salsa

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…

As always I like to look at the Latin Grammy 2020 nominees as a kind of recommendation list of best recordings to check out. I'll start my Latin Grammy 2020 comments with the category of Best Salsa Album. Best Salsa Album 2020 To keep…

Of course, it's only my opinion, but to me, it's clear that "Bobby Valentin Presenta a el Cano Estremera" was Cano's best album of his career. Before Cano's First Solo Album Many of us loved many of the songs Cano Estremera recorded with…

"Cosa Nuestra" (1970), the 4th album by Willie Colon and Hector Lavoe, turned 50 and its re-release now made it to the Billboard charts. "Cosa Nuestra" #3 in Billboard A new edition of "Cosa Nuestra" was released to celebrate its 50th…

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…

In "Colegas" Gilberto Santa Rosa achieves three goals; goes back to his roots in Salsa Dura, sings retro Salsa songs, and shares singing duties with colleagues he admires. This lengthy album was recorded over a period of two years, and…

It's been 40 years since Ruben Blades released the masterpiece "Maestra Vida", a double-album describing the life of its protagonist in a Latino neighborhood. This was an audacious groundbreaking recording of a musical "novela", similar to…

The event that occurred in New York’s Cheetah’s nightclub on the night of August 26, 1971, changed Salsa forever. The Fania All-Stars transformed a popular niche Latin music genre into an international phenomenon. People that liked Salsa…

As we observed the Martin Luther King, Jr. day, I reflected on two books I read recently which pointed out racism in Latin music. Is there still racism in Latin music? Note: I originally wrote this blog for Martin Luther King Jr. day in…