Courtesy of Latin Beat Magazine http://www.latinbeatmagazine.com/
While the salsa music industry is at a standstill throughout most of North America these days, it still rules in the Caribbean, South America, and more recently in Europe. Salsa singer José Luis Morán as well as Orquesta del Solar are the leading exponents of this salsa movement currently happening in Madrid, Spain.
As of this writing, José Luis Morán and Orquesta del Solar (under the musical direction of Julio Mena) have decided to join forces as one superpower salsa entity to capitalize on the current popularity of this musical genre. The Cuban rhythm-based dance form, which was initially fused with jazz and R&B modalities in the streets of New York City and Puerto Rico, and baptized as “salsa” in Venezuela and New York City, morphed into a social phenomena in the early 1970s throughout most Hispanic communities in the United States and Puerto Rico. Soon thereafter, like wildfire, salsa spread throughout most of the Americas, gaining strength and power before taking on the rest of the planet. Today, salsa belongs to the world-from North to South America, from Europe to Asia, and from Australia to the Hawaiian Islands, everyone loves to salsa! In Spain, the passion for salsa and dancing is constantly escalating throughout the entire Iberian Peninsula fueled by local aficionados of the movement as well as the growing numbers of Latin American immigrants in the country. José Luis Morán and Orquesta del Solar are a big factor in the popularity of salsa in Spain through its continuous work and devotion to the music and its numerous annual and monthly performances in major festivals, concerts and venues throughout the country, as well as abroad throughout Europe.
José Luis “El Gato” Morán is responsible for coining the phase “Salsa: Made in Spain.” Nicknamed “El Gato” (the cat) by the local Spanish media as an indication of his acceptance to the local scene, Morán is a native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, bitten by the salsa bug as a child. He started singing professionally in Venezuela with La Orquesta Rococó, followed by a time with the group Combinación 77. In the United States, he worked in Chicago with the groups Samuel del Real, La Mayor, Tambores de Imbangala, and Huracán de Fuego. In the search for new experiences and opportunities Morán relocated to Spain in 2003, establishing himself in the capital city of Madrid. Soon thereafter, he started to win fans and music critics alike via performances such as his performance at the “Dia de America” festival in the city of Oviedo with an audience of over 250,000 people, and a similar audience at the “7th Festival Son Latino” in the island of Tenerife, were he dazzled the crowd with his spirited salsa renditions. His presentations are characterized by a constant interaction with the audience in a playful improvisational atmosphere full of rhythms and sounds. In the end, the audience, the dancers and everyone is immersed in the performance. Since his arrival to Spain, José Luis Morán has shared stages with legendary artists Richie Ray and Bobby Cruz, Larry Harlow (who praised “El Gato’s” talents and salsa acumen), Oscar D’León, Adalberto Santiago, Chucho and Bebo Valdés, Carlinhos Brown, and Tito Nieves, among others.
In 2008, José Luis was nominated and participated in the Latin Grammys of Spain. The following year, several of his songs were included in the soundtracks of the Spanish films “La Vergüenza”, and “La Mujer Sin Piano.” Both of these films were critically acclaimed, winning awards in film festivals in 2009. More importantly is the fact that this was the first time that Spanish cinematography included original salsa compositions (instead of Cuban or Latin American compositions) in its soundtracks. In recent years, Morán has been invited to European events such as “Toros y Salsa” in Dax, France and Frankfurt’s “World Music Festival.” In Spain, he has participated in the annual “Musicas del Mundo” festival in Madrid; “En Clave de Son” festival in Santander; “Womex” festival in Seville; “El Teide” in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and numerous other music festivals in the cities of Cadiz, Zamora, Ibiza, Guadalajara, Bilbao, Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, Santiago de Compostela, and Zaragoza.
