LBMO.com - Latin Beat Magazine - Latin Music Magazine - Features http://www.latinbeatmagazine.com/features.html Home |Features | Columns |Hit Parades | Rev iews | Calendar |News |LB Style |Contacts | Shopping | E-Back Issues MAY 2012 ISSUE FROM THE EDITOR In this Volume 21, Number 4, May 2012, issue of Latin Beat Magazine Online, we introduce you to a singer/composer/flutist Cali, Colombia native, who calls Washington, D.C. home. Spanish professor Verny Varela is our featured artist of the month, currently putting the final touches on his third and latest CD recording. A true salsaero, this multi-talented artist pours into his music the passion and love for salsa that he grew up with as a child in his native Colombia. Contributing photojournalist and very good friend of Latin Beat Magazine, Mark Holston once again delivers his take on this year's "Panama Jazz Fest." Check out our columns, national and international hit parades, calendar of events, music news, and CD reviews. Musically yours, Rudy & Yvette Mangual Bloque 53 Cogelo Ahi Windows Media Verny Varela: From Cali, Colombia, to Washington, Quicktime D.C. By Rudy Mangual Chico Álvarez El Indio Caonabo Windows Media Quicktime Bio Ritmo La Muralla 1 of 61 5/31/2012 8:36 AM LBMO.com - Latin Beat Magazine - Latin Music Magazine - Features http://www.latinbeatmagazine.com/features.html Streaming Music Louie Cruz Beltran Paint the Rhythm Windows Media Quicktime Cintron Band Live Human Nature Windows Media Quicktime Vanelis Como Lo Extraño Windows Media Quicktime Nayibe Borinquen Windows Media Quicktime Luis González Spain A native of Colombia, Verny Varela is an arranger, composer, singer, flutist and bandleader who Windows Media keeps salsa and other Latin American musical forms alive in the U.S. capital. Although Varela is Quicktime a language professor by occupation, music remains his first love and passion. The following is a chat with Professor Varela, from his home in Washington, D.C. Rolando Sanchez Rudy Mangual: Where are you originally from? Vamonos De Fiesta Verny Varela: I was born and raised in Cali, Colombia, in an area known as Barrio Obrero. Windows Media Quicktime Steve Pouchie Watch Ur Wallet Windows Media Quicktime Somos Son Bilongo 2 of 61 5/31/2012 8:36 AM LBMO.com - Latin Beat Magazine - Latin Music Magazine - Features http://www.latinbeatmagazine.com/features.html Windows Media Quicktime The Estrada Brothers Mr. Ray Windows Media Quicktime Manny Silvera Bassed in America Windows Media Quicktime RM: When did you initially get into music? VV: My father is a singer of traditional Colombian music and always led a band or other musical groups. As a child, I was surrounded by music in the house, as I was exposed to my father's rehearsals, the radio, LP records, and music permeating from the neighborhood. Cali has a very active musical landscape. It's actually a bit crazy. Everyone loves salsa music and dancing. People are very knowledgeable about the history and evolution of salsa, its artists, bands, composers, arrangers, and so on. While Colombia enjoys a fruitful wealth of traditional and folkloric music such as cumbias, vallenatos, bambucos, and porros, as well as the new electro- cumbias and psycho-tropical rhythms of today's youth, its people love, respect and practice the rhythms of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Salsa rules in Cali, and the pioneers of the movement are considered superstars. Within this wonderful environment I was raised and taught to love music in general. By my teen years, I was playing bongó in my father's band, "El Nuevo Son", while admiring the sounds and styles of Puerto Rican salsa bands like Willie Colón, Roberto Roena y su Apollo Sound, El Gran Combo and La Sonora Ponceña, among others. 3 of 61 5/31/2012 8:36 AM LBMO.com - Latin Beat Magazine - Latin Music Magazine - Features http://www.latinbeatmagazine.com/features.html RM: Do you know how salsa became so popular in Colombia? VV: Statistics from local musicologists indicate that the music of the Caribbean entered Colombia through the port city of Buenaventura on the Pacific coast. Buenaventura is about a two and a half hour drive from Cali. Sailors and travelers brought the early vinyls of bands such as La Sonora Matancera and Cortijo y su Combo, for example, and these recordings would be enjoyed and taken from one town to another, making their way to Cali and beyond. RM: Who are some of the pioneering Colombian salsa bands and artists? VV: Probably Fruko y sus Tesos and Joe Arroyo (who initially sang with Fruko). Fruko was the main salsero influencing all the local artists and bands. RM: Do you have any formal music education? VV: Prior to graduating from high school, I was mainly playing percussion, which I learned on the street and from friends. After high school, I went to college to study computer technology and systems, basically to please my parents who did not want me to simply be a musician. After completing my college courses I enrolled at the University of El Valle in Cali to study music, earning a bachelor's degree. 4 of 61 5/31/2012 8:36 AM LBMO.com - Latin Beat Magazine - Latin Music Magazine - Features http://www.latinbeatmagazine.com/features.html RM: What instrument did you major in? VV: Besides composing, arranging and singing, I studied the flute. RM: Why did you prefer the flute? VV: Since my dad’s band rehearsed in our home, there were always instruments lying around. One day a flute turned up in the house and I was attracted to it for some reason. I started to fool around with it and fell in love. From that point on I started listening to the sounds of Johnny Pacheco, Néstor Torres and Orquesta Broadway. In one of Orquesta Broadway’s visits to Cali, I befriended master flutist Eddy Zervigón, who gave me pointers on playing and who I was privileged to join on stage as a vocalist. In 2002, in New York City, I had the honor to sing on the 40th Anniversary CD of Orquesta Broadway. RM: Was this the beginning of your career as a vocalist? VV: Not really, I had always enjoyed singing chorus as a percussionist, but was more into playing an instrument than singing at the time. One day, my father’s band needed a vocalist and I stepped up to the challenge. I think that from that day on, I felt good about singing lead with a band. In 1996, the opportunity presented itself to sing chorus for a Fania All-Stars concert in Cali 5 of 61 5/31/2012 8:36 AM LBMO.com - Latin Beat Magazine - Latin Music Magazine - Features http://www.latinbeatmagazine.com/features.html and in Tulua as back-up to Ismael Miranda, Adalberto Santiago and Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez. Sometime after that, I started singing lead with the Gabino Pampini Band, followed by a stint with the popular Tito Gómez Orchestra in Cali as a background vocalist. It was a very special time in my music evolution. Tito Gómez was an amazing singer/bandleader who always allowed his background singers to shine on stage with him. I am very grateful to him and his musicians. I toured all over the world with Gómez and got to truly hone my vocal skills. RM: Obviously, you inherited the singing genes from your father? VV: Indeed I did, even though my father always favored more traditional styles. RM: When did you relocate to the United States? VV: I first visited the U.S. was while touring with Tito Gómez in 1997. We performed in several main cities throughout the east coast. In 1999, I initially relocated to Maryland with some relatives to start a new life in the USA. For the past decade, I have been a resident of Washington, D.C. RM: Like most musicians, you also have a day gig? 6 of 61 5/31/2012 8:36 AM LBMO.com - Latin Beat Magazine - Latin Music Magazine - Features http://www.latinbeatmagazine.com/features.html VV: I do, I'm a professor at Howard University in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, College of Arts & Sciences in Washington, D.C., where I teach Spanish. RM: Do you enjoy teaching? VV: I do, especially teaching Spanish in an African American institution. While I probably would have been more comfortable teaching music, this opportunity is just as fulfilling. RM: When did you release your debut album as a soloist? VV: In 2004, I released my first production as a leader, "Amar de Nuevo," which earned a preliminary spot in the 2005 Latin Grammy list under the "Best Tropical Album" category. The recording had the participation of Colombian salsa superstar Diego Gale, among other great local musicians. RM: Was this production recorded in the USA? VV: No, it was recorded mainly in Cali with the participation of many musician friends located there. Economically it's a lot cheaper to record and produce an album in Colombia. I do have a working band in Washington, D.C., which I use to perform locally. The band varies in size from as many as 5 to 12 members, depending on the gig. I have also recorded with the D.C.-based group "Thievery Corporation" in its albums "The Richest Man in Babylon," "The Cosmic Game," and "Radio Retaliation," featuring some of my compositions and vocals. I also sang and wrote a 7 of 61 5/31/2012 8:36 AM LBMO.com - Latin Beat Magazine - Latin Music Magazine - Features http://www.latinbeatmagazine.com/features.html score for the hip-hop CD production "The 51st State." In 2007, I released my second production titled "Gracias," which I also recorded in Cali and features a repertoire of mostly self-penned scores and arrangements.