Spanish Harlem Orchestra

Latin Beat Magazine, June-July, 2004 by Rudy Mangual

The first Puerto Rican immigrants to New York City found permanent roots in an area of Manhattan between 96th to 125th Street, and from Third Avenue to Fifth Avenue: East Harlem. The new residents baptized the area as "El Barrio" but New Yorkers called it Spanish Harlem. This was the area were the first bodegas (small grocery stores), small restaurants and other small businesses sprang up to serve the needs of the Latino community. Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández settled in El Barrio establishing his Almacenes Hernández (a record and music shop). Spanish Harlem rapidly became a haven for Latin musicians and entertainers who created social clubs and dance halls like The Park Plaza on 110th Street, Club Cubanacán, and Teatro Hispano on 115th Street. Casa Latina, where people come from all over the world to shop for records, is still there. Spanish Harlem was home to Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez, Machito, Greciela, Mario Bauzá, Jimmy Sabater, Joe Cuba, Mongo Santamaría and Willie Bobo, among many others throughout the years. Without a doubt, Spanish Harlem is the cradle of Latin music in New York City Latin Beat Magazine had the honor of sitting down with Oscar Hernandez of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. The following conversation will give you a behind the scenes look at how this sensational salsa orchestra got its start and what keeps it at the top.

Rudy Mangual: How did Spanish Harlem Orchestra originate?

Oscar Hernández: I'd say it was about three years ago (2001) when Latin music record producer Aaron Levinson called me with the concept about a new band. He told me he had a deal with Atlantic Records to produce a special kind of record. So we discussed it and I agreed to bring together all the right people for the project. This is something that I have always been pretty good at in this business or something I like to take pride in, bringing together the right ingredients to accomplish the desired sound beyond all expectations. So we continued analyzing and discussing even further the band concept to the point of selecting a repertoire of songs. We argued about it, we both made our points more clear, till finally we made some mutual concessions and reached a somewhat happy medium about the initial concept of the new band to be created. We finally agreed on the material. I got to choose the musicians I wanted for the recording, the rehearsals got going and soon thereafter we entered the studio and recorded this wonderful album. The recording was actually shelved for about a year before anything happened with it. Levinson eventually took it to Rope-a-dope Records who finally released it in 2002. Low and behold, it was a huge success upon its release to the point of being nominated for a Grammy and the group rapidly became the favorite underground salsa band in the business.

RM: What was the title of the CD?

OH: Un Gran Día En El Barrio A Great Day in the Neighborhood), as indicated in the liner notes, "... is a musical portrait of a tiny neighborhood (Spanish Harlem that changed the sound of the entire world. This album reveals the genuine texture and evolution of what we've now come to call salsa."

RM: Whose idea was it to name the band Spanish Harlem Orchestra?

OH: It was actually Aaron's idea. I must say it was brilliant on his part. I wish I had thought about it first. The name fits the band perfectly, its concept as well as historically in reference to the music that we play. Overall, it's been a blessing to all of us because the concept has been very successful. But like I say in all of my interviews, it hasn't been all luck or the fact that we brought together a bunch of nobodies under the name of Spanish Harlem Orchestra. We did our homework initially and created an incredible music machine worthy of bearing the name Spanish Harlem Orchestra. These guys really know what this music is all about, having absorbed its true traditions through years of exposure to it and are familiar with the legacies of all the musicians that came before them. There are also a lot of cultural significances that go beyond the music within the ranks of the orchestra.

RM: I remember that upon the release of the album, the main quote used to promote the recording was, "This record is Spanish Harlem's answer to Cuba's Buena Vista Social Club," Can you explain the similarities?

OH: This came directly from the record company and when I first saw it I was not too happy with it. But after a while I reconsidered my views and came to somewhat understand what they were trying to convey by this quotation. Aside from the age difference (the Buena Vista Social Club being mostly senior Cuban citizens) they came to fame playing historical and traditional music from a particular time and place in the world, in their case, Cuba. We also came to fame by playing historical and traditional music from a very particular time and place in the world, Spanish Harlem and the time period from the 1950s to the 1970s. An all-star cast of players composes both musical outfits, making these some of the more apparent similarities from the quotation.