Spanglish Fly

Before salsa music, as marketed by Fania Records, came to dominate the Latin music scene, there was a short-lived fad that spread through East Harlem and the Bronx called Latin bugalú or Latin boogaloo. Led by musicians like Johnny Colon, Pete Rodriguez, Richie Ray, and Joe Bataan, this music was a mix of R&B with Cuban music, often sung in English. This music of the late 1960s spoke to a generation of Nuyoricans who weren’t interested in the mambo of their parents but were interested in what other young people of the era were listening to on the radio. Today a new wave of bands are bringing back those sounds led by Spanglish Fly, which is part band, part celebration: ten musicians igniting a party that quickly spreads to the audience, a fever of musical joy that infects everyone in reach. Spanglish Fly is “single-handedly reviving sixties bugalú in NYC” (NBC New York), the mix of Latin and soul/R&B music that emerged from the clubs, the street corners, the transistor radios and the pool halls of 1960s Spanish Harlem, a/k/a “El Barrio”–an irresistible hybrid that blends traditional Afro- Caribbean rhythms with the fervor, the feeling, and the harmonics of 60s-era soul. Spanglish Fly “roars through covers, originals, and transformations of previously untouched soul hits” (Village Voice), paying homage to the boogaloo genre while refreshing it for a new generation, adding a contemporary perspective to the music while maintaining its timeless groove. Spanglish Fly’s multicultural cast has origins in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Ecuador, Venezuela, Canada, “Loisaida” and Upper Manhattan, coming together in New York City to play quintessential music of the urban USA. With vocals in both English and Spanish, appropriately enough, the band features four brash horns, swinging bass and piano, group choruses, and a sizzling 3-piece percussion section. Spanglish Fly’s fans, whether they’ve been listening to boogaloo since back in the day or just since yesterday, shake their thing to the band’s stirring melodies, danceable grooves, and instant crowd engagement.