The Legend of Roberto Roena: Part 1
I had the fortune to witness the peak years of legendary Puerto Rican bongo player Roberto Roena. His Apollo Sound of the '70s and '80s made a profound impact on Salsa music.
One of my highlights regarding Roberto Roena was a concert he…
José Nogueras: “A Gozar la Fiesta” and More
We had the pleasure of visiting Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Nogueras in his studio to talk about his career, Christmas, his album"A Gozar la Fiesta", Parrandas, Tite Curet Alonso, Cheo Feliciano, and so many other things.…
Eternally Pablo
The first song I heard by Pablo Milanés was "Eternamente Yolanda" performed by the Puerto Rican "nueva trova" group Haciendo Punto en Otro Son.
It was because of that song that I decided to buy that record. I originally thought the song…
Ismael Miranda Music Legend Part 4: the ’90s
Ismael Miranda finished the '80s with four Christmas albums (Part 3) and starts the '90s by jumping into the Salsa Romántica craze. He extends that romanticism into a series of Bolero albums with Andy Montañez and finishes the decade with…
Puerto Rican Plena Still Strong
As this week Puerto Rico commemorates its "discovery" by Columbus (November 19) in 1493, our folk rhythm of "Plena" is still going strong over a century after its origin.
Note: this blog was originally published in 2010, when this rhythm…
Puerto Rico Homage to Ismael Miranda Concert
Ismael Miranda has many reasons to feel better today after the "Puerto Rico Saluda a Ismael Miranda" concert. Although still recovering from his 2021 stroke, Ismael enjoyed a concert where various Salsa and pop music stars paid homage to…
Ismael Miranda Music Legend Part 3; 2nd Decade Solo
After a strong finish to his first decade as a solo artist (as we covered in Part 2), Ismael Miranda continued producing good Salsa albums towards the end of the Fania Records era. He even resurrected the Orquesta Revelación. But as the 80s…
Ismael Miranda Music Legend Part 2; Early Solo Career
The solo career of Ismael Miranda began incredibly well. His first three solo albums were so good and became so popular that they marked the rest of his career.
The impact of these albums was such that when in 2001 Ismael Miranda…
Enjoyed “Sesiones Desde la Loma, El Evento”
"Sesiones Desde la Loma; El Evento" turned out to be an enjoyable all-day musical experience! I congratulate Norberto Velez and Gabriel Ramos for turning what started as a YouTube experiment ("Sesiones") into a full-blow event ("El Evento")…
Grammy 2023 Voters: We Need Your Vote
Calling all 2023 Grammy Award voters! The first round voting window closes this Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022. We want to encourage all eligible voters to cast their votes.
Recording Academy Communication for Grammy Voters
Here's the…