L.A. CUBAN MUSIC FEST — On Saturday, July 16, 2011, Live Nation and Gibson Amphitheater are proud to present the 2011 L.A. CUBAFEST, which will headline Willy Chirino, Albita, Rey Ruiz, Hansel y Raúl, and the Miami-based Celia Cruz  All Stars. 

The LA CUBA FEST will be an outstanding opportunity to listen, enjoy, and dance to some of the greatest music and musicians of our Salsa community in celebration of the roots that Cuba has contributed to the global phenomenon of Salsa. 

TICKETS ON SALE AT LIVENATION.COM >> CLICK HERE

Willy Chirino is a very popular Cuban music star that has combined the musical traditions of Cuba with American rock and jazz. For decades, he's been one of the premier vocalists in South Florida, where he helped create the "Miami Sound" of Salsa music. 

Albita is a Grammy-winning Cuban-American singer, producer and composer. She works under…

SALSA BEAT MACHINE — It is amazing what can be created by people who simply love Salsa dancing and music to its core and feel the urge to give back in someway, somehow! Most people in life become part of niches, but never truly feel any urge to go above and beyond the call of duty to 'contribute' to what they are a part of: be it school, a hobby, a non-profit organization, etc. 

Uri Shaked of Israel has developed a fully functional and not-basic-at-all SALSA BEAT MACHINE that literally allows you to make beats on your browser and then save them under their web-based environment. 

I must admit, since the concept that an actual "Salsa Beat Machine" could be a fun project and something that could actually be accomplished had never crossed my mind, I did not know what to expect when I visited the website: www.salsabeatmachine.org.

SALSA MUSIC MIXES — DJ Tiguere "El Tiguere del Mambo" from Tampa, Florida, is enthusiastically sharing music mixes for Salsa lovers all over the world through SoundCloud.com. 

DJ Tiguere describes himself as a person who loves music and dancing, and someone who appreciates all musical styles, but whose heart belongs to Salsa and Bachata primarily. That's good news for all of us, Salsa and Bachata lovers around the world!

When other DJs protect their songs and do not give you names of songs or artists, much less share the music with you, DJ Tiguere is freely sharing the music he loves so much simply because of that, he loves it that much and wants everyone to experience it!

Check out this super-cool mix he made: 

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Salsa Mix: Eargasm Vol 3 by DjTiguere

The songs played in this mix are as…

ILIANA ROSE MUSIC — Cuban American Musician, Iliana Rose, is a musical act that is currently trending in Los Angeles, CA.

--- CHECK OUT ILIANA ROSE SALSAHOOK PROFILE

A multi-talented musician who is a piano player, percussionist, clarinetist, and vocalist, Iliana has attracted the attention of many social circles outside of the normal Salsa and Latin music scene, where she presents her musical talents to people who would normally not get a chance to listen and experience our beautiful music. 

Iliana, who was born in Miami and was raised by her parents and grandparents in a strong Cuban environment, has a deep love and appreciation for the roots of the music that she plays. A graduate of the University of Miami (UM) with a double major (Studio Music & Jazz / Clarinet Performance), Iliana is truly a skilled and talented musician with the piano, percussion, clarinet,…

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — La Orquesta Macabeo, la PVC, San Juan Habana, NG2, and Villariny Salsa Project are some of the new generation musical bands from Puerto Rico that are working hard to keep the Latin genre of Salsa alive.

"It isn't dead," confirms José Ibañez, musical director of Macabeo; rather, the followers of the genre don't attempt to follow the new generation of musicians and they stick to only following the most popular bands or artists. 

Ibañez believes that people simply like to live and remember the greatness of the old Salsa, or Salsa clásica, and they don't want to listen the new rhythms of today. 

On top of that, salsa bands all over the world fancy themselves with simply playing covers of old artists and bands, which maintains their popularity alive and trains the listeners or salsa lovers to only like those songs, those…

SalsaHook.com — Tune in to Alma Del Barrio every Saturday and Sunday on KXLU 88.9 FM from 6 AM to 6 PM. If you live in Los Angeles and you love Salsa and you have never listened to Alma Del Barrio, you are totally missing out! Twenty full hours of the best salsa music in the world every single weekend! 

Alma Del Barrio has been on the Los Angeles airwaves since the fall of 1973, when it was started by Enrique "Kiki" Soto and Raul Villa, then students at the Weschester campus of Loyola Marymount University. KXLU 88.9 Los Angeles is a LMU radio station licensed by the Federal Communiations Commission (FCC) to be a non-commercial, educational station. It has been assigned a radiating power of 3000 watts, which means its reach is limited, but for those living on the west side or surrounding areas, it is truly a great…

LOS ANGELES, CA // LATIN JAZZ - When one listens to Oskar Cartaya's music, one can easily detect the fusion of influences and experiences from his extensive professional musical background in Puerto Rico, New York, and Los Angeles. Cartaya, who is well-known for his composing, arranging, and his work as a musical director for a wide array of premier artists, possesses a personal catalog of credits to his name that make him one of the most sought-after and recognized Latin Jazz bass players in the world. 

Cartaya's talents have been recruited by the likes of Herb Albert, Jennifer Lopez, Celia Cruz, Ruben Blades, Tito Puente, Robbie Robertson, Obie Bermudez, and Nestor Torres, just to name a few. Amongst his career credits are the production of Passion Dance by Herb Albert (Almo Records), and Plenarriquea for Jennifer Lopez, which is a live concert on DVD (Sony Music). He has also…

Please feel free to add more songs to this list by posting your comments below.

For those who love Salsa music and dancing, it is a great resource to know of songs that relate to Christmas or the holidays in general. The season comes upon us and having the right music playing in our cars, at home, at work, or in your ipod could add the Christmas spirit of joy to your life! :) Being that the music in question is Salsa, you will find that topics in songs range from finding a new love during Christmas to the meals and traditions of the holidays. Salsa always finds a way to add spice to the occasion. 

We hope that this list continues to grow as more and more holidays are experienced by SalsaHook.com (which is in its first holiday season this 2009 year). Please let us know of…

For more than half a century, the Queen of Salsa carried her title with class and distinction. Her powerful voice and electrifying rhythm garnered more than 100 worldwide recognitions, multiple platinum and gold records, three GRAMMY® awards and four Latin GRAMMY® awards, as well as a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. Celia Cruz also received three honorary degrees from the following US universities: Yale, Florida International University, and the University of Miami. 

Her boundless enthusiasm, genuine warmth, and deep-seated humanitarianism made Celia Cruz the music industry’s most accomplished and revered performer … and the world's most notable ambassador of Hispanic culture.

CELIA CRUZ'S LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

Celia was born in the diverse Santos Suárez neighborhood of La Habana, Cuba as Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso on October 21, 1925. She was the second child of…

Johnny Polanco was born in the South Bronx, New York, to Dominican and Puerto Rican parents who loved the music of the Caribbean, especially Puerto Rican, Cuban and Dominican rhythms. He grew up listening to Tito Puente, Tito Rodriguez, Machito, Cortijo y su Combo and traditional trio music from Los Panchos and Johnny Albino. Johnny Polanco got his first real guitar at age 5, but it was not until about the age of 10 that he really started to get interested in playing Latin music. He taught himself how to play guitar, as well as the tres guitar, violin, several percussion instruments, electic bass, trombone and vibraphone. As a young teenager he started playing alongside his uncles Julio and Arturo Urrutia in a trio format, performing in all family gatherings and some local social club events. By the age 14 he was a member of the Steve Colón Band in the…

Tito Gómez was born Luis Alberto Gómez on April 9, 1948 in Juana Díaz, Puerto Rico and died in June 11, 2007 in Cali, Colombia. A beloved salsa singer whose music captivated the hearts of millions around the world!

His musical career started at the age of 15 singing with the Conjunto Antoanetti before joining the renowned Sonora Ponceña as co-lead vocalist in 1967. In 1973 Ponceña trumpeter Joe Rodriguez, percussionist Mikey Ortiz and Gómez broke away and formed La Terrifica. Later, Gómez joined Ray Barretto's band sharing vocal duties with Ruben Blades most notably on the 1975 Barretto album by Gómez and Ruben Blades. The following year he returned to La Sonora Ponceña where he remained for two years. In 1979 he moved to Venezuela to join La Amistad, a short-lived project with former members of La Dimension Latina. In 1982 he went solo once again and returned to…