Five decades after Fania All Star, although many members have already passed away, others are still in their element!

Salsa celebrates five decades of the movement started by Dominican Johnny Pacheco, when he, along with his partner, American businessman Jerry Masucci, and musicians of the stature of Bobby Valentine, Larry Harlow, Ray Barretto and others, ran the movement they called “The New York Sound.”

This group would give way to the formation of the orchestra that would represent it from then on: “Las Estrellas de Fania”.

The origin goes back to the creation of the record company that was born in 1964 under the name Fania Records, which was founded in New York City by Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci. The record company took its name from an old Cuban song sung by Reinaldo Bolaño.

The call for the “New York Sound” movement had the peculiarity that it was a meeting only with musicians who were clearly signed by the Fania Records label.

Already in 1968, a group of these stars was formed to perform pure jazz with guest musicians and singers from other companies.

The real connection with the formation of this exceptional orchestra began on Thursday, August 26, 1971, with the documentary “Our Latin Thing” by director Leon Gast about the thriving Latin music scene in New York, which certified the official use of Latin music as a commercial and marketing name on August 24, 1973, when the second meeting of these stars was filmed at the legendary Yankee Stadium, entitled “Salsa”.

The orchestra structure consists of 7 orchestra directors, 7 singers and the main musicians who formed these bands from the record company only.

The rhythm was composed as follows: on piano Larry Harlow and as guest Richie Ray; on bass, Bobby Valentine; on congas, Ray Barretto and his drummer Orestes Velato; on bongos and bells Roberto Ruena and on cuatro yummo toro.

In the same order, the brass (copper) was composed of three trumpets and three trombones, except for the saxophones in their four sides: baritone, tenor, alto and soprano, because of the soft sound of these instruments, and they wanted a sharp, hoarse and irreverent sound for these instruments.

Roberto Rodriguez, Hector “Pombreto” Zarzuela and Larry Spencer, first, second and third trumpets, to close with Barry Rogers, Reinaldo Jorge and Willie Colon, first, second and third trombones.

Violin composition by Pupy Legarreta, musical direction by Johnny Pacheco, executive direction by Jerry Masucci.

Sounds

The singers were: Pete “Conde” Rodriguez, Hector Lavoe, Ismael Miranda, Adalberto Santiago, Bobby Cruz, Cheo Feliciano, Santitus Colon and others who joined later such as Celia Cruz and Ismael Quintana.

The presenters who performed were: Symphony Cid, Polito Vega, Aníbal Vázquez, and Izzy Sanabria “Míster Salsa”. Most of the members of that great orchestra have already passed away, although several are still alive.

Among those leaving were Larry Harlow on piano, Salvador Cuevas on bass, Ray Barreto on congas, Tito Puente on timpani, Roberto Ruena on bongos and bells, and on cuatro yummo toro.

Also dead are the brass, the three trumpets: Roberto Rodriguez, Hector “Pombreto” Zarzuela, and Larry Spencer. On trombones Barry Rogers, Leopoldo Pineda, and Tonito Vazquez, all under the musical direction of Johnny Pacheco, who passed away on February 15, 2021.

In addition, the deceased singers are Celia Cruz, Pete “Conde” Rodriguez, Cheo Feliciano, Hector Lavoe, Ismael Quintana, and Santitus Colon.

Of the great group that founded the Fania Stars, Ismael Miranda, Bobby Cruz, Adalberto Santiago, and Ruben Blades are still alive.

Likewise, musicians Richie Ray, Papo Lucca, Bobby Valentine, Eddie Montalvo, Nicky Marrero, Reynaldo George and Willie Colon, among others, are revered by the salsa world.