Dominican salsa singer José Alberto 'El Canario', who is giving a concert this Wednesday in Puerto Rico to celebrate his 50-year career, assures EFE that the salsa genre "has remained in first place" among other rhythms, despite the fact that some try to unseat it.
"The salsa for me has always been in first place, because I have never, in my fifty years, stopped. I have worked all my life without stopping. The only thing that stopped me was the pandemic, and from my house I made the book of my experiences that is in corrections," said José Alberto Justiniano Andújar, first name of this veteran salsa singer.
The singer highlighted that salsa has gained new momentum with Bad Bunny's musical project 'Debí Tirar Más Fotos', in which he included salsa and the Puerto Rican autochthonous rhythms of bomba and plena, which has helped them shine even more worldwide.
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"I thank Bad Bunny for the movement and what he has ventured for the native music and the new generations that are interested in this music," he assured
José Alberto was born on December 22, 1957, in the Villa Consuelo neighborhood of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, where the genres of merengue and bachata predominate, but at the age of 7, he moved with his mother to Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico is its "most important" "plaza"
For the veteran salsa singer, Puerto Rico is "the source" of what he has performed for more than half a century and "the most important place" in his career.
"Here is where the real salsa artists are. I have always felt very grateful to my colleagues, who always say yes whenever I call them or arrange a meeting," commented the interpreter of hits like 'Discúlpeme Señora', 'Ese es mi amigo' or 'Hoy quiero confesar'.
In his case, being Dominican, "never" has been an obstacle to stand out in the salsa genre, where musicians of other nationalities, especially Puerto Ricans, predominate.
"I am one of the few salsa artists who has been accepted, included, by this land and the Puerto Ricans. The Puerto Ricans have always given me their admiration, applause, and I have always had open doors," he emphasized.
An example of this will be seen at his concert this Wednesday at the Coca-Cola Music Hall, in San Juan, where he will have as guests veteran salsa singers Tito Nieves, Charlie Aponte and Don Perignon, as well as singers from the new school of salsa Luis Vázquez, Carlos García and Christian Alicea.
"Contagious" with the Sauce in New York
At the age of ten, three years after moving to Puerto Rico, his mother decided to settle in New York, where most of the salsa orchestras and singers known today emerged.
"I got infected with this and it has gone very well for me; I have no complaints," said 'El Canario', who in New York was recruited at the age of fourteen to participate as a bongo player in the group Chorolo y su Combo.
The young musician continued his career in other orchestras such as La Sonora del Caribe, that of César Nicolás, and La Típica 73, where he remained as the main performer for several years.
At the end of 1982, José Alberto decided to form his own orchestra, with which he recorded his first album, 'Típicamente', followed by 'Canta Canario'.
The artist was also a precursor in the eighties, along with other salsa singers, of romantic salsa, and stood out as a sonero, an improviser in the shows, where he took the opportunity to go into a duel with other singers such as the deceased Cano Estremera or Lalo Rodríguez, and Domingo Quiñones.
José Alberto stated that he "misses" those duels, although he didn't like it when it "got too personal": "I deviate from the patterns when singing live... I'm a mess", he admitted.
Spanish
