

The vibrant salsa nights in Los Angeles offer countless events that make the most unsociable leave home and put the most serious to dance, but there are always some that stand out among the rest for the quality of the groups and shows offered to the public. The case in question is about the series of concerts performed by the Autry Museum, which has been baptized as Sizzling Summer Nights.
After a break due to the pandemic and without the possibility of enjoying good live music, there is still an anxiety to making up for lost time and dancing to the sound of the best hits of the bands preferred by the public from the area.
In the year 2023, the Sizzling Summer Nights are back thanks to some of the best orchestras in California and have proven to be a real success, even more than in previous years.
Join us to see the details of this weekly night of Latin music at the Autry Museum of The American West and the great success it has been since its first day on August 3.

The first group to play in the series of performances offered by the Autry Museum was Chino Espinoza Y Los Dueños Del Son, which had already been there in previous years before the pandemic. This means that its members already know perfectly well how things have been handled at the museum with respect to this type of event.
In the previous days, it could be seen how Chino Espinoza, the central figure in the orchestra, was inviting the public to join the event across the institution’s social media platforms while he was wearing a white shirt with black pants and an enthusiastic smile on his lips.
In any orchestra’s performance, it can be seen that Chino and the rest of his musicians always give the best of them, so we knew that August 3 was not going to be an exception. Hopefully, it will be repeated for other opportunities.
The second date of this series of shows hired a friend from house: Carlos Navarro and his Son Y Clave Orchestra. The artist and the rest of the accompanying musicians have been in charge of sprucing up the night of August 10 this year with their great flavor.
In talks with Carlos, we have learned that the sound quality offered by the venue was simply extraordinary, which made the experience even better for them and those attending the show. The crowd was delighted and wanting more for the coming weeks.

For August 17, Colombian Latin Soul Band was chosen to liven things up and keep the audience engaged at the Autry Museum every week throughout the month.
In the social networks of the group, you can see some photos of the band members while performing on the stage assembled by the Autry Museum for the show they were about to give surrounding themselves with dancing fans eager to see them play on a beautiful, sunny summer afternoon.
Leading up to the show, they also shared a bit of their rehearsals to make sure everything was in place for the special occasion.

Vibroso ”Salsa With Vibes” is the orchestra that will be performing on the afternoon of August 24 to delight all those present with their talent. As of writing this article, the show had not yet taken place, so we cannot give further details. However, we have no doubts that it will be as successful as the other three salsa afternoons at the museum.
The schedule is expected to be exactly the same under the same protocol.
Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca on Sizzling Summer Nights
As was the case of the previous group, this orchestra has not yet performed, which will happen on August 31 at the same time as the previous ones. However, we can highlight that Makina Loca is a group founded in 1990 by Congolese musician Ricardo Lemvo, who came to the United States a few decades ago to pursue a college career and ended up working on Latin music.
Lemvo has said that he seeks to celebrate life and make people forget their worries with his music, so we do not doubt that his show at the Autry Museum will be what many need to relieve themselves of their troubles and daily stress.

As regards details on all these events, they were taking place every Thursday in August from 6 pm to 9 pm at the Autry Museum of The American West. These performances were accompanied by dance classes with the professional instructor April Connella who taught her best moves to the attendees during these days.
In addition, the cost of each general ticket is $25, but members have the opportunity to pay only $5. On this point, it is important to stress that no cash is not accepted at the door, so the best option is to buy directly from the museum’s official website and, thus, avoid bad times when attending any of the concerts.
Finally, attendees are allowed to access the museum galleries and there is a special dance floor, especially for children, so there is entertainment for everyone.
From International Salsa Magazine, we invite the entire Los Angeles community to continue supporting all these Latin music activities so that the Autry Museum and other such institutions can continue to offer activities like these in the future.
Read also: The void left by Felix ”Pupi” Legarreta
Domingo ”Tito” Gutiérrez is one of those names that can never be missing when talking about Latin music in the United States, since the contribution made by this musician has been invaluable. That is why we found this to be a good opportunity to look back on the trajectory of this great artist, who has demonstrated again and again that the language of music is universal and crosses borders.

Tito Gutiérrez was born in Guánica southwest of the ”island of Enchantment”, Puerto Rico on August 16, 1957 into the heart of a culturally Latin family, especially in the case of music. However, he moved with his parents to New York City when he was about 11 years old.
Given that little Domingo had to start making friends again after the move, he took every opportunity to interact with other children of the same age, which led him to meet a group of kids enthusiastically playing instruments in a park.
The boy had never played an instrument before in his life, so he felt a little intimidated at first, but that did not stop him from approaching them and saying he wanted to play with them. When asked him what instrument he played, he replied that he played the bongo, since he noticed that the improvised band did not have one.
This is how Domingo joined them, started playing the bongo and continued playing it until he became a professional of this instrument.

In 1972, he finally ventured into music at a professional level with the same instrument with which he began in this world during his childhood and it was the group El Son De Hoy that gave him his first job opportunity.
Not much time would pass before he became a musical director and founder of an orchestra when he created his own group called Orquesta Borinqueya. At the same time, he was also working with the Orquesta Alianza Boricua, with which he was recording a studio album.
For a period of approximately five or six years, the artist has been recording with countless local orchestras with which he has continued to make a career and expand his musical curriculum, such as Orquesta La Crítica, Orquesta Nelson Feliciano, Orquesta Crisis, Orquesta Guainía, among others.
In 1978, he went to live in New York and did his thing with the bongo along with some groups such as Grupo Melao, Conjunto Avicú and Peter Brown Jazz Cuartet.

In the late 90’s, his fame had grown so much that he has had the opportunity to work in orchestras of international stature such as Orquesta La Terrífica, Orquesta Costa Brava, Orquesta de Simón Pérez, Orquesta de Roberto Ortiz and more. He has also shared the stage with Ismael Miranda, José Alberto ”El Canario”, Andy Montañez, Cano Estremera, among others.
Today, he plays for La Sonora Ponceña of Puerto Rico, ”45 Aniversario” being the first project he recorded with the group and has participated in a number of albums with this great team.
While on tour with the different orchestras to which he has belonged, he was able to visit a large number of countries such as Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Spain, France, Italy, among others.
Parallel to all this, Domingo has his own line of bongos which he named ”Tito Gutierrez Bongo Series”. This line is part of an initiative of the Reyes Family, who are a group of Colombian artisans who are dedicated to designing bongos of different colors and sizes.
Read also: Jerry Rivas, career, and support for the Spaha Salsa Gallery Museum

Johnny Cruz Correspondent for ISM in New York City
Latin America/ Puerto Rico / San Juan
Recognized as one of the most innovative musicians of his generation, Humberto Ramírez grew up in a home where the music of Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane, Lee Morgan, Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez, Cal Tjader and Machito was heard.
His father, who is a saxophonist and conductor, was the one who inspired him to play the flugelhorn at age 11.
By the age of 14, Humberto was performing professionally with his father’s orchestra and at the same time taking orchestration courses with bassist Inocencio “Chencho” Rivera.

At the age of 18, after graduating from the Escuela Libre de Música de San Juan, his interest in composing and arranging music motivated him to enroll at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in music, then studied composition and orchestration for film and television at the Dick Grove School of Music in Los Angeles, California.
In 1985, and for a period of four years, Humberto worked with the Willie Rosario orchestra, one of the most popular bands in Puerto Rico.
In 1989 he became the musical director of Tony Vega.
His admirable ability as a producer and arranger led him to make important collaborations with great figures in music.
In 1999 he took over the musical direction of merengue and tropical music star Olga Tañón.
His work as a producer, arranger, composer and director for tropical music artists such as Willie Colón, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Marc Anthony, India, Domingo Quiñones, Lourdes Robles, Rubén Blades, Brenda K. Starr, Tito Nieves, Víctor Manuelle and others , has established him as one of the busiest arrangers and producers in the industry.
He has also had the responsibility of directing the concerts of important exponents of reggaeton such as Daddy Yankee, Tito El Bambino and Zion, which undeniably demonstrates his broad musical mastery in various genres.
His great dream was always to develop a career in Jazz. In 1992, Humberto Ramírez debuted as group leader in his first production for the Tropijazz label entitled “Jazz Project”.
Since then he has shared the stage with important jazz musicians such as Freddie Hubbard, Justo Almario, Alex Acuña, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Tito Puente, Hilton Ruiz, Michel Camilo, Herbie Hancock, Eddie Gómez, Michael Brecker, Paquito D ‘Rivera, Chucho Valdés, Ray Santos, Gato Barbieri, Terence Blanchard and Herb Alpert, with whom he recorded the album “Passion Dance”.
His music has received rave reviews from prestigious publications such as Down Beat, Jazz Times, Jazziz, Latin Beat, CD Review, Hispanic Magazine, New York Daily News, The Plain Dealer, Miami Herald, The Boston Globe, and Austin Chronicle.
From the launch of his first record proposal, Humberto Ramírez has established himself as the most important exponent and promoter of Jazz in Puerto Rico.
He has recorded 26 albums in which he has experimented with all kinds of formats: duets, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, octets and “Big Bands”.
His collaborations with the group Rumbantela and with the queen of filin, Lucy Fabery have received great praise from specialized critics. In 2005 he founded his own record label, Nilpo Music and last year he began to present his own Jazz festival: Puerto Rico Jazz Jam, marking a new stage in his musical career.

This year 2011 celebrates its 20 years cultivating the difficult expression of Jazz, a career that began with its debut as a leader in the first edition of the Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Fest in June 1991. This year 2016 celebrates its 25 years.
Humberto Ramírez has received 4 Grammy Award nominations as a producer. His first nomination was for the album “Nueva Cosecha” by Willie Rosario in 1985, then for “Hecho en Puerto Rico” by Willie Colón in 1993, “Tony Vega” in 1996 and “Olga Viva, Viva Olga” by Olga Tañón, which earned him the Grammy Award in 2000.
In 2013 he was nominated for a Latin Grammy for his album Sentimentales with Lucy Fabery.
Among the awards he has received are 6 Platinum records, 12 Gold records, 4 “Visionary Awards” and six “Tu Música” awards. He has received tributes from Ohio State Representative Dennis J. Kucinich and from the Senate of Puerto Rico.
In 1997 he had the honor of entertaining the inauguration of the President of the United States, Bill Clinton in Washington, D.C. In October 2009 he was invited to play at the White House for President Barack Obama.
After having received several awards and nominations, as well as having recorded his own record successes, Humberto Ramírez shows that his creative explosion is still in its infancy.
https://www.humbertoramirez.com/#home-section
https://www.facebook.com/Humberto-Ram%C3%ADrez-Jazz-Project-110525453672/