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Article by Angelina Puente, Victoria Tarova and Yolanda R Carranza

Meet the man behind, what is considered by many, to be the most educational docu-film about Mambo and Salsa - Josué Joseph, director and executive producer of "La Epoca - The Palladium Era."

A son of Mambo Legend "Alfonso-el Panameño" Joseph, he was raised in a musical atmosphere of other mambo legends such as Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Candido Camero and the likes because of his father's career as a bassist for the Palladium-era's top orchestras including Machito, Rafael Cortijo with Ismael Rivera in addition to those mentioned above.

"Growing up the way Josué did," shared Freddy Pagan of Buena Vista Social Club, "with Cachao calling his house to ask his father to substitute for him for a gig because he was double-booked or else Josué growing up with legends like Tito Puente, Xiomara Alfaro, and Machito hugging and admiring his father and making sure the boy knew his father was a legend; growing up like this, how could any one else but Josué do this movie? He's the only one that could do this movie."

Joseph, who speaks English and Spanish, and is studying Polish, Italian and Russian, is an improvisational classical-influenced pianist, but earns a living producing music and video for an international clientele. In addition, he is often hired as a master instructor of Traditional Mambo and Cha-Cha-Cha dances with musicality, and also often hired as a guest speaker for engagements that cater to historians, dancers, musicians and students.

Joseph, in what prompted him to produce this film that has been seen by an international audience, said that he sees so many dancers that argue about "on 1" and "on 2," and about "mambo" and "salsa." He shared that he hears musicians playing live music but playing only the general "salsa rhythm from song-to song." He said, "It doesn't move me. One or two songs with the same static bass line is necessary, in present day, because most dancers want the static stuff that's on the radio; they're not exposed to the traditional music that has saxophones, multiple trumpets and trombones and especially, a walking bass - you know, an acoustic bass that drives the music. But, when I hear live music from an orchestra that plays more than 'one or two' rhythms, like a mambo, son-montuno, guajira, guajira-son or even a bolero, I then have a choice as to what I dance that night. It's a moving, internal feeling each time."

For his film, he pulled together some of old-school mambo's most distinguished musicians and dancers, such as the late Israel "Cachao" Lopez -  a pioneer of the mambo rhythm, and his father, "Alfonso-el Panameño." He also pulled together musicians from Johnny Pacheco's and Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez's orchestras such as Charlie Rodriguez, Chiripa, Santiago Ceron, and the late Leo Fleming; and dancers such as the late "Cuban Pete," who pioneered in the mambo, Freddy Rios and Mike Ramos from the Palladium Mambo Legends. All remained close friends of his father throughout the years since the 1950's and 60's.

He said, "I'm not into salsa-bashing. There are definitely tracks from Fania Records and Pacheco that I love so much, like "El Faisan," and Hector Lavoe's "Que Lio," and music from salsa-romantica like Eddie Santiago and Tito Rojas. No, I'm not into salsa-bashing. But, so many people I've met in my travels around the world have been gracious unto me and have shared with me how much they appreciate learning about the history of mambo and salsa that I've presented for them. It's not salsa-bashing, it's just exposing salsa for its true value from the musicians and dancers who know first-hand what the music before salsa and after salsa has been like. That's all."

Isaac Rosenbaum, who danced at the Palladium Ballroom during the late 1950's, said that the days of Joseph's father were the good 'ole days before the divide between loyalists-of-tradition and the loyalists-of-money broke out.

"It was a time when Jews, Italians, Blacks and the rich and poor left their problems at the door and came in to dance and to watch the greatest dancers in the world, like 'Cuban Pete' and Millie Donay, The Mambo Aces and others. It wasn't like it is today, where dancers only dance forward-and-backward steps with a hundred turn-patterns or where start-up bands make a living without knowing how to play even the basic rhythms that were played during our time back then," Rosenbaum said in a phone interview.

Rosenbaum explained that in the late 1960's, Johnny Pacheco and Fania Records, in their ever-living battle with traditionalists who favor rhythms such as mambo, son-montuno and guaguancó, opened an umbrella under which they threw all the rich rhythms of Afro-Cuban music. He said they did it to commercialize the music for money - to make it more user-friendly, but that in doing so, the roots of the music and rhythms became of no importance and the result is that in today's society, dancers are limited only to the same watered-down copies of the origins. "There's no more appreciation for tradition," he said.

He added, "Most orchestras, now, fill their repertoires with music by Willie Colón, Hector Lavoe or any one else from the salsa era. But, salsa came after the mambo era, during which many of the masterpieces were composed. But, what they don't realize is that the majority of the songs in so-called salsa, are only re-arrangements of what the legends of the previous era wrote, like Arsenio Rodriguez and Cachao. So, what you have is Johnny Pacheco and his clan borrowed the ideas of the mambo legends - the ones who have an appreciation for tradition, they re-recorded the originals but they left out anything that was "afro" or anything that had to do with black, like the basic rhythm instruments. They took it out."

He said that prior to the Civil Rights Movement, to have a dark-skin musician in an orchestra meant the difference between getting the gig or not. He said that orchestras made it a practice to replace the dark-skin musicians with musicians of light-skin color. During the mambo craze in New York in the 50's and 60's, he noted that orchestras did everything and anything to get the big jobs; even cutting out key musicians because of the color of their skin. He said that from his interactions with Pacheco and others, this was widely practiced.

Rosenbaum continued, "And now, the kids and the orchestras think that these re-recordings are the originals. That is exactly what happened. The originals come from the era before salsa."

Nestor Torres, who played piano with Tito Puente's orchestra for three years at the Palladium Ballroom, agreed.

He said, in a personal interview, "The struggle between mamberos and salseros started in 1965, at a club in the Bronx, between Arsenio Rodriguez and Pacheco. I remember it. I was there, Tito Puente was there, Mangual was there and Kako, too. Pacheco made a comment to the bassist and the conga player that they were playing too many notes. Arsenio heard it and said something that no one understood except him and the the conga player. That was the end of that discussion. But, I didn't find out until Christmas 1968 that Arsenio and his brother Quique, wrote a song about that incident called 'Kiko Medina.' They wrote it about Pacheco. Arsenio was known for inserting hidden messages in his lyrics. That's where the struggle began. Pacheco thought the music should be played differently than how Arsenio was playing it. So, that's what he did; he created salsa by removing what he didn't like from the traditional format and replaced that with his own standards; even though Arsenio was the one who invented those key rhythms and composed those very songs."

Joseph, however, noted, "What Pacheco and Willie Colón contributed to Latin music is of great importance and of great value. It can't be discounted simply because they may not value traditions. Whether they do or not is something only one can interpret on one's own. Hector Lavoe was certainly inspirational in some of his lyrics. Look, they created an entirely new era, which still exists today. That word 'salsa' has brought together cultures and has done so much good. They are very talented; they're masters at what they do. That can't be discounted. Pacheco is a master-musician."

Rosenbaum agreed but added, "We have tradition on one side and shortcuts on the other. If the starting point for young men these days is with shortcuts, then what you get is exactly what we have now: salsa. But, if the starting point is tradition, then its products are esteemed and talented men with ripe taste buds."

Joseph, in a sit-down interview on Saturday night (January 31, 2009), in Arlington, Virginia:

Question: How did you produce the movie without taking sides but instead, giving the facts from both sides - mambo versus salsa?

Joseph answered with a smirk, "To be honest with you, it boils down to humility and some scripture. To avoid disorder, I need to make sure that I'm not harboring selfish ambitions. I think that because I grew up with my father sticking his finger in my face and telling me that what I listen to isn't really 'salsa' but rather one particular rhythm or another, that this formed a structure in me that is so firm that it allowed me to have an appreciation for tradition simply because I can justify the music and the dance. My father recorded with the man who composed so much of the music they play today, so I have an appreciation knowing what the original songs sound like and knowing what the pixilated carbon-copies of the songs sound like. I'm a traditionalist, but in order to reach over to the other side of the fence, I have to give them what they know and what they want but immediately followed by the origins. The reactions that I get make what I do worth it."

Joseph currently is in pre-production for the second part of this two-part series titled, "La Epoca - The Lost Rhythms in Salsa," which based on the talk by many in the Washington DC area, is expected to be another hit.

"Salsa" Recording Artist Eddie Santiago and

 Exec Prod Josue Joseph

 Mambo Legend Trumpeter of Palladium-era

Agustin Caraballoso and Exec Prod Josue Joseph

 Music Producer Carlos Cobos and Executive Producer Josue Joseph

The Hit Factory

 Exec Prod Josue Joseph and Mambo Pioneer "Cuban Pete - Barbara Craddock residence

Executive Producer Josue Joseph

The Hit Factory

Mambo Legend Alfonso "El Panameno" on bass with son, Executive Producer Josue Joseph (piano)

Mambo Legend Alfonso "El Panameno" on bass with son, Executive Producer Josue Joseph (piano)

Project Manager Lynne Anne Merrill and Promoter Adina Gaskin of Seven Cities Salsa (Virginia Beach)

Vocalist/Co-Producer Raquel-Maria and Executive Producer Josue Joseph (Raquel-Maria is Josue's younger sister)

Exec Prod Josue Joseph and Mambo Legend tresero of Palladium-era Charlie Rodriguez (Pacheco/Fania)

Exec Prod Josue Joseph and Mambo Influence Barbara Craddock and Palladium Mambo Legend Dancer Freddy Rios in NY @ Club Cache

Palladium Mambo Legend Mike Ramos, Josue Joseph and Palladium Mambo Legend Freddy Rios

Mambo Influence Barbara Craddock and Vocalist/Co-Producer Raquel-Maria

Bassist Grant Cuthbertson and Josue Joseph in Ashville, NC (Collapseable Recording Studio)

Executive Producer Josue Joseph at "La Epoca" Pittsburgh Showing

UPCOMING EVENTS

Producers are currently in planning for Pre-Production on "La Epoca International" - "The Forgotten Rhythms in Salsa"

Cachao, who died the morning of March 22 in a Florida hospital, was a Cuban bassist and composer, who was instrumental in turning Arsenio Rodriguez's "mambo" rhythm of the "danzon" into the extended mambo rhythm of present day.

During the Palladium-era, there were only 2 bassists that shared the most in-demand style of many orchestras in the New York music scene: Cachao and Alfonso "El Panameno" Joseph - both whom have worked with Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Machito and many others. In fact, during the early 1960's, while Cachao was performing with Machito's orchestra, Alfonso "El Panameno" was performing and recording with Candido Camero - and when Alfonso left Candido's band to join Johnny Pacheco, Cachao took his place as Candido's bassist.

"Cachao's name was mentioned very often in my family and he'll be missed," says Executive Producer Josue Joseph of La Epoca, "Cachao was scheduled to be interviewed for the film on the afternoon of April 16, '08 - hearing the news of his death makes me even more sad, not only because he was a man that I've respected, but also because I've lost an opportunity to document his legacy and share it with the world. It is a great loss for all of us."

Julian Llanos, born in Puerto Rico and moved to New York in 1954 and began recording with Hector Rivera and Arsenio Rodriguez, died on April 25. He was a Palladium-era vocalist.

Llanos was interviewed for "La Epoca" in the summer of 2007, referred to producers by Palladium-era bongocero Luis Mangual, who also appears in the feature film production, playing in nightclubs beginning September '08.

Llanos's contribution to "La Epoca" is quite valuable, as he was a member of the conjunto of Arsenio Rodriguez with Alfonso "El Panameno" Joseph on bass, Rene Hernandez on piano, Gene Jefferson on sax, and with Marcelino Guerra and Santiago Ceron as vocalists during the mid and late 1960's.

Remembering Julian Llanos - we shall keep his family in or prayers.

Currently, producers are in preparation for "part II" of "La Epoca," which is titled "La Epoca - The Forgotten Rhythms in Salsa."

While the sponsors of "part I" have been dearly appreciated, we are now in need of sponsors for "part II." Sponsorship can be in the form of cash donations, gift cards for dining/food, publicity and travel/car rentals.

We can't produce or even begin to film "part II" without your help. Anything that you can donate to help us begin filming "part II" will be so much appreciated and of course, we are happy to provide for you several choices of valuable trades for your donations - let's talk about them. Click here!

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