At the end of the year you start taking stock of the year that is passing. My goodness, there was sure a lot of good salsa music that came out in 2018. You might have missed the following albums. Spanish Harlem Orchestra15 Anniversary(Artist Share, 2018) Under the … [Read more...]
About Katharine A. Díaz
Best Salsa Albums You Might Have Missed in 2018 (Part 1)
Out of the many salsa recordings we had a chance to get our hands on this year, these were the best of the crop. You can’t go wrong with any of these. This is salsa at its best. Ed Martínez Conjunto Qué no se acaben los cueros (indie, 2018) It’s good to know … [Read more...]
Forró Anyone?
Brazilian regional music has Los Angeles and the world dancing. Brazil is a country rich in rhythms and dances. While samba and bossa nova have conquered fans around the world for some time now, many of the country’s regional rhythms and dances have made it out … [Read more...]
Salsa Albums You May Have Missed | Summer Edition 2018
Take a trip down memory lane with us and revisit some important salsa albums you may have missed over these last couple of years. Don Perignon y la Puertorriqueña Música Maestro (Don Records, 2016) Pedro Luis Morales Cortijo, aka Don Perignon, is a Puerto … [Read more...]
Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo
A review of Ned Sublette’s tome on Cuban music. We were all surprised when Ned Sublette came out with his hit recording Cowboy Rumba (Palm Pictures) in 1999. It was the perfect—yet totally unexpected and hard-to-imagine—blend of country-western and Afro-Caribbean … [Read more...]
A Farewell to Albert Torres
When I wrote my “Salseros Lost in 2016” pieces for Dance Papi, I never thought I’d be writing a tribute to Albert Torres only months later. Unfortunately, that is what is happening now. Albert Torres, promoter, salsa congress organizer, dancer, etc., died on May 25 … [Read more...]
Salseros Lost in 2016: Part 2
We continue remembering artists we lost in 2016 and who contributed greatly to salsa and Afro-Cuban music. They—and others—are now up in that great rumbón in the sky. Ismael Quintana (June 3, 1937–April 16, 2016) Ismael Quintana was born in Ponce, Puerto … [Read more...]
Salseros Lost in 2016: Part 1
2016 saw the loss of several great artists who made considerable contributions to salsa and Afro-Cuban music. In Part I, we remember two great soneros—one from Mexico, another from Cuba. Luis Ángel Silva Nava - "Melón" (October 2, 1931–February 8, 2016) Melón … [Read more...]
2016 Bid Farewell With A Bang
These CD’s wrapped up a good year of music While we wait for the new crop of must-have cd’s for 2017, let’s check some of last year’s productions you might have missed. Gran Combo Alunizando (EGC Records, 2016) Gran Combo—or El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico—as … [Read more...]
30 Years and Counting of KPFK’s “Canto Tropical”
In April 1986, a new show took to the airwaves on KPFK, 90.7 FM. Titled “Canto Tropical,” its mission was to play the best darn salsa and Afro-Cuban music in all of Southern California. The genius behind the show was Hector Reséndez, better known to listeners as “La … [Read more...]
Eclectic Salsa Mixes to Consider
Not your run-of-the-mill new picks Afro Latin Ensemble Levántate o Despídete (Get Up and Dance) (Aerie Records, 2015) There is something so refreshing about a musical ensemble made up of music students. Embedded in the project is the knowledge that the music … [Read more...]
Book Review: “Journey Beneath My Skin,” Chronicling Fitto Foster’s Transformation
For many of us active in the Los Angeles salsa community, we first remember Fitto Foster as a founding member of one of the top salsa bands back in the 1970’s - Orquesta Versalles. What we didn’t know was that this singer, keyboardist, composer and arranger would … [Read more...]