Next November 26th, Salsa takes over town! Rumba Calzada and special guests Sara Magal and Frankie Hidalgo will perform at The Vancouver playhouse. This tropical take on the Holidays classics is an event you cannot miss.
Rumba Calzada was formed in 1991 by Boying Geronimo and is now headed by his son, Raphael Geronimo. The band has recorded four albums with an array of nominations, including a Juno Award (2002 World Music Album of the Year), Westcoast Music Awards (2002 Outstanding World Recording of the Year), and Canadian Independent Music Awards (2002 Best Global Album).
The eclectic fusion of the band’s – Latin Jazz, Salsa, and Afro-Cuban rhythms- aims to refresh traditional Latin music and bring enjoyment to anyone who listens. Salsa possesses an upbeat tempo, complex rhythms, and lively lyrics, and it is often believed to have been born in Cuba. However, many Cuban artists tend to reject the idea of salsa as a genre of music, giving different names to the music they create and perform such as son cubano, timba, chachachá, mambo, guaracha and charanga. Salsa, as we know it nowadays, is recognized to be a mix of African roots combined with different Latin American rhythms brought to the New York music scene during the 1940s and 50s.
Some time later, once the diplomatic relations fell apart between Cuba and the US, Cuban musicians could no longer travel to the United States, therefore Salsa music took on the Puerto Rican sound. This kind of Salsa tends to follow the jazz structure, incorporating lengthy instrumental breaks to showcase the ability of particular musicians. Accordingly, some of the biggest Salsa artists are from Cuban and Puerto Rican origin: Arsenio Rodriquez, Rafael Ithier, Machito and Mario Bauza, Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon, Celia Cruz, Buena Vista Social Club, to mention a few.
The Salsa Navidad concert will also be an extraordinary opportunity to watch and listen to the performances of Brazilian Bossa Nova and Jazz musician based in Canada Sara Magal, and Frankie Hidalgo, an active member of the Western Canada music community for the past 15 years.
Sources:
¿De dónde viene la salsa? Origen y evolución, Dancemotion, 2021.
History of Salsa Music Dance, Salsaagente, 2015.
7 Legendary Salsa Artists, The Dancefeed, 2019. Rumbacalzada.com/bio, 2021 Salsa Music: History & Instruments, 2018
