The greatest show on earth: the 6th Annual West Coast Salsa Congress

Latin Beat Magazine, May, 2004 by Rudy Mangual

Albert Torres Productions Inc., headed by Albert & Maya Torres, has once again planned the largest salsa music congress in the world scheduled to make Los Angeles, California the salsa capital of the planet for the sixth consecutive year between May 24 and May 30, 2004. With thousands of attendees expected daily, hundreds of dance teams, numerous music and dance workshops taught by world renowned instructors and some of the top bands and artists in the business, this is without a doubt "The Greatest (Salsa) Show on Earth." But don't just take my word for it; look at this year's list of headlining superstars: Johnny Pacheco & his Orchestra (featuring Héctor Casanova), Africando, Roberta Roena y Su Apollo Sound, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Johnny Polanco y Su Conjunto Amistad, Nora & Orquesta de la Luz and El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. Each evening also boasts the addition of special invited guest musicians including: Manny Oquendo, Jimmy Bosch, Andy González, Ray de la Paz and Frankie Vásquez, among others.

JOHNNY PACHECO: A LIVING SALSA LEGEND

A native of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, Johnny Pacheco relocated to New York City at age eleven with his family during the late 1940s. There he learned to play the saxophone, flute, accordion and percussion instruments in high school. He initially entered the New York City music scene as a percussionist working in the jazz and Latin scene. After a stint with Charlie Palmieri's Orquesta Duboney in the late 1950s, he went on to organize his first band. In 1961 he released his debut album, Pacheco y su Charanga, on the Alegre Records label. Pacheco's charanga changed the sound of Latin music throughout the Americas with its infectious "pachanga" dance craze, which lasted until the mid-sixties. Next, Pacheco joined forces with attorney Jerry Masucci and created Fania Records, releasing its first album, LP #325 (which indicated Pacheco's birth date). Years later, Fania Records was responsible for initiating the birth of salsa music in New York City. Pacheco continued recording his own band as well as producing many acts for Fania Records, eventually becoming the ultimate musical director for the now legendary Fania All Stars recordings and concert tours. The Fania All Stars spotlighted the biggest and the best, including Ray Barretto, Willie Colón, Héctor Laveo, Celia Cruz, Rubén Brades, Ismael Miranda, Cheo Feliciano and Johnny Pacheco. Pacheco is also responsible for introducing the variation of using one or two coros (choruses)in the montuno section of a score. Today, at 70 years young, he continues to make and direct epic salsa music.

AFRICANDO: ECHOS OF MOTHER AFRICA

The group Africando was created by producers Ibrahima Sylba and Boncana Maiga in the early 1990s in an effort to produce a cross-cultural collaboration between top-ranked New York City based Latin musicians and African vocalists. Featuring a repertoire similar to that of bands such as Sexteto Habanero, the group performs scorching dance tracks that blend Cuban forms with African rhythms, with all the lyrics sung in Yoruba, Walof, Mandigo and French. Their 1993 debut recording Trovador featured the vocals of West Senegalese singers Pape Seck, Medoune Diallo and Nicolas Manheim. Their second album Tierra Tradicional(released in 1995) featured the new vocals of Tabu Ley Rochereau of Zaire, Bambino Diabete of Guinea, Gnonnas Pedro of Benin and original vocalist Medoune Diallo. The tradition of featuring new vocalists continues throughout most of their recordings, as indicated in their most recent disc Martina, released in 2003. Some of the top names that have performed with Africando in recent years include Oscar Hernández, Bobby Allende, Papo Pepín, Mario Rivera, Héctor "Bomberito" Zarzuela, Héctor Casanova, George Delgado, Eddie Zervigón and Pablo & Chino Nuñez. Their song Yay Boy earned the group international fame back in 1996 and continues to get airplay even today.

ROBERTO ROENA Y SU APOLLO SOUND: STILL IN ORBIT

Roberto Roena's career dates back to 1954 when he was a young member of Cortijo y Su Combo, which featured the vocals of a young Ismael Rivera. The group performed daily in the then-popular Puerto Rican television program "El Shaw de Cortijo y Su Combo." Lasting about a year, the program established Roena as a gifted dancer and percussionist. He remained with the group until 1962, at which time he and several other members of the band went on to form El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico under the musical direction of pianist Rafael Ithier. With El Gran Combo, Roana further excelled as a percussionist as well as a choreographer for the front line of the band. His dance routines set the orchestra apart from the test, creating a style and unique form for salsa bands that continues to prevail even today with bands from all over the world. By 1969, he formed his own group, The Apollo Sound, again taking the salsa experience to another level through his music and vision. In 1973 he became a member of the Fania All Stars, adding his percussive talents to the already powerful salsa starship of the 1970s. He has also performed with Rubén Blades, Adalberto Santiago, Elias Lopes and Julio "Gunda" Merced. With dozens of hit songs and classic all-time favorites to its credit, Roberto Roena's Apollo Sound continues to be one of the main salsa outfits of our times.