  |
AFRICA |
||
|
|
DIRECTORY OF NIGHTCLUBS | |
|
|
|
|
 Avenida 4 de Fevereiro, Marginal de Luanda, Edifício Deana Day Spa Luanda, Angola +244 940 814 393 |
||
|
|
DIRECTORY OF NIGHTCLUBS |
|
 Suite 4, 680 Musgrave Rd, Essenwood, Durban, 4001, South Africa +27 83 376 0283 |
|
|
As all our readers already know, this section is always looking for the best Latin talents to give them the exposure they deserve and today is the case of New York producer and musician Edwin Ortiz, who was kind enough to share a bit of his story with us.
Edwin is an artist who was born in the East Harlem section of New York, where he began his musical career with the full works and spent most of his life, but left that city with his pregnant wife to raise their son in a different environment. It was there that they moved to Washington DC, where the musician has continued to live and pursued his career to this day.
Below, we will provide more info about the artist’s career during these moments and how he managed to become the great bandleader and musician he his today.
Just as other great musicians, Edwin studied at the prestigious Johnny Colon Music School, the institution in which he learned a lot of what he knows today. His first lessons are focused to teaching how to play the flute alongside Mario Rivera, which can be said to be the first contact the young man had with music. However, it was not this instrument that would capture his attention, but the bongo.
His brother Edgar Ortiz was an acclaimed bongocero in the Orquesta Las Siete Potencias and the Tito Puente Orchestra, so Edwin already had a lot to learn from. However, it was with acclaimed percussionist Manny Oquendo with whom he turned professional and decided to dedicate himself fully to the bongo as his main instrument, to the point that it is the only one he still plays today.
Outside of his work as a musician, Edwin is in charge of everything about the management of his most recent orchestra Edwin Ortiz Y la Mafia del Guaguancó.
Before even thinking about founding his own orchestra, Edwin was involved in a number groups of different genres throughout the Washington DC Metro area, whose main genre was cumbia at the time. In that sense, the artist wanted a change in his style and to do something different from what he was playing at the time, although he knew it was ging to be hard.
His big break came when the director of the band he was in at the time was going to move to the state of Florida, so he left Edwin in charge of the group in order to make the changes he believed were pertinent. That is when he took the opportunity to introduce salsa, a genre he had always been passionate about, in the metropolitan area with the resources he had on hand at the time. He invested in some 25 salsa arrangements and released a new version of the classic ”Olga Y Margara”, which was the first of many hits to come for his career.
Later, when he was finally creating an orchestra of his own, he took pains to find the best musicians possible, many of whom were recommended by friends and seen playing by Edwin himself. However, he would soon realize that the best musicians were not necessarily the best pieces he required for his band, which made him change his approach a bit when choosing the team that would accompany him in his project.
At first, the project was called Orquesta La Romana, but it was not long before Edwin decided to call it ‘‘Edwin Ortiz y La Mafia del Guaguancó’’. This change was due to the fact that Bobby Quesada, a musician whom Edwin greatly admired, had an orchestra with the same name, but it had already disbanded by that time. He always liked the name ”La Mafia del Guaguancó” so he gave it to his own group. He knew how risky this move was and the displeasure of some of its members with the change, but fortunately it was worth it.
Today, the musicians of the orchestra are affectionately known as ”the mafiosos” in the Washington DC Metro area, so this has become part of the band’s identity.
One of their most recent musical works is entitled ”Diferente A Las Demás” and it is a tribute to women that was released in March, the month dedicated to them.
With respect to this song, Edwin was telling us that he and his partner and the lead singer of the band Vivian Mojica had the opportunity to meet the talented musician Héctor Luis Pagán, who kindly invited them to his home and shared with them part of his repertoire, including the song ”Diferente A Las Demás”. Edwin loved it since the first time he heard it and Pagan gave it to him with pleasure. That is how the orchestra got down to work and recorded their own version of the song.
The first thing the bandleader did was look for the right arranger for it, who was Ramón Sánchez, and the producer he had always wanted to work with, Isidro Infante, whom Edwin has known for more than 30 years.
Then came the recording, mixing and remastering. In the end, the chosen date was 1 March of this year as a tribute to International Women’s Day, achieving a result that made everyone in the orchestra very happy.
Read also: Vocalist of La Moderna Tradición Eduardo Herrera and his fascinating story
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:
Irma Kaché is a talented singer born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, who has a very interesting story behind her, so we have set about communicating with her to talk about the most important facts of her life and career.
Irma Ortiz, the artist’s real name, shows us that it is possible to achieve a lot with little whenever there is the will and desire to get what we want. What she tells us below proves it.
In her native Puerto Rico, music was always in Irma’s home since she was very young, as her mother was a singer in a radio station and won talent shows, but all that changed when she got married and had children, since it was not seemly for a wife participate in such activities.
However, she and her siblings inherited the taste for music from their mother and she always instilled in them everything related to it. This is how the children began to play and sing the songs they listened to at home, many of which belonged to Los Condes, Los Panchos and other trios from that time.
Although Irma’s mother was proud that her children played music as one of their main hobbies, she did not think they would follow it professionally. Irma’s older brothers already have their own orchestras and one of them calls himself Julio Kaché. That is where she took the name of Irma Kaché.
While it is true that music had a very important place in her life, Irma finished high school and studied social work at the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico, so she did not practice her great passion at that time. She only limited herself to imitate her favorite artists of the time such as Yolandita Monjes, Ednita Nazario, Sophy, among others.
Upon graduation, she moved to New York with the hope of singing professionally, but she became a single mother and found it difficult to have evening performances with a small child. In addition to that, her son presented certain language problems and had to attend therapy constantly. She only had her older sister’s support, who is also a singer by profession.
On top of that, breaking into salsa as a woman was very complicated in a world dominated by men.
Just as Irma met ”dream merchants” who caused her to lose time and money with empty promises that went nowhere, she also met people who supported her and contributed a lot to her career as the composer and singer Miguel Angel Piñeiro, who is a very prominent figure in the salsa scene.
Piñeiro discovered her on the local TV show Diamante Show, contacted her and they became good friends for a while. At that time, she was working with a record company, but things were not going as she wanted, so she let her new friend guide her in many aspects of her career. Piñeiro accompanied her to the studio, rehearsed with her, introduced her to important people in the industry and many other things that helped her become the singer she is today.
Among those people she met thanks to Piñeiro, we can mention arranger Harry Rios, who was the one who made each and every one of the arrangements for her new album and played a pivotal role in its final result.
In addition to this, he made a small monetary investment in Tumbao Media Productions, which is a marketing and PR agency, which has been highly beneficial for his career and the chance to become known to a wider audience. In addition to this, the work she has done in her own social networks to create her own community around her music.
Irma has been part of the Orquesta Salsa Libre NY since 2008 without uninterrupted, although the group has been through hard times such as the pandemic, which caused the loss of its most important members. This led Miguel, director of this orchestra, to seek new musicians to replace the previous ones.
The pandemic had also prevented them from performing live for a very long time and Irma was anxious to return to sing in front of an audience, so she talked to Miguel to remedy the situation and be back to the stage as soon as possible. This is how Miguel, who was also Irma’s producer, contacted the Sound of Brazil (SOBs) nightclub to study the possibility of performing a small concert there. So, Miguel and Irma accepted the venue’s proposal and got to work.
In fact, the Puerto Rican singer and her orchestra performed a wonderful show at SOBs with renowned producer and vocalist Javier Luis, who was already experienced in singing in that place and many others of its kind, so most of the responsibility fell on his shoulders. He was the one who made the arrangements for the show and sent her copies of the emails so that she could see how the organization of a show like theirs was handled.
In the end, the performance was a success and Irma learned a lot from this experience, which would help her to replicate the right steps on other occasions. In addition, that night opened many doors for both of them.
Read also: The road to success for Venezuelan harpist and cultural entrepreneur Ángel Tolosa
Cuban musicians have always found the way to stand out in the entertainment world thanks to their talent and commitment and one of those examples is Ivan Camblor, tres player and vocalist with whom we have had the privilege to talk about his career and what was achieved with the group led by him right now, which is Pellejo Seco.
During the conversation, the artist elaborated on a few topics we found relevant to discuss and we were pleased to hear some of the most important data of one of the most important Cuban son groups in the Bay Area today.
As is the case of many other artists of his kind, Ivan showed a very early interest in music, specifically since he was at school in his hometown, Havana, Cuba. He defines himself as a self-taught composer who began his musical learning on the street, while he attended classes like any child his age.
From a very young age, many veteran musicians saw in him the enormous potential he had for music, so they began teaching him all they knew, leading him to the path of Cuban son and traditional Cuban music. Today, these genres is still his north after so many decades.
The Felix Varela School of Music
When he was old enough, Iván attended the Félix Varela School of Music, where he studied music appreciation theory, but unfortunately the island’s economic situation affected that part of his learning. Over time, the conditions of the institute started to worsen, making many teachers resign and leave students without chances to continue their studies, including Ivan, who could not see the classes he wanted because of the lack of staff.
Being unable to study what he wanted, Ivan decided to continue learning on his own with the musical groups he had contact with and that is how it continued until today.
His singing, composition and ability to play the Cuban tres came with the experience he acquired on the street and with friends who knew more about music than he did. He refers to guitarist and tres player Octavio Sánchez ”Cotán” and El Niño Rivera as his greatest teachers and influences.
With the experience gained, he had the opportunity to go through all the Cuban music companies, since there were not many tres players at that time and tres teaching was very new.
Just as Iván was in several groups, he also had the opportunity to compose original music for films and such was the case of the film ”Hacerse El Sueco” directed by his great friend Edesio Alejandro, who contacted him to support him in the musical part of the production.
It is then when he proposed him to write four or five original tracks to be used for the film, but Ivan did not mind getting credit, but helping his great friend with his project, so all the material is under his label Orula Music.
However, he is grateful for the experience and the opportunity to help a good friend who needed his talent at that moment.
Ivan remembers his coming to the United States as one of the most difficult things he had to do, since it is not easy to leave his roots and everything he knows to seek a different kind of future in other lands.
At first, Ivan was not at all convinced of this decision, but his then partner and mother of his only son made him see that it was the best for them to leave Cuba and go to the United States to try their luck, to which the artist finally agreed.
For many years, the tres player thought the worst of his host country because of the ideas the he grew up with in Cuba, but upon arrival, he found that the reality was very different from the propaganda he was bombarded with in his childhood and youth.
Once he was there, he started working on the area of music that he liked most since he was in Cuba, composition. It was then that the idea of forming his own musical group started going round his head.
Ivan conceived Pellejo Seco as a project in which he would pay homage to the Cuban community, so he tried to find the best musicians for the task. One of them was Cuban trumpeter Marcos Diaz, Puerto Rican Hector Lugo, trumpeter Mario Silva, Liban Montoya, Mexican singer Rogelio Maya and singer German Donatien. This is the original group with which the artist started his band, but others have already joined other orchestras or have started something on their own.
That was more than 20 years ago and, today, Pellejo Seco has managed to consolidate itself as one of the main Cuban music groups in the Bay Area. Now, it is the most required traditional Cuban music sextet in the area.
As for the name of the band, Ivan chose the name ”Pellejo Seco” as a tribute to the Cuban peasants whose skin is hard and dry as leather due to the sun and the working conditions that they are exposed to.
Read also: Israel Tanenbaum from The Latinbaum Jazz Ensemble in ISM
