Search Results for: salsa in venezuela

Pedrito Moya and Jhonatan Araque: A Tribute to Jerry Rivera

Latin America / Venezuela / Caracas

“There is a great variety of new artists who want to expand and promote their new talents to all lovers of salsa music. For this new edition, we present Jhonatan Araque, a Venezuelan born in Maracay, Aragua, on March 25, 1983. Since he was very young, he showed admiration and an inclination for music, especially singing. By the age of 14, he joined the Grupo Rumba Costeña for a year, performing as a soloist; later, he joined the quintet ‘Quinto Elemento,’ who interpret pop and ballad music. From that moment, he had the opportunity to perform at the ‘Forum’ of Valencia, his first experience performing in front of a significant audience.

He mentions that he began his studies at the ‘Tecnológico de Música de Valencia’ (Valencia Technological Institute of Music), where he graduated with a major in singing, obtaining excellent grades. By the age of 18, he decided to record his first solo demo, which opened the doors to his first record contract with the ‘Sonográfica’ record company, alongside the Moratinos brothers, forming part of a group called ‘Okey,’ experimenting with various genres on that album, such as ballads and pop with Latin and Spanish influences.

“Jhonatan Araque’s Orchestra is made up of very talented young Venezuelans.”

After performing in various nightclubs, he decided to join the salsa orchestra ‘Los Latinos,’ where he became known in the cities of Caracas, Maracay, and Valencia, having the opportunity to share the stage with great national and international performers of the genre, including: Hernan Olivera, Marcial Istúriz, Wilmer Lozano, Edgar ‘Dolor’ Quijada, Hildemaro, Erick Franchesqui, Rodrigo Mendoza, Ángel Flores, and Mariana La Sonera.

Additionally, he spent six months as the singer for La Dimensión Latina, performing with them in different cities across the country; he also auditioned and became part of the ‘Simón Bolívar Latin Caribbean Orchestra,’ belonging to the National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela, with which he had great experiences in various projects under the direction of maestro Alberto Vergara Icaza.

With all these new experiences, new opportunities arose for him in various forms to become part of renowned orchestras within the national salsa genre, such as Rumberos del Callejón, Orquesta Puma Band, El Combo de Venezuela, and the recording of two tracks with Fidel and Julito Antillano. In 2013, he decided to retire from La Latino Caribeña and form his own orchestra to lead ‘The Tribute Project to Jerry Rivera and Rey Ruiz.’

Salsa singers Jerry Rivera (Puerto Rican) and Rey Ruiz (Cuban) are recognized in all Caribbean countries, and both have had a great impact in the Venezuelan salsa scene, where their recordings are widely known and have a large following.

Jhonatan Araque’s orchestra is made up of very talented young Venezuelans with specific studies for each of the instruments they use. They are dedicated to presenting the audience with the interpretations that have been highly successful throughout their careers, thus paying tribute to these two singers of great international renown.

The members of this great orchestra are:

Name	Role
Jonathan Araque	Solo Vocalist
Mauricio Marin	Backing Vocalist
Luis Martínez	Backing Vocalist
Angel Palma	Piano
Edwin Garcia	Bass
José “Puma” Reyna	Timbales
Braimy Mijares	Congas
Lukas Gomez	Bongos
Jose Anahole	Trumpet
William Rada	Trumpet
Pedro Xavier Moya	Trombone (Musical Director)
Leycester Licon	Trombone

Pedrito Moya and Jhonatan Araque - TV — Pedrito Moya and Jhonatan Araque – TV

For more information, contact them at:

Contact Method

Phones

Jonathan Araque: +58 424-3443504 Pedro Xavier Moya: +58 416-3077868 0414-9276637

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ Bachology?hc_ref=SEARCH

Correo: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ channel/UCZP0snvp3tqkP24c X_fg1KQ

Twitter: @Bachology

Ania Bartelmus from La Candela Flamenco talks about her performance at the Hispanic Heritage Celebration

For some time, Hispanic genres have attracted people from all over the world, who have been captivated by the rhythms and colors of our music and traditions. Such was the case of professional dancer and director of La Candela Flamenco Company, Ania Bartelmus, who despite her Polish roots, could not help but fall in love with these artistic expressions, prompting her to become one of the leading figures of flamenco in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ania was kind enough to take a few minutes out of her busy schedule to talk exclusively with International Salsa Magazine and treat some issues related to her beginnings and current career.

Dancer Ania Bartelmus performing live — Dancer Ania Bartelmus ”La Candela” performing live with Dave Holland and Juan Solas Machado in the background

How Ania’s interest in flamenco and Latin jazz was born

Although Ania was not born into a family of musicians or dancers, she has always been drawn to art and wanted to pursue one of its many branches as an adult. She started taking dance classes in different styles, including ballet, ballroom dancing, contemporary dance, and a little flamenco.

At that time, at 18 years old, the young woman recalls attending a flamenco show by Spanish composer and guitarist Paco Peña in her hometown. She was so fascinated by the musician’s performance that she wanted to focus a little more on that genre and, if possible, manage to professionalize.

Then, her dance classes began to fully focus on flamenco and at much more advanced levels than before. This appeared insufficient to her, so she decided to live in Seville, Spain, for a few years to learn directly from the source.

La Rubia de La Candela

Ania was fortunate enough to have great teachers who turned her into the professional she is today and one of them was Curro Fernández, who affectionately nicknamed her “La Rubia de La Candela” when she was his student. During her first year in Seville, the dancer enrolled in the school of Esperanza Fernández and Miguel Vargas, the first being her singing teacher.

Esperanza was originally Ania’s teacher, but she was constantly touring and could not always attend the scheduled classes. Therefore, it was her father, Curro Fernández, who took her place and taught the classes instead of her, which made him some kind of father and mentor for Ania and the rest of her classmates. His knowledge and good humor made him one of the best references for the girl on the way she had to go.

Ania posing — Dancer Ania Bartelmus posing for the camera

Creation of La Candela Flamenco

In 2014, Ania officially started her company, which initially received the name Ania Flamenco, but she later renamed it La Candela Flamenco in order to give more importance to Ania’s stage name.

At the beginning, the company was seeking to present Spain’s traditional flamenco, but this became a tough task to pull off in the United States, as many of the best flamenco singers are not based there. So Ania decided to change her strategy and opted for a more Latinized flamenco, since most of her musicians come from Latin countries and a large part of the public feels a much stronger connection to Latin genres than to traditional flamenco.

On this subject, he also said: “We continue to respect the main rules of traditional flamenco, but we do not include flamenco singers because of the difficulty in finding them in the city. Our shows focus on other flamenco elements where we can best showcase the tradition’s richness.”

Current members of La Candela Flamenco Latin Band

La Candela Flamenco Latin Band is the company’s main group and is made up of a wide variety of famous musicians, one of them being Venezuelan guitarist José Chirinos, who joined the band in 2018 and contributed greatly to expanding the company’s horizons thanks to his background and the rhythms he brought from his homeland.

Thanks to Jose, Ania met Cuban percussionist Juan Pablo Solas Machado, who brought a lot of experience in flamenco, having been part of a company that toured the world with a Cuba’s flamencoised repertoire. The other percussionist who more recently joined is American Dave Holland, providing great knowledge about rhythms from around the world and serving as a connection between the Latin and the Anglo-Saxon souls for the rest of his bandmates.

We also cannot fail to mention Venezuelan pianist José Manuel García, one of last year’s great additions to the team along with fellow pianist Tony Castillo.

Finally, we also have Bulgarian flutist Teodora Stoyanova, whom Ania met through Jerry Fields, the percussionist with whom she started the company in 2014.

Ania and the rest of the musicians — From left to right: Cuban percussionist Juan Solas Machado, Bulgarian flutist Teodora Stoyanova, Mexican guitarist Ricardo Sánchez “Ricardito”, dancer Ania Bartelmus, American multi-percussionist Dave Holland, and pianist Tony Castillo

Hispanic Heritage Celebration

One of the major events in which La Candela Flamenco Latin Band usually participates annually is the Hispanic Heritage Celebration, to be held on October 25 at the Emory Performing Arts Studio in New York. This will be the third time they have presented this show in Atlanta, although in previous years, the concerts were held at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center.

Ania was first contacted to participate in the event in 2023, as its organizers wanted a show that reflected flamenco in the context of Hispanic heritage. On that occasion, Jose Chirinos played a leading role in the concert, while for the second edition, La Candela Flamenco Band featured the great talent of Mexican composer and guitarist Ricardito Sánchez and the aforementioned Tony Castillo. All of these musicians helped La Candela Flamenco to become more diverse and expand much more into Latin jazz and other rhythms of this type.

Thanks to the great job done by the team, for the second edition of the Hispanic Heritage Celebration, Ania noticed much more interest in the band’s performance than the previous year, and thanks to past experience, the next show worked best.

For the third edition, in which the talented dancer and her group will perform once again, International Salsa Magazine wishes them all the best and we have no doubt that everything will turn out in the best possible way.

Dave Valentín is considered one of the most important Latin jazz flautists in history, thanks to his technique and rhythm

Valentín: The Master of the Flute in Latin Jazz.

Dave Valentín is considered one of the most important flutists in the history of Latin jazz, thanks to his technique, rhythm, and vast musical knowledge.

Dave Valentín is considered one of the most important Latin jazz flutists in history, thanks to his technique and rhythm

Born in the Bronx, New York, on April 29, 1952, to Puerto Rican parents from Mayagüez, Valentín grew up in a home filled with music. From the sounds of Tito Rodríguez and Tito Puente to Machito, the musical culture that surrounded him as a child was a major influence. Although he loved the bongos and congas, he joined a Latin group as a timbalero during his teenage years. He played in the “cuchifrito” circuit and in working-class dance halls in New York.

Dave Valentín’s life largely reflects the story of the children of Puerto Rican immigrants in New York who forged their own destiny through hard work, dedication, talent, and family support. In fact, the musician, composer, and arranger himself liked to say that “each person creates their own reality.”

A Legacy-Filled Career

GRP Records Pioneer: Valentín was the first artist to sign with the influential GRP record label, which allowed him to consolidate his career and spread jazz fusion and Latin jazz to a wider audience. He recorded 16 albums with the label, including titles like Legends, The Hawk, Land of the Third Eye, Pied Piper, In Love’s Time, Flute Juice, Kalahari, and Red Sun, among others. These works combine the intensity of Latin cadences with influences from pop, R&B, Brazilian music, and smooth jazz. For the musician, being signed by this multinational company represented “the opportunity of a lifetime.”
Notable Collaborations: Throughout his career, he worked with major figures in jazz and Latin music such as Tito Puente, Manny Oquendo, Cano Estremera, Eddie Palmieri, Ricardo Marrero, Dave Grusin, and Patti Austin.
Awards and Recognitions:
- He earned a Grammy nomination in 1985.
- He won a Grammy Award in 2003 for his work on the album Caribbean Jazz Project, alongside vibraphonist Dave Samuels.
- He was chosen as the top jazz flutist by readers of Jazziz magazine for seven consecutive years.

Come Fly with Me (2006)

Dave Valentin - Come Fly With Me — Dave Valentin – Come Fly With Me

Dave Valentín always moved in the realm of fusion. His incorporation of smooth jazz elements, Latin influences, and the sensitivity of modern jazz made him a difficult artist to pigeonhole. Come Fly with Me is one of his most notable albums, as it focuses on a direct approach to Latin jazz. The majority of the songs are Afro-Cuban with a New York flair, without including funk or samba rhythms.

Driven by a formidable rhythm section that includes Robert Ameen on drums, Milton Cardona and Richie Flores on percussion, Luques Curtis on bass, and his friend Bill O’Connell on piano, the album overflows with power and elegance. Trombonist and arranger Papo Vázquez also participates on several tracks. The group’s rhythm is profound and the solos are filled with inspiration. Despite some less successful moments, Valentín’s innate sense of taste and melody shines brightly.

Album Credits

Musicians:

Dave Valentín (Flute)
Bill O’Connell (Piano)
Luques Curtis (Acoustic Bass)
Papo Vázquez (Trombone)
Chris Barretto (Tenor Sax #1)
Robert Ameen (Drums)
Milton Cardona (Percussion)
Richie Flores (Percussion)

Tracks:

Come Fly with Me
Twinkle Toes
Enciendido
Mind Games
If You Could See Me Now
Easy Street
Tu Pañuelo
House of the Sun
Song for My Brothers

Sadly, Dave Valentín suffered a stroke in 2012 that forced him to step away from music. He passed away in 2017. Despite his passing, his musical legacy remains a fundamental reference for flutists and lovers of Latin jazz.

Valentín El maestro de la flauta en el jazz latino

By:

L’Òstia Latin Jazz

Rafael Vega Curry for the National Foundation for Popular Culture

Dj. Augusto Felibertt

Also Read: Pamir Guánchez, brilliant Venezuelan singer, flutist, saxophonist and arranger.

Rudy Regalado. The legend of percussion

North America / USA / California

Rudy Regalado was a composer/ educator and one of the top Latin Rock Timbaleros based in the area of East Los Angeles, California during the 1970s and the second more famous Latin percussionist after Tito Puente. His legacy has been exceptional, 23 recorded albums, participated in big Festivals from USA and shared the best platforms with the best in the world. This artist was well known for his style, his contagious rhythm and eccentric presence.

Rudy Regalado was a genuine and outstanding timbales maestro; he was inspired as a child by big bands Machito and Tito Rodriguez, who were two of favorites he became interested in playing music and the Timbales.

His beginnings in this instrument go back at the end of the 1950s. During that period as s teenager, he learned to play the drum and timbales in home town (Caracas-Venezuela). For 1963 and with desire to eat the world with his music he moved to Puerto Rico and started playing in hotels and clubs in the San Juan area with Julio y su combo, the first house bands he played with in Puerto Rico’s at Hotel Caribe Hilton. They were the backup house band for all the famous musicians that performed in the Island in 1965; at the same time he studied harmony and percussion at Pablo Casals Conservatory of music.

A decade later the restless Venezuelan timbalero migrated to Southern California, where he joined playing with local jazz and Latin groups before joining with the extremely popular Latin Rock Band called El Chicano.

The timbalero of timbaleros spent twelve years with El Chicano, singing and playing the timbales in 5 albums, which was included in Top 40 hits during the 1970s with the songs “Viva Tirado” and “Tell Her She’s Lovely”. El Chicano also created the theme song for the television series Baretta, which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978.

After, Rudy formed his own Latin Jazz All-Star / Salsa Band in 1983, which included a selected group of musician from Los Angeles. Initially known as Todos Estrellas, the band eventually became known as Chévere (aan expression of Venezuelan popular slang) and appeared at the PlayBoy Jazz Festival, Disneyland and Fiesta Broadway, among other engagements. The band also performed overseas in summer festivals in Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and throughout the European continent.

As part of an El Chicano reunion in 2009, the Timbales maestro performed during the 40th anniversary of Woodstock festival at the Golden Gate Park Music Concourse in San Francisco, where the group actually celebrated their own 40th Anniversary, and last played with them at the Greek Theatre of Los Angeles in front of over a 100,000 screaming fans.

In addition, he participated in a variety of sessions with the Zawinul Syndicate, Quincy Jones, Alphonse Mouzon, Caravana Cubana.

Rudy also toured with Aretha Franklin in charge of her percussion section, was a drummer for Los Melódicos in its 1980 tour of United States, and performed on the Tonight Show, the Nancy Wilson Show and American Bandstand. His film credits include The Skeleton Key (2005), as well as the television series Pepe Plata (1990) and Clubhouse (2004).

Héctor José Regalado better known as Rudy Regalado passed away on November 4th, 2010, in Las Vegas – Nevada, where he died from complications of pneumonia at the age of 67.

Currently, his daughter Norka Tibisay Regalado founded in 2013, the Rudy Regalado Foundation. The goal of the foundation is to provide inner city music programs with instruments and financial support. “Let no child be left behind due to lack of funds”. In February, 2014, they donated over 2500 instruments and donated $2000.00 to help with cost for instructors. Her goal is to get financial support from big companies and the community in order to reach many more music programs; she is also working on bringing music programs inside children´s hospital to help the healing process to their mentally ill children and burned survivors.

Rudy Regalado will be forever remembered as one of the greatest Latin exponents of Salsa / Jazz sound of all time, undoubtedly, The Legend of Timbales (January 29, 1943 (Caracas – Venezuela) – Covember 4, 2010 (Las Vegas – Nevada).

For additional information or to make a donation, please contac Norka Regalado at 323.270.8176 or go to website www.rudysfoundation.org/

Tito Puente Jr.: perpetuating a legacy with its own rhythm

In International Salsa Magazine, we cannot contain our joy for the conversation we had with the son of one of the greatest legends of Latin music, who is now writing his own story of grandeur thanks to the education he has received practically since birth. This is none other than New York producer, composer, and percussionist Tito Puente Jr., who shared about 40 minutes of his time to answer some questions exclusively for Augusto Felibertt and yours truly, Karina Garcia.

Tito puente jr. smiling — Producer, composer, and timbalero Tito Puente Jr. smiling for the camera

The burden of Tito Puente’s iconic legacy

Having a successful father is a great blessing, but sometimes, it can become a veritable martyrdom for a son who wants to follow his path, as comparisons between them will always be inevitable. Being able to share with Tito Puente Jr., son of the legendary King Of Timbales Tito Puente, gives us the opportunity to get his perspective on this interesting and important subject.

Fortunately, the artist does not see this legacy as a burden, but quite the opposite. Although he admits that his father is one of the greatest masters and ambassadors Latin music and our culture in general have ever had, and that it is not easy to fill his shoes, he proudly bears his father’s surname and promotes his music.

Moreover, he sees the surname “Puente,” as well as the Spanish word implies, as a union among several generations because many young people this day do not know Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, and many other exponents of that salsa’s golden era. Tito Jr. wants to be part of that “bridge” between generations so that people of all ages can learn about these prodigies, including, of course, his father.

Childhood with Tito Puente as his father

Regarding his childhood and adolescence, Tito emphasized that he always saw his father play all types of instruments such as timbales, marimba, saxophone, percussion, and many others, which inspired him and made him want to imitate him from the beginning. Today, his career is largely influenced by everything he saw at home, and he plays his father’s arrangements and compositions, which are divided between a total of 186 albums.

Everything learned within his family has taken him so far professionally, to the point that he now has seven Latin Grammys and 14 nominations, all thanks to the legacy he carries.

Tito Puente and Tito Puente Jr. — Tito Puente Jr. and his father Tito Puente on the 1998 Grammy Awards red carpet

The Puente family today

On the more personal side, Tito is the youngest of his brothers, among whom he is the only one who works on music as a profession. To some extent, this has made him take upon his shoulders Tito Puente’s legacy through his own art.

The musician currently resides in southern Florida, specifically in Miami, although he works with orchestras from different cities and countries. He is married and has two children who are Miranda, 18, and Tito Puente Jr. Jr., 17. Miranda studies marine biology at university, while her younger brother is in high school but travels constantly with his father and enjoys composing and playing the guitar.

He also told us a little about his wife, who loves salsa but is not in music. On the other hand, he spoke lovingly of “the boss,” his mother Margarita Puente, who is currently in charge of royalties, record labels, publicity, and the documentary on Tito Puente’s life.

He also has two siblings: Audrey Puente, 55, who is a television meteorologist, and Rony Puente, 77, who is also a musician like his father and younger brother.

Other musical influences besides that of his father

In addition to salsa, mambo, and guaguancó, Tito really enjoys English rock and several bands such as Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and others into this style. These tastes of his have led him to the idea of, at some point, blending heavy metal with mambo to see which result he gets.

As well as he can really enjoy the music of Bon Jovi and Ozzy Osbourne, he is also fascinated by El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, which he finds to be a very interesting mixture of genres that he would like to experiment with someday.

He also said laughing that his father did not share his musical tastes and that the only rock band he liked was Santana, and that was because they did their own version of the hit “Oye Cómo Va” in psychedelic rock and Latin rock.

Tito Puente holding his son — Tito Puente carrying his son Tito Puente Jr.

Current singers

Today, Tito works with various singers, including Aymee Nuviola, Lucrecia, Yolanda Duque, and his great friend, “La Princesa de La Salsa” La India. His father worked with great vocalists such as Tony Vega, Michael Stuart, Oscar D’León, José Alberto “El Canario,” Miguel Ángel Barcasnegras Díaz “Meñique,” and many more.

Tito’s latest album, “The King And I,” also features other big voices such as Domingo Quiñones, Frankie Negrón, José Alberto “El Canario,” Tony Vega, Sheila E., Pete Escovedo, and many other salsa superstars of today and yesterday.

The timbalero has worked with many figures who also worked with his father in the past, so it is clear that they see him and respect him as the continuation of his musical legacy.

Tito’s views on academic training in music

On the important issue of academic training in music, Tito pointed out that there are not enough educational programs aimed at teaching Afro-Cuban music in schools and universities, which in his view needs to change as soon as possible.

In fact, he noted the importance of promoting programs in educational institutions around the world so that their students learn much more than just symphonic music and become more rounded professionals. Although he recognizes the importance of knowing Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, he also believes that aspiring musicians should know about Eddie Palmieri, Charlie Palmieri, Larry Harlow, Pupi Campo, and other artists in this style.

The artist believes that the above mentioned artists and many others related to jazz and salsa are part of a very important era of music in the world, which is why he believes that teachers must take them into account during their classes. For him, it is a mission to promote both his father’s music and that of other exponents of his kind in the academic field.

Tito Jr. and his family — Audrey, Margarita, Tito, and Tito Jr.

Upcoming tours

For our research, we could notice that Tito has several performances and tours scheduled for the rest of the year, more specifically for November. In this regard, he told us that in the first week of September, he went to play his father’s music on his weekly show Mambo Mondays, which is held to delight dancers eager to keep enjoying Tito Puente’s music.

About international tours, he plans to go to Germany in February next year and Spain next summer. He is also close to release a documentary in 2026 and a new album with the Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra, which has 77 musicians and instruments such as violins, violas, harps, bagpipes, flutes, French horns, among others.

Tito Puente Jr. and his son — Tito Puente III and his father Tito Puente Jr.

Final comment

We still cannot believe we had this great conversation with the talented Tito Puente Jr. and it has been a great pleasure to share this time with him. Those who wish to contact him can do so through his social media channels, which are as follows:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TitoPuenteJr/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/titopuentejr/

X: https://twitter.com/titopuentejr

Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/tag/titopuentejr

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-es/artist/2ROkqvVDXj5JgmN6z2uFrM