Search Results for: son cubano

Maite Hontele in Concert!

Latin America / Venezuela / Caracas

A great musician is someone who can enlighten the stage only with his/her presence, this is the case when Maite Hontele is on stage. Full-house, the stage full of colors and all the audience is ready to dance and enjoy the best rhythm: SALSA!

International Salsa Magazine had the honor to be part of the last concert of Maite Hontele, the incredible dutch trumpeter, in Caracas, Venezuela.

The silence is interrupted with the beautiful sound of a characteristic trumpet playing a melody, the stage gets full of musicians and Maite comes out with the biggest smile that characterize her.

She starts with a speech where she explains how thankful she is for being there, talks a little bit about Colombia, and then the party starts! Two hours full of hits of herself, Oscar d’ Leon, and many other artists, with the performance of her Colombian band by her side.

But let’s get deeper in who is her. Maite Hontelé is a trumpeter who was born in Utrecht, Holland, and was raised with music. Her parents owned a huge collection of salsa and son Cubano, and every day she would listen to Latin music, quite unusual for a Dutch girl. After playing a few years with the local brass band, she decided to become a musician, and studied latin and jazz trumpet at the Conservatory of Rotterdam.

Her first big tour was life-changing. She went to Colombia, the country where she now lives. In 2004, Maite Hontelé toured with the world-famous Buena Vista Social Club. In 2009 Maite launched her first album, Llegó la Mona, a salsa-tribute to Colombian music. This album was made with the purpose to tour more in Colombia. Among the gigs she played was the Medellin Jazz Festival.

That year has been very important for her. Not only did Maite record her first album, she also found the place where she wanted to continue to live and make music. That’s when she decided to move to Medellin, Colombia.

In 2010, she released her second production, Mujer Sonora. The album is focused on oldschool styles such as son and charanga, but also contains some spicy salsa-tracks.

This album was presented at the 2010 North Sea Jazz Festival, and on various international tours. In 2011 and 2012 Maite toured many countries with her band, and was a guest with Ruben Blades, Yuri Buenaventura, Issac Delgado, Diego Galé (DVD-recording), Juan Carlos Coronel, Oscar D’León, and many others.

Her 3rd album, Déjame Asi, was released in April 2013. She is currently touring Europe and Latin America.

“My Outlaw Loredo is the most elegant gig-bag in the universe. A perfect match for me!” Maite Hontelé

The show ends with the best energy. Maite is not only an amazing trumpeter, but also a great singer and composer. We are glad to be part of his musical journey.

Toñito Laya

Latinoamerica / Venezuela / Caracas

On this occasion we have the privilege of meeting the new Venezuelan talent Toñito Laya (singer), son of Maestro Antonio “20 DEDOS” Laya, who was one of the most significant conga players in the Venezuelan salsa movement in the 1980s, director of the “ Banbankere Orchestra” of Petare with two musical productions; giving him more than enough reason to grow in Latin music, such as “el Son”, “la Rumba“, “la Guaracha”, “el Danzón”, “Boogaloo”, “la Timba” and “la Salsa” being This is the beginning of his artistic and musical career.

Starting in the 90s, he (Toñito Laya) entered the Bigott Foundation where he had the opportunity not only to learn the various rhythms in Afro-Venezuelan percussion, but also developed as a dancer in one of the most important groups in Venezuela when it comes to popular traditions. “Vasallos del Sol”, eventually becoming “Vasallos de Venezuela” in 2016, where he had 16 concerts, productions, albums and national and international tours; Colombia, Mexico, United States, South Korea and Japan, among others.

In 2006, a project called “Comprehensive School of Latin Tradition Dance 100% Tumbao” began, where many dancers were trained in the Cuban Salsa Casino genre, combining this training with Venezuelan traditions, making them understand that traditions come first. Venezuelans. Then they participated in the most important events and competitions in Venezuela, they even became Latin American Champions of “CUBAMEMUCHO 2009” in the city of Caracas-Venezuela, thus managing to represent the country in the grand final to be held in the city of Munich-Germany, 2010.

He also tells us that in 2009, they were invited to participate in a new project but this time not to dance, but to “sing” in a group that by then had no name but a particular genre such as “Son Cubano” . From that moment Toñito began his musical career to develop in a somewhat unexpected way, he was a founder and assumed the commitment of being in charge of this group as one of its leading singers for more than 7 years, where the themes arose: To me that, La Ruñidera, Bilongo, El Jamaiquino, I hear a drum, among others; They were part of his first musical repertoire.

With two record productions together with the already structured band “La Séptima Bohemia” he consolidated his musical career as a singer, going through a training process with different teachers and vocal coaches such as: Ronald González, Fanny Olano, Gustavo Gerardo and Marcial Istúriz, among others. others, who would help him develop in the middle of music.

National tours, award nominations and concerts allowed him to share the stage alongside large-scale national and international groups such as: Francisco Pacheco, Canelita Medina, Alexander Abre y su Habana de Primera, Manolito y su Trabuco, El Septeto Santiaguero, José Alberto “El Canario” to mention a few. Toñito records for the year 2012, the song “She takes me”, a song that in turn would be the title of the second album becoming an icon of parties, dances and social events not only in Venezuela but in many salsa and salsa dancing countries. casino in the world.

In the year 2016 Toñito Laya arrives in Aztec land to embark on a new path, he begins by residing in the city of Cancun-Mexico to sing in some local groups and participate in various projects such as: Los Panas.com, La Formula Perfecta, Grupo Swing Latin among others.

This new stage as an artist prompts him to consider a new musical challenge but this time as a solo singer with a well-defined and focused vision, his pleasant experience as a dancer motivates him to dedicate his first promotional single “ABRE QUE VOY”, this being the complement of an orchestra, for the musicians and their singers “EL BAILADOR”.

“ABRE QUE VOY” is the result of the work of talented and renowned Venezuelan musicians who give an important plus to this Musical production of “Maurice Melo”, this first single is created, performed by Toñito Laya, in the company of the Venezuelan talent of the following musicians:

Piano and arrangement: Joel Uriola.
Bass: Jesús Torres “Mandinga”
Percussion: Yomar Méndez “Caballo”
Trombone: Jhonal Rivero.
Trumpet: Edward Platter.
Baritone sax: Michel Peña.
Choirs: William “Wywy” Buznego, Carlos Guzmán and Ramfis Fajardo.
Recorded in the studio: A Tempo Records by Heyzer Cabrera.
Mixing and Mastering: Heyzer Cabrera. Caracas – Venezuela 2018

If you want to meet or contact Toñito, you can follow him through:

Correo: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonito.laya
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUkjU7SFnPc_W-XJDlMMzRg
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonitolaya/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/negrolaya

Anacaona Orchestra

Latin America / Cuba / Havana

Anacaona Orchestra. Women of Cuba Since 1932

Genesis Founded in 1932

Anacaona Orchestra founded on February 19, 1932 by Concepción Castro Zaldarriaga and her sisters, being then the first female sextet of Son Cubano and in 1934 expanded to the Jazz Band and Charanga Típica format, projecting itself to the world from the famous ¨Aires Libres of the Saratoga Hotel. ¨ in the Havana Prado.

Between the 1940s and 1960s, these talented women toured throughout North to South America, the Caribbean and France.

In Mexico, one of the countries most visited by the orchestra at this stage, its images and sounds were recorded in some film of Mexican Cinema, such as: ¨the night is ours¨, ¨I do not deny my past¨ and ¨Women of theater¨ in which they alternated with film and music artists from that country. Also at that same time they recorded with the RCA Víctor label.

The Aguirres

The sisters Giorgia and Dora Aguirre, with a solid musical background, specializing in Double Bass and Saxophone, recently graduated from the ¨Amadeo Roldan¨ Music Conservatory, joined the Anacaona Orchestra with its original founders in 1983, under the direction Alicia Castro, with whom they learned the most genuine genres of Cuban popular music, the rigor and discipline in this profession.

3rd Generation

After the retirement of the Castro sisters in December 1987, she assumed the direction of the Georgia Aguirre Orchestra, who, together with her sister and other young women who had also graduated from music schools, continued the work begun by the founders, consolidating a style that combines tradition with modernity, to preserve and enhance the history of Anacaona.

Tours

Internationally, they have traveled to more than 30 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, America and the Caribbean, performing at important festivals and multiple stages, among which the most outstanding are:

The tour of 34 countries in the People’s Republic of China; his participation in the play ¨El Burgués Tropical¨ under the direction of Gerome Sabarì, inspired by Moliere’s classic, El Bourgeois Gentleman”; the tour made through some cities in the United States in which they also had a very emotional meeting with Graciela Pérez, singer and founder of Anacaona and the show “Sabor de la Habana” that opened the season of Cuban shows at the Cabaret Del Gran Casino Monte Carlo of the Principality of Monaco,

In addition to other important jazz and summer festivals in Spain, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Holland, Canada, Jamaica, Aruba, Curacao, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Lucia, Peru, Honduras, Venezuela and Mexico, among others.

Marimba is the name given in Spanish to a very old musical instrument that, over time, has gained visibility and importance in many countries.

The marimba is a musical percussion instrument with a rich history that spans continents and cultures.

Although its exact origin is debated, it is believed that the marimba has its roots in Africa and was developed by different African cultures such as the Bantu and the Marimberos.

The term “marimba” comes from the Bantu “marimba” or “malimba”, meaning “single bar xylophone”.

In America, historical records indicate that diatonic xylophones, precursors of the modern marimba, were introduced in Central America between the XVI and XVII centuries.

The first known marimba in America dates from 1545 in the Santa Lucia hacienda, in the municipality of Jiquipilas, Chiapas, Mexico. In Guatemala, historian Domingo Juarros documented in 1680 the use of marimbas with gourd resonators by Mayan musicians.

Musical Duo of a Guitarist and a Marimba player in Guanacaste in Costa Rica dates back to 1888

Throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, the marimba spread throughout most of the Americas and became a typical element of Mayan and Ladino ensembles.

Today, the marimba is considered a patriotic symbol of Guatemala and Costa Rica, and its music, along with the traditional songs and dances of Colombia’s South Pacific region and Ecuador’s Esmeraldas province, was inscribed in 2010 on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The modern marimba, like the one seen in the image provided, consists of a series of wooden slats of different sizes, arranged from largest to smallest, each with a different sound pitch.

They are struck with mallets to produce musical notes, and each key has its own soundboard.

The development of the modern chromatic marimba was established in Chiapas, Mexico, around 1890.

This instrument has been integrated into a variety of musical genres, from traditional Latin American music to academic concerts, jazz and martial bands.

The marimba remains a vital instrument that celebrates the cultural heritage and musical creativity of the regions where it is loved and played.

Image of a musical duet between a guitarist and a marimba player dated Guanacaste, 1888.

Learning about the materials and components of the marimba, being aware of the playing techniques and learning about the existing varieties helps to broaden cultural knowledge and to discover a wonderful universe of particular sounds.

It is enriching to know, among other things, that a series of woods of multiple sizes arranged from longest to shortest are essential to assemble the keyboard. For the soundboard, on the other hand, it is necessary to work on the tuning so that each wood of this structure is in tune with each key.

As for playing procedures, the four-stick technique and the art of glissando appear as alternatives to keep in mind. Of course, the most advisable thing to do is to attend a marimba workshop in order to master the techniques correctly.

Nor should we forget that, since ancient times, many types of marimbas have been made and used and have contributed their characteristic sounds to multiple musical genres and styles.

Thanks to those who dare to experiment with instruments and musical compositions without being conditioned by prejudices, for example, the folk marimba and the midi marimba can coexist in harmony, to cite two specific cases.

Saurce: Recuperando la historia en Guanacaste

Also Read: Son Cubano is one of the most popular musical styles in Cuba and Kiki Valera is one of its leading exponents

Toñito Laya

Latin America / Venezuela / Caracas

On this occasion we have the privilege of meeting the new Venezuelan talent Toñito Laya (singer), son of Maestro Antonio “20 DEDOS” Laya, who was one of the most significant conga players in the Venezuelan salsa movement in the 1980s, director of the “ Banbankere Orchestra” of Petare with two musical productions; giving him more than enough reason to grow in Latin music, such as “el Son”, “la Rumba”, “la Guaracha”, “el Danzón“, “Boogaloo”, “la Timba” and “la Salsa” being This is the beginning of his artistic and musical career.

Starting in the 90s, he entered the Bigott Foundation where he had the opportunity not only to learn the various rhythms in Afro-Venezuelan percussion, but also developed as a dancer in one of the most important groups in Venezuela when it comes to popular traditions. “Vasallos del Sol”, eventually becoming “Vasallos de Venezuela” in 2016, where he had 16 concerts, productions, albums and national and international tours; Colombia, Mexico, United States, South Korea and Japan, among others.

To me that, La Ruñidera, Bilongo, El Jamaiquino, I hear a drum, among others; They were part of his first musical repertoire. With two record productions together with the already structured band “La Séptima Bohemia” he consolidated his musical career as a singer, going through a training process with different teachers and vocal coaches such as:

Ronald González, Fanny Olano, Gustavo Gerardo and Marcial Istúriz, among others. others, who would help him develop in the middle of music. National tours, award nominations and concerts allowed him to share the stage alongside large-scale national and international groups such as:

Francisco Pacheco, Canelita Medina, Alexander Abre y su Habana de Primera, Manolito y su Trabuco, El Septeto Santiaguero, José Alberto “El Canario” to mention a few. Toñito records for the year 2012, the song “She takes me”, a song that in turn would be the title of the second album becoming an icon of parties, dances and social events not only in Venezuela but in many salsa and salsa dancing countries. casino in the world.

Piano and arrangement: Joel Uriola.
Bass: Jesús Torres “Mandinga”
Percussion: Yomar Méndez “Caballo”
Trombone: Jhonal Rivero.
Trumpet: Edward Platter.
Baritone sax: Michel Peña.
Choirs: William “Wywy” Buznego, Carlos Guzmán and Ramfis Fajardo.
Recorded in the studio: A Tempo Records by Heyzer Cabrera.
Mixing and Mastering: Heyzer Cabrera.

Caracas – Venezuela 2018

If you want to meet or contact Toñito, you can follow him through:

● E-mail: [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonito.laya
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUkjU7SFnPc_W-XJDlMMzRg
Twitter: https://twitter.com/negrolaya