May 22, 1998
By Dolores Fino
NYDIA ROJAS Y EL MARIACHI LAS ADELITAS;
LAURA FLORES Y EL MARIACHI LOS CAMPEROS DE NATI CANO
El sensacional Mariachi de 18 años de edad, Nydia Rojas y el Mariachi Las Adelitas dieron comienzo a la serie de entretenimiento del Pase Familiar con dos conciertos especiales por el Día de la Madre, el Domingo 10 de Mayo. Nydia Rojas, quien deslumbró al público con su debut discográfico el año pasado, interpreto éxitos de su nuevo álbum Florecer", incluyendo su actual sencillo pop-Mariachi "Que Te Vaya Bien" y baladas como "Llévame Contigo" y "Paso Las Noches".
Continuando la serie el Domingo 17 de Mayo, la popular cantante y estrella de telenovelas Laura Flores y el Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, dieron dos conciertos a la 1 y 3:30 p.m. Acompañada por uno de los mejores Mariachis del mundo, Laura Flores interpretó canciones como la popular "El Alma No Tiene Color" sencillo de su reciente álbum "Me Quede Vacía". La música ha sido siempre parte integral en la vida de Laura Flores, ha sido algo que desde niña le ha apasionado, algo que lleva en la sangre.
MIGUEL BOSE
Muro, el primer sencillo del nuevo álbum de Miguel Bosé, y compuesta por Carlos Varela, es el primer single de Once Maneras de Ponerse Un Sombrero. Esta versión que Miguel Bosé ha grabado, es original, novedosa y entrañable, y en ella el cantante capta toda la fuerza de sus versos, reinterpretando la melodía de una manera suave y sutil, llena de sentimiento.
Muro es un homenaje y una respuesta íntima, una forma especial de sentir y recuperar la música actual y sus más importantes rasgos. Las demás melodías de éste álbum son igual de bonitas. Cada una, en su tema, es algo muy especial.
CHRIS DURAN
Chris Duran es el nuevo fenomeno musical. Con todas las características de una estrella internacional, Chris Duran conquista al público de los Estados Unidos en lo que es su primera gira promocional por el mencionado país. Este fenómeno también repercutió en importantes medios de prensa, incluyendo el periódico Miami Herald, el cual dedicó una portada al joven y carismático artista.
ARTURO SANDOVAL RETURNS WITH HIS FIRST LATIN JAZZ BIG BAND RECORDING
Multiple Grammy-Award winning trumpeter Arturo Sandoval pays homage to the great jazz big band leaders on his first N2K Encoded Music release and his first big band recording Hot House. The majority of Hot House is original material, but the title track is a link to Sandoval's mentor and the originator of Afro-Cuban jazz, Dizzy Gillespie, it also proclaims Sandoval's own talents.
Hot House contains a view of Latin jazz, including the tracks "Funky Cha-Cha," "Mam-Bop," "Sandunga," and "Cuban American Medley (Back Home Again In Indiana/Little Lulu theme song/Take Me Out To The Ballgame." His tribute to the "King of Salsa" "Tito," features latin vocalist Rey Ruiz and Tito Puente on timbales. Patti Austin makes a special appearance to sing the Spanish/English vocals on Armando Manzanero's ("It's Impossible"), and "Only You," ("No Se tu").
JUAN MANUEL "CORAZON DE BACHATA"
Juan Manuel is an extraordinary artist. This 21-year-old mastered Bachata music by listening to his father sing. His father was not a professional, but he loved the music and the storytelling art of the old `Bachateros." He passed away when Juan Manuel was only eight years old and as a way of honoring him, he is devoting his careet to his memory.
Bachata is a unique country folk music, native to the island of the Dominican Republic. It combines the tempos of merengue and son, in an easy pace with a flowing rhythm that compliments the storytelling lyric that accompanies it.
ALMA CARIBE
The group Alma Caribe consists of four young and dynamic members. Two talented female singers and their two equally gifted male counterparts. Alma Caribe's music is pure merengue. The music brings out the sweet taste of the tropical flavor and soul of the Caribbean Islands, from which they derived the meaning of their name: Caribbean Soul or Alma Caribe.
Some of the songs on this dance musical CD are, "Juego de Amor," the first single to be released in the United States. Also included are, "Para Que Quererte," "Tonta," and "Car-ta de Amor."
CORTE FINAL
Corte Final is the new all-female group who has become one of the hottest groups of the year, through their talent and professionalism. Their new album, under the Caimán banner, introduces the newest rage in Latin music, "grupera." On their new CD, they have assembled a group of songs that range from the romantic ballad to tropical rhythms, including "El Hombre De Mis Sueños" and "Por Que Me Tratas Asi," which were written by Vilma Frias, the soul of the group, and who is from the Dominican Republic.
The other girls; Ligia Díaz, from El Salvador; Mariela Viloria, from Venezuela; Nancy Barrial, from Cuba, are all equally talented and beautiful. Ligia sings two tracks on the album including the first single release "Mujer Dolida" written by Pochi Familia.
LA CALLE
La Calle, made up of four young musicians in their twenties, is unlike anything you have heard in the past. The group comes from Santo Domingo, which is the cradle of the best merengue. Keyboards are never used in a merengue band, but La Calle successfully introduces keyboards to the merengue sound without losing the integrity of the traditional feeling.
La Calle's new CD, La Nueva Ley (The New Law), has a unique sound as they mix in the keyboards with merengue house rhythms as in the song "Este Ritmo Se Pega" and the upbeat "La Fiesta No Termi-nó." "La Nueva Ley" is the title track and first single scheduled for release in the United States.
JACI VELASQUEZ
Seventeen-year-old Jaci Velasquez is America's #1 Christian singer, and is a fast rising star poised to make her mark on both the pop and Hispanic music scenes. "She has a voice capable of wringing every subtle nuance of emotion from a song," Billboard praises. She is smart, stylish, and spunky, as well as phenomenally talented. Jaci offers her fans "straight talk from the heart" about the challenges of being a teenager — and shares how she keeps her Christian values alive in today's complex world — in her first book, A Heavenly Place. She is the winner of the 1997 Dove Award for New Artist of the Year.
RICARDO MONTANER and ALEJANDRO SANZ
Ricardo Montaner and Alejandro Sanz will perform in the most important media event of the year in Mexico. This is the first telethon to benefit handicapped kids which will consist of 25 hours of live broadcast on December 13, and include segments from various Mexican cities where different artists will perform.
MOLOTOV
Molotov vuelve a la carga a unos cuantos meses de su debut en Estados Unidos el pasado mes de Diciembre. Esta vez regresó a reafirmar su éxito con shows vendidos en su totalidad. Molotov se prepara para la conquista de Florida y luego de España, donde 8 conciertos están confirmados por todo el pais. Los talentosos elementos de Molotov son, Tito (guitarra y voz), Ricky (bajo y voz), Randy (batería, guitarra y voz), y Paco (bajo, batería y coros).
VOICES OF THEORY
On April 21, 1998 H.O.L.A. Recordings released the debut self-titled album from the Philadelphia R&B group Voices of Theory. Their new album is beautiful and sensitive, with the lyrics predominantly inspired by love. The group takes this sensitivity and mixes it with Hip Hop and a little Latin influence and comes out with a gem. Voices of Theory is currently on a major city promotional tour that will last through August.
With the new single, "Say It," Voices of Theory delivers a beutiful ballad, with very sensitive lyrics, and beautiful instrumentation; which without a doubt, will be a favorite with lovers on their special day.
EL MES DE ABRIL EN TELEMUNDO
Este mes, Telemundo le trae a los televidentes hispanos en Estados Unidos dos nuevas novelas que nunca han sido vistas antes en Estados Unidos, y las cuales han tenido un éxito rotundo en Latinoamérica.
Llovizna es el nombre de una bella joven de 18 años que fué criada por su abuelo, Caruachi, y su compañera, Marhuanta Sanchez, una ex-prostituta. Caruachi, un ex-convicto y un empleado de la fábrica de acero, le entregó a Llovizna de bebé a Marhuanta sin revelar que ella era su nieta. La madre de Llovizna fué asesinada al nacer Llovizna para esconder una relación que tenía con el dueño de la fábrica, Pío Heres.
Las Juanas es una novela que viene a los Estados Unidos a través de la cadena Tele-mundo. Es una novela diferente. Es la historia acerca de la búsqueda de una hija por su identidad y en el proceso encuentra a toda una familia. En su lecho de muerte la mamá de Juana Valentina confiesa a su hija que su verdadero padre es un hombre del cual se enamoró a pesar de solo haberlo conocido brevemente y que contaba historias acerca de su madre, Juana.
FRED BENEDETTI AND GEORGE SVOBODA
Fred Benedetti and George Svoboda's new CD, Narada's Gypsy Suol — New Flamenco, has just hit the #9 position on Billboard's Top World Music Albums chart. Now their new full-length album, Flamenco Dreams, will be on sale. They have performed at San Diego's Old Glove Theatre, and before Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev. They have also taught and continue to teach as individuals at colleges, universities and the city schools.
CANDY DULFER AND FUNKY STUFF TO RETURN TO U.S.
Candy Dulfer, the sassy Dutch saxophonist, will be returning to the United States with her band Funky Stuff to perform at major jazz festivals in May and June. The dates include the Playboy Jazz Festival on May 25 in California and the JVC Jazz Festival in New York at Avery Fisher Hall on June 27.
For The Love Of You, Dulfer's debut release for N2K Encoded Music, has remained in the top ten of the Billboard Contemporary jazz charts since its October 1997 release. Candy Dulfer formed Funky Stuff when she was 14. They will tour Europe in July.