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Spanish Harlem Salsa Gallery and Latin music

The Spanish Harlem Salsa Gallery is one of those places where every salsa lover in New York should visit since there is plenty to see here. This museum has all kinds of items donated by many renowned artists or relatives of some who had passed away. This collection of valuable possessions has resulted in a set of priceless objects that will bow anyone visiting the facilities of such a special institution out of water. 

The Spanish Harlem Salsa Gallery, also known as Spaha Salsa Gallery, can be defined as an institution of a cultural nature whose main purpose is to serve as a reminder of how great our culture is, especially our music. Both residents and visitors of East Harlem, New York, can learn about the salsa genre and its roots as long as they desire. All thanks to a lot of tools, information and many initiatives with which those interested will know all kinds of interesting facts about salsa first hand. 

Another of the great objectives pursued by this place is the quest for knowledge about Latin music and the artists involved to offer it to anyone who decides to visit its facilities. That is why both its president Johnny Cruz and the team that helps him have been responsible for creating an inclusive and diverse gallery in which you can appreciate how far Hispanic talent has come by the hand of its top stars. 

Role of the Spaha Salsa Gallery in the dissemination of Latin culture 

The role played by the Spaha Salsa Gallery in the dissemination of Latin culture is very important, since these institutions are the ones that manage to arouse the interest of the inhabitants of Harlem and other nearby sectors towards one of the most representative musical genres of Latinity. This has made many other cultural institutions to use this gallery in order to awaken a higher interest in its own activities, which shows extensive cooperation between those who seek to promote anything Latin-related at all costs. 

Fortunately, our work is not that complicated to carry out because too many tourists visit New York every day and many of them know that this city was the birthplace of the biggest salsa movement in history, so they are always looking for cultural sports in which you can find information about this set of rhythms and how it emerges in the public arena.   

Who Johnny Cruz is 

Johnny Cruz is the founder of the Spaha Salsa Gallery, but there are many other facets by which this talented Puerto Rican is known in the entertainment industry. Cruz is a famous musician and record producer who has worked and make friends with a wide number of artists from all genres, by providing him with the platform to create a true sanctuary for Latin music lovers. 

One interesting fact about the museum is that it is located on the plot where a hardware business owned by Johnny’s father used to function, which was made into something completely different thanks to the genius of his son long after. Today, that place contains several of the most invaluable objects in the history of salsa and whose relationship with some of the greatest figures of the genre is legendary.   

Link to the official website of the Spaha Salsa gallery: spahasalsagallery.com

By: Johnny Cruz correspondent of International Salsa Magazine in New York City, New York

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Mike Arroyo 40/20 The Concert (The past July 19, 2021, San Juan, Puerto Rico)

Using Jazz to praise God, guitarist Mike Arroyo performed yesterday, Sunday, July 18, 2021 at the René Marqués Hall of the Centro de Bellas Artes in Santurce.  As Mike himself said in front of a packed hall, yesterday’s concert became a dream come true.

At 4:50 p.m. the first call was heard over the loudspeaker.  Seven minutes later, the second call was heard at full volume, which interrupted the public’s excitement as they began to settle into their seats.  Five minutes after the scheduled time, the third and last call was heard; which immediately gave way to the greeting of the moderator already on stage, but not before opening the show with the usual invocation.  It became clear that although the concert honored Mike Arroyo’s career, during that time the guitarist has dedicated himself body and soul to praise God.

The title 40/20 originates from the 40 years since Mike Arroyo acquired his first electric guitar, an Ovation Thunderhead® that had belonged to the tres player Nelson Gonzalez.

The acquisition of the guitar is still an enigma difficult to explain in earthly terms.  Thus life, this shocking story, which in 1981 transformed the lives of Mike Arroyo and Nelson Gonzalez paved a path that 20 years later would see Mike’s first Jazz album, Straigth To Heaven (2001) see the light of day.  It would be good to bring up the guitar transaction for discussion, but not before exposing the provenance of the guitar.

Shortly before the transaction described here, Nelson Gonzalez lost his house with all the belongings in it due to a fire.  To Nelson’s surprise, the guitar, which later passed into Mike’s hands, was not only the only item to survive the fire, but remained intact.  That fact alone is incredible, but in the face of a structure that was totally destroyed it looks even more dramatic.  Nelson took the surviving item – his guitar – into storage.  However, the custodian of the guitar decided to dispose of it as payment in exchange for a service.  That third person who received the guitar as payment for that service, must have understood that the guitar had not been acquired in a lawful manner, so he sold it for $140.00 to a young Mike; who had to commit himself to pay small amounts until the agreed amount was paid off.

Shortly thereafter, already in the process of normalizing his life after that same fire that had spared the guitar, Nelson returned to reclaim the guitar from whoever had deposited it.  Since the custodian of the guitar no longer had it with him, Nelson set about the task of locating it. Nelson received information about the whereabouts of the guitar itself, which at that moment became – unsuspectingly – the link between the two musicians.  Nelson went to Mike Arroyo’s home where he saw with his own eyes the effort the young man had made to get his hands on that guitar.

The respectable Arroyo family explained, the young musician pleaded and Nelson Gonzalez decided to part with the guitar, the only material object that had survived the destruction of the Gonzalez home, to give it to Mike.  At that moment, Nelson became Mike’s musical godfather and the guitar became the divine plan that made Mike a pioneer in Sacred Jazz, a Latin rhythm of light and spiritual tonalities.  The surprise of the night was the presentation of Nelson Gonzalez with Mike Arroyo, eternally united by the musical instrument that was also the instrument of that divine plan that remains intact.

Mike is recognized in the music scene as a pioneer and precursor of “Christian Jazz” with 6 record productions and two video DVD productions. In 2017 he innovated the stages by performing a concert in the traditional format of “Jazz Organ Trio” being Brian Charette and Vince Ector the international guest musicians of that event that took place at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico.

Aware of the need to strengthen us as a people, through his “Jazz with a spiritual touch”; just as 40 years ago Nelson gave Mike that magical instrument, yesterday Mike gave the public a masterful concert, presented by BCC (Breñas Community Church).  It should be noted that BCC is the church where Mike has been pastor for 15 years.

The select group of accompanying musicians included the piano of Puerto Rico: Luis Marín, Gabriel Rodríguez, Jimmy Rivera, Héctor Matos on drums, José Nelson Ramírez, Tommy Lee on tumbadoras and Giovanny Rodríguez in his first performance with his former teacher -Luis Marín-.   I imagine that no one will be surprised if it is stated that Luis Marín’s chords were gravitating towards salsa, while Tommy Lee prophesied in correspondence on the leather of the tumbadoras.  Also singing were: Yanira Torres, Gilda González, Janet Hernández, Alma Galarza and Vanessa Rosado.

Photos: Miguel Rojas Candelario ©.

During these 40 years Mike has stood out musically with Christian groups and singers such as Renovación Cristiana, Abba Padre, Manuel Román among others and several recordings. He has participated with the Symphony Orchestra of PR, a Symphony Orchestra in the Dominican Republic, The Quique Talavera Orchestra in the Chucho Avellanet Show accompanying other singers such as Ismael Miranda, Braulio, Tito Rojas among others, The Pijuán Orchestra, where besides the Sextet, he also accompanied Danny Rivera and Wilkins. Mike also had the joy of dedicating a piece with his guitar to his favorite artist Jose Feliciano when he came to celebrate his 50th artistic anniversary in Puerto Rico. With his guitar he has participated in International Jazz Concerts and Festivals (PR, NY, Chicago, Curacao, among others) and has also performed in Germany.

Mike is also a musician/pastor of the Breñas Community Church (BCC) IDDPM.I. in Vega Alta for 15 years and Chaplain of the Police of PR. He is also a Music Teacher in his academy “Mike Arroyo Music” in his hometown of Vega Baja and is a Biomedical Engineer in Clinical Laboratories and Hospitals.

“Mike Arroyo 40/20 El Concierto” was dedicated to his graduating class of Lino Padrón Rivera High School of Vega Baja 1983 and to his “Padrino Musical” Nelson González.

Article of Interest: Tito Rodríguez, Jr. “The Palladium legacy lives on”

By: Bella Martinez “La Escritora Irreverente de La Salsa”

Puerto Rico

The Palladium legacy lives on

The idea of bringing together the three great Palladium orchestras in an innovative concept was the brainchild of Mario Grillo, better known in the music world as Machito, Jr. whom I had promised to address on the subject of the Big Three at the Palladium.

Here I share one of my dreams come true.  To be able to write about what I am passionate about is a great luxury, but to have these greats of music welcome me with so much affection to fulfill it is simply magic, fantasy and illusion.

Mario Grillo was born and grew up in a home that supported and sponsored his decision to become a musician.  However, his mother -Doña Hilda Torres (EPD)- forced him to practice one hour a day “the hard way” while she told him that being a musician was as serious as being a doctor or a “shyster”.  Mario Bauzá was his solfeggio teacher, since reading music was mandatory in his professional path.

At the age of ten he was already playing with his father’s orchestra.  When he was still in high school and only 15 years old, Mario Grillo was already the regular timbalero in Machito’s orchestra. However, Machito, Jr.’s career skyrocketed when he did not yet dream of being ready to become a bandleader.

In 1975, his uncles Mario Bauzá and Graciela Grillo Pérez left their Machito’s orchestra, forcing Machito to take action and rescue his orchestra.  Machito did not seem to be affected by the fact that Mario Bauzá’s replacement had not yet reached the age of majority.  At only 19 years old, Mario Grillo became a bandleader “a la cañona” as we say in Borinquen bella.

The new orchestra was affectionately called “Machito and his Kindergarten” since the musicians were youngsters hungry for musical experience.  Although Mario Grillo did not know it, the virtuoso timbalero had been preparing for this moment since he was only five years old when he had performed a timbal solo with none other than the “King of the Timbal”.

In 1982, at the age of 25, Mario Grillo directed and produced the recording of the 1983 Grammy winning album in the category of Best Latin Recording.  With great pride Mario adds that the recording was done in Holland and that the entire process was completed in four hours.  It is worth mentioning that Machito and His Salsa Big Band won against Julio Iglesias, José Feliciano, Willie Colón & Rubén Blades and Ray Barretto.

Here is a sample of the album in reference (Arrangement by Isidro Infante):

I ask you: How did the idea of establishing The Big 3 Palladium Orchestra come about?

Mario Grillo Torres, whose name honors the great Cuban jazzman -Mario Bauzá (EPD)- and whose nephew he is, tells us that the idea came out of desperation.  The booking agency of Mario Grillo’s orchestra found that its strongest market was rather in Europe and Scandinavia.  However, one bad day Mario Grillo had to face the possibility of modifying his orchestra.  His promoter suggested that he reduce the 16-piece orchestra to form a quintet or sextet to make the project more profitable.

Machito, Jr. laughingly recalls that he only knows about big orchestras, so he got down to work and started making phone calls.  He called Tito Puente’s widow:  Margie, Tito Rodriguez, Jr. and Tito Puente, Jr. Once Margie, Rodriguez, Jr. and Puente, Jr. agreed to ally with Machito, Jr. the latter returned to the booking agency in London to offer him three orchestras for the price of one.  Three calls were enough for Mario Grillo to return to counter negotiate with that promoter, offering him an irresistible orchestra.

The idea entailed a large orchestra with three timbaleros.  Each timbalero would play one third of the repertoire, corresponding to the repertoire of the Patriarch of the timbalero on duty.  That is to say, Mario would lead the orchestra during the performance of Machito’s orchestra repertoire; Tito Rodriguez, Jr. would lead the orchestra during the performance of El Inolvidable Tito Rodriguez’s orchestra repertoire prior to the closing in which Tito Puente, Jr. would lead the orchestra during the performance of the King of Timbal’s orchestra repertoire.  The booking agency representative had no choice but to give up the promoter’s original idea of reducing the large orchestra concept to form a smaller, more economical group, because no one offers three orchestras for the price of one.  And Mario is not a salesman.  As an important detail, the tour began after 15 concerts were confirmed, without the orchestra having posters, much less CDs to promote.  And “in a crazy way”, as Mario Grillo describes it, they began to fulfill the “stews”.  The first places to host that non-promotional musical tour concert were Columbia University and the Verizon Center.  From there they went on to England, France, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Latvia.

A year into the tour, Mario Grillo was asked by the booking agency to promote a tangible during the next tour.  The Big Three Palladium Orchestra, Performing the Music of Tito Rodríguez, Machito and Tito Puente was born.

This CD was recorded live at the Blue Note during two concerts that were “packed”, as Mario Grillo told me with emotion.  The recording of this masterful production was coordinated from a rolling recording studio that monitored 48 microphones.  The long awaited compact disc became the promotional item for the ten years that were added to that historic tour, which initially consisted of only fifteen concerts.  The first concert of this historic reunion was in 2000.  This year marks the 21st anniversary of the establishment of the Palladium’s Big Three Orchestra.  Having come of age, this orchestra has the repertoire of the owners of the mambo.  This results in more than three hundred record productions, which adds up to more than three thousand songs and no room for exaggeration; so as Mario Grillo declares: “Anything can happen”.

During the eleven years of touring Europe -Finland, Germany, Spain and France-, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco -to mention a few places- Mario Grillo repeated what he did with Machito’s orchestra; this time the legacy sounds through The Big Three Palladium Orchestra.  For Machito, Jr. one of the most emotional moments was when they came to Puerto Rico for the Jazz Festival.  For the first time, the heirs to the mambo era – Tito Rodriguez, Jr., Machito, Jr. and Tito Puente, Jr. – teamed up again in their three-orchestras-in-one concept to bring the Palladium legacy to Puerto Rico.  In fact, between laughter and mischief Mario states that his father always insisted that: “the best interpreters of Cuban music are the Puerto Ricans” adding that this assertion guaranteed him tremendous fire within the Cuban community.

When I asked Mario about his favorite instrument, he commented with a loud laugh: “women, I’m malamañoso”.  Once we returned to the line of conversation, he added that he has been a TOCA artist for ten years.  With a serious tone he added that he is very proud of his colleagues, fellow artistic staff members within TOCA Percussion.  Among that list, he mentioned Tito Rodriguez, Jr. and the late Jimmie Morales, who, according to Mario Grillo, used to make a fire out of two coffee cans no matter what brand of instrument it was.

As you can see, each of the “Palladium’s Big Three” left behind a timbalero son, coincidentally.  These three timbaleros have made it their mission to keep the Palladium legacy alive and well.

With deep pride, Mario Grillo told me that in 2019, the 80th anniversary of the first Machito orchestra, established in 1939, was commemorated.  The average seniority of the musicians who remain in the orchestra since its establishment is forty years.  In fact, there are anecdotes that show Luis “Perico” Ortiz as an alumnus of Machito’s orchestra.  It is said that when “Perico” was part of Mongo Santamaría’s orchestra, he would go to play with Machito’s orchestra during his days off.  Another alumnus of Machito’s orchestra is the bongos player of the Gran Combo de Puerto Rico: Richie Bastar, who as a teenager became the substitute bongos player of that school orchestra.  With the privileged memory that characterizes him, Mario Grillo states with admiration that in 1979 Machito identified excellence in Isidro Infante -also a former student of Machito- when they played in Finland.

Although Machito, Jr. has not insisted on being Machito’s son, it is not possible to forget that he is the son of one of the greats of mambo, creator of Cubop and salsa, so it is not surprising that his father is still a topic of conversation in musical circles.

Here is one of my favorites (Arrangement by René Hernández)

 Website: Tito Rodríguez, Jr. “The Palladium legacy lives on”

WebsiteBy: Bella Martinez “The Irreverent Salsa Writer” Puerto Rico

WebSite: Bella Martinez

 

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