Friday, November 1, 2002 - Danilo Cardona reports that the Manolín concert sounded great and featured the extraordinary 3 piece percussion section of Tomás Cruz, Reinier Guerra, and Angel "Pututi 2" Arce. There were subs on bass and synth.

An unconfirmed rumor has the band returning to Rancho Gaspar in mid-November. We're trying to sort through all the conflicting information.

Musicians' Directory Updates: Jeáns Valdés, Angel Charles, Lesmer Solenzer.

Thursday October 31, 2002 - Manolín Tonight...see below.

Quick takes: both the new Pupy Pedroso CD and the new one by Angel Bonne sound great.

Monday, October 28, 2002 - Manolín CD Release Concert Halloween Night! This could be the last chance to see the group that recorded El Puente. Send us your concert reports! kevin@timba.com

Thursday, October 31st (Halloween night).
Café Nostalgia
66 So. 6th St.
Miami
(305) 358-1900

NG La Banda in Berlin November 24 -- At Club "El Barrio" (www.el-barrio.de). We don't know the rest of the tour yet. Chapottín has reportedly left the band.

Carlos Manuel Tour in November? -- It's a possibility that Clan Fans will finally get to see "el malo cantidad" in concert in the US (probably NY & Miami). Keep your fingers crossed. We'll let you know if and when it's confirmed.

Sunday, October 27, 2002 Die erste auf Deutsch übersetzte vollständige Besprechung eines Timba-Albums ist da! Lies jetzt die Stück-für-Stück-Analyse von "Tremendo Delirio" der Charanga Habanera. Welche Seiten möchtest du als nächste auf Deutsch übersetzt sehen? Lass es uns wissen: thomas@voirol.com

The first complete German translation is now online! Thomas Voirol's excellent translation of the Tremendo Delirio article.

Thursday, October 24, 2002 - El Puente DISC TWO Review- The two discs of El Puente correspond to the two sets of Manolín's famous Rancho Gaspar concert. They're very different, and each has its own full length review with extensive audio examples. Go to Manolín/DISCS, or click here for the new review of Disc 2. It's a lot more opinionated than usual, but -- well -- .it's about Manolín, so what did you expect?

FANTASTIC ISSAC INTERVIEW!! - Abel Delgado, with help from Orlando Fiol, has put together one of the best and most complete interviews I've ever read. It's published at descarga.com. It goes through Issac's life and career blow by blow with extremely intelligent questions and followup questions, and even more amazing, the answers are also extremely intelligent and thorough. In addition to thoughtfully answering each question, Issac even volunteers information and refers back to earlier questions.

Abel Delgado's translation to English is also very smooth and completely natural sounding... as if Issac were giving the interview in colloquial English. [Click here]

Charanga Forever in Europe - Joel Domínguez was in attendance at the recent Madrid concert and reports that the remaining original members are Mario "Sombrilla" "Mayito" Jiménez, Victor "Vitico" Sagarra, and Leonel Polledo. All the others were younger players new to the scene since Joel moved to Spain. He said the band sounded good, and played a few new songs, but mostly repertoire from the mid to late 90's.

Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - Sprichst du Deutsch? Viele Seiten im Bereich "Artists" von Timba.com werden zur Zeit von Thomas Voirol, unserem Schweizer Korrespondenten, auf Deutsch übersetzt. Sieh dir die Seite [click here] an. Schau regelmässig hier vorbei, um zu sehen, was sich Neues getan hat.

That's right...you heard it here first. Thomas Voirol has begun to translate parts of timba.com to German! Here's the first sample of his work. [click here]

Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - The Making of El Puente - Interview with Hugo Cancio & Waldy Domínguez. Under artists/interviews. Or click here. Hugo Cancio, the president of Ciocan Music, and Waldy Domínguez, the lead engineer on both El Puente and Charanga Habanera's Live in the USA, discuss the making of the CD, future plans for Ciocan Music and the Live in the USA series, Vocal Sampling's 3 Grammy nominations, and other topics of interest.

More Details on Pupy's new CD - I still haven't heard it, but I've seen the cover now, thanks to Duniel. It has two remakes of Los Van Van classics: La bomba soy yo (no doubt sung by Tirso Duarte), and Seis semanas. There are also six songs from his last album, now re-recorded by his working band, and two that are apparently brand new: El pregonero and Ay papá. Timba freaks should be thrilled to have new versions of the previously released songs, but those who want to minimize their CD purchases may be frustrated, as two of the very best songs from the previous CD, "Timba: The New Generation of Latin Music", are not included on this one. These two are La voluminosa and the great descaraga track Vamos a gozar hasta fuera featuring great guías by Tirso and El Indio and a long timbale solo from Changuito.

Monday, October 21, 2002 - Charanga Habanera News - Aned Mota reports to Duniel Deya that la CH is getting ready to record their next CD. Aned says it will be "demasiado caliente y viene echando humo". (translation: smoking hot). David Calzado has a new song for singer Eblis Validivia called "El bony", (short for bonito) which is apparently similar in character to "Riki Rikón", the somewhat less than modest autobiographical lyric that vaulted Eblis' predecessor, Dantes Cardosa, to stardom. Diehard Sombrilla & Michel fans have expressed concern that la CH may have to change its name to "la GQ", but from what we've heard of Eblis' work with Klimax, he may be the real deal. A new photo of Eblis with Aned can be found under charangahabanera/FOTOS.

New Haila Mompié CD Coming - Aned also reports that his wife Haila has recorded a new live CD at the Teatro Nacional, with guests Issac Delgado, Mayito Rivera, Chucho Valdés and member of Charanga Habanera.The band, directed by Juan Ceruto, is comprised largely of members of Issac's band. There are two new photos on Haila's autobiografía page (go to http://haila.timba.com and click on the "autobiografía" link.One shows Haila singing with Rolo Martínez and the other is a baby shot of Haila & Aned's son, Hamed.

coming soon: The Making of El Puente -- an interview with producer Hugo Cancio, president of Ciocan Music, and recording engineer Waldy Domínguez of Wave Sound.

still coming: Part II of the El Puente review -- the second set.

Thursday, October 17, 2002 - The New Pupy Pedroso y Los Que Son Son CD - As confirmed by a mysterious but reliable source, at least one copy of this highly awaited release has made it over "the bridge". Pupy recorded his 9-song 3rd CD, (BMG-89757-2), with "borrowed" musicians while he was still in Los Van Van. After officially quitting, he put together his own working group that has gotten rave reviews in Havana. They've set up several US tours, all of which have fallen through for the usual reason. In any case, Pupy's new CD is said to have more that 9 tracks (y Pupy sabe más que cuatro cosas), including some new versions of songs from the previous disc, some new versions of songs Pupy wrote for LVV, and some altogether new songs. We'll keep you posted on this one.

El Puente Review - part II - coming soon.

Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - El Puente Review - part 1 - This covers the first disc (the first set of the concert), and has 17 audio examples. Under Manolín/DISCS, or if you don't mind it coming up in the "la última" window, click here. The DISCS section is also updated to include a brief review of Jaque Mate as well as the Manolín Intro and the article on live timba recordings [click here] Stay tuned for Part II of the El Puente review, coming soon.

Tuesday, October 15, 2002 Live in the USA to Continue: If there's a more controversial figure in Cuban music than Manolín, it's Hugo Cancio, but all of the controversy that he, Manolín, and all of Miami and Havana can muster between them is dwarfed by the artistic impact of this series of live Timba CD's from Cancio and engineer Waldy Domínguez. Ciocan Music plans to continue this "Live in the USA" series of Timba CD's recorded at Rancho Gaspar and the rumor is that the next band may be Manolito y su Trabuco, definitely one of the hottest bands to see live, and rarely seen in the States. What band would you like to see recorded at Rancho Gaspar?

New Timba Band in Miami: Singer Elain fronts an all-star band at Café Nostalgia on October 17th. The band includes Reinier Guerra on drums and Hamed Barroso on guitar (both from the Manolín band which recorded El Puente). Before leaving Cuba, Elain was the singer on Pachito Alonso's big hit, "Chequendengue", written by Juan Formell. For further information contact duniel@timba.com.

Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - Lots of new fotos from Charanga Habanera. Go to the Charanga Habanera page (charangahabanera.timba.com) and click on the FOTOS button for links to two new galleries, courtesty of Aned Mota and Majela Serrano.

More on Yoel Páez - If you ask Mike Gerald (Sol y Soul), Orlando Fiol and Calixto Oviedo to name their favorite Timba drummer, you'll get the same answer: Yoel Páez, alumnus of Paulito, Issac and Manolín. We've greatly expanded our Yoel Páez section, the most recent addition being his full Dossier in English, detailing his career chronologically. We already have an mp3 of a solo he played in tribute to the late great conguero El Yulo, and he's promised to send us more solos in the near future. Because there's so much confusion about the spelling of his name, we've created two direct addresses: http://yoelpaez.timba.com, and http://joelpaez.timba.com. Take your choice.

COMING SOON: A full length review of Manolín's "El Puente" with multiple audio examples.

Monday, October 14, 2002 - Majela Serrano, recovering nicely from her close encounter with the lunatic drivers of Aburremania, has provided new updates to the pages of Charanga Habanera trumpeter/dancer Junio Romero (junio.timba.com) and Paulito/Issac/Chucho bassist Frank Rubio (eldiablo.timba.com), plus new photos for her May, 2002 Paulito interview and Yulién Oviedo's page (yulien.timba.com).

Jacira Castro's review of Manolín's "El Puente" is now online at www.salsapower.com. My own review is still only half done, but will be coming soon.

Yoel Páez' curriculum vitae now available as a link to his page at http://yoelpaez.timba.com. He's still working on sending us his personal collection of drum solos, which will be available as mp3's.

Miami's newest resident, ex-Bambolera Yordamis Megret, has promised to supply new information for her page (yordamis.timba.com) ... as soon as she figures out how to use her hotmail account!

Wednesday, October 9, 2002 - El Puente has definitely been released - I'm holding it in my hot little hand! For the uninitiated, this is the live double CD recorded by Manolín, el Médico de la Salsa about a year ago at Rancho Gaspar in Miami. It's his first recording with Reinier Guerra on drums (actually I think it's the first recording of Reinier, period), his first recording with ex-Paulito conguero Tomás Cruz, his first recording outside of Cuba, and apparently his last recording as a Timbero. It also has several previously unreleased songs, including "Dios sabe", and of course, the infamous "voy a hacer un puente" coro that was the direct cause of Manolín being blacklisted in Cuba, leading to his eventual defection. This album merits a lot of serious study and I'll have a full review in a few weeks. -Kevin Moore

Press Conference and Manolín Concert: There will be a press conference (not open to the public) at the new Café Nostalgia, at 66 So. 6th St. in Miami, from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.on Thursday, October 31st (Halloween night).

Following the press conference, Manolín will play his first Timba concert in several months, which will be open to the public. Call (305) 358-1900 for reservations and further information.

The CD will actually be available in Miami record stores on October 15th and timba.com is shipping it now.

Thursday, October 3, 2002 - Signs of Life! - Mil gracias a Gabriel Wilder, who spent 6 weeks in Cuba this summer and just sent us a video of a Cuban TV show with 2 new songs by Dany Lozada y su Timba Cubana. It's immediately obvious that the song, arrangement and singing are along the same linesl as 1999's Tanto le pedí, one of the best Timba albums ever recorded.

I'm in the final stages of completing Tomás Cruz' instructional conga book, which focuses primarily on the Paulito FG group of 1998 with Yoel Paez and Joel Domínguez and I've been reflecting daily on how incredibly good that group was and how today's Timba, with a few notable exceptions, has failed to live up to the standards set in the late 90's, so these new Lozada tracks have raised my spirits considerably. -Kevin Moore

Monday, September 30, 2002 - Yoel Paez Solos on timba.com! - Yoel Paez (joelpaez.timba.com) is one of the funkiest and most important drummers in the history of Timba, having played with Paulito FG, Issac Delgado & Manolín. We've recently caught up with him in Spain where he's been playing with a major Spanish pop/rock group, Café Quijano. His page has a lot of new information, and a breathtaking solo he played with Issac in 1999. Yoel will be sending us some of his personal recordings of other solos and these will be added to the page as they come in! Click here or go to http://joelpaez.timba.com.

Thursday, September 26, 2002 - Yordamis Megret on Miami Television - Now that the artist formerly known as El Médico de la Salsa has given up Timba to become the next Ricky Martin, perhaps Yordamis Megret (yordamis.timba.com) can pick up the pieces of the world-class Timba band he brought to Miami and abandoned. (Do I sound bitter?) In any case, the charismatic ex-Bamboleo diva made her debut on Miami television with a small group featuring several Timba giants, including Eduardo "Chaka" Napoles (chaka.timba.com) and Angel "Pututi II" Arce (pututi2.timba.com), both of whom have played with el Médico, Luis Enrique, and El Kid de la Salsa (elkid.timba.com) The next step would be enlist the arranging talents of Luis Bu (luisbu.timba.com) and "Los Chamacos". This is beginning to sound like the plot to "The Blues Brothers", but timba in the US has fallen on hard times of late, so you can't blame us for dreaming!

Wednesday, September 25, 2002 - Bamboleo News -- Dantes "Riki Rikón" Cardosa, the ex-Charanguero, has now joined Bamboleo and his first lead vocal is a song called "El Americano". With both Vannia and Yordamis having left the band, there's now only one female singer, Yariagna, who previously sang with Anacaona. Her first song, which is currently getting a lot of airplay in Havana, is called "No puedo estar sin el". Another new song getting airplay is "Aparentemente ideal", sung by Alain Daniel Pico Roque, who is also our source for this new information. Alain also tells us that Bamboleo will begin a trip to Lima, Peru, where Riki Rikón is extremely popular, on October 9th.

Monday September 23, 2002 - Joaquín Betancourt Receives Grammy - El pasado día 17 fue entregado a Joaquín Betancourt y Cary Diez, productores del CD "La rumba soy yo", el gramófono correspondiente al premio Grammy latino alcanzado por dicho álbum, en una sencilla ceremonia en el "Delirio Habanero" del Teatro Nacional. Felicidades!

Joaquín Betancourt and Cary Diez, producers of "La rumba soy yo"finally received their Grammy awards at a ceremony at Havana's Teatro Nacional. Congratulations!

Friday, September 20, 2002 - Close Call! - timba.com's writer, interviewer, and resident musicologist, Majela Serrano, was a passenger involved in a major automobile accident in Germany and will leave the hospital tomorrow after being there several days. Fortunately there were no permanent complications, but she'll be unable to write or perform with her group, Havana Open, for a while. You can send get well cards to majela@timba.com. And remember to DRIVE CAREFULLY and fasten your seatbelts!

September 11, 2002 - Musical Chairs! Here's a recap of the latest personnel changes.

Carlos Averhoff, Jr. no longer playing sax with Issac
Orlando Vásquez no longer playing trumpet with Issac
Elpidio Chapottín no longer playing trumpet with NG La Banda
Prida Puentes no longer playing teclado with Issac
Vannia Borges no longer singing with Bamboleo. Plans to have child and possibly pursue solo career.
Yordamis Megret no longer singing with Bamboleo, now in Miami.
Dantes Cardosa no longer with Charanga Habanera, now with Bamboleo
Eblis Validivia moved from Klimax to Charanga Habanera, replaced in Klimax by his brother Kelly Validivia.
Trombonist Corchón no longer with Manolito y su Trabuco
Carlos Manuel's entire horn section has departed.
Rolando Luna on a one month leave of absence from Issac to play with an all star trova-son group in Europe, also featuring Juan Ceruto, El Panga, Alexander Abreu, Amaury Pérez and Oliver Valdés.. Subbing for him is Tony Rodríguez.

Some, but not all of these changes may be related to a reported recent change in Cuba's quasi-capitalistic economic system, whereby musicians who were normally paid in cash for Havana gigs will now be paid monthly be a Cuban agency, with substantial taxes deducted.

New Visa Troubles for Grammy Nominees: Check out Judy Cantor's excellent article on the travails of multiple Grammy nominees Vocal Sampling: http://miaminewtimes.com/issues/2002-09-12/music.html/1/index.html

New Baggage Charges: Cuba has also apparently changed its regulations on the weight of baggage which can be brought into the country without paying fairly extreme taxes. Make sure to research this before flying into Havana.

September 9, 2002 - The Lewis Trio, a Latin jazz group featuring Timba giants Melón González and Alain Pérez, now has its own website: www.lewistrio.com, and will be playing October 22 in France at the Clermon-Ferrand Jazz Festival.

September 4, 2002 - Pupy Pedroso's New CD, "Qué cosas tiene la vida", with production assistance from the great Joaquín Betancourt (betancourt.timba.com) will have two brand new songs, plus new recordings by his working band of some of the songs from his last CD,and some of his songs with Los van Van, such as "Seis semanas" and "La bomba soy yo". See below for the song list.

Y ahora, la sección de Pupy (pupy.timba.com) tiene su propia sección de NEWS.

NUEVO CD DE PUPY Y LOS QUE SON, SON!
El título de esta nueva obra maestra es "Qué cosas tiene la vida", como uno de sus temas. La orquesta ha grabado los temas del CD anterior con nuevas versiones. La mezcla estuvo a cargo del maestro Joaquín Betancourt, y la grabación por Orestes.

Los títulos son:
Que cosas tiene la vida
El Vecino se mudó
El Gato amaga
Mamita pórtate bien
La bomba soy yo
El Pregonero (estreno)
Ay Papá (otro estreno)
Juégala
Te molesta que sea feliz
Seis Semanas

September 2, 2002 - Majela puts the Manolito Rumors to Rest- After talking to Roicel Riverón, Majela has confirmed that only one member has left Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco, a trombonist called "El Corcho". Everybody else was getting ready to film a TV programm, and they are traveling next month to Martinica.

Después de hablar con Roicel Riverón, Majela confirmó que sólo un miembro de Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco, un trombonista llamado "El Corcho", dejó el grupo. El grupo se estaba preparando para la filmación de un programa de TV, y el próximo mes viajan a Martinica.

August 31, 2002 - www.salsamania.it - a great new site from Francesco and Enzo Bove, is online! The site is still partially under construction but it already features a large collection of photo galleries from Italian tours of the top Timba bands -- organized by concert and viewable as slideshows. It's a very clever format and the photos are excellent. There are multiple concerts from Charanga Habanera, Paulito FG, Los Van Van, NG La Banda, Issac, Adalberto and others. Check it out! http://www.salsamania.it. Francesco and Enzo are also planning an exclusively Cuban site called www.cubamania.it which should be up and running shortly.

August 30, 2002 - New photos of Issac Delgado with Eliades Ochoa and Francesco Bove. See issac.timba.com and click on PHOTOS.

- New concert dates for ex-Bamboleo singer/writer Osvaldo Chacón, who now has a Timba band in England. See chacon.timba.com. Osvaldo will be releasing his second CD soon, "Voy a Entrar".

August 29, 2002 -- Riki Ricón joins Bamboleo! -- This weekend Bamboleo will play its first concert with a new lineup of singers. Yordamis Megret (yordamis.timba.com) stayed in Miami, and founding member Vannia Borges (vannia.timba.com) has now left the group. Longtime male vocalist Alejandro Borrero (alejandroborrero.timba.com) and recent addition Alain Daniel Pico (alaindaniel.timba.com) are now joined by ex-Anacaona vocalist Yariadna, and Havana heart-throb Dantes "Riki Ricón" Cardosa (dantes.timba.com), who left Charanga Habanera earlier this year in a dispute over his moonlighting as a solo act in Peru.

Another hot rumor involves possible departures from Manolito y su Trabuco, including possibly the dynamic drummer Roicel Riverón (roicelriveron.timba.com). The Manolito rumors are unconfirmed but the Bamboleo changes have definitely taken place. We're hoping to get concert reports on both bands this weekend from our Australian correspondent Gabriel Wilder, who is on the scene in Havana. Gabriel tells us that Dany Lozada's band is tearing it up and playing all new material; as is Klimax and their strong new singer, Eblis Valdivia's replacement. We still don't have his name.

timba.com updates to the following musicians' pages: chaka.timba.com, juanmanuel.timba.com, jeans.timba.com, leonid.timba.com, osmani.timba.com, calixto.timba.com, pupy.timba.com.

August 29, 2002 -- Entrevista con Pupy Pedroso - por Majela Serrano. Vete a pupy.timba.com, y pon clik en INTERVIEWS o pon click arriba.

August 28, 2002 -- Calixto Oviedo -- de la timba a la sinfónica! After performing in Italy with Augusto Enríquez in the new edition of Pavarotti and Friends of Luciano Pavarotti, Calixto Oviedo plans to play in Norway with the Synphonic Orchestra of Radio and TV. See the NEWS page of of the Calixto section for more news en inglés y español and upcoming European concerts of Calixto's Timba band, La Recompensa.

- New pages on Alain Daniel Pico Roque, the new singer of Bamboleo. Including an interview by Duniel Deya, edited by Majela Serrano. Go to alaindaniel.timba.com.

August 26, 2002 -- The Timba Genealogy Chart. This rather strange "family tree" shows the history of Timba by showing the relationships between key musicians, composer and arrangers. Click here to check it out.

August 21, 2002 -- Entrevista y autobiografía de Haila Mompié. Vayan a haila.timba.com!

August 13, 2002 -- Vocal Sampling has been officially invited to perform at the televised Latin Grammy Award Gala.Congratulations to VS and Ciocan Music

August 8, 2002 -- Manolín, el Médico de la Salsa, after a 4 year battle with his old label, Caribe Productions, has just signed an exclusive 4-year record deal with BMG Latin and is about to begin shooting on his first MTV-style video clip. That's the good news. The bad news is that, according to a reliable source close to the artist, "this album is going to be a big surprise for Manolín's fans. It's not a Timba CD -- it's pure pop with infusions of Cuban rhythms."

What will Manolín's music sound like without the creative contributions and monstrous playing of the great Cuban musicians with whom he's worked so closely on each of his previous efforts? We'll just have to keep an open mind and see for ourselves. There's no release date set for the BMG Latin album.

Meanwhile, Ciocan Music says that its own new Manolín CD, "El Puente" will be released "in a few weeks". This one, definitely a Timba album, has much in common with Charanga Habanera's incredible "Live in the USA". Both are double CD's recorded live at Miami's Rancho Gaspar. The Manolín release is even more eagerly awaited because it includes four previously unreleased songs, including the "Dios sabe", probably Manolín's strongest track since "Somos lo que hay". The album will also be interesting because of the way it was made -- recorded live, but with extensive studio overdubbing. We haven't heard it, but are hoping that it will combine the power and energy of a live performance with the accuracy and detail of the studio. Ciocan Music has also hinted that other double live CD's may be in the works with other top Timba bands. Stay tuned.

August 6, 2002 -- Yordamis Megret (for more about her, go to yordamis.timba.com) has apparently left Bamboleo after singing with them for over three years, and is relocating to the US.

Pupy Pedroso's US tour has been cancelled or delayed due to the new visa restrictions imposed by the US government. For information on joining in the protest against these new restrictions, go to www.salsapower.com.

July 31, 2002 -- Paulito FG Lyric Page now open. The first set of lyrics, courtesy of Majela, is to the 1997 classic, "No te lo creas".

July 30, 2002 - Wickly Nogueras' CD will be re-released by Fonosound Records (and Universal Latino) on August 6th, and is already getting airplay in Miami on Radio El Zol, FM 95.7. The title is now "From NG to the USA" and the cover is greatly enhanced as well. There's a review in the NG La Banda pages and wickly.timba.com will be receiving updates shortly.

- New phfotos from Majela Serrano on these pages: ana.timba.com, pavelrodriguez.timba.com, coqui.timba.com, lazarito.timba.com, lele.timba.com.

July 26, 2002 - 3 Grammy Nominations for Vocal Sampling's new CD! Best contemporary tropical album ("Cambio de Tiempo"), Best engineered album, Producer of the year. Full list at www.grammy.com. Other Cuban artists nominated were Omar Sosa, Chucho Valdés, Síntesis Lázaro Roz (again!) and Celia Cruz. [correction: Cambio de Tiempo is listed on the Grammy site as being from Unicornio, but it's actually released by Ciocan Music].

July 23, 2002 - Majela is back on the road with La Charanga! We'll soon be adding her reports and photos. After seeing them in Italy, she reports that the new singer, Eblis Valdivia, is sounding fantastic and sings exquisitely in tune! There are two additional new songs since the last tour: "Mrina", sung by Yulién, and "Las mujeres tienene el mando", sung by Eblis.

July 22, 2002 - Photo story on Bamboleo -- in concert in Santa Cruz, CA. Photos by Tom Ehrlich. See Bamboleo/CONCERTS, or click here.

July 19, 2002 - European Tour Dates announced for Aramís Galindo and Chispa y su Cómplices. These artists are managed in Europe by the same people who produced the new Klimax Latin Jazz CD, www.cuba-chevere.com.

Aramís:
07 / 27 / 2002 Muffathalle München.
08 / 01 / 2002 Achern
08 / 02 / 2002 Neu Ulm
08 / 03 / 2002 Festival Latinoamericando Milano Italien
08 / 07 / 2002 Berlin
08 / 09 / 2002 Antilliaanse Feesten Hoogstraaten Belgien
08 / 08 / 2002 Kopenhagen (Denmark)

Chispa:
09 / 21 / 2002 Schweden Stockholm
09 / 25 / 2002 Finland Helsinki
09 / 26 / 2002 Finland Helsinki
09 / 27 / 2002 Finland Helsinki
09 / 28 / 2002 Finland Helsinki
09 / 29 / 2002 Finland Helsinki

Hey You Loca finally re-released! Click here to read our extensive article on this Timba masterpiece. Multiple audio examples.

July 11, 2002 - Bamboleo in Miami on July 23- Polish American Club 1250 NW 22nd Ave. (305) 373-1273 - Bamboleo really lit it up in Santa Cruz. They have nearly a whole album of great and different new material. A lot of the new stuff is in a major key, a rarity for Bamboleo, and there's a bit of a Manolín flavor to some of the new coros. Even the old tunes have some exciting new twists. The new male vocalist is great and the new bassist is doing a fantastic job of replacing the monstrous Rafael Paceiro, now with Pupy Pedroso. And Vannia's graceful dancing has not suffered in the least as a result of the small matter of being about 8 months pregnant.

Europe - NG La Banda is already there and Van Van, Klimax, and La Charanga should be soon.

Issac's tour was a great success and the band is now back in Havana. Check out Judy Cantor's beautifully-written new article/interview at the Miami New Times website.

Tomás Cruz has finished some last minute güiro overdubs for the long-awaited live double Manolín album, which is now scheduled for a late July release. Having seen the track listings, it will be worth the wait! The song Dios sabe has got to be Manolín's best since Somos lo que hay.

Timba is infiltrating mainstream Latin pop! Luis Enrique's great new album Transparente has significant contributions from the Pututi brothers, both in the percussion and arranging departments and his new live band also features Manolín pianist Chaka Nápoles.

Ciocan Records will soon re-release several of the greatest Timba albums ever recorded: Issac's Exclusivo para Cuba, CH's Charanguero Mayor, Juan Ceruto's Gracias Formell and Adalberto Alvarez' Sonero Soy.

July 5, 2002 - Klimax European Tour - see Klimax NEWS for a full itinerary.

Issac's final Miami show announced - at the Polish American Cluba, 1250 NW 22nd Ave. (305) 373-1273.

Bamboleo Tomorrow Night: Saturday July 6. See below for details.

June 27, 2002 - Bamboleo in Santa Cruz! Saturday, July 6 at the Cocoanut Grove Santa Cruz. Scenic, if frigid, Santa Cruz, home town of your intrepid music editor, once boasted more Timba shows per capita than any city in the world other than Havana, but in recent years we've fallen on hard times, so if you're within striking distance, try to make the trip. Lots of cheap hotel rooms in the desolate wasteland that was once Silicon Valley!

Meanwhile: Tomás Cruz is in Santa Cruz working on his instructional DVD series and will be in the Bay Area Sunday and Monday for those seeking lessons with the conguero of Paulito FG, Manolín, Celia Cruz, Willie Chirino, etc.

June 25, 2002: Click here for a press release from Lula Lounge, Toronto on Issac's uupcoming concerts on July 4th & 5th. Also, New Yorkers please note that the concert at SOB's is cancelled. More details coming. This week Issac is in the Boston area.

Also! For sale only at Issac's live shows is a fabulous, professionally filmed DVD of a concert on the Malecón in Cuba.

June 14, 2002: More Issac concert reports from Yoshi's, and a special article from pianist Bill Wolfer on the show in Pomona. Eight new Issac photos from Peter Maiden. See Issac/Concerts.

June 8, 2002: Issac at Yoshi's. Longer report coming, but the first 4 shows have been great. Each set has been different. Last night's second set featured a full-on Latin Jazz arrangement and various exciting instrumental solos on other songs as well. Rolando Luna played several great solos and was unbelievable in general. On "Nadie me quiere bailar", Averhoff Jr. (sax), whom I'd never heard solo, was shockingly good, playing with powerful broad phrasing worthy of Kenny Garrett.After a blazing conga solo from Papacho (no shock, as his soloing is already legendary), Ceruto played a gorgeous flute solo and then young "Barretico" just blew the roof off the place with a drum solo that derived its power from groove and content and not just technique. The sound was very clean and wonderfully not-too-loud...no earplugs necessary for your intrepid reporter! Haila comes out about 45 minutes into each set and by that time she's completely fired up and has put on an incredible show. And Issac...what needs to said? Both shows sold out Friday. The first has been starting promptly at 8:00 and to get the best seats (they're all good at Yoshi's actually), you have to get there at 6:00 to stake out your spot. Then you can leave and come back. Two shows tonight, Saturday and a 2:00 matinee and 8:00 evening show Sunday.

June 5, 2002: ISSAC IS HERE! And timba.com will be covering the 5-week North American tour in detail in the CONCERTS section of Issac¹s pages. So far, we¹ve added an introduction with all the details on the band and the new album, and concert reports with lots of photos from the first shows in Tampa and Miami¹s Rancho Gaspar. Here¹s the short version: Don¹t miss it! Issac is in top form; the band is on fire; the personnel even better than last year; lots of great new music from the soon to be released album, "Versos en el aire"; guest stars Haila Mompié and Juan Ceruto -- need we say more?

The band travels to Oakland today, Wednesday, for 4 straight nights at Yoshi¹s in Jack London Square on the shores of San Francisco Bay. Many consider Yoshi¹s the best venue in the world to hear Jazz and Latin music. The beautiful room features a Myer sound system and the dance floor will be opened for these shows. There will be two separate shows per night Thursday through Saturday (8:00 and 10:00), and a 2:00 matinee and 8:00 evening show on Sunday. The room holds about 300 and shows are likely to sell out. Tickets are available at www.yoshis.com. The next tour stop is Southern California, with shows in Pomona (Copacabana), Los Angeles (The Conga Room) and San Diego (The Belly Up). See Issac/NEWS for a full tour schedule. (note: SOB's has been changed to another venue -- details forthcoming).

ENTREVISTA CON PAULITO F.G. POR MAJELA SERRANO ­ Majela habla con el Sofócador sobre su carrera, las nuevas miembros de la Élite, y sus planes para un disco nuevo. See Paulito/INTERVIEWS.

May 15, 2002 - Issac Delgado Tour Confirmed! - The visas have been approved! We heard that Jimmy Carter's new favorite song is "La Sandunguita" so that could have turned the trick. In any case the full tour is posted under "NEWS" in the Issac Delgado pages, or click here. The cities, in order will be: Tampa, Miami, Oakland (4 nights at Yoshi's!), Pomona, LA, San Diego, Greater Boston Area (5 concerts!), New York, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto (4 nights), Detroit, Ontario, Miami Beach. Issac will be bringing his new corista, Enríque "El Gordo" Pérez and Haila Mompié will be along to sing a couple numbers each night.

Also confirmed: Manolín at Tropigala in Miami on May 25.

May 14, 2002 - The Cancio Report - first update from Cubadisco is now online. Click here.

May 13, 2002 - The Directory of Musicians is growing rapidly, includes some audio examples, and you can now access the pages of your favorite musicians directly: For example:

mayito.timba.com
vannia.timba.com
aned.timba.com

If you have any information to add to any of the pages please email us - kevin@timba.com

May 7, 2002 - Stunning new Peter Maiden photos from Cubanismo's concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco. These can be found in the Peter Maiden pages, the Cubanismo pages and also in the Musicians' Directory entries for Emilio Maza, Gardi Vásquez, Pablosky Rosales, Rolo Martínez, and Roberto Riverón.

May 5, 2002 - This just in: Majela Serrano is in the process of interviewing Paulito FG for a lengthy article covering his full career..Stay tuned!

Paulo FG recibió la Orden por la Cultura Nacional de manos de Abel Prieto, Ministro de Cultura, en ocasión del décimo aniversario de la Elite, en un concierto en La Piragua, La Habana.

Paulo FG received the "Orden por la Cultura Nacional" (the most important medal for an artist in Cuba) from Abel Prieto, Minister of Culture, on April 19th, when his Elite was celebrating its 10th aniversary, in a concert in La Piragua, Havana.

Bárbara Valladares reports that Cubanismo brought the house down at the Fillmore and is now heading for LA.

Many more pages added to the Musicians' Directory, and many more on the way.

May 3, 2002 - Cubanismo was the best I've ever heard them last night in Santa Cruz. Peruchín on piano, Pepe Espinosa on timbales, Papiosco on congas, Riverón on bass -- a monster horn section comprised of Maza from CH, Carlos Alvarez from Klimax, Pérez Pérez from NG, newcomer Eduardo "Pescuezo" Rodríguez, and of course Jesús Alemany himself. A searing hot show! Catch them if you can! See Cubanismo/tours for the dates and venues of the remaining shows.

May 2, 2002 - Charanga Habanera US Tour in early June- East Coast only. Dates under Charanga Habanera/news.

Calixto Oviedo Pages- 2 extensive interviews and plenty of other information on this incredible drummer and bandleader. One of the first of our new "easy URL's". Just type:

calixto.timba.com -- no "www" necessary.

May 1, 2002 - TEAM CUBA in English. Go to the Team Cuba link under artists. The link to the English version is near the top.

Another European tour from Charanga Habanera! Oye, David! When are you coming to the States? For the dates, see Charanga Habanera/news.

A photo of Paulito's foxey new corista, Yamilé - see PaulitoFG/fotos.

April 29, 2002 - TEAM CUBA! Ya está el artículo de Majela Serrano sobre este grupo de todos estrellas -- Manolín, Issac, Paulito, los Formell, Tosco, Roberto, Mayito...y muchos más! Con fotos por Ulrich Wode, y 4 ejemplos de audio. Four audio examples of Team Cuba in concert in Havana and Matanzas. Está en la lista de artistas en la sección de artistas, o pon clik aquí.

The Directory of Musicians in also growing rapidly.

April 26, 2002 - The Directory of Musicians - This idea is just getting started. For a preview, click on the link at the end of the Artists list. We'll eventually have all the players who have played in the major Timba bands, with photos, bios, and contact information, sortable by name, instrument and group.

Lyrics to Manolín's "Tengo mi mecánica".

April 24, 2002 - Lyrics to "Romeo y Julieta" and "Pelo Suelto y Carretera" from Manolín's "De Buena Fe". See Manolín/lyrics.

Ciocan Records has acquired the rights to an unreleased album by "Los Chicos de la Salsa", a group which included Tirso Duarte, Aned Mota, Randolph Chácon, Yulién Oviedo and Helder Rojas, just before they joined Charanga Habanera. Stay tuned for more news about this exciting musical discovery.

April 23, 2002 - Biography of José Armando Gola, Manolín's current bassist. Written by Duniel Deya and Majela Serrano. See Manolín/bios.

Timba bands touring Europe - This just in from our intrepid European reporter, Bart De Bruycker:

LOS VAN VAN are announced for the "Couleur Café" festival Saturday 29th June in Brussels, Belgium
ADALBERTO ALVAREZ is programmed at the Disney Latino Festival at EuroDisney near Paris, France on Sunday 16th June.
ARAMIS GALINDO and HAILA with SEPTETO TURQUINO are coming to the 20th edition of the Antilliaanse Feesten, Hoogstraten, Belgium, 9-10th August.
AZUCAR NEGRA is rumoured to be in Brugge, Belgium the same weekend of 10th August.
Let's hope they all get their visas! - Bart De Bruycker

April 22, 2002 - NEWS FLASH! - David Calzado has replaced singer Dantes "Riki Ricón" Cardosa with Eblis Valdivia Díaz, a well-known young Cuban actor/singer who was previously singing with Klimax. We saw some video of him with Klimax and he sounded great. No word as to where Dantes will land. Expect another game of Cuban Musical Chairs! For an interesting autobiography of Eblis Valdivia, go to the Charanga Habanera/bios page.

- Danny Lozada Lyric Page complete! Thanks to the tireless efforts of César Díaz, Chris Smalt and Sinai Herrera Pérez, we now have complete lyrics to all of the tracks on the incredible "Tanto le pedí" CD. See Danny Lozada/lyrics.

April 21, 2002 - part 2 - Two more lyrics from Danny Lozada's Tanto le pedí: "Quién la tira más dura que yo" and "Me voy y bien". Thanks again to César, Chris and Sinai.

- Two more Charanga Habanera photos from Paola Arias.

April 21, 2002 - Three more bios added to the Manolín pages - Dayamí Sánchez, by Duniel Deya, and the phenomenal "Pututi" brothers, Alexis and Ángel Arce Isla, by Majela Serrano.

New Charanga Habanera photos from Paola Arias. See Charanga Habanera/fotos.

English translation of Majela Serrano's biography of David Calzado. See Charanga Habanera/bios

Lyrics to two of Manolín's greatest songs: Somos lo que hay and No lo comentes. See the Manolín/lyrics.

More Danny Lozada lyrics coming soon.

April 20, 2002 - Reinier Guerra bio, in English and Spanish, in the Manolín section. We're starting a new approach - for each group, we'll try to list all the musicians, present and past, and give each of them a personal page with photos, articles, and hopefully interviews. If you have information on the histories of the members of various groups, please email us! We begin with the Manolín's unbelievable young drummer -- Reinier Guerra, with articles by Duniel Deya, Majela Serrano and Kevin Moore. Many more coming soon, and also a flood of new lyrics from Manolín and Danny Lozada.

The exciting new live double CD by Manolín, "El Puente", recorded at Rancho Gaspar in Miami, is getting close. It includes the controversial song "El Puente" and also "Dios Sabe", which may be Manolín's hottest track since "Somos Lo Que Hay".

April 18, 2002 - Audio Interview with Ralph Irizarry! In a fascinating audio interview, Ralph discusses his career with Ray Baretto and Rubén Blades, his solo work with Timbalaye, his participation, in Cuba, on Issac Delgado's soon-to-be-released new CD, and his thoughts on Timba. Go to artists/interviews, or click here.

April 17, 2002 - Lyrics to Danny Lozada's "Que venga lo que venga" - this has got to be the most under-appreciated Timba CD! Transcribed by César Díaz, Chris Smalt and Sinai Herrera Pérez. See artists/danny lozada/lyrics.

April 16, 2002 - Several summer tours are firming up. Bamboleo's confirmed tour dates can be found at www.ritmoartists.com. There will be a link to this page on the timba.com Bamboleo home page for the duration of the tour. There's also an unconfirmed possibility of Bamboleo on June 22 at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall.

Issac Delgado is already being advertisted at www.yoshis.com for June 6, 7, 8, & 9.

There are rumors about Charanga Habanera, but no hard evidence yet, and Cubanismo is here now. The current Cubanismo lineup is full of alumni of the top Timba bands: Peruchín and Rolando Pérez Pérez of NG La Banda, Roberto Riverón of Klimax, Maza of the original Charanga Habanera, and José Espinosa, who's recorded with Danny Lozada, Issac and Juan Ceruto. See Cubanismo/Tours for dates.

April 15, 2002 - Lyrics to Danny Lozada's "Allá va eso" - what a great track! Transcribed by César Díaz, Chris Smalt and Sinai Herrera Pérez. See artists/danny lozada/lyrics.

April 10, 2002 - We finally added the article on the unreleased songs of Charanga Habanera (and others). It's linked to the Charanga Habanera home page.

Majela Serrano is working on an article on the legendary Team Cuba tour. If you were lucky enough to attend any of these concerts or have information on them, please contact her at majela@timba.com.

Oscar Valdés, Jr. has definitely left Issac's band. We're trying to find out the new drummer's name. There's a new female corista and Enrique Luis Pérez, El Médico's longtime corista, has also joined. Haila Mompié will accompany Issac on the tour and sing a few of her numbers in the middle of the show, but she won't be singing coro this time. The tour should begin in Miami in the final days of May. Keep your fingers crossed.

Ciocan Records has acquired the rights to the only recording of the legendary "Los Chicos de la Salsa". This was the group where Tirso Duarte got his start. It also included a very large selection of great musicians who went on to Charanga Habanera, Bamboleo and others. Release date is unknow as of yet.

April 7, 2002 - Lyrics to Danny Lozada's "Encima del Boom", courtesy of Sinai Herrera Pérez & Christian Smalt. See artists/danny lozada/lyrics.

Looks like Melón will be arriving sometime in June.Bill Wolfer of Mamborama is already booking his flight. The pilgrimage begins!

Issac is slated for Yoshi's in Oakland for June 6-9 - two shows a night. Keep your fingers crossed. We'll post the rest of the tour as it gets confirmed. A late June/early July Bamboleo tour is also beginning to look like a serious possibility.

April 6, 2002 - Melón is coming to the US! The greatest Timba pianist of them all will be coming to California this summer as a guest of the legendary La Peña Cultural Center (www.lapena.org), where he'll be giving classes on piano and arranging. To learn more about Melón (Iván González Lewis), his years with Issac Delgado, and his jazz career, see his artist pages. We'll publish the dates of his visit as soon as we have them.

April 5, 2002 - Charanga Habanera - Live in the USA. An article on the making of the album and on the history of live Timba recordings, with a full length mp3 of Usa Condón. Look under discs on the Charanga Habanera page, or click here.

April 2, 2002 - Cubanismo is on tour. For the dates, go to the Cubanismo page and click TOURS, or follow this link.

April 1, 2002 - Manolín is no longer playing Café Nostalgia in South Beach, Miami -- at least for now. His replacement this month is Albita.

We're beginning the Manolín LYRICS page. Somos Lo Que Hay will be added first, within a few days.

Timba.com will soon have streaming audio of two tracks from the almost released Live Charanga Habanera CD.

We'll believe this when we see it, but hopes are high that Cubanismo and Los Muñequitos de Matanzas will be in the US in May, followed by Issac and Bamboleo in June and Pupy Pedroso in September. Keep your fingers crossed.

March 20, 2002 - Manolín Update: The band will play Nostalgia this coming Friday. The ongoing situation is still up in the air.

Issac Delgado: Manolín ex-corista, Enrique Luis Pérez, who recorded on all four of his albums, is now singing coro with Issac Delgado, along with longtime Issac corista Alexander Díaz. Oscar Valdés Jr. has reportedly left as drummer and musical director.

new photos from Paola Arias: In the Charanga Habanera section under "Los Charangueros de Hoy". More coming.

March 15,, 2002 - At least three tours are in the works and, barring the problems which have cancelled almost every Timba tour in the last year, we can expect major tours from the following artists:

June - Issac Delgado
June - Bamboleo
September - Pupy Pedroso y Los Que Son Son

also:

now: Muñequitos de Matanzas
June: Maraca

Issac's new CD is done but not yet mastered and tentatively entitled "Versos en el Aire". This is the tribute to Trova composers such as Silvio Rodríguez and Palo Milanes, with modern arragements by Juan Ceruto and Joaquín Betancourt. Issac brought in New York legends Jon Fausty and Ralph Irizarry to collaborate on the CD. We hope to have some sort of interview with one or both of these figures in the near future.

The Manolín rumors continue. He may or may not be leaving Nostalgia. Our advice: see him while you can!

March 13, 2002 - According to sources in Miami, the last chance to hear Manolín at Nostalgia in Miami is this Friday -- it will be the last night of their standing engagement there. Stay tuned for updates.

March 11, 2002 - Our most ambitious article to date, the "thesis" on Charanga Habanera's 5th album, EL CHARANGUERO MAYOR, is now online. Coming in at just under 11,000 words (not counting the lyrics), it includes 77 audio examples, including a number of utterly fascinating Tirso Duarte's MIDI performances of many of the tumbaos. In addition to clips from the album itself we've also included a number of very interesting live performances by Charanga Habanera and others. For each song we give you, on a separate page, the complete lyrics along with a structural analysis. Also included along the way are dozens of insights provided by timba.com's Majela Serrano, who was present at many of Charanga Habanera's rehearsals and concerts during this period in their history.

Having now finished the six Charanga Habanera albums, we'll soon be shining the in-depth timba.com spotlight on a new artist, "El Médico de la Salsa".

March 10, 2002 - 4 more sets of lyrics in the Charanga Habanera lyrics section.

March 9, 2002 - A new photo of Issac Delgado in the recording studio working on his upcoming CD. See Issac Delgado/Photos.

March 8, 2002 - Announcing a music festival in Havana.Caliente.

March 7, 2002 - Well, we now have it from Yosvel's brother, Edduar, also the producer of Sol y Soul, that Yosvel has NOT returned to Paulito FG. So we'll assume PFG's pianist is still Dariel Tellez, ex of Charanga Forever.

We're starting to get close on the Charanguero Mayor article. This one is guaranteed to blow the minds of all aspiring Timba pianists, as it contains extensive MIDI recordings of Tirso Duarte, as well as full lyrics, stories behind the songs, etc. Stay tuned. Also on the horizon are three more English translations of Majela Serrano articles already published in Spanish, and a whole section on Calixto Oviedo and his new band, featuring Mena of NG and Melón.

The Joel Domínguez interview has been fixed. There were some missing paragraphs, and we've added some new pictures.

There's a great new b&w photo in the Peter Maiden section.

March 6, 2002 - Yosvel Bernal has now RETURNED to Paulito FG's group, playing piano, rather than synth as before. He's still keep his trombone gig at the Tropicana. Now if Paulito can just get Ceruto, Alexander and Tomasito and Los Dos Joeles back...

The Copa Room (formerly El Palacio de la Salsa) now seems to be the top nightclub again. Thursday will be Charanga Habanera, Friday Los Van Van and Saturday Paulito FG. See you there! (we wish!!).

The timba.com FORUM is back on line -- now at Delphi. Check it out by clicking the "guestbook" link at the bottom of any timba.com page.

March 3, 2002 - Another new edition of The Cancio Report.

March 2, 2002 - A new edition of The Cancio Report. Dateline Havana Cuba.

March 2, 2002 - Las últimas noticias directo desde La Habana: Haila María Mompié abandonó definitivamente la agrupacion Azúcar Negra para dedicarse por completo a su carrera de solista; Paulo FG ha incorporado tres miembros nuevos a su élite, tres mujeres, una de las cuales toca el güiro. Y seguimos en la élite...el último de los antiguos miembros claves de esta agrupación también la ha abandonado. Yosvel Bernal, tecladista, corista y director musical, está actualmente en Tropicana como trombonista.

The latest gossip from Havana: Paulito now has 3 female singers to his band; Yosvel Bernal, PFG's keyboardist/corista of 5 years, and most recently his musical director has quit and is now playing trombone with the Tropicana Orchestra, and if you didn't already know, Haila Mompié has left Azúcar Negra to pursue a solo career. Her replacement is her cousin Tania.

March 2, 2002 - Por Majela Serrano - La Charanga Habanera 'On Tour' - "detrás de la fachada" - el reportaje de Majela sobre los conciertos recienes de la CH en Europa