ENGLISH: Ian Ignacio Herrera López, better known as "Nachito Jr.", has distinguished himself in recent years as one of the young generation of Cuban musicians who are defending the legacy of Cuban dance music. Nachito Jr. comes from a family of renowned musicians named Ignacio, which can lead to some confusion. His father, Ignacio Herrera, played trombone with Orquesta Revé, Los Reyes 73 and Ritmo Oriental while his brother, pianist Ignacio Herrera "Nachito", who currently resides in the US, was a member of Cubanismo for several years before settling in the US. It may seem that Nachito Jr. was always destined to play piano, but the truth is...well, I'll let you read it in his own words in the interview.

Nachito Jr. has worked with a number of timba groups as well as with Roberto Faz, where he had the opportunity to perform with Omara Portuondo. He has been both pianist and musical director for Habana City, Bakuleye, El Noro y 1ra Clase and currently with Yasser Ramos y Su Orquesta. Nachito Jr. also works on arrangements for other artists and is interested in all types of music. On December 23rd there will be a release concert for an album with arrangements by Nachito Jr. for the reggaetonero G Rowell. 

Click here to read the interview with Nachito Jr.

ESPAÑOL: Ian Ignacio Herrera López, mejor conocido como "Nachito Jr.", se ha distinguido en los últimos años como una de las jóvenes músicos cubanos que defienden el legado de la música de baile cubana. Nachito Jr. proviene de una familia de renombrados músicos llamado Ignacio, lo que puede generar cierta confusión. Su padre, Ignacio Herrera, tocó con Orquesta Revé, Los Reyes 73 y Ritmo Oriental, mientras que su hermano, el pianista Ignacio Herrera "Nachito", que actualmente reside en los EE. UU., fue miembro de Cubanismo durante varios años antes de establecerse en los EE. UU. Puede parecer que Nachito Jr. siempre estuvo destinado a tocar el piano, pero la verdad es ... bueno, te dejaré leerlo con sus propias palabras en la entrevista.

Nachito Jr. ha trabajado con varios grupos de timba, así como con Roberto Faz, donde tuvo la oportunidad de actuar con Omara Portuondo. Ha sido pianista y director musical de Habana City, Bakuleye, El Noro y 1ra Clase y actualmente con Yasser Ramos y Su Orquesta. Nachito Jr. también trabaja arreglos para otros artistas y está interesado en todo tipo de música. El 23 de diciembre habrá un concierto de lanzamiento para un álbum con arreglos de Nachito Jr. para el reggaetonero G Rowell.

Haga clic aquí para leer la entrevista con Nachito Jr.

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ENGLISH: Los 4 are already in the US and will be performing in Virginia, New Jersey, and California where Tanja Pantoja will join them for the LA concert at Project. Click here for the concert dates and venues and stay tuned, because we will be updating their tour page if more concerts are added. In the meantime, I leave you with one of their recent hits from "Privilegio 2".

ESPAÑOL: Los 4 ya están en los Estados Unidos y actuarán en Virginia, Nueva Jersey y California, donde Tanja Pantoja se unirá a ellos para el concierto de LA en Project. Haga clic aquí para ver las fechas de los conciertos y los lugares, y manténgase en sintonía, ya que actualizaremos su página de  giras si se agregan más conciertos. Mientras tanto te dejo con uno de los éxitos recientes de "Privilegio 2".

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ENGLISH: The Stockholm-based timba band La Liga Habanera released their new single "Hacerse el Sueco" early this month and three days later the video was uploaded to YouTube. "Hacerse el Sueco" was composed by bandleader, drummer and now lead vocalist, Max Alton. The arrangement is by Max and Måns Ek. See the full credits below.

Max took on lead vocals on this track, since the subject of the song is a Swede in Havana. The video was filmed in Havana, and it's always a pleasure to see her streets and her people. Check out the video below and you can buy the single at iTunes, Amazon and other digital retailers, as well as on streaming apps. 

ESPAÑOL: La Liga Habanera, grupo de timba con sede en Estocolmo, lanzó su nuevo sencillo "Hacerse el Sueco" a principios de este mes y tres días después el video fue subido a YouTube. "Hacerse el Sueco" fue compuesto por el líder de la banda, el baterista y ahora vocalista principal Max Alton. El arreglo es de Max y Måns Ek. Vea los créditos completos a continuación.

Max tomó la voz principal en esta pista, ya que el tema de la canción es un sueco en La Habana. El video fue filmado en La Habana, y siempre es un placer ver sus calles y su gente. Mira el video a continuación y puedes comprar el single en iTunes, Amazon y otros minoristas digitales, así como en aplicaciones de transmisión.

"Hacerse el Sueco" Recorded in Sthockholm Sweden at Farmer street studios and Belaris Estudios in Havana in 2017.
Lead vocals - Max Alton
Background vocals - Raciel Garces, Cecilia Ferrer, Max Alton and Daniel Baro.
Drums - Max Alton
Congas - Miguel
Timbales and bongó - René Suarez
Guiro - Max Alton
Bass - Alfonso Nuñes
Piano - Måns Ek
Tres - Gunnar Tullberg
Trumpets -Rickard Lindgren
Trombones - Johan Åström
Mix - Måns Ek
Master - Masterton Studios

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"#Latino" is the fourth album released by Simon Monserrat & Djeli and their second release of 2017, the first being "#Afro", which dropped in July of this year. The title pretty much sums up the album. It is a trip through the Carribean with stops in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Colombia.

Some of the songs are served straight up such as "Oye mi songo" - self-explanitory - and "Mofongo" - a tasty son montuno - while "La rumba que traigo yo" and "Sabiduria antigua" are fusions, the former Cuban rumba with flamenco the latter a very modern cumbia-fusion with rap by MC Rico Pabon. "Suena tu tambo" is a classic descarga which features solos by Richard Ortega (piano), Monserrat (percussion) and Mats Hermansson (trombone) that allow the musicians to show their chops. "Latibonito" is an Afro-Haitian track, something new to me. A much slower song with vocals by Roger Chatelain, it has a melancholy quality with beautiful solos on violin and flute and almost feels like a slow cha-cha-chá as it progresses. "El Quitipla" picks up the pace again with a fusion of Afro-Venezuelan music and lead vocals in Portuguese from Brazilian Simone Moreno.

Monserrat performs most of the percussion on the album and also flute on "Sabiduria antigua". He has collaborated on the album with musicians such as Puerto Rican Jerry Medina, Colombian Roger Martinez and Cuban trumpet player Yuliesky Gonzalez. Monserrat is based in Sweden and the album features many well-known names from the Swedish timba scene such as Thomas Eby, Richard Ortega, Oldrich Gonzalez, and Raciel Garces Espinoso. See the track list below for more information on particiating musicians. I also want to mention Erik Steen who plays a mean flamenco guitar and Santiago Jimenez on violin.

I recommend that you check "#Latino" out at Spotify. It is available for purchase at the usual digital retailers and streaming sites such as iTunes and Amazon. 

Track list:
1. Oye mi songo ft Jerry Medina, Moncho, Thomas Eby
2. Mofongo ft Yuliesky Gonzalez, Oldrich Gonzalez, Roger Martinez
3. La rumba que traigo yo ft Raciel Garces Espinosa, Angeles Gomez, Erik Steen
4. Sabiduria antigua ft MC Rico Pabón, Marina Johansson
5. Suena mi tambo ft Richard Ortega, Raciel Garces Espinosa, Mats Hermansson
6. Latibonito ft Roger Chatelain, Santiago Jimenez, Martin Pålsson
7. El Quitipla ft Simone Moreno, Dekula Kahanga
8. Oye mi songo ft Jerry Medina, Moncho, Thomas Eby (bonus track)

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