• Submitted by: manso
• Arts and Culture
• 01 / 14 / 2011

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By Jean Bartlett. Pacifica Tribune arts correspondent. Posted: 01/13/2011 06:00:00 AM PST. In the '40s and '50s people everywhere dreamed about the magic of Havana, a city full of color and "tropical" music. It was the golden age of Cuban son music, a marriage of African and Spanish rhythms driven by claves (cylindrical wooden sticks), bongos, the guitar-like Tres Cubano and vocals. It was the music which laid the groundwork for salsa and it is the music of Rudy Furlan's band Los Boleros. They will play Saturday night at Pacifica Performances Mildred Owen Concert Hall.

Furlan offered a sneak peak of some of the songs on their upcoming play list.

"We will perform some very old Latin standards that have been revived for their acoustic instrumentation," Furlan said. "One of the oldest is 'Historia de un amor,' the story of a love like no other. 'Odiame,' says go ahead and hate me because I would rather have you hate me than forget me! 'Piel Canela' was made famous by Eydie Gormé and it is about a beautiful dark skinned girl. 'Negra Tomasa' -- how I love the way she prepares my meals and grinds my coffee -- represents the Cuban girl who is sexy for all the things she does." Back for their 6th consecutive performance at the hall, the members of Los Boleros are Felix Samuel on vocals and maracas, Alexa Weber Morales on vocals and clave, Pacifican Rudy Furlan on Tres Cubano and backup vocals, Pacifican David Somers on tenor saxophone and flute, Dominic Cabrera on congas, Eugene Warren on upright bass and Pacifican Edgar Lavado on bongos.


Los Boleros can be found online at www.LosBoleros.net. They are also on Facebook.

"Our music is a mix of different Latin styles -- Cuban son, cumbia, meringue, danzón, vals (waltz) and of course, bolero!" Furlan said. "The majority of the songs are Cuban son and although it's not salsa music, one can definitely salsa dance to this more relaxed but very grooving beat." The band's special guest this year is the Berkeley-born Latin jazz singer-songwriter Alexa Weber Morales. (Los Boleros long-time vocalist Zareen Levien is on maternity leave.) Fluent in French, Spanish, Portuguese and English -- Weber Morales arrives with a long list of accolades from such print media as DownBeat, Latin Beat, the San Jose Mercury News, the Village Voice and the San Francisco Chronicle. Her most recent CDs were produced by triple Grammy nominee Wayne Wallace and a visit to her website www.alexawebermorales.com offers up a number of samplings of her extraordinary vocals.

"And she can really lay down some clever pregones," Furlan said. "Pregones" are performed on the spot vocal improvs.

Furlan also highlighted band vocalist Felix Samuel who joined Los Boleros in 2009.

Samuel is from Havana, Cuba. His father was the legendary "Sammy" Samuel, the lead singer of one of Cuba's most revered and popular Charanga groups, Ritmo Oriental. Felix, who began his professional career at age 19 performing in Havana's renowned Cabaret Parisien, has literally traveled the world with his music - Mexico, South America, Portugal, Mozambique and the list goes on.

"Felix has the ability to engage the audience and keep you connected the whole show," Furlan said. "He will wow listeners with his pregones. Hang on to your seats!" Los Boleros is a working band. They perform locally at such venues as the Pena Pachamama Cultural Center, Yoshi's, Club Ashkenaz, Cascal's and they also play weddings and corporate events. Technology giant Google recently discovered Los Boleros and the band has since played three Google events.

Furlan, who admits he loves playing in his home town, once said about Los Boleros, "Imagine hanging out in Ricky Ricardo's 'Tropicana Havana.' Imagine going back in time and taking a ride to the Buena Vista Social Club. You may not speak or understand Spanish. You may not know how to salsa dance. But as long as you are a person whose life is touched by music, our music will move you."

If you go:

Where: Pacifica Performances Mildred Owen Concert Hall, 1220 Linda Mar Blvd.

When: Saturday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $20 general. $17 seniors (62+) and students with current ID. $15 members. $12 senior/student members. Under 18 free. Available at door 30 minutes before show or in advance online at www.pacificaperformances.org by Friday, noon.

Reserved seats: Available by phone. Minimum purchase six tickets.

Contact: 355-1882 or email [email protected]

Source: www.mercurynews.com/pacifica/ci_17068774?nclick_check=1