Cruisin la Calle
Tampa Bay Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Monthly Luncheon A Huge HIT !
With a “ full house ” in attendance , the Tampa Bay Hispanic Chamber of Commerce put on a great power networking luncheon in April . The luncheon was hosted by Tampa Bay ’ s 10 , Mario Diaz and Hillsborough County Hispanic Affairs Liaison , Tony Morejon . Monthly luncheons are held on the second Thursday of each month .
For more information visit : TampaBayHispanicChamber . com
Viva la
Música
El Gran Combo Interview
Roberto Germain goes one-on-one with the legendary El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico !
Un Gran Dia en Tampa . El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico conocidos como La Universidad de la Salsa performed in front of thousands of fan ’ s at Bush Gardens Fiesta Latina last April . The Greatest Salsa ever entertained everyone playing some of their biggest hits .
Ms . Lourdes Torres and I had the pleasure of interviewing Rafael Ithier ( Band Leader-Director ) and Charlie Aponte ( 1 of 3 Lead Singers ) just prior the shows start .
LT : The Gran Combo has been performing now for over 45 years , regarding retirement what are the future plans for the band ? GC : We plan to continue playing until the year 2010 provided we are all still around and able to perform . We have not given retirement a great deal of thought .
LT : Many of today ’ s top Salsa singers have recorded songs with some of Reggaeton ’ s top rappers creating what is known as Salsaton , do you have any plans to record this new sound ? GC : We are too old ( laughter ) to be playing that type of music , but we would not shut out the possibility of doing such a project . The music is very popular , it ’ s something we would have to consider if there were something good for us to do .
Latin Times would like to thank Bush Garden and The Gran Combo de Puerto Rico - Ambassadors to Latin music all over the world for allowing us to have this exclusive interview . We wish all the members many years of continued success .
Julio Aviles , Metro Orlando reporter for Latin Times Magazine went ONE-On-One with Tito Nieves !
Did you know that Tito Nieves is a smooth jazz fan ? He is ! There are just some of the questions that Latin Times Magazine reporters asked Tito during their exclusive interview . The interviewers : Julio Aviles & Pedro Arroyo of Orlando , FL .
Who doesn ’ t know Tito Nieves ? The man needs no introduction , El “ Pavarotti ” de la Salsa , his career spans more than 30 years and yet as our reporters sat with this living legend of Salsa , they were happy to discover that Tito is a very humble and happy family man . Despite the loss of his son , which has made filled him with sadness and depression , Tito continues be the warm , inviting person that he has always been . “ I am very much at peace right now , and I dislike surprises , especially when I am home in Orlando ” he confided , going on
to say “ I am very hard on myself ; I compete against myself . When Tito was asked about what was to come , Tito shared with us that he was working on a cd production , entitled “ haciendole homenaje ” con Marco Antonio Solis and Olga Tañon . Tito has also teamed with Sergio George on his next production . They are also working on an “ homenaje para Hector Lavoe .”
Although on the day of the festival , Tito was a little under the weather-he did not let his thousands of fans down , going on to perform “ Fabricando fantasias ”....
We would also like Tito and his beautiful wife Irma for taking the time to speak with us . We would also like to thank Sea World and Jessica Zuniga for inviting us to Viva La Musica !
28 LATINTIMES www . latin-times . com a publication for the elite latino