This spectacular, hot summer edition of RAZA, promises to be something out of this world if you are a fan of the Latin culture. If you are Latin, you may want to bring your camera along with a few friends, if not family members. We will be featuring Grammy® Award winner and producer Louie Vega to commemorate the life and music of legendary Hector Lavoe. Raza, Fania Records and Roots join forces to present the cd release of two Fania albums;
Hector Lavoe, El Cantante, The Originals feat. Mi Gente (Louie Vegas EOL Mix) and Fania, A Man and His Music, Hector Lavoe La Voz (compiled, selected & liner notes by Louie Vega).
Not only will Louie man the decks the whole evening (and well into the night as the party transforms into his weekly Wednesday night party, Roots) but joining him is the Elements of Life orchestra to bring that beautiful music alive with added footage of Mr. Lavoe when graced us with his presence. And, on top of this all, we are excited to have the grassroots, multi-talented Flaco Navaja (Yerbabuena) back again with special poem dedicated to Hector. Oh, and one more thing... Derek Santiago, rapidly becoming one of the most promising and sought after, Latin artists in New York City and known for all of RAZAs flyers will be a doing a piece, come see how he works his magic.
As musical maestro for the evening, Vega will multi-task by playing a special Afro-Latin Fania set as well as conducting his Elements of Life band made up of members like Luisito Quintero, Roberto Quintero, Gene Perez, Junito Davilo, Ozzie Melendez and Luis Bonilla.
Louie Vega, who so happens to be Hector Lavoes nephew (see below for a brief bio on the life of Hector Lavoe) is constantly reinventing himself and has revolutionized the musical landscape in the process. During his nearly two-decade long career, Vega has crafted some of the most ground-breaking singles in dance music history ("The Nervous Track", "Its Alright, I Feel It" and "You Can Do It"); has kick started genres like soulful house ("Beautiful People," "I Get Lifted"); and revitalized the careers of legends like Roy Ayers, George Benson and Tito Puente. Vega is famous for the emphasis he places on live performance and musicianship; not only in the world of production, but in the world of djing as well, where he is known for bringing musicians to play live over his sets. In February of this year, Louie was invited to supply an original musical score and perform with his Elements of Life Orchestra featuring vocalist Anane along with the Cirque du Soleil performance troupe at the Super Bowl XLI pregame show.
Flaco Navaja is a singer, poet, actor, who was born and raised in the Bronx. Best known as a singer for New Yorks premiere bomba group Yerbabuena, he is also multi-talented in several artistic facets. Navajas original style of poetry combines singing, beat-boxing and spoken word. He is the host of the legendary open mic showcase; "All That! Hip Hop Poetry & Jazz" at the famous Nuyorican Poets' Café and has performed at national and international venues and events. In 2003, he toured internationally with the Tony Award winning Russell Simmons' DEF POETRY JAM and he has appeared on four episodes of the HBO series. He is a New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect and a comedian with the Nuyorican Rule troupe. Like with so many others, Flaco Navajas artistic journey has been influenced in part by the life and music of Hector Lavoe, and in honor of this, Flaco will recite a spoken-word piece that will be sure to rile up the audience as has been the case whenever he takes the mic.
RAZA's resident artist Derek Santiago will be creating one of his pieces live. Derek Santiago is responsible for RAZA's logo and every one of their very collectible flyers. Santiago's futuristic yet vintage, sexy, organic, "techy" style has brought him work in national ads (Puerto Rican Day Parade for Coors). He presently does artwork for Marvel and DC comics; and recently was featured at the Soulfrito Art Foundation Exhibition in Miami where he created 5 pieces in one week.
This special edition of RAZA guarantees to be a journey into all that instills pride in Latinos, regardless of where their Latin-American origin may beso get there early because on RAZA nights Cielo, the dancefloor has become a place to work it out, take notice, be seen, greet old friends and make new ones.
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HECTOR LAVOE REPORTAJEby Frankiesalsa60,614 views
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