History

Like everyone else in the music business, El Gran Combo was impacted at the start of the 2020 decade by the Covid-19 pandemic. And like several other artists, the band tried to make good use of the performing downtime. 2020 Virtual…

This year we commemorate 100 years of Sylvia Rexach's birthday, and what a better way to do it by highlighting her achievements on International Women's Day. A True Latina Pioneer Sylvia was a trailblazing woman and a versatile artist…

Cheo Feliciano's Salsa Navideña classic, "Felicidades" celebrates its 48th anniversary this year. A Salsa Dura album with great flavor, "Felicidades" became a perfect complement to the few existing Salsa Navideña music albums that had been…

Why is it that in Puerto Rico I only hear the Tunas Estudiantinas at Christmas time? I don't know if the same thing happens in other countries. However, the other day I asked myself this cultural question. In this category, I include the…

The evolution of Salsa orchestrations during the '70s dramatically increased its popularity and established it as a solid genre of popular music, not a passing craze. Salsa Music in the '60s It started in the '60s when bands began to mix…

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,…

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…

I'm writing about Lalo Rodriguez's Salsa album "Simplemente Lalo" for two reasons; the album turns 40 and Lalo needs our support. For me, "Simplemente Lalo" was his best recording, by far, of his solo career. Lalo Rodriguez Early Years…