Introduction
Sonora, a band from Puerto Rico and revered as a living legend, is renowned for continually producing outstanding music and dance (Alvarez, 2014). A live recording setting boundaries for the 55th year of Sonora Ponceña performance is celebrated worldwide. A comprehensive analysis of the Sonora performance at the Colisero Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is tacked within the essay. All the artists who performed together with their songs, instruments used, and their roles in the group are identified and analyzed. Additionally, the audience interactions with the performers, the programs performed, and the names of songs performed have been analyzed in this paper.
Sonora at 55th Anniversary concert analysis
In the video recorded while the artist performs their music, this concert at the Colisero Roberto Clemente in San Juan, Puerto Rico, evidently exhibits the reason for being the most popular Latin jazz and salsa band. The performance included some of the most profoundly great Salsa performers from various periods. Tito Gómez, Luigi Texidor, Pichie Perez, Enrique’ Papo’ Lucca, Tito Allen, Danny Davila, Adalberto Alvarez, and Yolanda Rivera were some of the names that were associated with the singers. Lucca lauded the musical approach of the Cuban pop group Sonora Matancera, which featured a whole percussion section in addition to solo trumpets played by members of the horn section (Alvarez, 2014). The keyboard and vocals in the band were able to get along better as a result of this harmonious partnership. The concert included traditional instruments like brass instruments such as trumpet and saxophone, panderos (various hand drums), guitar, cuatro (a miniature guitar), accordion, and. The band featured a trumpet section during the performance without woodwinds. However, there were more percussionists besides an array of vocalists led by Tito Allen, Pichie Perez, Danny Davila, and Luigi Texidor (Alvarez, 2014). The performance was done on a selected track list by the team. Compared to other bands, Sonora might only have one or two songs that feature solos, while other bands might have practically every piece feature at least one solo. Back in the day, you could frequently hear a musician doing a solo on one instrument, in contrast to today. Rather than the band, the vocalist prioritized the romantic approach to salsa’s musical style. There was no way a wild trombone solo could follow a tune that started with a lovely Salserita (Alvarez, 2014).
Performed Pieces at the concert
The track list included the following songs listed in no order of performance:
- Juana Bayona
- Mi Lindo Yambu
- Otra Gran Celebracion
- La Vida Te Doy
- Poema 55 Aniversario
- No Bebo Mas
- Ñañara Cai
- Sonrisita y Cuchillita
- Si Busca Una Orquesta.
The team kept things at a temperate pitch without romantic expressions or normal swaying, and the sultry song left the audience dancing in the aisle throughout the session. Singers are seen appearing in a rapid-fire order while performing on the stage. Additionally, the singers showed an intensified variety of composers together with traditional costumes.
Enrique Arsenio Lucca Papo Lucca is the stage name that Quionesi is most known by. Although piano playing is his most well-known skill, he is a Puerto Rican multi-instrumentalist. Latin jazz and salsa are his core musical interests. Yolanda is highly regarded not only in the United States but also in Latin America and the Caribbean due to her distinctive vocal style and the volume of work she has produced as a side woman and soloist leader. The track has a frantic, danceable vibe because of the unmistakable tenor of Luigi Texidor’s voice. Texidor performed an outstanding deepest vocal content on the montuno rhumba “Nanara Cai” and Davila the traditional “Mi Linda Yambu.”
Pertinent aspects of the music performed
Through collaboration, Lucca and Davila performed “Si Busca Una Orquesta” on occasion with varied vocals and thick percussion over piano montuno. Allen featured in the “La Vida Te Doy” with the most jazz trumpet section. The group performs “Como Amigos Como Amantes” by Adalberto Lávarez with some synthesizer coloring. At their most cherished environment, the rave-up horns engage in a call-and-response descarga with the vocalists during “Juana Bayona” by Miguelito Ortiz and “Otra Gran Celebracion” by Joe Torres, with Perez and Davila serving as the set’s bookends and the latter song has jubilant crowd handclapping (Alvarez, 2014).
The audience participated in the performance by interacting with the musicians and grasping the meaning of the songs performed by the band. When attempting to convey the vivacity and vitality of Puerto Rico, music and dance are indispensable components.
Music genres in Puerto Rico include Salsa, Bomba where the artists employ three instruments: the maracas, the cuá (two wooden sticks), and the Bomba barrel, a large drum played with the hands. It’s a vibrant discussion between the dancer, percussionists, and vocalists. The Primo Barrel drum indicates the beat to be followed, while the Buleador drum indicates the beat to be followed after. Plena incorporates Caribbean, African, and Spanish music elements into a single composition. Panderos, guitar, and accordion are traditional instruments, including the guitar, cuatro, and brass instruments such as the trumpet and saxophone.
The event took place in a state-of-the-art performing arts facility that boasts five stages, including an opera house, a theater hall, a black box theater, and a cabaret, in addition to a symphony hall that is the permanent home of the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra (Alvarez, 2014). Plays, operas, musicals, dance, and music performances may be found in the center’s year-round program. The Casals Classical Music Festival is one of the most prestigious events held at the center. Examples of musical instruments include the trumpet, trombone, and saxophone; stringed instruments include the violin and cello; and brass instruments include the tuba, euphonium, and euphonium. Numerous types of percussion are utilized consistently across all of the subgenres that make up Puerto Rican popular music.
New York and Puerto Rican Salsa should be considered dynamic and dialectic rather than different things. In San Juan, there are dozens of clubs, bars, and other venues for people who want to continue their night out with some dancing. The popular dance styles of plena and Bomba, as well as salsa and other Latin American musical styles, include Bomba and plena (Alvarez, 2014). Food and beverage services were prepared, presented, and offered to patrons in the restaurants where Puerto Rica liked performing. To persuade clients to use the establishment’s food and beverage service, clubs and restaurants ensure that their locations are kept in pristine condition, both in terms of their furnishings and appliances.
Conclusion
The Sonora Ponceña delivered their performance in full effect as they did before about six decades ago. Their performance was highly commended as one of the triumphant recordings that one could expect with the succeeding volumes imminent on the horizon. The group kept the energy up without using romantic gestures or swaying normally. The sensual song had the crowd dancing in the aisle throughout the performance, and vocalists could be seen entering the stage in fast succession. Along with traditional attire, the vocalists also displayed a greater diversity of composers (Alvarez, 2014).
Reference
Alvarez, T. (2014). La Sonora Ponceña’s 55 Aniversario Vol 1 [Video]. YouTube. Web.