Beat Mail - Carta al Editor

Latin Beat Magazine, June-July, 1999

Thank you, Latin Beat Magazine and Louis Laffitte, for an informative and well deserved article on Herman Olivera. I recently had the pleasure of seeing him perform with the Machito Orchestra at the Copacabana. Herman's experience, talent and versatility make him my choice for one of the best soneros in Latin music today.

Perhaps you might be interested in knowing that Herman almost didn't record with Eddie Palmieri on "Rumbero del Piano." RMM records wanted Wichy Camacho of Descarga Boricua fame. Apparently, RMM felt that Wichy Camacho's voice bears a striking resemblance to that of Lalo Rodríguez. It was a commercial attempt to recapture Eddie's old sound and sell more records. Eddie threatened to pull out of the recording sessions if Herman was not included. In the end, a compromise was reached and both singers appeared on the recording. We are all the beneficiaries of Eddie Palmieri's ability to stick to his principles.

Praises to the new crop of young singers who ate getting all the media attention and reaping the rewards (Grammy's, etc.). As for me, I sing the praises of guys like Herman who are in the trenches nightly, keeping Latin music alive and well.

Tomas Peña

Brooklyn, New York

¿Hasta cuando van a estar diciendo que William Cepeda pertenece a la famosa Familia Cepeda, de Don Rafael Cepeda?

Es realmente sorprendente la cantidad de articulos publicados con este error. En Puerto Rico existen muchas familias diferentes de apellido Cepeda. William es de los Cepedas de Loiza. Sin embargo, la familia Cepeda, reconocida por su fama con la bomba y la plena, no lleva relación directa con los Cepeda de Loiza. Claro, William ha tocado con ellos en par de ocasiones. El padre de Don Rafael Cepeda era de Mayaguez y trajo a Santurce esa tradición de la bomba del oeste de la isla. En otras palabras, la famosa familia Cepeda de Santurce, no es de la tradición de la bomba de Loiza tampoco. Todos los bomberos en Puerto Rico conocen todo esto, no es nada nuevo. La Familia Cepeda dejó de ser una unidad ya hace muchos años. Ahora hay cuatro grupos diferentes, cada uno con su filosofía diferente.

Tato Conrad

Santurce, Puerto Rico

Incredible article on the plena in the May 99' issue by Elmer González. Being that my Spanish reading is not the best, I had the entire article translated by my lovely wife, who also was blown away by the amount of information at hand on this important article, "De Canario a Plena Libre, Mi Plena Sigue Sonando." We both love our Latin Beat Magazine! Gracias.

Jimmy & Sandra Martínez

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