nahiti: Hahaha… Woow! Throughout my career I have had many anecdotes, I can tell you a few:

One of the ones I remember right now was in a presentation with Master Cheo Hurtado where I had to show the difference in the execution of the Venezuelan Joropos, when I got to the dressing room and took out the costumes I realized that I had two shoes on the same foot, namely; I had two right shoes, you can imagine my frightened face, after this I had a fit of laughter and my friend Rossmary Rondón, also a dancer, seeing the situation and my reaction, asked me if I was crazy, why was I laughing?…

? and I replied “because I still have to solve it and I don’t do anything to bother myself”. Finally I danced with my two identical shoes and nobody noticed that detail, only she and I knew. And everything went well.

Another was on a long tour of Asia, we were in Korea and we did 3 shows a day, I remember that on the third of the day we did the monkey dance, in this piece we invited the public to join in, in the performance we threw ourselves on the ground and then we couldn’t stop quickly due to fatigue and it made us laugh a lot, the public had to act by imitation and since they didn’t know what was happening, they ended up getting our laughter.

Augusto : Was your father an influence on your work?

Nahití : Undoubtedly yes, I greatly admire my father, he is a great artist one of the best in his style, he has always been a reference in the musical field, I have learned that with discipline, perseverance, dedication and love for what you do you can achieve the proposed goals, my father currently has more than 50 years of uninterrupted artistic career, which shows that his formula works.

Augusto : Tell us a little about your career as a teacher

Nahití : In my classes I usually teach the origin of the dance to be worked on, the main body movements, basic steps and choreographic sequences, depending on the level, as well as breathing and physical preparation for each dance. I also introduce the student to the personal search so that he can achieve his own style and projection.

Augusto : We express, how was your work as Artistic Director of Vasallos de Venezuela?

Nahití : I like to stimulate the members mentally, we create a world together with some characteristics and rules. For me, each body has a story to tell, each one has particular movements acquired through their experiences that they can contribute, so I try to find ways in which the members can identify with the motivation, get involved and feel willing to propose. What I seek is to find during the process, movements that adapt to what I propose.

I also like to work a lot on muscle memory through repetition, to make the movements non-robotic. We work deeply, the gestures and the staging is important for each one to take out and project their personal style.

Augusto: Do you have future projects?

Nahití: Many projects, tours, concert that I won’t tell you details for cabal hahaha…

Augusto : Explain your experience as manager of Coco y su Sabor Matancero

Nahití : It is really wonderful, seeing how successful my father’s career has been and now his Manager, it is a great commitment, all the years of experience in the artistic world made me worthy of this responsibility. In this short time we managed to record his new record production entitled “Con Todo” in which we managed to bring together great artists such as: Mariana “La Sonera”, Wilmer Lozano, Rodrigo Mendoza and El moreno Michael, and we have already visited several countries for its promotion. , United States, Chile, Peru and Panama, we have just performed a concert in one of the best venues in Venezuela, just as we performed its baptism.

Nahití Ortega, has a long history at the National and International level, has an extraordinary personality that transmits joy, good vibes, harmony, feeling for what she does that comes straight from the heart, taking into account her particularity and professionalism of the teachings of her dad.

He began his activities in the field of Popular Culture by participating in the Agrupación la Patria y su Gente led by Professor Freddy Medina for three years; In 1994, she participated as a special guest of the Agrupación Autochthono de la Vega in the “Barcelos Festival”, belonging to the CIOF – UNESCO circuit, in the countries of Portugal and Spain.

In 1995 he joined the group with Venezuela directed by Professor Oswaldo Lares in which he worked for four years, participating in the “Caribbean Festival 95” in the cities of Cancun, Cuzumel, Playa El Carmen, State of Quintana Roo – Mexico, in 1996, he carried out the Afro-Venezuelan percussion workshop in the Popular Culture workshops of the Bigott Foundation, dictated by Professor Jesús Paiva, with a duration of three years.

She participated as a dancer in the Oscar D´ León video clip “Mírala Como se Menea”, as well as in the Venezuelan film “Juegos Bajo la Luna”, directed by Mauricio Walerstein.

In the teaching area, he has taught traditional dance workshops at a national and international level.

As well as accessories for dance, body language, dance therapy, clothing, basic stage makeup, artistic makeup, staging, among others.

Among the institutions in which he has given workshops we can mention some such as: Popular Culture Workshops of the Bigott Foundation – Venezuela University of the Arts in Lima – Peru.

Simon Rodriguez University. Nucleus Barquisimeto -Venezuela

She has done work as a dancer, choreographer, image consultant and producer for various groups.

In 1993, he joined the group “Vasallos del Sol” of the Bigott Foundation under the direction of Professor Omar Orozco.

In 2000 she joined Danzas Itanera, as a dancer, costume designer and image consultant for the group.

He has shared the stage with artists such as: Serenata Guayanesa, Un Solo Pueblo, Francisco Pacheco y su pueblo, Simón Díaz, Cruz Tenepe, Vidal Colmenares, Cristóbal Jiménez, Gurrufio, El cuarteto, Caracas Youth Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of the Armed Forces , Coco y Su Sabor Matancero, Oscar de León, Guaco, Invisible Friends, Aquiles Báez among others.

He has toured the entire national territory, appearing on countless stages with participation in international festivals. In 2009, she participated as a dancer and workshop facilitator at the X Meeting for the promotion and dissemination of the intangible heritage of Ibero-American countries “Fiestas and Rituals” in Lima, Peru. Currently Manager of Coco y Su Sabor Matancero and dance and artistic director of the Vasallos de Venezuela group.

Photos courtesy of Nahití Ortega