Héctor Lavoe

Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez, a.k.a Héctor Lavoe was born in Puerto Rico just after the end of WWII. He studied musical arts here before he moved to New York at age sixteen. His talent as a singer got recognised quickly, and he sang with some well-known bands, including one by Johnny Pacheco, before he signed up with Willie Colón's band as a vocalist a few years later. His fame only indeed materialised when he decided to start his own band and recorded many famous hit songs, such as "El Cantante", "Periódico De Ayer", "El Día De Mi Suerte", and many more. 

Photo: rpp.pe

His stage name Lavoe comes from "La Voz" ("The Voice"), which his manager made him adopt. His stage name was well deserved as many regarded him as one of the best Salsa singers of all time due to his unique, clear voice, impeccable diction, and charismatic stage presence.

Towards the late 70s, Lavoe was battling with drug addiction, which period of his life was turned into one of the best movies made about this piece of Salsa history, called "El Cantante", featuring Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez as Hector and his wife, Nilda. The movie tells his story till his death in 1993 at age 46.

The movie trailer:

Anita Santos Rubin

Anita Santos Rubin is a six times world salsa champion, one of the most recognisable and respected female dancers today. 

Like many dancers of similar standing, she trained in various styles of ballet, which has likely affected her becoming one of the most graceful and expressive dancers of our time.

She was born in Brazil to a humble family but won a scholarship to prestigious school in London at a young age. She later settled in Spain, where she operates her dancing school called U!Dance in Barcelona. Anita also provides live classes worldwide online using her website anitasantosrubin.com, where you can sign up for as little as 50 Euros per month to learn from the best of the best!

Check out one of my favourites of her performances that I was fortunate enough to witness myself at the Teeside Salsa Festival in 2015.

Tito Rodríguez

Pablo Rodríguez Lozada a.k.a "El Inolvidable", is another iconic Puerto Rican musician on our list. He moved to New York during WWII with his brother Johnny and quickly established himself in the developing Latin Music scene as brilliant percussionist and singer.

Photo latinjazznet.com

A few years later Tito Rodriguez organised his own band, the Los Diablos Del Mambo but later changed it to just Tito Rodriguez Orchestra. His first hit, "Bésame La Bembita" was released amids the Mambo and ChaChaChá and earned him honours for developing his unique style of singing. Over the years, Tito and his orchestra played in the famous Palladium Ballroom, alongside Machito and Tito Puente.

Hi extensive discography overarches many different styles of Latin music, but some of them are still very popular and can be heard at Salsa events around the world:

El Agua De Belén

Celoso

Estoy Como Nunca

Bilongo

... and many others!

Tito Puente

Ernesto Antonio Puente Jr. aka Tito Puente, one of the key figures of Salsa history. Tito Puente was born and raised in the Spanish Harlem, in New York City to a Puerto Rican family. His musical talent was already apparent at seven, so his mother signed him up for piano lessons. At age ten he switched to percussion inspired by the ever so popular Jazz genre of his time.

Photo credit: i.ytmig.com

Tito Puente’s career took off when he joined Machito’s band as a drummer. Shortly after, with WWII expanding, he was drafted into the Army and served in nine battles aboard an escort carrier. His service in the Navy provided him with the means for getting a formal education in the Juilliard School Of Music.
Over the 1950s and 60s Tito Puente played a key role in the Latin Music revolution that hit the clubs of New York. One of his most famous early cha-cha songs “Oye Cómo Va” is still widely played in Salsa clubs, more than 50 years after its first release and has been sung by many, including Celia Cruz and Carlos Santana. 

He has received many awards and countless recognition for his work, including the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from The Smithsonian in 1993 and following his death, he was also awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. Tito Puente was featured in iconic documentaries about Latin music and history, such as Calle 54 and the series of La Epoca.

Read more about Tito Puente here.

Oliver Pineda

Oliver Pineda is an Australian-born Chilean. He started dancing in his early teens, and over the next 30 years, he won Salsa World Champions ten times! He has taught millions of people and inspired many more.

Photo by Oliver Pineda Dance

His connection to the music, as a respected percussionist, and his decade-long technical training in the competitive dance sport and ballroom arena, elevated him to be among the world's most well-known dancers and respected instructors.

Watch one of my all time favourite performances of Oliver Pineda.

Read more about Oliver Pineda at https://www.oliverpineda.dance/about.