Is Giovanni Hidalgo the best? Purloined by Don Jibaro An artist some describe as "touched by the hand of God," conguero Giovanni Hidalgo plays a major role in shaping the way the world thinks of hand drumming. With legendary percussionists Tito Puente, Armando Peraza, Patato and the late José Mangual, Sr. topping the list of his most ardent fans, Giovanni and his natural talent are bringing new respect to Latin rhythms as well as to the rhythms of his birthplace, Puerto Rico. READ MORE Salsa Picture Moments from the Past to Present!
Les Rivera going to a Hector Lavoe salsa event at the age of 16.	Les Rivera and Yomo Toro today.

Systematic Analysis of
Caribbean Conga Drums
Purloined by Don Jibaro Barbablanca
he conga is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum of African origin, probably derived from the Congolese Makuta drums or Sikulu drums commonly played in Mbanza Ngungu, Congo. A person who plays conga is called a "conguero".

Les Rivera with his new Puerto Rican Tumbadora ~~>

Although ultimately derived from African drums made from hollowed logs, the Cuban conga is staved, like a barrel. These drums were probably made from salvaged barrels originally. READ MORE

¿Wassa Salsa?
Salsa refers to a fusion of informal dance styles having roots in the Caribbean (especially in Cuba and Puerto Rico), Latin and North America. The dance originated through the mixture of Mambo, Danzón, Guaguancó, Cuban Son, and other typical Cuban dance forms. Salsa is danced to Salsa music. There is a strong African influence in the music as well as the dance.

Salsa is usually a partner dance, although there are recognized solo steps and some forms are danced in groups of couples, with frequent exchanges of partner (Rueda de Casino). Improvisation and social dancing are important elements of Salsa but it appears as a performance dance too.

The name "Salsa" is the Spanish word for sauce, connoting (in American Spanish) a spicy flavor[1]. The Salsa aesthetic is more flirtatious and sensuous than its ancestor, Cuban Son. Salsa also suggests a "mixture" of ingredients, though this meaning is not found in most stories of the term's origin.

More on this fabulous and delicious concept later

Mambo Master Cachao Dead at 89
Israel Cachao López — the legendary Cuban composer, songwriter and bassist known simply as “Cachao” — died last March at age 89 in Coral Gables, Florida. Cachao is revered as the pioneer of the mambo, the genre created in the late 1930s that became the bedrock of modern Cuban music, salsa, and the Latin-influenced genres of rock and r&b.

Born in 1918, Cachao’s 80-year career began in the silent movie era as he accompanied pianists in movie theaters in his native Havana. At 13, he became the bassist of the Havana Philharmonic, a position he held for 30 years. Simultaneously, with his brother Orestes, he played in a succession of dance orchestras and smaller ensembles as the duo wrote thousands of songs in the traditional Cuban styles... READ MORE

Timbales, Conga y Bongó|
A Short Historical Primer
By Bobby Sanabria
The Timbales
The timbales were developed as a portable replacement for the "timbal criollo" (creole timpani) in Cuba's Danzónera Bands. The design of the timbal criollo was based on the European timpani but was slightly smaller. The European timpani was introduced to Cuba by an Italian Opera orchestra that toured the island in the mid 1870's. The Danzóneras were brass bands that played the elegant danzón - a style of music based on the French contradanse but with clave driven rhythm propelling it. By the mid 1930's a small cowbell was added to interpret son based music. Son is the folk root of the music we today call Salsa which is an urban contemporary interpretation of the son. The smaller timbalitos were developed READ MORE

Don Jibaro, the Man Behind Jibaros.com Talks To Salsaricans
—Interview by By Les Rivera
"Eccentricity is necessarily defined relatively. For the purposes of this interview, an eccentric is someone whose behavior, beliefs and hobbies deviate in a significant way from the accepted norms of their society, but otherwise can function largely as normal in that society. He or she may be regarded as strange, odd or at least unconventional, irregular and exotic. Other people may regard the eccentric with apprehension but also with amusement... Read More

One Truly Boricua... Bomba & Plena
Courtesy of The Smithsonian Institute
Bomba and plena are percussion-driven musical traditions from Puerto Rico that move people to dance. Often mentioned together as though they were a single musical style, both reflect the African heritage of Puerto Rico, but there are basic distinctions between them in rhythm, instrumentation, and lyrics. You can hear the difference in these songs. In "Baila, Julia Loíza" the drums or barriles are lower pitched and form a different rhythmic accompaniment than the pandereta drums in the plena example, "Báilala hasta las dos." READ MORE

The One Queen of Salsa: Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz (October 21, 1925 – July 15, 2003) was an Afro-Cuban-American salsa singer who spent most of her career living in New Jersey, and working in the United States and several Latin American countries. Cruz was one of the most successful Cuban performers of the 20th century, with twenty-three gold albums to her name and has earned the moniker "La guarachera de Cuba". Leila Cobo of Billboard Magazine once said "Cruz is indisputably the best-known and most influential female figure in the history of Afro-Cuban music." Cruz once said in an interview "If I had a chance I wouldn't have been singing and dancing, I would be a teacher just like my dad wanted me to be". Read More

Tito Rodríguez, The Other Mambo King
When I was in High School in Bayamón, PR we had dances, but the main ingredient in the record player was not Tito Puente, as one might have thought... it was Tito Rodriguez... the other Mambo King.

Tito Rodriguez's romantic inflections into his singing, made him a favorite with the "conservas" trying to score... The girls liked him! Even fast songs sounded "sexy" due to the breathing technique that Rodriguez employed while crooning. It worked, and the high schools were his to rule... and that he did, until... BAM! ...Dead at age fifty! Read More

WASSAMAMBO?
Mambo. So what is it? Well, Mambo is a fully featured content management system (CMS) that can be used to build and maintain a web site. It’s a user friendly software that allows both novices and experts alike to efficiently and easily manage online content.

WAIT!!! Wrong mambo!! Our mambo is a Latin American dance form greatly revered in dance circles. Though music similar to the now recognizable style of the mambo existed as far back as the mid-19th century, the dance itself was not invented until the 1940s. Perez Prado is credited with the invention of the mambo dance, as well as with marketing his style of music as... Read More

 

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