Search Results for: salsa in venezuela

The seeds of capacho give the sound to maracas

The capacho tree (Canna Generalis Bailey) is a large flower and its colors can be yellow, red or orange. The fruit they produce has seeds used by Venezuelan folklorists to create the filling of the maracas and, in turn, get their sonority.

For this process, there are three steps to make them and obtain the final product.

capacho flor bocono — Capacho flor Bocono

In Venezuela, the typical llanera maraca is filled with seeds of capacho, which are very hard and do not wear out easily.

Another material used is the so-called “espuma e sapo” which are a type of seed that also give a very good sound to the maracas.

I have been collecting these seeds you can see in the photos for the maracas that we are going to make for the dancing devils of Tinaquillo in my community of Santa Rita in the lower part of El Valle.

Manuel Alejandro Rangel

The maraca in Venezuela has been present mainly among our native peoples. It is used to accompany the dance, be a child’s toy, invoke, heal and cleanse at the hands of the shaman. This small and powerful Venezuelan instrument is composed of three elements of nature: mango or stick extracted from the wood of wild trees; tapara or gourd, fruit of a climbing plant with the same name and originally African; and finally, seeds of capacho (Achira) or seeds of Espuma e ́ Sapo (wild plant) that go inside the tapara and are commonly found in Latin America.

For being an idiophone instrument, the maraca produces sound thanks to the vibration of its own body, that is, to the shock of the seeds inside against the walls of the tapara when it is shaken, generating a dry and strong sound. Besides resonating when shaken, when we hold the maraca and make repeated circular movements with the wrist, we achieve that the seeds result in friction with the walls of the tapara, which produces a sound with greater sustain, similar to the sweep of a broom, called for this reason by several cultists escobilla’o.

Over the years, the maraca in Venezuela was incorporated into musical expressions of different regions, becoming an almost essential accompanying instrument and varying its playing technique according to the regions and genres that have adopted it. That is why in the Venezuelan plains, the maraca performance resembles the sound of galloping hooves, that is to say, the blows of the seeds to the tapara when shaking it are mostly dry or staccato, with an possible use of the escobilla’o technique that we will explain in detail in this method.

Unlike the performance in the Venezuelan plains, in the east of Venezuela the maraca emulates the sound of the sea with the prominent use of the escobilla’o; while in the center of the country, the use of this technique is low and the shaking of the seeds is less staccato or forceful than in the plains, making its rhythm function as the main guide for the dancers. The maraca can also be seen in different Afro-descendant drum ensembles in the country, and is generally played by the singers, who use only one maraca instead of two as in the aforementioned regions.

The Venezuelan maraca is fundamentally a popular instrument. Maybe that is why, until now there has not been a specific academic musical writing that allows to know in depth all its language. The most direct way to learn to play this instrument is mainly by oral tradition, as well as by observing, listening, and deciphering great maraca players who, thanks to the cultural heritage and family tradition of their towns, play it in a very genuine and masterful way. Insignificant Venezuelan maraca players who were masters in this field such as: Santana Torrealba, Máximo Teppa, Pedro Aquilino Díaz “Mandarina”, José Pérez, Coromoto Martínez, Trino “Chiche” Morillo, Ernesto Laya, Jorge Linares “Masamorra”, Lorenzo Alvarado, Manuel García, and from the Colombian region masters who have adopted the Venezuelan maraca tradition such as Gilberto Castaño, Diego Mosquera, William León, Emanuel Contreras, among many other anonymous heroes from different regions of Venezuela, have been and will continue to be the most important guide for the teaching and evolution of the maraca in the world, providing new generations with a cultural connection to the deepest roots.

Thanks to the legacy left by each of these maraca makers, a vital source of inspiration for many performers for decades, the commitment to continue with important educational inputs that allow the expansion of knowledge and the evolution of our popular Venezuelan instruments at the academic level is born, since these instruments per se, require a rigorous study in terms of vocabulary, technique, and history.

In this method 5 Movements are the key, I want to share the experience that helped me to understand the traditional playing techniques of the Venezuelan maraca and that led me to the design of a musical writing that shows its performance with clarity and discernment for each Venezuelan genre according to the vocabulary and variations that have been standardized over time.

And when I talk about variations, I emphasize five basic movements that I consider to be the key to the playing of the maraca. Five movements that will later become the musical discourse of those who master them.

Five movements that will show the student why and how the main traditional Venezuelan rhythms are born. Five movements that I have not invented, but that are the vocabulary of tradition, and that the student will observe in the performance of Venezuelan maraca players who have dedicated their lives to this instrument.

Personally, Special mention should be made of maestro Juan Ernesto Laya “Layita”, who instilled in me much of the basic knowledge of the maracas in the workshops dictated by the Ensamble Gurrufío: Aprende y toca con Gurrufío in 2000. Years later, once graduated as a classical guitarist from the Vicente Emilio Sojo Conservatory of Music in 2004, I began to design exercises that would allow me to pedagogically transmit to my students the language learned with maestro Laya and with several of the musicians mentioned in this writing.

An important step if we take into account that no music school in Venezuela had a pedagogical program for the teaching or application of theory to this instrument at that time.

It should be noted that I have put these exercises into practice in various clinics, master classes, courses, and seminars that I have had the opportunity to dictate around the world, where the development and learning of the participants has been satisfactory in a large percentage. Especially in the Simon Bolivar Conservatory (Ccs- Vzla) where I teach since 2014, in the Venezuelan Music seminar organized by Venezuelan percussionist Fran Vielma at Berklee College of Music (Boston-USA) in 2014, and in the “Venezuelan Creole Music Course” (Mirecourt-France) produced by maestro Cristobal Soto, in which I participate since 2015, among others.

With regard to the writing of the Venezuelan maraca, over the years I came across Venezuelan works for orchestra where there are specific parts for maracas such as the guitar concertos by Antonio Lauro, the works of Evencio Castellanos, La Cantata Criolla by Antonio Estévez, La Fuga con Pajarillo by Aldemaro Romero, and the Concierto para Maracas y Orquesta Pataruco by Ricardo Lorenz, to name a few. When I read them, I realized that their writing was not entirely idiomatic, so I had to interpret and adapt to the technique and idiosyncrasy of the Venezuelan maracas what the composer wanted to say and that the writing was not able to convey to me.

That is why in 5 Movements are the key, I propose the musical writing for the Venezuelan maracas in a bigrama, since, within the large family of percussion instruments, the maraca is one of the few that produces sound with the movement of the arm both up and down. And therefore, the upward movement is part of the rhythmic phrase.

In the bigram I suggest, the upper line represents the right hand, and the lower line the left hand, very similar to the piano writing in two clefs: right hand treble clef, and left-hand bass clef. In this way, the polyrhythm of the two maracas is visually separated when carrying out their movements. In addition to the bigram, I assigned to each movement a symbol that defines which of the five that I describe will be used in each figure.

Finally, I would like to comment that one of the main objectives of this method is that these five movements and their combinations show how basic traditional Venezuelan rhythms are accompanied, and besides, how they link or build connections that allow the performer to go from an accompaniment pattern to a variation, and then back without interrupting at any time the rhythmic stability, the sound, or the movement of the arm or wrist. I would also like to add that this method not only applies to Venezuelan music genres, but can also be used to incorporate this sublime and powerful instrument into any musical culture in the world.

Maracas in Latin rhythms belong to the minor percussion section.

A classic of Latin percussion. It is an idiophone instrument, it uses its body as a resonator element, which has its own sound. The origin of the maracas is South American and dates from the pre-Columbian era in America. Originally only one maraca was played, nowadays they are usually played in pairs. Its operation is simple, the sphere is filled with small elements that when shaken impact the inner wall producing the sound we all know. These small elements can be small stones, seeds, pieces of metal or glass… They are normally used to mark the rhythm in Latin music.

Hands to the maracas!

Sources:

Photographs: Alberto Cardenas

https://www.facebook.com/ZorcaCultura/?ref=page_internal

https://cuentaelabuelo.blogspot.com/2010/03/las-maracas-o-capachos.html

https://tucuatro.com/camburpinton/las-maracas-instrumento-musical-economico-y-facil-de-elaborar/

https://www.clasf.co.ve/maracas-pan-con-queso-cuero-y-semillas-de-capacho-en-caracas-1721485/

https://manuelmaracas.com/manuelsite/articulo/a-las-maracas-venezolanas/

Article of Interest: Génesis of Salsa, its essence, characteristics, rhythm, history, and expansión

Video Courtesy of multi – percussionist Diego Gale “Master Class: Maracas

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición frontman Tregar Otton talked to us

What Orquesta La Moderna Tradición is

Tregar Otton playing — Tregar Otton, founder of the orchestra, playing the violin

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición has been one of the most legendary groups of Cuban music in its entire history. It is a group whose members are based in San Francisco, California, and consists of 11 members who play different genres such as danzón, timba, guaguancó, cha cha chá, son, rumba, charanga, among others. They also mix in elements from American jazz, violins, and Afro-Cuban rhythms.

The beginning of this orchestra’s story goes back to 1996, since they started to perform throughout the United States to bring the best of traditional Cuban music to every corner of the country and transport Cuban immigrants back to the Havana’s streets and clubs during the 50’s. All the success accumulated allowed them to perform at the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Smithsonian Institution, the Lincoln Certer and many other venues of high prestige.

Recently, Orquesta La Moderna Tradición once again displayed their talent at Yoshi’s, a jazz club and restaurant located in Oakland, California, whose reputation in the San Francisco Bay Area is not up for discussion. Our editor Eduardo Guilarte was present at the show to cover the details of the event, which left all those present in awe.

Conversation with Tregar Otton, founding director of the orchestra

Tregar Otton and Maru Pérez-Viana, his wife and an important part of the orchestra

Based on the above, we talked with Tregar Otton, founder, director, composer, and violinist of the group. This talented musician, born in the Marshall Islands and raised in Texas, started to learn about classical music from an early age and joined the Berkeley Symphony while he still was a teenager. By the 1990s, this musical promise worked as a regular part of Virgilio Mart Y Sus Majaderos, La Tipica Novel and the Charanga Orquesta Broadway.

By the year 1995, Otton founded Orquesta La Moderna Tradición with Roberto Borrell. At the beginning, the group started to become well-known for its soft sounds of Afro-Cuban charanga, which are accompanied by a set of wind instruments and violins that give a unique touch to this group’s music.

Today, we have the welcome presence of the musician to talk about each and every one of the issues raised in this brief review and anything he wants to reveal to our dear readers. It is such a pleasure to have you here today, Tregar. How are you feeling?

I am fine here near San Francisco. Good to see you today.

Very good, Tregar. You got started in the world of music at a young age. Could you tell us a bit about your beginnings?

I started playing violin when I was four years old and my family had a violin teacher as a neighbor. My parents did the laundry for all our neighbors, so we met her and she ended up giving me classes every day. After that, I studied a lot of classical music, bought music when I was about 20 and fell in love with it because it used the violins differently from classical music. I really enjoyed playing dance music because the connection with the public is quite different from that of classical music. In the case of classical music, many people get bored, but Cuban music and salsa music make a much more direct connection to the audience. There is nothing like playing for a floor with dancers.

We understand that you were born in the Marshall Islands, but grew up in Texas, is that correct?

Yes. After my dad married my mom, they both moved to Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, in the middle of the Pacific. After that, I grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, till I was 13 or 14 about when I moved to California.

I asked because it is very interesting how you set your eyes on Cuban music despite your origins. Where does this interest in Cuban music and the rhythms you play come from?

For the same reasons I play dance music. It caught my attention when I heard Charanga de La 4 or one of these New York bands. I was impressed that violins were part of the percussion and were making repetitive sounds with the refrain and the son montuno. We are more part of the rhythm section than the melodic section in many of our songs. We can dance while we are on stage. I was also impressed by the improvisations of Cuqui and Alfredo de la Fé. I had many Latin friends I met in college while learning Spanish because no one in my family spoke it.

How did Orquesta La Moderna Tradición come about and who joined you in its foundation?

I was working with a group. I was in New York, where I was playing with the Broadway Orchestra and the Orquesta Tipica Novel. I was very lucky to have been in that city because I got to know many veteran musicians in the 80’s like Renato Valdés, Virgilio Martí, and Adalberto Santiago. I visited a Cuban friend from San Francisco named Fito Reinoso, who had a group called Ritmo Y Armonía and he visited us here in New York. I was tired of the cold in New York, so I decided to go to San Francisco, where Tito and I had the idea of creating a group. It was there that I met a great drum instructor and dance teacher Roberto Borrell, who joined us to found Ritmo y Armonía. After two years, we had to be apart, but Roberto and I still wanted to play danzón. At least here in the Bay Area, it is very difficult to get singers. The ones we have are good, but there are not so many. So, we planned to make a danzonera or danzón group. When the orchestra began to work, we only played danzón songs, rehearsed every week and did many tours with this musical genre because there was a boom with swing dancing and dance music during the 40’s. So, we were surfing that wave. So, we were surfing that wave and doing collaborations with swing groups because it was older music. Danzón is a very rich genre, but it is no of interest to many people because they do not know how to dance it, so we started expanding our repertoire to include more modern and dance music. We still play danzones, but only two per set. There are still musicians from the original group in the orchestra including Michael Spiro. Roberto went to Peru about a decade ago, so Michael and I stayed with the group and invited Eduardo Herrera, who is a singer born in Caracas, Venezuela, to perform with us. We expanded the repertoire by doing the best we could with my own creations. Let’s remember I am the arranger of the group, so I do some songs and we have one that is included in the new recording in which I wrote the music and maestro Carlos Caro from Cuba added the lyrics.

Orquesta La moderna Tradición at one of its shows

Although rhythms like danzón are not so popular, did you feel the acceptance of the public?

There were many people who knew danzón who began to notice that it was a very interesting genre due to the presence of the violins. As Roberto Borrell is a dance teacher, he teaches many of his students how to dance danzón, which is not easy because they should be affixed on each turn they have to make according to the sounds of the instruments.

Can you go from one genre to another in the same song?

Yes, we do that a lot. On our new album, we have rhythms with batá drums from music of Santería, which we use for our danzón songs. It sounds complicated when I explain it, but it is easy at the time of listening to it.

What makes Orquesta La Moderna Tradición different from other Latin music groups in the United States?

Well, I know no other group that plays danzón or charanga. There are two genres of popular dance music in Cuba that come from son montuno, which uses violins and flutes. In the case of charanga, the musicians use violins and flutes. Since the 70’s and 80’s, charanga is now no longer heard in the United States. In Cuba, neither do you hear danzón much. We are a group that has so many danzones in the repertoire. There are not too many groups that play cha cha chá. Me being an arranger, I try to create cha cha chá songs that are not copies of what was played by Orquesta Aragón and other bands in the 40’s and 50’s.

Given that music has evolved so much, what reaction do you perceive from the young public when you play charanga, cha cha chá, danzón and other rhythms?

Interesting question. For young people who do not know and are not salsa fans, our music sounds like salsa because it is difficult to distinguish the genres without knowing them well. However, I work as a music teacher and I have many groups of children, in which there are many salsa fans. They listen to Ray Barreto, Willie Colón, and Hector Lavoe. They also like charanga and understand it well. However, I think danzón is more difficult because it has to be a reflection of what people are feeling in their culture. Cha cha chá is simpler and innocent, but danzón is finer and refined. I think music can influence people and play its part in changing the direction of their culture.

Can you tell us a little bit about your performance at Yoshi’s?

Because of COVID-19, for a year and a half, we could not do anything. We could not even rehearse until the vaccine came on the market. We got this date with Yoshi’s because we have played there many times before as well as Yoshi’s in San Francisco. So, they gave us a date and we had the support of local DJs like Luis Medina, Chuy Varela and Jose Ruiz. We also made use of social media to promote us, sell our CDs and attract people to our shows. The staff of Yoshi’s was impressed because it is rare that a local band has been able to sell so many tickets. We were very excited to see so many people loving us and showing how much they love music. We have a large audience that is very loyal to us and has been going wherever we perform for over 20 years.

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición performing at Yoshi’s

What are your future projects?

We get everything ready for the repertoire of the new album. When I was in New York, I was working with Juan Carlos Formell, Juan Formell’s son, who is the bass player and took over his father’s position in Los Van Van. I was one of the first people he met here in the United States and we became very good friends. Then he told me that I could arrange any of his songs without any problem, so I have about four or five of his songs ready and some others that I have not finished yet. We have enough material to make at least two albums, but it is very expensive. One could only cost us about $15 to start with.

Cover art work for the Orquesta La Moderna Tradición new album El Encantado

Your social networks or websites

Official website: www.danzon.com

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

Bandcamp: https://orquestalamodernatradicin.bandcamp.com/album/encantado-2

Víctor Porfirio Baloa Díaz, more commonly known as Porfi Baloa

He is a Venezuelan musician, composer, producer, and arranger. Creator of the group Adolecent’s Orquesta.

His work as a pianist, arranger, and director in the orchestra has been intense, but his compositions have been the base for the triumph. He has been nominated for New York City’s star award a total of 11 times, the ACE, winning 7 of them. Apart from the prices already won in different places of America and Europe.

About 39 songs of his own composition came in first place in the Record Report, which was unique to a Venezuelan composer and a musical group (Los Adolescentes).

Porfi Baloa Creator of the group Adolecent's Orquesta. — Porfi Baloa is a Venezuelan musician, composer, producer and arranger.

Personal life and beginning of Porfi Baloa

He was born on September 19 in the city of Caracas. At age 8, he was already playing the bass with matchless skills, knowing his talent as a composer at that young age.

He started very young in the world of music, having been a pianist for groups such as Las Vibraciones and Dimensión Latina.

He was the creator of the youth orchestra Salserin, being both its owner and musical producer.

Musical career

Since then, he decided to create an orchestra with a different concept, being born La Adolescent’s Orquesta, better known as “Orquesta Los Adolescentes”, so that all the songs of his four musical productions were in top positions of the national and international charts.

Adolescent`s Orquesta, a group formed by young Venezuelans between the ages of 19 and 23, was consolidated in 1995 with the support of Luis Francisco “El Negro” Mendoza and the label of Korta Record.

The band’s innovative style of performing the salsa genre rapidly earned hundreds of fans who made the release a success at home and abroad in a few weeks.

The passion for music and the creative magic in lyrics took Porfi Baloa to compose infinities of music hits, which, along with his Adolescentes, has managed to show and take to the 4 continents.

Porfi Baloa is the winner of approximately 87 awards, 4 Billboard Awards nominations, and 3 lo Nuestro Awards nominations, and has a record of 60 first places in the Venezuelan Hit parade.

Around 39 songs of his authorship have been positioned in the first place of the Record Report, being a unique case for a Venezuelan composer and a Venezuelan musical group (Los Adolescentes). — Víctor Porfirio Baloa Díaz, better known as Porfi Baloa

The high degree of expertise in his arrangements and compositions, coupled with the playing of the piano, bass, congas, bongo, timbal, and trombone have made him a well-rounded musician and composer in his genre.

He went inside of the hearts of the public thanks to the records made by his group such as: “Reclamando nuestro espacio”, “Persona ideal”, “La misma pluma”, “Ahora más que nunca”, “Búscame”, “Sellos de mi ADN”, including his other groups such as “Chiky Salsa” and “El Klan de Porfi”.

Songs like Persona ideal (me Tengo que ir), Virgen, Me negó, Aquel Lugar, Anhelo, among others, have had great commercial success at both national and international levels.

After 20 years of artistic career, he returns in 2016 with a new single, Bésame, which spent 17 weeks in the musical bill and rises to the post of honor to become the 61st hit that Porfi Baloa obtains as First Place in the Record Report.

Porfi Baloa y sus Adolescentes will be performing this coming Saturday October 2, 2021 at Dominic Hall Event Center in Miami FL.

Facebook: Porfi Baloa y sus Adolescentes

Article of Interest: Yolanda Rivera The Lady of Salsa and the Sonera of Ponce

Now You Can Enjoy Tromboranga In Concert

The Orchestra With The Purest Essence Of Hard Salsa Performs Live On October 11th-12th In Valencia (Spain)

The members of Tromboranga with black shirts — Their world tour began in 2019 with almost 20,000 people at their first concert in Ecuador.

As part of the reactivation of local events in Spain, Tromboranga continues with the series of concerts scheduled for 2021. Two will be the concerts that will take place this October 11^th and 12^th at the Sala Madison Massanassa located in the port city of Valencia on the southeast coast of the European country.

This Concert Hall is located on the outskirts of the city and is less than 10 minutes from the center in the town of Massanassa. You can access it through public transport: train with a nearby stop of 400 meters and by bus (800 meters).

This orchestra made up of ten Latin and European musicians residing in Barcelona will present their unmistakable rhythm of the Salsa brava, which maintains the influences of the 60s – 70s and mixes them with the original sound and danceable discharge to the sound of their trombones, the solid percussion, and the rescue of the soneo (voice improvisation between choirs).

Tromboranga cataloged as one of the new generations of independent Salsero artists will perform their greatest hits such as Humildad, Palo Pa’ La Campana, Ah Caraj, and Mi China Colombiana that have positioned themselves as number one on the main radio and Latin dance charts in the world for the current plot of his lyrics with which surely anyone feels identified.

Black and white African American woman illustration from Tromboranga album cover — Songs like “Un Extraterrestre” and “La Moda” are now very popular with Salsa dancers and DJs in Europe

Also, in this celebration of the tenth anniversary of Tromboranga, you will sing along to the songs from his most recent album Te Voy a Contar recorded between Barcelona, Puerto Rico, and Japan.

This record production was released to the music market in March 2019 and contains nine tracks including Te Perdono in collaboration with Jimmy Bosch performing the Trombone solo, Un Extraterrestre to the rhythm of guaracha, and Huracán No Me Tumbas whose special guest is Ismael Miranda.

Start Time: 9:00 PM

End Time: 3:00 AM

Capacity: 816 people

General Ticket: 25 €

You Can Keep Reading: Don’t Think About Not Attend The Alocubano Salsa Festival

Learn More About Tromboranga

The members of Tromboranga taking a selfie on stage — Joaquín Arteaga (Director, Timbal, and Composer-Venezuela), Diego Coppinger (Sonero-Cuba), Freddy Ramos (Singer-Venezuela), Rafael “Madagascar” Arciniegas (Piano and Arrangements-Colombia), Lorenzo “El diablo” Barriendos (Bass-Venezuela), Trombone Section: Vladimir Peña (Venezuela), Albert Costa (Catalunya), and Miguel Moises (Spain), Oriol Martínez (Conga), and Climent Campa (Bongo)

Tromboranga released their first studio album in April 2012 titled “Salsa Dura” ranked by DJs, dancers, and bloggers specialized in Salsa among the top ten record productions of that year.

In 2013, they recorded “Al Mal Tiempo Buena Salsa” rewarding them with the first international tour that took them to visit France, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Tunisia, Germany, and Colombia. That same year (November 2013) they released a Special Edition Vinyl for only 300 people called “Solo para coleccionistas Vol. 1”.

Likewise, they were invited to the biggest Salsa festivals including the Cali Fair with sold-out crowds and in the following years. Since then, they have created a community known as the “Salseros Tromborangueros”.

The orchestra has recorded six albums in consecutive years: Como La Marea (2014), Sangre, Sudor Y Salsa (2015), Golpe Con Melodía (2015), Tumbando fronteras (2017), Una Noche En Bankok (2018), and Te Voy a Contar (2019).

Nowadays, the songs “Agua Que Va Caer”, “Te Provoca”, “Mama Calunga”, “Amigo El Ratón”, and “Boogaloo Marilu” among others, are being danced on the dance floors of Salsoteca, dance schools, parties, and festivals Salsa worldwide.

Broadcaster and event promoter Jesús “Chuy” Martínez’s life and career

Conversation with Jesús “Chuy Martínez

I had recently spoken with broadcaster and event promoter Jesús “Chuy” Martínez about his beginnings, career, experiences, unpublished facts and other details concerning his brilliant career in the entertainment world. Without further delay, we will carefully read his words and enjoy the stories he has to offer.

This is jesús “Chuy Martínez — Jesús “Chuy” Martínez some years ago

Good morning, this is Karina Garcia, North America director for International Salsa Magazine. I am very happy today to have a very special guest, who is none other than broadcaster, promoter and organizer of events born in the Dominican Republic, specifically in the city of Pacheco, Jesus ¨Chuy¨ Martinez, with whom we will have the pleasure of talking. How are you today, Mr. Martinez?

Very well. I am here ready for your interview.

Okay, Mr. Martinez. You have a long and successful career in the world of the arts. Could you start telling us how it all started and what made you turn to the entertainment world?

It all started in New York City in 1970 when I began to do activities in lakes. In New Jersey, there were many lakes and we started doing dances with Pete ¨el Conde¨ Rodriguez and many other orchestras. After doing a few activities in New York, I moved to the city of Los Angeles, where I worked for a radio station called 107.1 FM KMAX starting with two hours of tropical music and we lasted about three years. We started with two hours and then we had five hours per day. We were supported by some record labels that gave us all the music, especially Fania Records and TH Company. We brought all the music to Los Angeles, which was practically in its infancy. There was no tropical music. There were only three stations that were only dedicated to playing norteño music, so we were an option for the California audience. We had salsa, Merengue, Colombian, Venezuelan, New Yorker, and Puerto Rican music. We started the program with two hours a day, came to have five hours a day and it was a success for the public, but at that time, FM radio stations were only present in the houses. At that point, FM did not yet exist, which started appearing in cars and cassettes in 1979 or 1980. Prior to that, a thing called cartridge was used, but with the coming of FM stations in cars with cassettes, this frequency began to become stronger because people could still listen to the radio in their vehicles and homes. That was a process that in which made the radio strong and able to work with FM. I worked at KMX radio for about three years and then I went to other places like Radio Cali KLOVE as an account executive before I started a new program at KFOX 93.5 FM in 1982. At that time, we did activities in nightclubs like Virginia, Los Globos, Sombrero, among others, and we used the different orchestras of the time like the Siba orchestra and Azuquita Y Su Melao. All that was a process in the 70s. Then, we started in the 80’s to do FM radio with all the guarantee of the radio in the cars, which was when we began to work in discos like Candileja, La Bamba, and Escondite. Something important was the experience gained and, in view of my studies as a sound engineer, I learned a lot about equalization and all that stuff. I went to Cali, Colombia a few times and then to Venezuela, where I learned equalization and the system for discotheques. We had not only the 80’s, but many South Americans in Los Angeles like Venezuelans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Peruvians, and Central Americans. Something that helped to internationalize the rhythm in Los Angeles was to take Saturdays and most Sundays to make projections at KFOX 93.5 FM. In the case of Saturdays, we had four hours of Central American music, we had a large audience of Salvadorans, Guatemalans, who listened to our program.

Jesús “Chuy” Martínez interviewing Oscar D’ León at Kfox 93.5 fm in 1990

All right. Taking into account the emergence of the FM frequency in cars, playback devices, the internet, and digital media, could you say that people like you have had to modernize and reinvent themselves to stay relevant in the market?

That’s right. At the time of the existence of record companies like Fania, Sony, RMM, MP, everything was easy and everybody could project their music in the 80s and 90s. First, people used LPs and cassettes, but the first CDs began to appear in 1986, so no one wanted the old LPs and cassettes anymore. Music was played on the radio where I did my show and at KLOVE, where salsa artists like Grupo Niche with their song Cali Pachanguero were played. Then Marc Anthony and many other artists appeared, so record companies promoted you and you had the ease of projecting a singer, but by the year of 1996, people no longer wanted CDs because modern technology came in and everyone started downloading music with the new internet system. All of this has contributed to a total change and it is the same thing that exists now, which makes it difficult to project an orchestra or a soloist. There is no longer the question of radio promotion and now everything is digital, so we have had to adapt to the new technical internet system with all its means of communication.

Would you consider that this new system has been beneficial to fans and detrimental to artists at the same time?

That is right. They do not have the opportunities they had before. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, there were many record companies with which everyone could be promoted, facilitating the projection of an artist in the market quickly. Now it is different and a determining factor was the death of most of the good artists from Fania and other companies like Pacheco and Larry Harlow, so young people who want to project themselves do not have the record label and the CD. They have to use other methods such as the internet, the downloading songs, and the sale of songs. There are some DJs who are experts at downloading music and there are many channels focused on providing DJs with both video and audio.

Poster announcing Oscar D’ Leon and Grupo Niche’s concert at the Palladium Hollywood in 1987

There are many web portals dedicated to offering music through which people can get songs without even spending a cent, so the artist makes nothing to offer his art.

That is true, but there are companies dedicated to selling songs on an individual basis. They can charge up to 99 cents per song and different things that have been invented. There are artists who gain some profit from selling their songs, but it is not what it used to be. In times gone by, people used to buy CDs, but now there are some DJs who are specialists in downloading music and connected to sites which offer the possibility to download videos and songs in exchange for a monthly allowance. I know about five DJs who have the ability to download songs, but it is not the same as before. We are in the year 2021 and things are not easy for new artists who are making themselves known because they no longer have so many benefits.

Modern salsa and memorable experiences

What do you think of current salsa?

There are quite a few orchestras here in Los Angeles, which perform at the Mayan, the Granada and Steve’s Steak House. There are many orchestras that project themselves through their performances, but with COVID-19, everything has gone way down in terms of concerts. We are doing concerts, but in a very limited way because the community had great fear of going to the venues, especially now that there is talk of the Delta variant. People are really scared and it is unbelievable what is going on in the California artistic scene, the world with the COVID problem and people’s fear of getting infected. That is why a large part of the population does not go to concerts, except for the youth that defies the moment and is not afraid.

Poster made by KFOX 93.5 FM, the radio station where Martínez worked

Could you tell me which venues are open for dancing salsa in Los Angeles?

Granada, Steve’s Steak House and the Mayan are the most active for tropical music. The Mayan is hosting the largest number of concerts. Toño Rosario’s was a success and Jerry Rivera will come soon, so let’s see what happens. Other promoters are going to bring La Sonora Ponceña and different singers, but there is no certain that people will come for all that has happened.

Could you tell me which is the most memorable experience you have had in your career?

The most memorable experience was when Frankie Ruiz had a concert at the Bonaventure Hotel and the man went to jail the same day (laugh). That was the greatest trouble because there were so many people interested in seeing him and he never came. That was a really bad experience in life. I did a lot of dances with Oscar D’ León, Eddie Santiago, La Orquesta Inmensidad. The first time Grupo Niche came here in 1986, with whom we did dances with Oscar D’ León and La Misma Gente at the Hollywood Palladium. We also worked with Ray Barreto, Pastor López, Santiago Cerón, La Orquesta Inmensidad, Andy Montañéz, Lalo Rodríguez and many other artists. Before there were many orchestras in a single event, but now people get used to one orchestra and several DJs.

A final message to those who go into the arts

Tenacity and perseverance at work, Hard work, hard work, hard work. You should study the field when you want to do something, be sure that your idea is good and avoid failing.

Poster announcing Frankie Ruiz's concert — Poster announcing Frankie Ruiz’s concert at the Bonaventure Hotel in 1989

Website: Chuyradio.com