Sylvia Pfeiffenberger

Mambo, bolero, swing and guaguanco … swirling taffeta and two-toned shoes … orchids pinned to organza and dark blue lapels … these are some of the nostalgic sounds and images conjured by An Unforgettable Night, a live concert of the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra led by Arturo O’Farrill. The album, featuring guest vocalists Claudia Acuña and […]

Reggaeton bashing has emerged as a genre among those of us who, for the most part lovingly, chronicle Latin music. Hometown commentators in markets from Miami to Denver complain that reggaeton’s popularity is squeezing salseros off the dancefloor. I come not to player hate, but to reflect upon the hubbub as a longtime salsa devotee […]

When I saw Pedro Martinez pull a bandana out of some hidden pocket, and I knew what was coming next: By the time I’d made my frantic way to the front, he was already stripped bare to his chest. Pedro’s facial expression gets otherworldly when he’s playing rhythms for los santos, or even dancing a […]

New Orleans’ finest, Los Hombres Calientes, convened in Raleigh in September from across the evacuation zone: Baton Rouge, Atlanta, Houston. Some were missing relatives; some were playing on borrowed instruments. Most hadn’t seen their homes in three weeks. “It’s like a bad dream, but I’m very optimistic,” says bassist David Palphus. It was their first […]

While bearing witness to a metamorphosis that changed the world, few have had the presence of mind to press the shutter and hit record. Thank the orishas, Mary Kent did. Mary Kent is a woman who loves salsa. But more than that, she’s a photographer who has had intimate backstage access to Celia Cruz, Tito […]