We cannot go back to the past, but from the present we aspire to give back the best moments through tributes that honor figures, events and times.

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Lee este artículo en español.

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With this in mind is that the project “Salsa Legends Revival” was born, through the union of a group of Puerto Rican musicians who wish to honor the musical movement that was born in the 1960s and 1970s with the worldwide commercialization of the salsa genre. Reviving the artistic creations of the musicians and singers who were part of the Fania All-Stars and their record label in New York, as well as recognizing the influence of the salsa clave, is what the nascent project on the island seeks to promote, according to music producer Sammy Ceballos.

Ceballos, along with his sister Linda Ceballos, conceptualized the idea of revisiting the music of salsa’s golden era in a tribute to the voices and musicians that producer and impresario Jerry Masucci and musical director Johnny Pacheco brought together with the creation of the most influential conglomerate of artists in the history of the Latin music industry: the Fania All-Stars.

There is no other group of artists as powerful and successful as the Fania All Stars’ representation of Latin music, where all of its members shone. There were singers and musicians Cheo Feliciano, Celia Cruz, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Bobby Cruz, Bobby Valentín, Ray Barreto, Mongo Santamaría, Papo Lucca, Justo Betancourt, Ismael Quintana, Rubén Blades, Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez, Roberto Roena, Nicky Marrero, Larry Harlow, Richie Ray, Héctor Zarzuela and Yomo Toro, among others.

“We want to revive the musical movement that took place in New York and that marked history and circled the globe. Now when one listens to the music, the instrumentation and the flavor of that generation of artists does not exist, at least I do not perceive it. To pay tribute to the legacy of those salsa legends, with much respect, we sought out a group of professional musicians who were formed under the influence of this movement to create the ambitious musical project,” said Linda, the concept’s creator.

“Salsa Legends Revival” has a group of 17 people including singers, musicians, arrangers, directors and producers who came together to create the project that includes the release of salsa hits and live performances. Although the group is still fine-tuning the project, they have already released a first promotional cut to make themselves known.

The premiere of the song and video “Tributo a la salsa” was launched more than a week ago with a medley of several hits popularized by artists belonging to the Fania record label, responsible for the commercialization and diffusion of salsa worldwide. Thanks to Fania Records, salsa could be heard beyond New York, Cuba and Puerto Rico.

The recording of the first issue of “Salsa Legends Revival” took place at Fonava Music Studios, where musicians, engineers, technicians and production personnel joined forces, under the production and direction of Manuel Ortiz.

“Our project is focused on honoring that legacy. To offer a live show with the original arrangements and the essence that defined that group of salsa stars. Right now you hear a lot of tribute groups. For example, there is the one they do to Gilberto Santa Rosa and there is another one dedicated to Juan Luis Guerra and in the face of a musical era such as the salsa of the 60s and 70s that has been in force for more than 40 years, what better than to recognize the music that was made with Fania and it is a way of paying tribute and recognizing these artists. In addition, salsa is a genre that is danced a lot,” said producer and musician Ceballos.

The producer emphasized that the most important aspect of the project is to preserve the original arrangements of the salsa hits, since they are the musical essence. The musical direction and arranger was Julio Santiago. The voices of the performers include Gilda González, Hugo Maysonet, Wilfredo “Quitín” Santiago and Efraín “Pichi” Gaetán. The latter, a singer, said that joining the project was not a coincidence, since the influence that the Fania Stars had on his life was the reason why he decided to develop in singing and salsa. The salsa singer said that when he was 11 years old, in 1973, he attended the inaugural concert of the Roberto Clemente Coliseum with Fania All-Stars and his father took him to the show.

“Cheo Feliciano, Ismael Miranda, Pete “El Conde” and Adalberto Santiago are the artists that influenced me to dedicate myself to music. Now being able to be in this project is a form of gratitude,” said “Pichi” Gaetan.

In the meantime, “Salsa Legends Revival” will continue recording songs in order to be able to make its first musical tour.

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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.