September 12, 2024 • 20 mins
🎙️ Welcome to another exhilarating episode of the Mambo in the City Salsa Podcast! Get ready to journey back in time with me as we flip through the golden pages of the Copacabana and dive into the enchanting world of salsa. This time, our spotlight is on none other than the Fania Legend himself – Pete El Conde Rodriguez!
🕰️ Join me on a nostalgic ride as I recount the unforgettable moment of meeting Pete El Conde in the south Bronx back in 1995. Picture the energy, the rhythm, and the magic that unfolded as I connected with the salsa royalty in the heart of it all later having an opportunity meet some incredible musicians and later, dare to play a song or 2 in his band!
🔥 Expect stories that will transport you to a time when the salsa scene was at its peak, and the Copacabana 57th street was the epicenter of it all. Get ready for a salsa-infused adventure that will have you tapping your feet and yearning for the golden days of this iconic era!
Tune in and let the Mambo in the City Salsa Podcast whisk you away to a world where the rhythm is infectious, the memories are unforgettable, and the Icons of salsa live forever! 🌟💃🎶
Mambo in the City Salsa Podcast is sponsored by
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts!
Please visit: LehmanCenter.org for upcoming Salsa Concerts!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Andi Montañez, Toda una Vida.
Andi Montañez, Toda una Vida.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Andi.
Montañez Toda una Vida.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Andi Montañez, Toda una Vida.
Andi Montañez, Toda una Vida.
(01:35):
Peterl Conde Rodriguez watchinghim and share Feliciano sing
Sonero de Bailadores with PeterPoynt and Giovanni Hidalgo.
Sonero de Bailadores.
(03:00):
Sonero de Bailadores.
(03:23):
So this is 1994 here and I'm asophomore in high school and I
remember they had the BronxPuerto Rican Day Parade over by
Yankee Stadium and I went tocheck it out.
And as I'm walking through thecrowd, I see a large crowd
forming around this onegentleman, and as I get closer,
(03:44):
who was Peterl Conde Rodriguez.
I'll never forget he had thebiggest smile ever.
I remember him posing forphotos and taking autographs and
just talking to his fans.
As I got closer I kept onthinking about my grandfather
because this was one of hisfavorite singers in front of me.
So what am I gonna say?
When it was finally my turn, Ireached in for the handshake and
(04:05):
said you're my grandfather'sfavorite singer and we're also
from Ponce.
I don't remember what Pete saidat that point because it was
really, really loud, but Iremember he had a really big
smile on his face and, like abrother, he gave me the biggest
hug and he also gave me hisautograph.
I'll never forget it.
And not only that, I couldn'twait to get home to my
grandfather and tell him who Ijust met.
(04:30):
And it was just like that,although it was a little too
ironic because him a week beforehaving shown me one of his
favorite singers and then mewalking down the streets here in
the Bronx and actually meetinghim.
Very ironic, in the yearscoming I had learned how to
dance and there was one nightthe crowd I was going out and
hanging out with, who had put meon to clubs one day, decided
(04:54):
they were not going out.
So that's when I startedhanging out by myself and I
ended up I brought way to to seePeter Conde Rodriguez perform.
During this time I didn't knowPeter Conde Rodriguez's music.
I didn't know that he was oneof the compadres, I didn't know
that he recorded with Barretoand Telia Cruz and I had no idea
, which is a good thing and abad thing, because obviously a
(05:15):
bad thing if you hear a songthat he's performing, you don't
know what it is and it's justyou're hearing it for the first
time.
Which is also a good thing,because now you're getting
introduced to the music and canappreciate you know the
performance even more.
One thing I'll never forgetabout Broadway too, was watching
those dancers from thecoursework area in the Palladium
era.
I remember seeing Freddie Riosthere.
There were times where a lot ofthe times, since I was so young
(05:39):
, I try to ask some of theladies to dance, the better
dancers.
I'm gonna get like a big fat.
No, I would get a no and theywould tell me to stand there and
watch.
And you know, I watched thefootwork, I watched what they
were doing and I also I wouldpan the club to see what was
going on.
And when I saw that night PeterConde Rodriguez walk over
(05:59):
toward the bar, I said this is agreat time to go tell him I
love the performance.
Why not?
One thing's for sure I nevermiss Peter Conde Rodriguez at
the Copacabana on 57th street.
Whether it was the Tuesdayafter work party or the big
nights on Saturdays.
I never miss Peter Conde at theCopacabana.
And there was a particularmusician that stood out to me on
stage and his name was HarryAdolno.
(06:20):
And not saying that he didn'thave some killer people on that
stage, because he always did,but Harry was responsible for
taking me under his wing and Ibecame like a bad boy, or I
would just you know he wouldteach me stuff about team ball,
as because, again, I love teamball.
But, um, I had started classeswith Harry, I don't know.
And I also started classes witha gentleman named Louis Campana
(06:43):
Hernandez, who used to be thebongo player for Pico and the
homeriggas, and it was prettysimple Musician walks off stage
and you say you know who givesclasses here, and the same era
Etta, no, I'll go on.
And that class hello weekendyou know and you, you.
It's cool because you walk overto the musician hey look, I love
the way you perform.
I know I would love to learnhow to play this, this, this
(07:06):
here's my number, call me.
And before you know it, he'ssitting in the room and you get
in lessons from you knowsomebody who Just performed at
the Copa Cabana, which is prettycool.
Now, as much as I love to dance, as as time progressed I was
glued to that stage wheneverPeter Conde performed.
I Was just watching everythinggoing on in that band because
(07:26):
there was so much from his, fromhis dancing, his performance To
the Maracayos, him playingGuido, and One night he, you
know, at the end of a songcalled tambo la gente, peter
Tambo, he takes an incrediblebongo solo.
I'm like this man doeseverything Y además de todo, et
chevere some of my favoritesongs that Peter Conde will
perform.
Do second, use it Catalina, la,oh, la sense.
(07:50):
It will one call sonero Bob,illa fue primoso cantal, and the
list goes on and on.
By this time, as a dancer, I hada CP when he was here, because
I love the music.
I remember seeing him atBattery Park.
Also, clubs that don't evenexist anymore in the Bronx, here
, lq's, le Pulee, of course, theCopa, and one time at Ralph
Mercado's South Street seaportPut we can date parade parties,
(08:14):
not to mention Madison'sregarding with the funny
all-stars.
So by 1998 I'm hanging out withHarry, I don't know, and he's
playing with everybody.
He's playing with Richard BobbyCruz, he's playing with Ruben
Blatt is, and, and Willy Cologne, traveling around the world, is
playing with Frank A Luis,doing a lot of coverages here
and, and a lot of times I wouldalso hang out with Louis Campana
.
There was one Tuesday night ata club I don't remember I don't
(08:37):
remember the name of the clubbecause Still, small clubs in
New York don't last anymore, ifyou notice, like why is it that
the clubs always disappear?
They're like temporarystorefronts.
But anyway, it was a small club, it's like a whole new wall,
and that was the night I wasgranted an opportunity To sit in
and play the last song of thenight, which was usually do
second dulce, and I never forgetI sat down, you know, grab
(09:00):
Louis Campana's bongos and I was.
I was sitting down next to Harry, I don't know, looking up at
Harry.
Harry was a tall but he was abig guy and he's looking at,
looking down at me, like bro,you made it.
He's like like you graduated.
He's like you're gonna bealright, bro, you're gonna be
alright.
So all of a sudden, bright,look up, I'm sitting there with
the bongos, I'm shitting a brick.
And now me, and peak on thelock, eyes Right, and I'm like
(09:24):
bro, you did it now.
And and peak on this.
You know he's, he's pretty muchtelling me Palante, he's not,
he's not shying away from don'tfuck up here.
He's saying it's time to play,let's play.
And it was almost like in slowmotion because All those years
seeing Pete at the Copa and allthese clubs, I already knew how
he counted in the band.
He was stomping the band andI'll never forget it.
(09:49):
He counted in the band and hestomped on the floor that one.
So he goes into the song and Ihad never sat next to a musician
in my my whole life, bro, youknow, especially not the great
Harry.
I don't know here, and, and youknow I didn't realize that you
can get so over drawn by who'snext to you and by the bass and
(10:11):
by the piano, and it was justlike you are.
It's like getting your asskicked in a boxing fight.
You know you're drowning hereand Pete singing away and and
I'm just like I'm trying toenjoy this moment I'm excited
and my hands are killing mebecause I don't know technique,
you know, I'm just, it's aboutthe experience.
(10:32):
At that point I.
But at one point I just lookedup and just took in who was in
front of me, which is the greatPeter Cundillia, the member of
the Fania Harry, I don't know,and just the moment of playing
in a band With, with an icon andyou know what bro?
to me, the fact that Harryprovided some opportunity there
to get your feet wet With itwith an icon like that, was so
(10:56):
much and it's something I'llnever forget and something I I
appreciate to this day.
You know, I lost Harry a Coupleyears back and you know, those
are the things that, aside fromhis friendship, that I'll never
forget about.
And, like I mentioned, you'regonna hear a lot of stories
about me and Harry, but that'sjust one of them, you know.
But again, gotta thank PeterCundillia and gotta thank Harry.
(11:20):
I don't know, because that was amoment in my life that you know
, I'll never, ever and I cantalk to my nephews about, which
is pretty cool, and just likethat.
Another Tuesday came and I wasat the Copacabana early, ready
to see my boy, peter Cundillia's.
The only difference is that nowI'm, you know, I'm getting more
(11:41):
familiar with the musicians, sonow I'm invited down to the
dressing room where theyrehearse and they tune up and
and Peter Cundill will show upand He'd sit there with the
musicians amongst the musiciansand he would give these stories,
bro, that I wish I would haverecorded them because they were
so memorable and and it wasabout the Fania and it was about
(12:02):
, you know, arranges andmusicians back in those days and
his experiences as a youngsinger, and just story after
story, and Pete wouldn't stopbetween the stories, he went
from story to story and All themusicians.
It was like you couldn't hear apin drop in the room Because
everybody loved to hear him tellthese tales.
(12:23):
You know about Apollo sound and, just like I said, his time
with the Fania, and I was there,you know, as a young man, and
just remembering or justwatching Pete and all these guys
around him cracking up, andjust you know, and then it was
time to go up, you know, andplay on stage and then you got
to see the man in Action,whether it was, like I said, his
(12:43):
dancing, you know, see, that'sup there, emilo's up there, you
know, his daughter and his son,tremendous Musicos, because to
this day those, those two onstage, are absolutely
untouchable.
Just think about the schoolthat they come from.
It's funny.
I was talking to see that theother night and I said, well, it
gets to school so fast.
You know, such good times go sofast and A lot of times I love
(13:07):
when I see she's here on stagebecause she has that, that
flavor.
It was like it's like handeddown to her.
You know, her brother,tremendous musical director,
trumpetita, you know, see thatwith the Mambo legends, you know
, just made that band, just tookit to another level.
So if you ever hear see thatRodriguez is performing, you
know, definitely take advantage.
A lot of times she played lamalqueta and Spanish Harlem and
(13:33):
she killed it.
So and over years I've had somegreat moments with that.
We will go dancing and a lot oftimes we dance at the Copa.
I remember the first time Idance or I was so nervous, you
know, and she's a really gooddancer.
So and I'm not intimidated, seethat in case you're listening,
saying I'm waiting, waiting forthe next, the next round.
I remember seeing Peter comethe last time at the Copa and
(13:55):
After the performance I wentaround the stage to help him
come down and grab my hand andwe shook hands and you know he
got serious on me.
He says we asked me polka dot,oca te?
He says pretty much, said no,no, that's all you know, that's
all to say practical.
You know he gave me that bit ofadvice and something I'll never
forget, you know, and that wasthe last time I saw him, sally.
(14:19):
He passed away in December of2000 and I was traveling with
Harry Adolno to a gig withlucito carillon and the singer
Pedro Jesus or we're in a van orsome somebody's card.
You know, musicians alwaystravel with somebody.
So we heading upstate and itwas snowing and Harry got the
(14:39):
call and you started crying andyou know I, you know it's a.
It was a big loss, you know,for those guys.
Again, pete treated everybodyin a way where you, you felt
like a son.
You know what I'm saying.
At his funeral, what can I do?
I knelt in front of him and Ithanked him For every
opportunity and believing in meand giving me a chance and
(15:00):
letting me be one of his biggestfans.
You know, I won't my mom youranything.
My mom, my mom has always beensuch a big Ray Burrito fan and
we got there kind of early andwe're leaving the the funeral
home and who is walking into thefuneral home?
Mano dura, ray Burrito.
And I couldn't believe it.
You know, he was so genuine andhe took off his glove and he
(15:23):
shook my mom's hand and shook myhand.
And the moment felt like whenyou see One of your favorite
movies or have you seen a moviethat you love over and over
again and all the, all the greatactors are part of that movie
and then one of the maincharacters of the movie just
shows up in real life in frontof you and it just represented
the finding.
I was like look at this brand.
I heard that maybe five minuteslater, celia Cruz had also gone
(15:48):
to pay her respects to the lategreat Pico and the other kids
which I'm man.
Can you imagine meeting CeliaCruz?
And that's crazy.
Like I said in the beginning ofthe podcast, be billy, record on
and Peter cool.
He's a somebody I'll neverforget.
So, guys, remember to downloadhis music, look at those album
covers.
He has some tremendous albumcovers with Pacheco and Celia
(16:10):
Cruz and we were reto and thefinal all stars, you know, and
go see the lineage, see theRodriguez, her brother, you know
, that's so you keep the musicalive, like my man, dj bro.
We will say they used to bringin Peter Quinn just to pay
Maracas, and guys like, how wesay, try not to miss the legends
, because those performances areonce in a lifetime.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
By Andy crisp, lemon College Information.
You will let us see it189608885.
And in the box office, thelemon center.
No bias Passar la historiaVenas Her part of the
celebration.
(17:19):
The Andy Is so exitosa.
Carrera de más Is a center, Iknow.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
Is a trajectory.
I'm A To I Go, I, I, I.
That's right, folks, that's itthe.
Lemon center.
Don't the Also have my IndiaFor Mother's Day?
They also have that.
I'm seeing you Big anniversaryconcert.
Limon Center Is the officialsponsor of the Mom when the city
starts the podcast.
Please.
The Lemon center For moreinformation On the website.
All the concerts are rightthere.
They have a really bigfreestyle concert coming up
(17:58):
March 16th.
It's called freestyle for ever16.
Tk A, george Cynthia Coro, twoWithout Hats Come on, bro, I
love freestyle music.
I remember playing handball atOrchard Beach to some damn
freestyles, and now I get tohear it live and concert.
No, no, no, no.
These freestyle legends, theylike the Fania, they like the
(18:18):
Fania freestyle.
You know TKA Lotter in Love,george Lamont Girl in the Battle
of the Heart.
You get to see it live and singalong with the freestyle
legends.
I will be at the AndyMontinghass Concert.
I'll be in the hallway therewhen you walk in, big smile on
my face, giving out somestickers for the Mambo City
podcast and meeting some of youguys who listen to the podcast,
very excited for that as well.
(18:38):
And so, yeah, it's going to bea good time.
Bueno, gente, hasta ahíllegaron mis recuerdos.
I want to thank everyone forjoining me in this trip down
memory lane my time with one ofthe most iconic voices of the
Fania All-Stars, pirolCondejo-Riguez.
We hope you enjoyed thisepisode and we'll see you next
time on the Mambo in the City.
Souths of podcast.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
We hope you enjoyed this episode and we'll see you
next time on the Mambo in theCity Souths of podcast.
We hope you enjoyed thisepisode and we'll see you next
(19:59):
time on the Mambo in the CitySouths of podcast.
We hope you enjoyed thisepisode and we'll see you next
(20:27):
time on the Mambo in the CitySouths of podcast.
Andi Montañez, Toda una Vida.
Andi Montañez, Toda una Vida.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Andi.
Montañez Toda una Vida.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Andi Montañez, Toda una Vida.
Andi Montañez, Toda una Vida.
(01:35):
Peterl Conde Rodriguez watchinghim and share Feliciano sing
Sonero de Bailadores with PeterPoynt and Giovanni Hidalgo.
Sonero de Bailadores.
(03:00):
Sonero de Bailadores.
(03:23):
So this is 1994 here and I'm asophomore in high school and I
remember they had the BronxPuerto Rican Day Parade over by
Yankee Stadium and I went tocheck it out.
And as I'm walking through thecrowd, I see a large crowd
forming around this onegentleman, and as I get closer,
(03:44):
who was Peterl Conde Rodriguez.
I'll never forget he had thebiggest smile ever.
I remember him posing forphotos and taking autographs and
just talking to his fans.
As I got closer I kept onthinking about my grandfather
because this was one of hisfavorite singers in front of me.
So what am I gonna say?
When it was finally my turn, Ireached in for the handshake and
(04:05):
said you're my grandfather'sfavorite singer and we're also
from Ponce.
I don't remember what Pete saidat that point because it was
really, really loud, but Iremember he had a really big
smile on his face and, like abrother, he gave me the biggest
hug and he also gave me hisautograph.
I'll never forget it.
And not only that, I couldn'twait to get home to my
grandfather and tell him who Ijust met.
(04:30):
And it was just like that,although it was a little too
ironic because him a week beforehaving shown me one of his
favorite singers and then mewalking down the streets here in
the Bronx and actually meetinghim.
Very ironic, in the yearscoming I had learned how to
dance and there was one nightthe crowd I was going out and
hanging out with, who had put meon to clubs one day, decided
(04:54):
they were not going out.
So that's when I startedhanging out by myself and I
ended up I brought way to to seePeter Conde Rodriguez perform.
During this time I didn't knowPeter Conde Rodriguez's music.
I didn't know that he was oneof the compadres, I didn't know
that he recorded with Barretoand Telia Cruz and I had no idea
, which is a good thing and abad thing, because obviously a
(05:15):
bad thing if you hear a songthat he's performing, you don't
know what it is and it's justyou're hearing it for the first
time.
Which is also a good thing,because now you're getting
introduced to the music and canappreciate you know the
performance even more.
One thing I'll never forgetabout Broadway too, was watching
those dancers from thecoursework area in the Palladium
era.
I remember seeing Freddie Riosthere.
There were times where a lot ofthe times, since I was so young
(05:39):
, I try to ask some of theladies to dance, the better
dancers.
I'm gonna get like a big fat.
No, I would get a no and theywould tell me to stand there and
watch.
And you know, I watched thefootwork, I watched what they
were doing and I also I wouldpan the club to see what was
going on.
And when I saw that night PeterConde Rodriguez walk over
(05:59):
toward the bar, I said this is agreat time to go tell him I
love the performance.
Why not?
One thing's for sure I nevermiss Peter Conde Rodriguez at
the Copacabana on 57th street.
Whether it was the Tuesdayafter work party or the big
nights on Saturdays.
I never miss Peter Conde at theCopacabana.
And there was a particularmusician that stood out to me on
stage and his name was HarryAdolno.
(06:20):
And not saying that he didn'thave some killer people on that
stage, because he always did,but Harry was responsible for
taking me under his wing and Ibecame like a bad boy, or I
would just you know he wouldteach me stuff about team ball,
as because, again, I love teamball.
But, um, I had started classeswith Harry, I don't know.
And I also started classes witha gentleman named Louis Campana
(06:43):
Hernandez, who used to be thebongo player for Pico and the
homeriggas, and it was prettysimple Musician walks off stage
and you say you know who givesclasses here, and the same era
Etta, no, I'll go on.
And that class hello weekendyou know and you, you.
It's cool because you walk overto the musician hey look, I love
the way you perform.
I know I would love to learnhow to play this, this, this
(07:06):
here's my number, call me.
And before you know it, he'ssitting in the room and you get
in lessons from you knowsomebody who Just performed at
the Copa Cabana, which is prettycool.
Now, as much as I love to dance, as as time progressed I was
glued to that stage wheneverPeter Conde performed.
I Was just watching everythinggoing on in that band because
(07:26):
there was so much from his, fromhis dancing, his performance To
the Maracayos, him playingGuido, and One night he, you
know, at the end of a songcalled tambo la gente, peter
Tambo, he takes an incrediblebongo solo.
I'm like this man doeseverything Y además de todo, et
chevere some of my favoritesongs that Peter Conde will
perform.
Do second, use it Catalina, la,oh, la sense.
(07:50):
It will one call sonero Bob,illa fue primoso cantal, and the
list goes on and on.
By this time, as a dancer, I hada CP when he was here, because
I love the music.
I remember seeing him atBattery Park.
Also, clubs that don't evenexist anymore in the Bronx, here
, lq's, le Pulee, of course, theCopa, and one time at Ralph
Mercado's South Street seaportPut we can date parade parties,
(08:14):
not to mention Madison'sregarding with the funny
all-stars.
So by 1998 I'm hanging out withHarry, I don't know, and he's
playing with everybody.
He's playing with Richard BobbyCruz, he's playing with Ruben
Blatt is, and, and Willy Cologne, traveling around the world, is
playing with Frank A Luis,doing a lot of coverages here
and, and a lot of times I wouldalso hang out with Louis Campana
.
There was one Tuesday night ata club I don't remember I don't
(08:37):
remember the name of the clubbecause Still, small clubs in
New York don't last anymore, ifyou notice, like why is it that
the clubs always disappear?
They're like temporarystorefronts.
But anyway, it was a small club, it's like a whole new wall,
and that was the night I wasgranted an opportunity To sit in
and play the last song of thenight, which was usually do
second dulce, and I never forgetI sat down, you know, grab
(09:00):
Louis Campana's bongos and I was.
I was sitting down next to Harry, I don't know, looking up at
Harry.
Harry was a tall but he was abig guy and he's looking at,
looking down at me, like bro,you made it.
He's like like you graduated.
He's like you're gonna bealright, bro, you're gonna be
alright.
So all of a sudden, bright,look up, I'm sitting there with
the bongos, I'm shitting a brick.
And now me, and peak on thelock, eyes Right, and I'm like
(09:24):
bro, you did it now.
And and peak on this.
You know he's, he's pretty muchtelling me Palante, he's not,
he's not shying away from don'tfuck up here.
He's saying it's time to play,let's play.
And it was almost like in slowmotion because All those years
seeing Pete at the Copa and allthese clubs, I already knew how
he counted in the band.
He was stomping the band andI'll never forget it.
(09:49):
He counted in the band and hestomped on the floor that one.
So he goes into the song and Ihad never sat next to a musician
in my my whole life, bro, youknow, especially not the great
Harry.
I don't know here, and, and youknow I didn't realize that you
can get so over drawn by who'snext to you and by the bass and
(10:11):
by the piano, and it was justlike you are.
It's like getting your asskicked in a boxing fight.
You know you're drowning hereand Pete singing away and and
I'm just like I'm trying toenjoy this moment I'm excited
and my hands are killing mebecause I don't know technique,
you know, I'm just, it's aboutthe experience.
(10:32):
At that point I.
But at one point I just lookedup and just took in who was in
front of me, which is the greatPeter Cundillia, the member of
the Fania Harry, I don't know,and just the moment of playing
in a band With, with an icon andyou know what bro?
to me, the fact that Harryprovided some opportunity there
to get your feet wet With itwith an icon like that, was so
(10:56):
much and it's something I'llnever forget and something I I
appreciate to this day.
You know, I lost Harry a Coupleyears back and you know, those
are the things that, aside fromhis friendship, that I'll never
forget about.
And, like I mentioned, you'regonna hear a lot of stories
about me and Harry, but that'sjust one of them, you know.
But again, gotta thank PeterCundillia and gotta thank Harry.
(11:20):
I don't know, because that was amoment in my life that you know
, I'll never, ever and I cantalk to my nephews about, which
is pretty cool, and just likethat.
Another Tuesday came and I wasat the Copacabana early, ready
to see my boy, peter Cundillia's.
The only difference is that nowI'm, you know, I'm getting more
(11:41):
familiar with the musicians, sonow I'm invited down to the
dressing room where theyrehearse and they tune up and
and Peter Cundill will show upand He'd sit there with the
musicians amongst the musiciansand he would give these stories,
bro, that I wish I would haverecorded them because they were
so memorable and and it wasabout the Fania and it was about
(12:02):
, you know, arranges andmusicians back in those days and
his experiences as a youngsinger, and just story after
story, and Pete wouldn't stopbetween the stories, he went
from story to story and All themusicians.
It was like you couldn't hear apin drop in the room Because
everybody loved to hear him tellthese tales.
(12:23):
You know about Apollo sound and, just like I said, his time
with the Fania, and I was there,you know, as a young man, and
just remembering or justwatching Pete and all these guys
around him cracking up, andjust you know, and then it was
time to go up, you know, andplay on stage and then you got
to see the man in Action,whether it was, like I said, his
(12:43):
dancing, you know, see, that'sup there, emilo's up there, you
know, his daughter and his son,tremendous Musicos, because to
this day those, those two onstage, are absolutely
untouchable.
Just think about the schoolthat they come from.
It's funny.
I was talking to see that theother night and I said, well, it
gets to school so fast.
You know, such good times go sofast and A lot of times I love
(13:07):
when I see she's here on stagebecause she has that, that
flavor.
It was like it's like handeddown to her.
You know, her brother,tremendous musical director,
trumpetita, you know, see thatwith the Mambo legends, you know
, just made that band, just tookit to another level.
So if you ever hear see thatRodriguez is performing, you
know, definitely take advantage.
A lot of times she played lamalqueta and Spanish Harlem and
(13:33):
she killed it.
So and over years I've had somegreat moments with that.
We will go dancing and a lot oftimes we dance at the Copa.
I remember the first time Idance or I was so nervous, you
know, and she's a really gooddancer.
So and I'm not intimidated, seethat in case you're listening,
saying I'm waiting, waiting forthe next, the next round.
I remember seeing Peter comethe last time at the Copa and
(13:55):
After the performance I wentaround the stage to help him
come down and grab my hand andwe shook hands and you know he
got serious on me.
He says we asked me polka dot,oca te?
He says pretty much, said no,no, that's all you know, that's
all to say practical.
You know he gave me that bit ofadvice and something I'll never
forget, you know, and that wasthe last time I saw him, sally.
(14:19):
He passed away in December of2000 and I was traveling with
Harry Adolno to a gig withlucito carillon and the singer
Pedro Jesus or we're in a van orsome somebody's card.
You know, musicians alwaystravel with somebody.
So we heading upstate and itwas snowing and Harry got the
(14:39):
call and you started crying andyou know I, you know it's a.
It was a big loss, you know,for those guys.
Again, pete treated everybodyin a way where you, you felt
like a son.
You know what I'm saying.
At his funeral, what can I do?
I knelt in front of him and Ithanked him For every
opportunity and believing in meand giving me a chance and
(15:00):
letting me be one of his biggestfans.
You know, I won't my mom youranything.
My mom, my mom has always beensuch a big Ray Burrito fan and
we got there kind of early andwe're leaving the the funeral
home and who is walking into thefuneral home?
Mano dura, ray Burrito.
And I couldn't believe it.
You know, he was so genuine andhe took off his glove and he
(15:23):
shook my mom's hand and shook myhand.
And the moment felt like whenyou see One of your favorite
movies or have you seen a moviethat you love over and over
again and all the, all the greatactors are part of that movie
and then one of the maincharacters of the movie just
shows up in real life in frontof you and it just represented
the finding.
I was like look at this brand.
I heard that maybe five minuteslater, celia Cruz had also gone
(15:48):
to pay her respects to the lategreat Pico and the other kids
which I'm man.
Can you imagine meeting CeliaCruz?
And that's crazy.
Like I said in the beginning ofthe podcast, be billy, record on
and Peter cool.
He's a somebody I'll neverforget.
So, guys, remember to downloadhis music, look at those album
covers.
He has some tremendous albumcovers with Pacheco and Celia
(16:10):
Cruz and we were reto and thefinal all stars, you know, and
go see the lineage, see theRodriguez, her brother, you know
, that's so you keep the musicalive, like my man, dj bro.
We will say they used to bringin Peter Quinn just to pay
Maracas, and guys like, how wesay, try not to miss the legends
, because those performances areonce in a lifetime.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
By Andy crisp, lemon College Information.
You will let us see it189608885.
And in the box office, thelemon center.
No bias Passar la historiaVenas Her part of the
celebration.
(17:19):
The Andy Is so exitosa.
Carrera de más Is a center, Iknow.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
Is a trajectory.
I'm A To I Go, I, I, I.
That's right, folks, that's itthe.
Lemon center.
Don't the Also have my IndiaFor Mother's Day?
They also have that.
I'm seeing you Big anniversaryconcert.
Limon Center Is the officialsponsor of the Mom when the city
starts the podcast.
Please.
The Lemon center For moreinformation On the website.
All the concerts are rightthere.
They have a really bigfreestyle concert coming up
(17:58):
March 16th.
It's called freestyle for ever16.
Tk A, george Cynthia Coro, twoWithout Hats Come on, bro, I
love freestyle music.
I remember playing handball atOrchard Beach to some damn
freestyles, and now I get tohear it live and concert.
No, no, no, no.
These freestyle legends, theylike the Fania, they like the
(18:18):
Fania freestyle.
You know TKA Lotter in Love,george Lamont Girl in the Battle
of the Heart.
You get to see it live and singalong with the freestyle
legends.
I will be at the AndyMontinghass Concert.
I'll be in the hallway therewhen you walk in, big smile on
my face, giving out somestickers for the Mambo City
podcast and meeting some of youguys who listen to the podcast,
very excited for that as well.
(18:38):
And so, yeah, it's going to bea good time.
Bueno, gente, hasta ahíllegaron mis recuerdos.
I want to thank everyone forjoining me in this trip down
memory lane my time with one ofthe most iconic voices of the
Fania All-Stars, pirolCondejo-Riguez.
We hope you enjoyed thisepisode and we'll see you next
time on the Mambo in the City.
Souths of podcast.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
We hope you enjoyed this episode and we'll see you
next time on the Mambo in theCity Souths of podcast.
We hope you enjoyed thisepisode and we'll see you next
(19:59):
time on the Mambo in the CitySouths of podcast.
We hope you enjoyed thisepisode and we'll see you next
(20:27):
time on the Mambo in the CitySouths of podcast.
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