ARSENIO RODRIGUEZ, a descendent of enslaved Congolese, was born on August 30, 1911, in Matanzas, Cuba. Arsenio was blinded by a horse’s kick at age 7, which earned him the nickname "El Ciego Maravilloso" (The Marvelous Blind One.) Rodriguez was a prolific composer and arranger, who wrote and recorded nearly a thousand songs; many of them major salsa hits even today.

Considered by many to be the creator of the "Mambo", he was also the architect of the "Conjunto." The Conjunto is a revolutionary format that introduces the conga drum, a taboo at the time, because of its African origins. As composer, tresero, percussionist and bandleader, Arsenio’s innovations paved the way for what would eventually morph into "SALSA," as we know it today. He lived to be one of the most important figures in the history of Afro-Cuban music.

LAS ESTRELLAS:

Afro-Cuban jazz trumpeter ALFREDO "CHOCOLATE" ARMENTEROS, one of the few surviving band-members of the ARSENIO RODRIGUEZ CONJUNTO, was born on April 4, 1928, in Santa Clara, Cuba. Chocolate has played with numerous music legends over the years, such as Benny More, Tito Puente, Wynton Marsalis, Eddie and Charlie Palmieri, Dizzy Gillespie, just to name a few, and is considered to be one of the best improvisers and interpreters of Latin music. Chocolate is one of the last musical links between the Golden era of the Cuban "Son" and contemporary Salsa music. With his passion, his natural talent, and subtle, yet elegant simplicity on the trumpet, he has "quietly" earned his place in the pantheon of Afro-Cuban Music Greats.

JOSE MANGUAL JR., is a "Nuyorican" percussionist, vocalist, arranger, and songwriter and band leader, born January 1948, in Spanish Harlem, NY, the son of the innovative and pioneering bongo player Jose Mangual Sr., of the legendary MACHITO AND HIS AFROCUBANS ORCHESTRA. By the age of fifteen, José Mangual Jr. was already playing in local groups in New York, showcasing his talent as a percussionist, and vocalist with Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon’s orchestra. His skills as a percussionist and musical director were sought out by the likes of Juan Luis Guerra, Ruben Blades, Hector Lavoe, Herb Alpert, Dizzy Gillespie, David Byrne, Celia Cruz, Mario Bauza, and Mongo Santamaria, among others

NELSON GONZALEZ, is a "Nuyorican" percussionist, vocalist, arranger, and songwriter and band leader, born January 1948, in Spanish Harlem, NY, the son of the innovative and pioneering bongo player Jose Mangual Sr., of the legendary MACHITO AND HIS AFROCUBANS ORCHESTRA. By the age of fifteen, José Mangual Jr. was already playing in local groups in New York, showcasing his talent as a percussionist, and vocalist with Hector Lavoe and Willie Colon’s orchestra. His skills as a percussionist and musical director were sought out by the likes of Juan Luis Guerra, Ruben Blades, Hector Lavoe, Herb Alpert, Dizzy Gillespie, David Byrne, Celia Cruz, Mario Bauza, and Mongo Santamaria, among others.

The genius of Arsenio Rodriguez and 'El Nino’ Rivera, and the 'Descarga' of Israel Lopez Cachao, strongly influenced Nelson's music style and skill in incorporating the Tres into the rhythm and the beat of the drums.