The Legend of Roberto Roena: Part 1
Posted on 24. Jan, 2010 by Hector Aviles.
I had the fortune to witness the peak years of legendary Puerto Rican bongo player Roberto Roena. One of my highlights was a concert Roena played at our High School, where the theme was Roberto Roena’s history. He played songs from his first Apollo Sound album through his latest, which at the time I believe [...]
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Fiestas Calle San Sebastian is a Great Puerto Rican Tradition
Posted on 20. Jan, 2010 by Hector Aviles.
The traditional “Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián” bring more than just music to the festivities that nowadays mark the close of Christmas in Puerto Rico. On the 40th anniversary of their reincarnation, the festival honors this year two great Puerto Rican musicians who happen to celebrate major milestones. Percussionist Roberto Roena and trumpet player [...]
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Small Groups Are The Big Thing: Part 2
Posted on 15. Jan, 2010 by Hector Aviles.
In Part 1, I explored the topic of how small music bands seem to be flourishing in this down economy and focused the discussion on the Salsa genre. Is this applicable to Latin Jazz bands? Absolutely, and perhaps more so! As I mentioned in Part 1, even with the recent release of some very good [...]
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Small Music Groups Are The Big Thing: Part 1
Posted on 13. Jan, 2010 by Hector Aviles.
Small Latin music groups seem to have become recently the big thing when it comes to live entertainment. In this economic environment where dollars are still scarce and employers are still recuperating from the recent reductions in workforce, it would be insane to expect lavish expenditures in holiday company parties. This is where small music [...]
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Three Kings Day Tradition Alive and Well
Posted on 07. Jan, 2010 by Hector Aviles.
In LatinAmerica, we just celebrated the Three Kings Day yesterday. I beg your pardon for going off topic, as this blog is about Latin music. Music is an vital part of our culture, and this blog is about sharing the passion and knowledge of music I have, and learning together in the process as well. [...]
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Another way to enjoy Latin Music
Posted on 01. Jan, 2010 by Hector Aviles.
Most people like music and most people that like music like to sing. You know who you are . It may be in the shower or in the car, when no one is around to hear your bad singing. Or it may be while doing a shore, or while walking. In the last few months, [...]
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Christmas Latin Music Favorites - Part 2
Posted on 29. Dec, 2009 by Hector Aviles.
Christmas is now a memory, but the holidays for us continue with the New Year celebration coming in a couple of days, and “Los Reyes Magos” (The Three Kings/Wise Men) following closely behind. So you still have time to update your Christmas music collection, so that the New Year doesn’t catch you listening to the [...]
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Street buzz about the Asalto Navideño concert in Puerto Rico
Posted on 23. Dec, 2009 by Hector Aviles.
Being on vacation in my homeland Puerto Rico is great. I go out to the street and hear what people say about Willie Colon’s Asalto Navideño concert, which occured this past Saturday, December 19th. The comments were mixed, although trending to the negative.
Pre-Concert Comments:
The first comments regarding the concert where before it happened. In a [...]
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Christmas Vacation without Internet
Posted on 23. Dec, 2009 by Hector Aviles.
On taking the first significant time-off from work in a year, I took a 4-week vacation to travel to see our families in Puerto Rico and Mexico. In Puerto Rico, something has changed at my mom’s house phone lines which won’t allow data to flow. So, it has been both a blessing and a curse not [...]
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Christmas Latin Music Favorites - Part 1
Posted on 09. Dec, 2009 by Hector Aviles.
I was browsing in my Zune through my Christmas genre and noticed I have collected a relatively long list of recordings in this category. At the beginning of the decade all I had was a few handful of CDs, most had been with me for several years. So when a fellow “boricua” at work asked [...]
