El MÃ©dico de la Salsa

This video captures the rapture of the Havana public during the Manolin-mania period better than any other I've found. It took place at the massive, outdoor Anfeteatro de Marianao in 1996 as el Médico and his crack surgical team were in the process of pouring an ocean of kerosene on Havana's already raging live music scene. It's also priceless for its documentation of the wicked hot rhythm section of Mipa, Nápoles and the Pututi brothers.

This reconstruction uses film from the cameras of two participants in Caribbean Music & Dance Programs' yearly February pilgrimages to Havana. The main camera is by Michael Croy, who, among other things, filmed the legendary Issac Delgado Valentine's Day concert the following February. I forgot who sent me the other angle (please send me an email if you're reading this!), but I've spliced them together, in some cases repeating sections.

thursday, 25 july 2024, 12:04 am

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL TOUR

Havana d'Primera will be back on the West Coast starting Thursday & Friday, May 25 & 26 at Roccapulco in San Francisco , and this time they have a special guest - ex-Van Van legend, Mayito Rivera.

thursday, 25 july 2024, 12:04 am

Rivera y Primera really did turn out to be la combinación perfecta. Transcending the usual Van Van tribute approach, Mayito and Alexander sang together with obvious preparation on an HdP song, El palo más duro, and Mayito's first big hit, La sorpresa (Voy a publicar tu foto). Mayito sang Soy todo alone but the band, with Guillermo del Toro switching to drumset, made some very cool changes to the arrangement. The show went two hours and included several new HdP songs as well as a couple of their trademark hits. If you're in SF, LV, LA or Miami, this historic pairing is not to be missed.

Roccapulco's slick new digital backdrop was a big improvement

Avis Tobías was playing with a new ferocity

DJ Walt Digz with DJ Leydis

thursday, 25 july 2024, 12:04 am

This is quite a gem. Remember that after the Suspension Concert, only two members left the group - Dany Lozada and Juan Carlos González. The rest of the group returned to the scene and although they never recorded again, they developed new material. Some songs, like Se que ha fallado, were later done by Charanga Forever, while others, like La suegra, were never officially recorded. Then came the big breakup the following summer of 1998 that yielded Charanga Forever and left Calzado with only Michel Maza and the name "Charanga Habanera". In shockingly short order, he put together the band in this video - one of the greatest in Cuban history. I know I keep saying that about late-90s bands, but I'm tellin' it like is is - many of the great bands of all time were competing against each other on a nightly basis in this brief but magical era.

In any case, this is one of the very best of the Cuban TV documentaries, entitled Charanguero mayor, and including both of the above mentioned rarities, along with Charanguero mayor sung by Michel, Usa condón sung by Tirso and much much more.

For more on all of this: