ACTION AVENUE
CENTRAL FLORIDA
LOOKING FOR A GREAT BAND
FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT?
LATIN TIMES GOES ONE
ON ONE WITH CONJUNTO
SALSA SWING WHO
PERFORMED LIVE AT THIS
YEARS’ ANNUAL CUBAN
SANDWICH FESTIVAL!
Tell us about the band members.
Conjunto Salsa Swing: William
Rosario our trumpet player and musical
director has performed with many of the well
known merengue groups that come through
central Florida and has been a musician for
over twenty years.
Other band members are made up of very
talented musicians from Tampa to Lakeland.
These
gentlemen have played on many levels. Jose
Lopez, lead vocals; Hector ”Flaco” Figueroa,
Bass; Eliezer Adujar, piano; Charlie Ortiz,
trombone; Desi Saludes, Saxaphone; Carlos
Lopez, timbales and of course myself Ivan
Luna, congas and leader of the band. All of
us have many years involved in the music
industry. Some of us have worked together
on different projects and find it very satisfying
to come together for this project. We look
forward to accomplishing our goals very soon.
Building an
EMPIRE!
Latin Times: What
brought the two of you
together?
EMPIRE (AL): Ali and I
have known each other since
1998. We were the original
young Latino barbers in
west Tampa.
Latin Times: Explain what
you mean by original Latino
barbers in the west Tampa
area
EMPIRE (AL): Before Ali
and I started working off
Columbus Drive there really
weren’t any young Latino
barbers cutting hair doing
the things we were doing,
there weren’t many young
barber in this area.
Latin Times: So you guys
decided to put your talents
together?
EMPIRE (AL): Exactly!
Is your band available for
private events?
Conjunto Salsa Swing is available for any and
all occasions and venues, form community
festivals to corporate events. Our aim and
desire is to get the public dancing and having
a great time. Nothing brings us more
satisfaction. For info contact Ivan Luna:
863-409-5597.
We figured why not combine
our talents and stop being
limited by others which is
where the idea for the logo
came. I wanted something
that would stand out and
look like no other barber
shop brand. I think we
created that. Empire is a
barber shop where mothers
can bring heir children and
feel comfortable. I feel as if
Empire combines traditional
barbering with a modern
twist. We cater to everyone
from children to seniors.
shops, but I think our names
and the way we take care
of our customers will speak
for itself. We are small now
but there is no limit to how
big we can grow. We both
love what we do and we
look forward to serving the
west Tampa community for
many years to come. The
long standing reputation
and experience with the
community speaks for itself
and will truly help grow
our new business into an
empire!
Latin Times: So you two
have served this community
for more than 16 yea