A Bite From The Apple

Latin Beat Magazine, June-July, 1999 by Vicki Sola

For me, the month of April was a grand chapter of a simply spectacular spring. On April 7, I made my way, via bus number 167, into Manhattan. Looking out the window, I remembered sneaking away many times on this very same bus route in my teenage years, to the Cheetah, which was located on 52nd Street and Eighth Avenue, in the heart of the Apple. I witnessed so much great music there during the height of the Fania days -- indeed, I was present at the taping of the Fania movie there, as was musician Ralph Irizarry, who also admitted to "playing hookey" one night. Those were the days that I thought I was so cool, when, at the age of fourteen, I was talking to Barretto in the middle of the Cheetah at 4 a.m. Those were also the days when Barretto, who was like a second father to me, would be at my doorstep the next day, talking rapid-fire Spanish to my father, as I prayed that my previous night's whereabouts were not being disclosed. All was okay though, when I spent Sunday afternoon in the kitchen with my father, who smiled as I listened religiously to Felipe Luciano's Latin Roots, and later, Roger Dawson's show, on the now defunct WRVR. I recalled listening to Joe Gaines on WEVD, and trying to tape Dick "Ricardo" Sugar's shows on a flimsy little reel-to-reel tape recorder.

Now here I was, several decades later, on my way to New York City's Birdland, as an invited speaker at the First Annual Induction and Award Ceremony for The International Latin Music Hall of Fame. Upon entering the club, I greeted many of my heroes -- Johnny Pacheco, Joe Cuba, Joe Gaines, Larry Harlow, Joe Bataan, Eddie Zervigón, Izzy Sanabria, and Joe Quijano. As I stood before the microphone, I felt absolutely overwhelmed. My audience was a virtual Who's Who of the Latin music industry. I began my speech, acknowledging my friend and colleague Max Salazar, and pointing out that he and Ricardo Marrero had, in October of 1997, brought photographs and memorabilia representing the Latin musical experience for display at The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio. This momentous and highly significant representation was only temporary, and I stated that it was, indeed, about time Latin music had its own permanent institution to honor and recognize its artists.

It was a particularly poignant moment when ah emotional Johnny Colón stepped up to the stage to accept his award. The audience held its collective breath as Miguel Angel Moré accepted an award granted posthumously to his brother Benny Moré. Other inductees honored with awards were Marco Rizo, Orquesta Aragón, Marco Antonio Muñiz, Miguel Failde, Ignacio Piñeiro, Ernesto Lecuona, Rafael Hernández, Pérez Prado, Augustin Lara, Enrique Jorrín, Miguelito Valdés, Frank Grillo (Machito), Mario Bauzá, Tito Rodríguez, Chano Pozo, Tito Puente, Israel López "Cachao," Arsenio Rodríguez, Chico O'Farrill, La Sonora Matancera, Johnny Pacheco, Johnny Ventura, José Fajardo, Joe Cuba, Eddie Palmieri, Jerry Masucci, and Ralph Mercado. La Sonora Matancera's Rogelio Martínez received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his role in organizing and leading the 75 year-old Sonora Matancera, which has, according to ILMHF president and founder Joe Hernández, featured more than 50 singers in its history, including Celia Cruz. Gloria and Emilio Estefan received The Benny Moré Memorial Award. Hernández realizes that many more artists deserve to be inducted, and that it will take a while to catch up with many years of Latin music history. I salute Joe Hernández for making his longtime vision a reality. I commend him for taking leadership and taking it upon himself to actualize a long overdue concept, and for being so dedicated to his dream that he poured his own personal resources into this project. I also thank him for inviting me to participate in such a historic event.

The evening's festivities continued at La Maganette, with Eddie Zervigón and Orquesta Broadway playing to a packed house, as celebrities and Wednesday regulars danced the night away.

April 29 marked the 76th birthday of Tito Puente, and I had the pleasure of attending the party planned for El Rey by Tito Puente Scholarship Fund chairman Joe Conzo. Many notables, including Bill Cosby, attended the bash, which took place at Jimmy's Bronx Cafe. Puente made his grand entrance after having thrown out the first ball, that evening, at Yankee Stadium. El Rey had, according to Cosby, pitched the baseball into the dirt, possibly believing that he was playing cricket. Despite Puente's mudsliding fastball and high ERA, he received a proclamation from New York Governor George Pataki's office, and the night was an absolute dream for anyone who loves the music. An unforgettable moment occurred when Lionel Hampton, who shares Puente's birthday, sat in his wheelchair, on stage, behind the vibraphone, and played How High the Moon. Cosby, a longtime admirer of Puente and Latin music, spent much of the evening on stage, clutching a large horn that appeared to have been (and sounded like it had been) run over by a rather large vehicle. He traded licks with Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros, amusing musicians and audience members alike. Undaunted by the showdown that took place between Eddie Zervigón's flute and José Alberto's miraculous "air flute," Cosby challenged "El Canario" to an "instrumental" duel, slicing his hand several times, in utter amazement, through Alberto's invisible instrument. The comedian also had the place in hysterics as he reinvented the Spanish language, transforming himself into a singer, "Antonio from Philly."