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His beginnings

As we all know, the United States has been the birthplace of a large number of Latin music stars who are dedicated to this group of musical genres in order to stay true to their roots. Such is the case of Angel Papo Vazquez, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but much of his training occurred in Puerto Rico, so he has always had a very special connection with the Island of Enchantment. 

As a 14-year-old teenager, it was his uncle who recommended him to the first band in which he participated. It was around this time that he met famed trumpet player Jimmy Purvis, who would be his biggest inspiration to focus on jazz and start to show interest in trombone. The following year, the boy had already acquired enough experience to perform with local orchestras and accompany renowned artists such as Eddie Palmieri. 

A few years later, he decided to move to New York, where he would rack up most of his musical accomplishments to date. It was there that he performed and recorded along with some of the greatest Latin musicians such as Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, Ray Barreto, Larry Harlow and many others. He was hardly 20 years old when he had already toured the world and showed his talent to all types of audiences he could find on the way. 

His groups and orchestras

Another reason why he is so well known is for being one of the founding members of Ford Apache and Conjunto Libre de Jerry Gonzalez, but these are just some of the groups of which he was part. He was also in Tito Puente’s Latin Jazz Ensemble. It was with the King of Timbales with whom he achieved recognition as a lead trombonist and experimented a lot with jazz, a genre for which he was already fascinated at a very young age. 

After all the experience gained so far, Vasquez was able to start merging certain Afro-Caribbean rhythms that allowed him to innovate in jazz and Latin music in general. He was based on many of the things he learned and heard in Puerto for this. 

As early as the 1980s, Papo was mixing bomba jazz, which is basically a mix of jazz and traditional Puerto Rican bomba. In the 90’s, he recorded his first album as a bandleader and collaborated with a lot of Latin jazz artists who greatly appreciated his talent, resulting in great discographic works that are still remembered to this day. One of them was the one he made with certain New York personalities, which is a live recording that included the participation of recognized figures such as American saxophonist Michael Brecker, New York bassist Andy Gonzalez and many more. 

This project was called Pirates & Trobadours – At the point Volume 1 and evolved as such that it include more musicians who had no trouble joining the trombonist in this adventure. The group that made the album did many tours and performed at music festivals all over the world. They were so successful that they continued to make new editions throughout the years. In fact, one of Vasquez’s latest albums was Papo Vázquez Mighty Pirates Troubadours – Chapter 10: Breaking Cover, which was released in 2020. 

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

How Luis González began his artistic career

Luis González is one of those artists who really make Puerto Ricans proud of being born in the Island of Enchantment. The fascinating story of this boricua begins in March 1954 when he was born in the town of Arecibo, located on the north coast of Puerto Rico, the country from which he moved to look for new opportunities on U.S. soil, starting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was in this city where he spent most of his childhood and began his artistic career in the Youth Orchestra of this place.   

A few years later, he returned to his native country and was notable for being the trumpet player of the Orquesta Concepto Latino de Arecibo, accompanying a big number of artists such as Celia Cruz, Adalberto Santiago and many others. After completing his studies at the Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee, he moved to New York, where he was part of many famous orchestras and worked with renowned artists such as Ray Barreto (whom many consider him his mentor) and Luis Perico Ortiz. Back in Puerto Rico, he worked with La Mulenze, Bobby Valentín, Willie Rosario, Roberto Roena, among other stars. 

It was not until 2009 when he finally decided to give life to his own orchestra which he called Luis González Y Su Orquesta el Tsunami de La Salsa consisting of a total of 12 musicians with a long international career and an uncanny talent. At this time, it is seen as one of the best salsa orchestras in Puerto Rico in its history. The following year, he released what would be his first musical work with his new orchestra entitled Tributo A Un Gigante, which included the collaboration with Luis Perico Ortiz, Adalberto Santiago, Paquito Guzmán, Toñito Vázquez and others. This record production was recognized as one of the most outstanding of that year. 

Recent years

In 2015, he achieved the same feat with his second production Si te Preguntan…, which allowed him to gain great notoriety in the public and the media dedicated to promoting salsa in various parts of the world. 

Years later, González would be inducted into the Puerto Rico Music Hall of Fame thanks to his more than 45 years of musical career, but that was not all. The artist has also received other important recognition from cultural and musical institutions in his native country. Not to mention that he is a member of the Latin Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (Latin Grammy), getting to participate in the commissions that choose the nominees in some categories. 

In 2020, under the Carnival of Barranquilla, the trumpet player was selected as a member of the jury at the 2020 Orchestras Festival, a well-deserved honor he received on behalf of the Colombian city due to his talent and experience. 

For the moment, he is working hard on his fourth music production, which he has decided to call 50 años… mi música… mi pasión! and will be released to the public in March of this year. A special peculiarity of this new album is that it will be arranged by a top-line team, including Luis Perico Ortiz (who has worked with González on repeated occasions), Ricky González, Oscar Hernández, Javier Hernández, among other eminences. 

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