Yomo Toro, master cuatro guitar (Puerto Rico's national instrument) player and resident of New York City since 1953, has acted as an ambassador of Puerto Rican culture for more than thirty years. Famous for his spectacular dexterity, speed and originality, he has been labeled as "the funky jibaro of the cuatro". Yomo has never lost his "Jibaro" spirit. Yomo has become a favorite throughout the world.
Vitin Aviles
Gilberto "Pulpo" Colon, Jr. was born on December 28, 1953 in Puerto Rico and grew up and was reared in the Bronx before the Latino population hit full swing; this played an integral part in the development of his musical appreciation. Early on, "Pulpo" was exposed to the likes of poetry and music as his father liked to recite and his mother was an avid listener of classical Latino music. Throughout it all, his parents' strong sense and appreciation of their roots is what kept "Pulpo" leaning towards Latin music. His first instrument was the drums then switching to trumpet, which he played throughout his junior high and early high school years. It was while in the tenth grade that, having built a strong relationship with Oscar Hernandez, he decided to start taking lessons and puruse a career as a pianist. "Pulpo" has taught piano and musical theory at Johnny Colon's East Harlem Music School and has been a member of that faculty for over sixteen years. At present, Gilberto's goals include recording his own solo Latin jazz album and to be able to meddle effectively in both the Salsa and Latin jazz genres. "Pulpo", the name given to him by salsa icon and sonero, Hector Lavoe, served sixteen years as musical diretor for Hector LaVoe and his orchestra.
Joe Cuba was born Gilbert M. Calderon on April 22, 1931 to Puerto Rican parents in New York City, raised in Spanish Harlem. He attended Brooklyn College where he was preparing to study law; however, he was side-tracked by his love for music. Joe's musical career spans five decades. He broke into show business with the Noro Morales Orchestra, the Marcelino Guerra Orchestra and El Conjunto Alfarona X. The Joe Cuba Sextet was formed in 1954. His group was unique because it featured vibes and English lyrics. In 1955, Joe appeared in the world famous Stardust Ballroom with Harry James, Les Elgart, The Four Aces, along with most of the big bands of that era. In1956, he made his first recording, "El Ritmo de Cha Cha Cha" and appeared in all the top nightclubs in New York.
Among his many accomplishments, Joe appeared at the 1964 New York World's Fair, headlined Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater (where he opened for James Brown), Madison Square Garden Salsa shows and Hollywood Palladium. His "Cocinando La Salsa" album was nominated for a Grammy. One of the top selling albums of the 1980's was "Pirate del Caribe" and the 1970's and 1980's was spent touring South America, Europe, Puerto Rico and the United States. In the 1990's, Joe recorded a big band sound CD titled: "Steppin' Out Again", which was one of the best selling albums of the early nineties. In the 1990's, Joe Cuba and his Sextet toured Paris, Italy, Alaska, South America and Japan. For his extraordinary contributions to Latin music worldwide, and for his renowned status, it has earned him the right to be one of the first inductees into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.
Pete "Conde" Rodriguez
Carlos A. "Rigo" Malcon
Guillermo Luis "Luigi" Texidor Ortiz
Papo Vasquez
Milton Cardona
Bobby Sanabria, born and raised in the "Fort Apache" section of New York City's South Bronx, is a master drummer/percussionist/composer/arranger/educator. Bobby attended Boston's Berklee College of Music from 1975 to 1979, where he obtained his Bachelor of Music degree. Since graduating from Berklee, Bobby has become a leader in the Afro-Cuban and Jazz fields as both a drummer and a percussionist. He has performed and recorded with a veritable who's who in the world of Jazz and Latin music as well as his own critically acclaimed ensemble, Ascension. His diverse recording and performance experience includes work with such legendary figures as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Paquito D'Rivera, Charles McPherson, Mongo Santamaria, Ray Barretto, Larry Harlow, Candido Camero, Marco Rizo, Luis "Perico" Ortiz, Chico O'Farrill, Henry Threadgill, and the pioneering godfather of Afro-Cuban Jazz, Mario Bauza.
Larry Harlow is a master legend of the highly rhythmic Latin music we now call Salsa. A classically-trained musician, he began to study music at the age of five, following in his father's footsteps. He has a multi-faceted musical education, having studied at the most prestitious music schools, including: The High School of Music and Art in New York City; Brooklyn College (B.A. in music); The Institute of Audio Research; and The New School For Social Research, (M.A. in philosophy). His specialities includes jazz and classical piano, conducting, composition, orchestration, and audio engineering. Besides the keyboards, he also plays oboe, English horn, flute, bass, vibraphone, and assorted percussion instruments.
During the late 1950's, he was so fascinated with Latin rhythms that he trveled to Cuba to live and study the real Afro-Cuban sounds that are the roots of Salsa. As an expert Salsa artist, he has developed his own style and orchestra and has toured nationally and internationally with his nique Latin sounds. To gain recognition for Latin artists throughout the world, Larry Harlow was a primary force in instituting the first Grammny for Latin music. He himself has been nominated for a Grammy for his album "La Raza Latina", a Salsa suite. He has received six gold records and has received Record World and Billboard awards in the following categories: Latin Producer of the year, Pianist of the year, Arranger of the year, Concert of the year, and Salsa orchestra of the year.
Frankie Figueroa
Herman Olivera was born to Puerto Rican parents on January 30, 1959. He began singing at the age of twelve. By the time he reached fifteen, he was signing with various local groups. He is considered by many as one of the last "Mohicans" in the "Salsa Brava" genre. It was at one of these engagements where Manny Oquendo, Andy Gonzalez, and Pupy Cantor were struck by the young singer's vocak talents, as well as his charismatic stage presence. It was just a matter of time before he was offered the change to be behind the microphone, in frong of Manny Oquendo's "Conjunto Libre".
With "Libre", Herman rcorded five albums and had a string of hits, i.e., "Decidete", "No Me Eches La Culpa", "Que Humanidad", and "Tu Me Perteneces", among others. After his tenure with "Libre", Herman went on to work regularly with many mainstream artists on a number of projects, such as Johnny Pacheco, Ray Barretto, Bobby Rodriguez y La Compania, The Machito Orchestra, and the legendary, Fania All Stars. He also participated in Andy Garcia's production, "Como Mi Ritmo No Hay Dos", a documentary about Israel "Cachao" Lopez.
Herman Olivera's leading vocals is featured in twenty productions to date, including one solo recording, "Chequea La Mercancia". This dynamic "sonero" is currently the lead singer of the seven-time Grammy award winner and master pianist, Eddie Palmieri and Orchestra, where he is featured on the latest two Grammy awarded CD "Masterpiece", featuring the late, great Tito Puente. Herman has, and continues, to tour all over the world appearing as a featured vocalist in many prestigious festivals and events, televison shows, etc., including Carnegie Hall. It has been noted that this brilliant vocalist has all the essential qualities of a great singer: diction, vocalization, palatable timbre, soul and feeling, which, combined with his stage charisma, projects the well-seasoned mixture of the Afro-Caribbean rhythms.
