I started singing boleros at the age of 6 with a friend who accompanied me on the guitar. At 11, I had my first band, and from 14 I had the opportunity to record with Mario Ortiz’s orchestra. It opened the door to a professional career for me.

Later, Tony Olivencia recruited me to sing with Willie Rosario’s orchestra, where I stayed for almost 6 years. After that, I embarked on the adventure of a solo career. And it’s been 37 years!

Exactly. What happened was that there was a popular radio host in Puerto Rico by the name of Rolandito Sanchez who was presenting a show called “El tiempo de salsa”. At that time, we were talking about salsa erotica. I was a romantic. He called me the gentleman of salsa because of the elegance of my interpretation. I must admit that I liked it a lot more.

The salseros have a kind of gimmick: an expression they use at certain points in the piece and which becomes their trademark. Everyone knows the famous “Azucar!” by Celia Cruz. And you, where does your “Caminalo!” ?

I don’t know if that was the case for Celia, but for me it was an accident. It goes back to when I was singing in the Willie Rosario orchestra. Willie liked the singers to intervene on the instrumental part, encourage the orchestra, make comments… But I did not feel comfortable in the exercise.

It happened during my last recording with Willie. I was hesitant. At one point, I hear a shout from the cabin, “Go ahead, damn it!” Caminalo! Taken aback, I called out, “Caminalo!” “. It was a very rhythmic interjection. I then took it up on my first record. In the street, people were calling out to me, shouting, “Caminalo! “It stuck with me.

It became the title of the tour. It came naturally to me after the pandemic. After several years of silence, what better slogan than “Caminalo!” to describe my desire to get back on the road?

I experienced this turning point from within. In the early 80s, on the side of New York and Puerto Rico, Caribbean music turned to lighter music such as merengue, abandoning traditional salsa.

In the mid-1980s, several musicians found success with a more romantic repertoire. In particular, there was this movement born in New York with Louie Ramirez and Ray de la Paz who recorded the Noche Caliente series. There were many other records that brought out a new style of salsa: smooth, often sexy lyrics, languorous rhythms, less aggressive arrangements than traditional salsa. It was music that featured singers more than orchestras.

That’s when I started my solo career. I then embraced this movement called salsa erotica or salsa romantica which met with great success, particularly with female audiences. This format has opened up unexpected horizons for salsa by reaching a wider audience. She took us where we would never have imagined, allowing, for example, the Fania All-Stars to perform in Paris.

You are from Puerto Rico. New York salsa, embodied by the Fania record company, hasn’t overshadowed Puerto Rican salsa?

I do not believe. I think it’s complementary. The raw material is Cuban music. Nueva York salsa was predominantly Puerto Rican, an easily exportable salsa.

For me, there is only one salsa! But it has many nuances. Some are romantic, others more instrumental. Very interesting is its importation into the various countries of Latin America, such as Colombia or Venezuela. It is the same music with different colors.

You just mentioned Cuba… What place does Cuban music hold for you?

A huge place. This is the source, the origins. I really like traditional Cuban music but I also know how to appreciate its recent evolutions like the timba. I love rumba. The traditional sound is my preference. You performed “Lluvia” by the late Adalberto Alvarez, nicknamed himself “El Caballero del Son”…I sang a lot of it! He was a great friend and an immense composer whom I consulted a lot.

You are what is called a sonero. What does this mean for you?

It should be clarified what is meant by sonero. By sonero, I mean improviser, not interpreter of his [the musical style]. Let’s be honest, in the 70s, knowing how to improvise was much more important than it is today. There were so many great soneros back then… How did you learn to improvise? I don’t know if we can learn this stuff. I discovered very early on that I had the ability to listen to the orchestra, to improvise on the theme, to rhyme. For me, it was easy. I’m not the best sonero in the world, nor am I the worst!

Urban Latin music is very popular all over the world, reducing the place of traditional music to a niche. Do you see ways to combat this disaffection?

It is very complicated because it is a diffusion problem. The media focuses exclusively (and this is also true globally) on urban music. The salseros do an excellent job, but this limitation exists. What I believe is that the platforms offer us a huge opportunity. Each genre has its qualities. Salsa had its heyday, now it’s urban music. I don’t think urban music will replace salsa. There are a lot of talents in salsa. It’s time to take the next step.

Like you do it yourself? You are still very active, with many collaborations with traditional orchestras, of course, but also urban artists such as Vico C, from 2005, or El Micha, more recently in 2018.

I touch everything. I like working with urban music artists. These are real artistic challenges. I learned a lot from these discussions. These are also great opportunities because these collaborations work well commercially.

It seems like you always wanted to be in your time. Already in Mary Kent’s Salsa Talks you said in 2005, “I’m very traditional, but I believe in evolution in music. »

The mixture of modern and tradition is part of my musical identity. I’m a product of tradition, but I’m also bold in my own way. I want to bring a proposal for renewal. It’s an interesting way to look at music.

It’s funny because you can be seen keeping up with your physical changes: the mustache is gone, you’re still wearing smart suits, trendy glasses…

[He hesitates, then smiles] As much as possible, I try not to look like my father! I don’t want people to say that I’m old-fashioned. That’s the proposition: to embody tradition but in a contemporary form.

Any word on your latest album, “Debut y Segunda Tanta”?

This album illustrates exactly what we just talked about: the mixture of modernity and tradition. It contains covers of recent hits and themes that I had recorded for others. This record is special to me because it was made during the pandemic. It’s an album that I want to defend because I like it a lot.

Will you sing a few excerpts on Wednesday at the Casino de Paris? Of course.