“Edgardo & Candela” is a Salsa Band (directed by percussionist, Edgardo Cambón) based in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years, making us one of the most established Salsa Orchestras in California.
The instrumentation is piano, bass, trombone, sax, flute, guitar, conga drums, bongo drums, timbales and vocalists. Smaller versions of the band are available upon request, while always maintaining the musical integrity of the genre.
Better known as simply “Candela,” their trade mark is their high energy level performance, featuring great vocals, a tight rhythm section and the powerful sound of the horns. The band features the crop of professional musicians in the Bay Area, which makes for an incredible musical experience every time they play!
During the evening, Edgardo will personally assure that everyone is entertained while he mixes singing tunes by Oscar De León, Marc Anthony, Eddie Palmieri, Rubén Blades, Tito Puente, Guaco, Pete "Conde" Rodriguez, Celia Cruz and Ray Barretto among others, but the real treat here is Edgardo's original music, presenting him as a mature composer and poetic lyricist.
Bululú is a dynamic Latin music band in the San Francisco Bay Area led by Venezuelan-born percussionist and composer, Lali Mejia. Bululú’s musicians represent the breadth of the Latin American diaspora and a wealth of experience in the diverse rhythms and harmonic blends that have emerged from the continent. African, Indigenous and European cultures come together in the music of Bululú, exploding in a celebration of life and spiritual energy. Our rhythms represent the resilience of musical traditions, carried on by generations of ancestors who struggled to maintain the historical chains that link us. In the Bay Area, our music plays an important healing role, reminding people of ancestral bonds, promoting a cultural unity that goes beyond politics. Dancing is a celebration of life!
“Bululú features a multi-talented team of San Francisco Bay Area artists from diverse musical and cultural backgrounds that bring a wealth of sensibilities and ‘sabor’ to the project.”—Lali Mejia.
Band Leader / Percussion, Vocals
A native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, Lali Mejia is a percussionist, composer and educator specialized in the Afro-Venezuelan folklore as well as Latin American and styles of music. During her career, she has shared the stage and toured with prominent musicians such as Marco Granados, Aquiles Baez, Jorge Glem and Akira Tana. Additionally, Lali has participated in numerous music festivals around the US, Caribbean, China and Japan, and performed in venues such as the Tokyo Hakuyu Hall, Macau International Music Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, San Francisco Jazz Festival, Venezuelan Sounds at the Smithsonian Institute and SF Davies Symphony Hall. Since 2004, Lali has facilitated many Afro-Venezuelan workshops around the US and internationally.
Music Director / Guitar, Cuatro, Vocals
Jose Roberto Hernández is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer, arranger, producer, music educator, ethnomusicologist and one of the most respected exponents of folkloric music of Latin America in the US today. He was born in the city of Cárdenas (Tabasco), Mexico, where his musical career began, and continued in the state of Oaxaca and Mexico City prior to relocating to the United States. His devotion, creativity and professionalism in the genre of traditional music have earned him the recognition of great musicians from Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil, and Argentina. He has collaborated with renowned masters of Latin music such as Orestes Vilató, John Santos, Jesus Díaz and Bobi Céspedes, among others.
Percussion
Peta Robles Izquierdo is one of the few, most accomplished female percussionists of Peru. She was born in Lima into the “Los Izquierdo” family of exceptional musicians and dancers where she began to play cajon and “zapatear” when she was a child. As a young adult, she became the National Champion of Female Percussionists in Peru and has traveled throughout Europe, North and South America as an ambassador of Afro-Peruvian music and dance. Peta is also an educator—a remarkably charismatic percussion and dance teacher for all ages and levels.
Bass
Ayla Davila, a Bay Area native of Guatemalan descent, is a highly seasoned instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and one of the busiest bass players in the Bay Area latin music scene. Ayla has been a founding member of bands such as La Mixta Criolla, Carne Cruda and plays for several latin bands among them Mario y Su Timbeko, LaTido and Jesus Diaz y su Qba. Ayla was also a founding member of Mexican roots ensemble “Los Cenzontles”.
Vocals, Hand Percussion
Lichi Fuentes is a singer, choral director and multi-instrumentalist born in San Fernando, Chile. The youngest of a musical family of 7 brothers and sisters, she came to the Bay Area in 1980. Currently, Lichi is the director of La Peña Community Chorus, a member of Bobi Céspedes Band and Bululú. She has played with prominent Afro Cuban bands such as Conjunto Céspedes, Jesus Díaz y su QBA, Grupo Raiz (Chile) and founder of the all-women ensemble Altazor. Lichi has also worked extensively as an educator of Latin American music.
Vocals
Fernanda Bustamante, vocalist and violinist from Peru, has spent a lifetime performing. She started playing the violin when she was three years old and started singing when she was 10. She trained classically on the violin for 15 years before she entered the world of Latin music, rhythms, and improvisation. There, she discovered her love for traditional and folkloric music and dance. Today she performs with various musical groups around the Bay Area including Bululú, The KTO Project, Jose Roberto and Friends, and Vinic-Kay. She is also an Afro-Peruvian dancer and musician for De Rompe y Raja Cultural Association.
Vocals
Norma was born in Ciudad Ojeda, Venezuela. She is the 4th sibling of a family of 6 (among them, Jose Gregorio) and started singing folkloric music at an early age along with her brothers. By their teenage years the Kansau siblings had founded a church choir in Venezuela and had the opportunity of touring within the country and parts of Europe, earning a number of awards along the way. Norma has been a Bay Area artist for over 20 years, and has participated as a vocalist in musical projects from Perú, Venezuela and México. She brings a healthy dose of joy and enthusiasm to her performances, which are part of her stamp and sound.
Vocals
Jose Gregorio Kansau is a Venezuelan tenor with an ample trajectory in lyrical and popular music. For the past 25 years, he has earned numerous awards and recognitions as a vocalist as well as led his own touring ensemble in Mérida, Venezuela, called “Tango Quintet”. His talent, versatility and experience paved the way to various national and international appearances. In 1995, he was endowed with “La Voz Universitaria” a highly prestigious mention which propelled his career as one of the most notable and powerful vocalists in Venezuela. His passion as a singer lies in the areas of boleros, tangos, classical, jazz and blues.
The VibraSÓN band was formed in mid-2013 to fulfill a long yearning of its leader Jake Jacobs, an accomplished salsa dancer and instructor for over 20 years to bring some of the greatest dance music back into the live music scene
The concept was to play the music of an older era with a hip sound for dancers and audiences alike. Many of the DJs and dancers in the scene adore such music and it is played frequently in recorded form - a comeback for a great era of innovative music that soothes the soul and stirs the dancer in all of us. In Bay Area, rich with talent and populated with salsa bands, no group really was devoted to the genre. Besides dancing/teaching Jake took up playing percussion around 10 years ago and has played with numerous bands in the Bay Area. As the leader, he brings his musical tastes from both dancing and playing to the mix, plus a bevy of some of the greatest musical talent the Bay Area has to offer. VibraSON brings back great live music for dancers and listeners alike, while moving forward at the same time.
Conjunto Vibrasón - 3rd Annual Bay Area Latin Jazz Festival Promo from Montuno Productions on Vimeo.
In the mid 80s, Luis González scored one of the most inspiring and career transforming gigs, touring and recording with one of his heroes, legendary percussionist and bandleader Ray Barretto (renowned by the masses for his 60s hit “El Watusi”).
The Puerto Rican born, Milwaukee WI raised trumpeter was flattered when he heard Barretto tell a large TV audience that members of his large ensemble would someday become bandleaders and solo artists in their own right. A few decades later, after an extraordinary career working with some of his native island’s greatest artists (Tito Allen, Santitos Colon, Adalberto Santiago, Jerry Rivera) and the world-renowned salsa orchestras of Willie Rosario, Mulenze, Luis Perico Ortiz and Tommy Olivencia, González fulfilled Barretto’s powerful prophecy by launching his career as a recording artist.
At the urging of Rosario, González formed The Luis González Orchestra, which released its critically acclaimed debut album Tributo a Un Gigante in 2010. The title was a reference to Barretto, the chief inspiration behind the approach the trumpeter took to creating his multi-faceted, high energy, brass intensive 12-piece salsa band. Inviting top Puerto Rican musicians and vocalists to join him, he mixed New York style and Puerto Rican style salsa, and as he says, “put it in a big kettle, boiled it together and created my own style. One of the main things that caught my attention was the way Ray selected composers, tunes and arrangers. Once I formed the band, we rehearsed for six months every Monday for four hours until this hybrid style gelled.”
As explosive as the music was, the excitement generated by Tributo a Un Gigante was simply a warm-up for the freewheeling burst of power that drives The Luis González Orchestra’s new full-length collection El Tsunami de La Salsa - a pumped up old school salsa autentico project whose title is also González’s nickname. While fashioning the ensemble’s debut to introduce his unique style, he and his team of composers, arrangers and musicians made the new collection more aggressive, with more complex, multi-faceted, highly danceable arrangements.
“When I’m making an album, I think about the audience first and what we want to accomplish as musicians second,” says González. “It occurs to me that dancers, or people that want to use our music to dance to, are going to buy these recordings. So we wanted to make it very exciting, with a pounding brass line, with the mambo coming up strong and that rush of heavy sound that will get people to come out and dance. The idea is to bring that true excitement of classic salsa back, not only with a big brassy sound but also with a mix that allows you to hear every single instrument and puts the vocals out front. In many ways, I’m still paying homage to Ray Barretto, creating a master class for my musicians based on the way he created his sound. We’re all really having fun!”
ON STAGE
After years of playing NYC, throughout Puerto Rico and the U.S. and touring Europe as part of prominent salsa bands, González has finally stretched his creative muscles as a prominent bandleader in his own right. Since making its Stateside debut as part of a competition at South of Congress, a prominent several day festival in Chicago, the Luis González Orchestra has performed regularly at many prominent Puerto Rico based festivals (including ones in Mayaguez and the Carnaval de Ponce) as well as prominent San Juan hotels (Marriott, Sheraton) and venues like the Latin Roots Club of San Juan. In support of El Tsunami de La Salsa, the group will be touring in 2015 in South America (Columbia), Central America (Panama), perform in Mexico City and do select dates on the West Coast.
The ensemble makes a powerful, high-energy presentation (that González likens to “a big wave”, (i.e. the Tsunami), with three trumpeters (including González), a trombonist, a complete Latin rhythm section and three singers. During their shows, half the people are watching and taking videos, while the other half are up dancing. “I’m having the most fun I’ve ever had in my career as a musician,” says González. “We’re bringing smiles to the people and are a great stress reliever that makes them dance away their problems for a little while. Hearing that people are enjoying our performances brings us satisfaction that is more important to us than any amount of money we earn. We are proud representatives of Puerto Rico and its wonderful legacy of salsa music.”
NOTABLE LIVE PERFORMANCES
MUSIC
With nonstop energy and a wild, constant, high octane swirl of bold, splashy brass, rich percussion textures, spirited Latin piano romps, compelling lead and backing vocals, infectious melodies and toe-tapping grooves, El Tsunami de La Salsa - perfectly embodying its title – sweeps the listener into a wave of joyous, dancing delight. As the producer, González, working with top engineer Vinny Urrutia, makes sure that each instrument receives prominent features throughout. The ensemble includes vocalists Eric Pabón, Agustin Marrero and Ricky Ramos – each of whom is given lead vocals interplaying off the other two, which form a call and response chorus. Another prominent performer is pianist Pedro Bermudez. González was honored for El Tsunami de La Salsa by Puerto Rico’s National Foundation for Popular Culture for best recording of 2010.
In addition to six dazzling, fiery originals (“Esta Como El Colorete,” “Sinceridad,” “Si Te Preguntan,” “Recuerdos”, “Sonero & Trovadores” and the dramatic, sweeping nearly seven minute closer “Tsunami Jazz Suite”), the set includes three tracks covering classic tunes from an era of Salsa music that González considers a true heyday time. These are the opener “Vamos, Hablame” (originally recorded by Roberto Roena) “Ella Esta en Otra Rumba” (Justo Betancourt & Su Conjunto Borincuba) and “Bruca Manigua” (a Cuban son standard by Arsenio Rodriguez, once also recorded by Buena Vista Social Club).
FROM THE BEGINNING
Born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, González grew up in Milwaukee, WI, where his family moved when he was an infant. Starting on his multi-faceted musical journey at age seven, he first played accordion and timbales before he began on trumpet at age nine and took private lessons from Roy Howards. For many years during high school, he took classes at the Wisconsin College Conservatory of Music. After a very musical high school career which included playing all different genres of music in many bands – as well as the distinction of being the only Hispanic to make the All-City band - González continued his education and majored at the Conservatory in classical trumpet with a minor in jazz.
After relocating to San Juan, the New York band Conjunto Clasico – which he had met during their Puerto Rican tour – asked him to join their band. He quickly moved to NYC, where he lived and worked for many years, including his sting with Ray Barretto’s group. Moving back to Puerto Rico permanently in the 90s, González launched his career as a freelance trumpeter, contributing to recordings and live performances of top Puerto Rican and Latin artists and bandleaders. Beyond those mentioned earlier, his resume includes Roberto Rohena, Bobby Valentin, Puerto Rican Power, Nino Segarra and Celia Cruz. He has also served as musical director for Lalo Rodriguez, Luisito Carrion, Anthony Cruz, Wichi Camacho, Mel Martinez and Carolina Lao.
REVIEW
“After playing for a wild array of legendary salsa artists and large ensembles for so many years, Luis González has drawn from the greatest of those influences to create a fresh, combustible vibe that has established him as an innovator and his group, the Luis González Orchestra, as a formidable new force in salsa music. Beyond being buoyant, joyous and supremely danceable, the nine tracks on El Tsunami De La Salsa also illuminate careful attention to every sonic detail and texture – making this all at once a technical, creative and commercial triumph. Jazz fans will relish the rich solo textures and bursts of improvisation. Tech-heads will marvel at the production and sonic invention. And the rest of us? We’ll be too tired from dancing to worry about all that! With his mix of classic New York and Puerto Rican concepts, González lights the way for the bright future of salsa music.” – Jonathan Widran
Booking: Montuno Productions, Inc.
Tel. (510) 586-3215
