Ismael Rivera Was a Master of the Clave
October 5th is the birthday of Latin music legend Ismael Rivera "El Sonero Mayor", just a couple of days after the passing anniversary of his legendary partner, Rafael Cortijo.
In my opinion, he became such an influential singer in Latin…
Why Celia Cruz was Salsa Music Queen
Most Salsa music fans would agree that Celia Cruz honored the nickname "Salsa Music Queen".
Celia established such a high standard that no one else been able to occupy the vacated thrown since her departure!
I had to write about Celia…
Larry Harlow: 3 Albums at Apex of Salsa
Larry Harlow recorded 3 albums that helped elevate the orchestration in Salsa music, and catapult the genre to its apex. These were "Hommy", "Salsa", and "Live in Quad".
In the first part of the 1970s, artists like the Palmieri brothers,…
Viva Netflix’ “Vivo”
Lin-Manuel Miranda did it again in Netflix "Vivo", an animated story anchored in Latin music.
In"Vivo", Lin-Manuel gets a little help from his friends Gloria Estefan (glad to see the Latin music diva back at work) and Cuban maestro…
Music & Domestic Violence: Salsa Clean-up
Following up on the previous blog on "Music & Domestic Violence", we look back at how Salsa music reflected our society's "machista" culture, contributing to this unfortunate behavior.
Salsa "Machista"
I'm using this term to describe…
Sonora Ponceña: “Hegemonía Musical” Review
After 9 years of recording silence, La Sonora Ponceña launched "Hegemonía Musical" which contains 8 songs of mostly classic Salsa music.
"Hegemonía Musical" is the first recording after the passing of the band's founder Enrique…
Latino Music Café is Back!
I'm finally able to say that I'm back blogging at Latino Music Café! It has been 6 months and I'm anxious to share my thoughts with you!
Six Months of Hiatus
As I contracted Coronavirus in late December 2020, I decided to…
Music and Domestic Violence; Reggaetón & Trap
I have little doubt that there is a link between the recent domestic violence cases in Puerto Rico and the woman-bashing songs in Reggaetón & Trap.
Reggaetón & Trap Drive Domestic violence
I'll start by stating the…
Too Early for In-person Concerts
I believe, like most experts, that it's too soon for in-person concerts.
God knows we are tired of this quarantine which has now been going on for over a year.
Note: I wrote a blog on the coronavirus a little over a year ago. You can…
The Departed of Latin Music 2020
This year, 2020, has been a devastating year for all of us, and on top of it all, the departed were great contributors to our Latin music.
I'll make a brief review of those that departed this year.
1. Pedro "Sorolo" Rodriguez…
Jose Feliciano: 50 Years of “Feliz Navidad”
The Christmas classic "Feliz Navidad" turned 50 in 2020, and Jose Feliciano is celebrating by inviting a few guest artists to sing along in a new version of it.
Perlude to "Feliz Navidad"
Jose Feliciano was doing very well at the time…