Charlie Valentin

b. 10 August 1932, Mexico Town, Mexico, d. 27 November 1988, Puerto Rico. Probably one of the most important figures in the introduction of modern Latin-American music, trumpeter and vocalist Valentin’s achievements until his early loss of life in 1988 had been considerable. He documented some 45 albums, produced a tempo – salsa picante – that became a long term a part of Latin music and, through his music group the Valentinos, showcased a lot of Puerto Rico’s and Mexico’s best musicians. Equipped with a cent whistle and folk track repertoire, he performed around the road marketplaces of Mexico Town before becoming a member of an acoustic group known as Los Indios. In 1951 Los Indios became Un Mundo. It presented two trumpeters, Valentin and Eddie Souza, and a tempo section playing traditional percussion. Realto, an area record company, held an eye for the group, and 3 years afterwards El Mundo documented its first one, ‘Mario’. Four even more hits implemented. In 1957 the Valentinos – a 10-piece music group that would afterwards more than dual in proportions – was created. The name intended a couple of things: it had been, of course, used the first example from Valentin’s very own name, nonetheless it was also included right into a heart-shaped music group logo that described Valentin’s commitment towards the root base of Latin music. At the moment, Latin music was deeply inspired by united states designs. In 1960 Valentin’s romance with a female called Astrid motivated a couple of like songs, using a salsa design that would type the foundation of afterwards, prolonged story-telling satires. While music group market leaders and composers created brand-new dances and designs, Valentin stuck with salsa and created his own quicker variant, which he called salsa picante. Afterwards he’d add brand-new dance rhythms, and incorporate a lot of Mexico’s folk tune into his strategy, but salsa picante continued to be the building blocks of his music. Valentin’s Iyrics produced as much influence as do his rhythms; his earthy vocals and appreciate of road wisdom and gossip developed memorable tracks and defined a fresh design that looked never to the united states, but back again to central America. He encircled himself with support performers whose fruity shades conjured up the power and gusto of the barber-shop close-harmony quintet. A lot of this early result is still on some albums titled First Valentinos. With the past due 70s Valentin could fill dancehalls any place in central America, and in 1978 he undertook a nine-month tour of the spot using the Valentinos, which got now harvested to a 23-piece orchestra: five horns, three guitars, bass, a electric battery of percussion and a chorus of back-up vocalists. It really is this line-up that documented the wonderful 1979 dual record Un Rey Del Salsa. Valentin’s result was prodigious and his lyrical designs many and mixed. He sang about love-usually when it proceeded to go wrong, related road gossip, current occasions and political problems. When the federal government made a decision to nationalize plenty of agricultural property in 1973, Valentin toured the united states explaining the adjustments. During general elections, he backed the ruling socialist party. When points went sour, he’d grab people’s issues and function them into tunes. He designed for himself a posture that was exclusive: a guy from the people, a folk musician who was simply also a confidant from the President. Therefore, he previously a licence to sing about conditions that most Mexicans would just dare whisper about. He produced a thinly-veiled assault on government problem in ‘Los Drogos’ around the 1983 Gracias La Vida for example, and struck an identical anti-drug-smuggling notice in 1987 with Uno Mundo. Valentin had not been, however, immune system from authorities sanctions. He was imprisoned 3 x, once in the 60s for documenting an indecent lyric, once whenever a small official required offence more than a criticism he manufactured from the Federal government police, as soon as (strangely, provided his lyric episodes on medications and medication smuggling) on suspicion of conspiracy to move heroin in to the USA (he was ultimately released at no cost, and was probably framed by people from the Government medication squad). Valentin’s tracks about females and like were with an epic size. In the 1984 record Senors Senoritas, the 20-minute name track discovers him dealing with the role of the agony uncle towards the constant blast of women who compose to him requesting assistance about their relationships and relationships. In the name monitor to Bamba Salsa he episodes the normal Mexican custom of rich, old men dealing with a more youthful mistress caution that such methods either finished up in divorce or a coronary attack. For all your humour of his lyrics, he gave advice, and his followers paid heed to it. Generally too busy documenting and carrying out for his fans in the home, or for expatriate Mexicans somewhere else in central America, in the middle-80s Valentin produced some try to latch onto the developing USA marketplace for Latin music. In 1983 he toured the united states and played a sensational NY concert. It had been a path he pursued until he dropped sick in 1987 and was pressured to limit his actions. He passed away, from cirrhosis from the liver, on the tour of Puerto Rico in 1988.