In 1970 there were 3 local salsa bands in Puerta De Tierra (San Juan) : La … Read Full Bio ↴In 1970 there were 3 local salsa bands in Puerta De Tierra (San Juan) : La Corporacion Latina, Rafy Leavitt and La Selecta and Carpet Diem (The band leader is now the very famous piano player, arranger and director of RMM : Isidro Infante).
In 1970 La Corporacion Latina was a very small group in the style of Joe Cuba (had percussion, vibe, guitar, piano, bass, 1 trombone and 1 singer). In 1971 the band decided to add trumpets and another trombone player, Richard who was their trombone player decided to join another local salsa band ( Rafy Leavitt and La Selecta ) with the idea of stealing Rafy Leavitt’s horn players and have them join La Corporacion Latina, but Richard soon found out that La Selecta was going to record their first song and he liked the band and joined La Selecta and left La Corporacion Latina. Rafy Leavitt and La Selecta recorded a single titled "AMBIENTE" but it did not get any airplay. During that same time Johnny Delgado and I started playing at church and Johnny had written some original salsa tunes and after church we would work on these songs, one day Charlie Collazo who was the piano player of La Corporacion Latina heard us and asked us to join the band. From 1971 and 1972 Johnny and I were the horn section for La Corporacion Latina. We would play anywhere, anytime ( most of the time for free ). In 1972 Rafy Leavitt and La Selecta recorded the hit PAYASO and became very famous, we decided that we needed to add more horns to the band and added Felix (1st Trumpet player) and Rodney (2nd trombone player) We started to write all original songs ( most of them by Johnny Delgado and Felix Martinez ), we also added a second singer Guelo Cruz who had played with the band as the bass player years before. In 1972 La Corporacion Latina members were : Felix Martinez 1st trumpet, Joe Campanella 2nd trumpet (me), Johnny Delgado 1st trombone, Rodney Lozada 2nd Trombone, Josie Gonzalez timbal, Papo Mazacote Bongo, Jose Ramos Congas, Charlie Collazo Piano, German Papo Velez Bass, Guelo Cruz Singer, Joe Belo Singer and Ramon Lozada Director ( He was the only one at the time that had a Job and a car and we could rehearse in his house ). We remained together for six years ! We wrote all our songs and did all the arrangements as a group. In 1972-73 we recorded our first LP, we had a small local hit titled "Amor Maldito". This first LP was done at the local TV station channel 7 in a small studio where they did jingles, we hired the sound director to sneak us in at 2:AM in the morning, recorded the whole LP on 8 channels and had to be done at 5:00 AM that same day. We knew it would not be a very good LP and did not record our best material, the whole purpose was to get something out and try to get some local radio playing time ( which we did with Amor Maldito )
We rehearsed everyday, played everywhere ( If you were getting married and I just met you I would offer you the band for a couple of bottles of rum ! ) we just wanted to play and get better, we soon found out that our singers had great harmony and started to do boleros with them. Guelo brought to the band three songs and suggested we make a medley out of them , we named the song Desengaño ( Guelo was the person who prepared all the harmonies, and brought all the boleros to the band, he was separated from his wife who he loved very much and all these songs were about how he loved her, how much he missed her , how much pain and suffering he was in and wanted her back ).
In 1974 we recorded our LP "ORQUESTA LA CORPORACION LATINA" We decided to invite the original guitar player ( Manolo Sastre ) and the Vibe player ( Alwin Janer ) to record the bolero Desengaño ( no horns ). Much to our surprise our first single "Solo He Vivido" reached number 1 in the hit parade followed by "Eres tu mi amor" (# 1 hit) and then we had the hit of the year "Desengaño". This song broke all records for staying number one on the charts ( 11 weeks number 1 ), We also had two other top ten hits "Trompeta Y Bongo" and "Que Pasa", from this LP. We won our first GOLD record, we were voted best new band of the year, we also signed a contract to tour the US ( east coast NY, NJ, Boston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, etc and Chicago ) Three times a year for five years. Since Desengaño was such a big hit we added the guitar player Manolo to the group. The songs on this LP were heard till the middle of 1975.
In 1975-76 we recorded our next LP " Corporacion Latina Is Here, Try it and Your Like It ". Our first hit from this LP was Vagabundo (#1), Amigo (#1), Siciliana (Top 10 hit) and since Desengaño was such a big hit we recorded another medley and named it Desengaño part II (# 1). We won our second GOLD record.
The band by this time was very popular, we did all the TV shows ( El Show GOYA, Jueves de Gala, Show de las Doce, Cambia Cambia, Salsa Sabado en Las Noche, etc ) and we were playing almost everyday and sometimes during the weekend twice a night. A radio station WKVM hold a salsa contest with all the schools in Puerto Rico, the school that won could choose any salsa band they wanted to play for them. The school that won was LA CENTRAL in Santurce and they asked for us. Also that same station decided to have a annual contest for x-Mas and let the people decide who were the top five bands in PR and have them play in a free concert, They had this contest for two years and we were voted the most popular band both times, Rafy Leavitt and La Selecta were voted 2nd both times and El Gran Combo was third both times. ( 4th and 5th places the first year was Roberto Rohena and the Apollo Sound and Tommy Olivencia, the 2nd year the 4th place was Eddie Palmieri and 5th Justo Betancount ). http://ourworld.cs.com/melenj585/kvm1.jpg http://ourworld.cs.com/melenj585/kvm2.jpg
We started to have problems with people in the band, some of them were getting into drugs, some of them were married but had gotten girls pregnant, other's were drinking a lot. I was drinking a bottle of Johnny Walker Black per night. The lead singer Belo started to lose his voice, he started to forget the lyrics, vomit on stage, fall off the stage, he was a full time drug addict. We had to replace him in the band, we found another singer which we nicknamed MELO, who could do Belo songs ( by this time most of the lead singing was done by Guelo ). He was the first person that we had replaced in the band since we started.
We also were having problems with our producer, he was selling our master tape recordings to other Latin American Countries and keeping all that money for himself. He only paid us to record our LP’s, we never got any residuals for sales of our records. When we found out what was going on the producer tried to sell the rights to the band to FANIA Records and to COCO records ( which had recorded Palmieri ), Johnny Pacheco from Fania would go to our gigs in NY, sit in with the band and play flute with us and tried to signed us, Also COCO records offered $250,000.00 to our producer for our exclusive rights. We were in the middle of recording our next LP ( half of it was recorded in PR, the other half was recorded in the FANIA Studios in NY ) and decided to wait and see after this LP was out to decide what we were going to do.
In 1977 we recorded what was going to be the last LP of the Corporacion Latina with all it’s original members( except Belo ). The LP "Corporacion Latina Llego Para Quedarse" The first single Sufrir was number one in the hit parade, When we recorded this song Guelo asked that all the lights be turned off in the studio and sang the song, when he finished it and the lights were turned on he was crying. Ahora Si Soy Feliz (Top 10 hit), Patria Verdadera (top 10 hit), Silencio (#1) and then Serenata Jibara (#1), ( this was a big hit especially with the PuertoRicans living outside of Puerto Rico ) were the most popular songs. We won our third GOLD record.
By this time we had a lot of problems, 4 or 5 people were into drugs, heavy drinking, etc. We just completed our last year of touring the US. I was drinking a lot and we still had the problems with who we were going to record our next LP with. We decided to have a meeting. During this meeting I just decided to call it quits ! I was very tired, I wanted to go back to school. Then Guelo said he was also leaving because he was offered a solo contract.
I completed my contracts with the band (1978), by that time Moncho (band director) decided to clean house because FANIA and COCO records were now afraid to sign the band since they lost Guelo. Felix Martinez started his own band and left, Johnny Delgado was drinking a lot and also left the band, Guelo signed a solo contract and left the band, they replaced us with new people and recorded the next LP with our promoter in Puerto Rico, the band didn’t have a hit, people were used to our sound and style and they were different. Felix and Johnny and Guelo were the ones that wrote and brought most of the songs to the band and they were gone. Guelo Recorded a Solo LP but his producer changed the sound and he didn’t had a hit, people were used to him with our sound and style. La Corporacion Latina Recorded more LP’s but never had a top ten hit much less a number one hit since Serenata Jibara, Moncho tried one more time to bring back the original members for one last try, Guelo re-joined the band, I didn’t since I was already working in Computers and didn’t want to go back and start drinking again. Felix didn’t but all the others did. They recorded and it sounded just like the old Corporacion Latina but they didn’t have a hit because that sound and style was over ! People wanted to hear Merengues and not boleros. After that the band broke up for good. The following musicians have passed away : Joe Belo (singer), German Velez (bass), Melo (singer), Guelo called a radio station in PR and asked them to play Sufrir and hanged himself (still in love with his ex wife after all those years), Two of the remaining living band members are not doing too good (drinking problems, etc), the rest are ok and living in PR. None of them are playing.
Our records are still being played in PR, I went to PR three years ago and in the lobby of my hotel the local band were playing our boleros, I heard our songs on the radio. The last couple of years someone has released three CD’s of our songs, called " Hits De La Gran Era De La Corporacion Latina" ( included songs from our 2rd and 3rd LP’s ), "EXITOS ROMANTICOS DE LA CORPORACION LATINA" has the boleros from all our LP’s and it also includes 4 boleros that Guelo had recorded as a solist. This CD produced our last #1 hit Quien Tiene Tu Amor and also had a 10 ten hit with Esta Sellado and " 16 INMORTALES EXITOS DE LA ORIGINAL CORPORACION LATINA" Has songs from all 4 LP’s. We had the honor of playing with and sharing the same stage with the best salsa bands in the 70's. In Puerto Rico :
La Sonora Ponceña, El Gran Combo, La Selecta, Bobby Valentin, Willie Rosario, Impacto Crea, Roberto y su Nuevo Montuno, El Sabor de Nacho, Roberto Rohena and los Apollo Sound, Justo Betancount and LA Borincuba, Richie Rey and Bobby Cruz, Cheo Feliciano, Ismael Miranda and his orq, Tommy Olivencia, Chivirico Davila, Santos Colon and many others.
In New York : Eddie Palmieri with Lalo Rodriquez, Tipica 73 with Adalberto Santiago and Tito Allen, Ray Barreto with Tito Allen , Tito Gomez and Ruben Blades, Larry Harlow with Jr Gonzalez, Johnny Pacheco , Bobby Rodriquez and la Compania, La Conspiracion, Tipica Novel, Charanga 76, Orq Broadway, Cortijo y su Combo, Ismael Rivera, Mon Rivera, Hector La Voz, Conjunto Libre, Frankie Dante and Orq Flamboyan, Roberto Torres, Tito Puente, Lebron Brothers, Charlie Palmieri with Vitin Aviles, Sonora Mantancera with Yayo El Indio, Luis Perico Ortiz with Rafael De Jesus, Ismael Quintana, Yomo Toro, Willie Colon and others.
In regards to myself, After leaving the band I went and completed my degree in Computer Science and started working in this field, I never joined another salsa band nor rejoined the Corporacion Latina when they tried to regroup the band. The only trumpet playing I did was at x-Mas time (parandas). In 1988 I was offered a job at my company headquarters in California. After a year in California I really started missing Salsa music and I started to play with a local salsa group (Salsa Connection). I played with them for about a year but then it started to affect my work and I left the band. Now I only play once in a while when friends need a trumpet player to sit in for someone else.
The History of La Corporación Latina (By Joe Campanella, original band member)
In 1970 La Corporacion Latina was a very small group in the style of Joe Cuba (had percussion, vibe, guitar, piano, bass, 1 trombone and 1 singer). In 1971 the band decided to add trumpets and another trombone player, Richard who was their trombone player decided to join another local salsa band ( Rafy Leavitt and La Selecta ) with the idea of stealing Rafy Leavitt’s horn players and have them join La Corporacion Latina, but Richard soon found out that La Selecta was going to record their first song and he liked the band and joined La Selecta and left La Corporacion Latina. Rafy Leavitt and La Selecta recorded a single titled "AMBIENTE" but it did not get any airplay. During that same time Johnny Delgado and I started playing at church and Johnny had written some original salsa tunes and after church we would work on these songs, one day Charlie Collazo who was the piano player of La Corporacion Latina heard us and asked us to join the band. From 1971 and 1972 Johnny and I were the horn section for La Corporacion Latina. We would play anywhere, anytime ( most of the time for free ). In 1972 Rafy Leavitt and La Selecta recorded the hit PAYASO and became very famous, we decided that we needed to add more horns to the band and added Felix (1st Trumpet player) and Rodney (2nd trombone player) We started to write all original songs ( most of them by Johnny Delgado and Felix Martinez ), we also added a second singer Guelo Cruz who had played with the band as the bass player years before. In 1972 La Corporacion Latina members were : Felix Martinez 1st trumpet, Joe Campanella 2nd trumpet (me), Johnny Delgado 1st trombone, Rodney Lozada 2nd Trombone, Josie Gonzalez timbal, Papo Mazacote Bongo, Jose Ramos Congas, Charlie Collazo Piano, German Papo Velez Bass, Guelo Cruz Singer, Joe Belo Singer and Ramon Lozada Director ( He was the only one at the time that had a Job and a car and we could rehearse in his house ). We remained together for six years ! We wrote all our songs and did all the arrangements as a group. In 1972-73 we recorded our first LP, we had a small local hit titled "Amor Maldito". This first LP was done at the local TV station channel 7 in a small studio where they did jingles, we hired the sound director to sneak us in at 2:AM in the morning, recorded the whole LP on 8 channels and had to be done at 5:00 AM that same day. We knew it would not be a very good LP and did not record our best material, the whole purpose was to get something out and try to get some local radio playing time ( which we did with Amor Maldito )
We rehearsed everyday, played everywhere ( If you were getting married and I just met you I would offer you the band for a couple of bottles of rum ! ) we just wanted to play and get better, we soon found out that our singers had great harmony and started to do boleros with them. Guelo brought to the band three songs and suggested we make a medley out of them , we named the song Desengaño ( Guelo was the person who prepared all the harmonies, and brought all the boleros to the band, he was separated from his wife who he loved very much and all these songs were about how he loved her, how much he missed her , how much pain and suffering he was in and wanted her back ).
In 1974 we recorded our LP "ORQUESTA LA CORPORACION LATINA" We decided to invite the original guitar player ( Manolo Sastre ) and the Vibe player ( Alwin Janer ) to record the bolero Desengaño ( no horns ). Much to our surprise our first single "Solo He Vivido" reached number 1 in the hit parade followed by "Eres tu mi amor" (# 1 hit) and then we had the hit of the year "Desengaño". This song broke all records for staying number one on the charts ( 11 weeks number 1 ), We also had two other top ten hits "Trompeta Y Bongo" and "Que Pasa", from this LP. We won our first GOLD record, we were voted best new band of the year, we also signed a contract to tour the US ( east coast NY, NJ, Boston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, etc and Chicago ) Three times a year for five years. Since Desengaño was such a big hit we added the guitar player Manolo to the group. The songs on this LP were heard till the middle of 1975.
In 1975-76 we recorded our next LP " Corporacion Latina Is Here, Try it and Your Like It ". Our first hit from this LP was Vagabundo (#1), Amigo (#1), Siciliana (Top 10 hit) and since Desengaño was such a big hit we recorded another medley and named it Desengaño part II (# 1). We won our second GOLD record.
The band by this time was very popular, we did all the TV shows ( El Show GOYA, Jueves de Gala, Show de las Doce, Cambia Cambia, Salsa Sabado en Las Noche, etc ) and we were playing almost everyday and sometimes during the weekend twice a night. A radio station WKVM hold a salsa contest with all the schools in Puerto Rico, the school that won could choose any salsa band they wanted to play for them. The school that won was LA CENTRAL in Santurce and they asked for us. Also that same station decided to have a annual contest for x-Mas and let the people decide who were the top five bands in PR and have them play in a free concert, They had this contest for two years and we were voted the most popular band both times, Rafy Leavitt and La Selecta were voted 2nd both times and El Gran Combo was third both times. ( 4th and 5th places the first year was Roberto Rohena and the Apollo Sound and Tommy Olivencia, the 2nd year the 4th place was Eddie Palmieri and 5th Justo Betancount ). http://ourworld.cs.com/melenj585/kvm1.jpg http://ourworld.cs.com/melenj585/kvm2.jpg
We started to have problems with people in the band, some of them were getting into drugs, some of them were married but had gotten girls pregnant, other's were drinking a lot. I was drinking a bottle of Johnny Walker Black per night. The lead singer Belo started to lose his voice, he started to forget the lyrics, vomit on stage, fall off the stage, he was a full time drug addict. We had to replace him in the band, we found another singer which we nicknamed MELO, who could do Belo songs ( by this time most of the lead singing was done by Guelo ). He was the first person that we had replaced in the band since we started.
We also were having problems with our producer, he was selling our master tape recordings to other Latin American Countries and keeping all that money for himself. He only paid us to record our LP’s, we never got any residuals for sales of our records. When we found out what was going on the producer tried to sell the rights to the band to FANIA Records and to COCO records ( which had recorded Palmieri ), Johnny Pacheco from Fania would go to our gigs in NY, sit in with the band and play flute with us and tried to signed us, Also COCO records offered $250,000.00 to our producer for our exclusive rights. We were in the middle of recording our next LP ( half of it was recorded in PR, the other half was recorded in the FANIA Studios in NY ) and decided to wait and see after this LP was out to decide what we were going to do.
In 1977 we recorded what was going to be the last LP of the Corporacion Latina with all it’s original members( except Belo ). The LP "Corporacion Latina Llego Para Quedarse" The first single Sufrir was number one in the hit parade, When we recorded this song Guelo asked that all the lights be turned off in the studio and sang the song, when he finished it and the lights were turned on he was crying. Ahora Si Soy Feliz (Top 10 hit), Patria Verdadera (top 10 hit), Silencio (#1) and then Serenata Jibara (#1), ( this was a big hit especially with the PuertoRicans living outside of Puerto Rico ) were the most popular songs. We won our third GOLD record.
By this time we had a lot of problems, 4 or 5 people were into drugs, heavy drinking, etc. We just completed our last year of touring the US. I was drinking a lot and we still had the problems with who we were going to record our next LP with. We decided to have a meeting. During this meeting I just decided to call it quits ! I was very tired, I wanted to go back to school. Then Guelo said he was also leaving because he was offered a solo contract.
I completed my contracts with the band (1978), by that time Moncho (band director) decided to clean house because FANIA and COCO records were now afraid to sign the band since they lost Guelo. Felix Martinez started his own band and left, Johnny Delgado was drinking a lot and also left the band, Guelo signed a solo contract and left the band, they replaced us with new people and recorded the next LP with our promoter in Puerto Rico, the band didn’t have a hit, people were used to our sound and style and they were different. Felix and Johnny and Guelo were the ones that wrote and brought most of the songs to the band and they were gone. Guelo Recorded a Solo LP but his producer changed the sound and he didn’t had a hit, people were used to him with our sound and style. La Corporacion Latina Recorded more LP’s but never had a top ten hit much less a number one hit since Serenata Jibara, Moncho tried one more time to bring back the original members for one last try, Guelo re-joined the band, I didn’t since I was already working in Computers and didn’t want to go back and start drinking again. Felix didn’t but all the others did. They recorded and it sounded just like the old Corporacion Latina but they didn’t have a hit because that sound and style was over ! People wanted to hear Merengues and not boleros. After that the band broke up for good. The following musicians have passed away : Joe Belo (singer), German Velez (bass), Melo (singer), Guelo called a radio station in PR and asked them to play Sufrir and hanged himself (still in love with his ex wife after all those years), Two of the remaining living band members are not doing too good (drinking problems, etc), the rest are ok and living in PR. None of them are playing.
Our records are still being played in PR, I went to PR three years ago and in the lobby of my hotel the local band were playing our boleros, I heard our songs on the radio. The last couple of years someone has released three CD’s of our songs, called " Hits De La Gran Era De La Corporacion Latina" ( included songs from our 2rd and 3rd LP’s ), "EXITOS ROMANTICOS DE LA CORPORACION LATINA" has the boleros from all our LP’s and it also includes 4 boleros that Guelo had recorded as a solist. This CD produced our last #1 hit Quien Tiene Tu Amor and also had a 10 ten hit with Esta Sellado and " 16 INMORTALES EXITOS DE LA ORIGINAL CORPORACION LATINA" Has songs from all 4 LP’s. We had the honor of playing with and sharing the same stage with the best salsa bands in the 70's. In Puerto Rico :
La Sonora Ponceña, El Gran Combo, La Selecta, Bobby Valentin, Willie Rosario, Impacto Crea, Roberto y su Nuevo Montuno, El Sabor de Nacho, Roberto Rohena and los Apollo Sound, Justo Betancount and LA Borincuba, Richie Rey and Bobby Cruz, Cheo Feliciano, Ismael Miranda and his orq, Tommy Olivencia, Chivirico Davila, Santos Colon and many others.
In New York : Eddie Palmieri with Lalo Rodriquez, Tipica 73 with Adalberto Santiago and Tito Allen, Ray Barreto with Tito Allen , Tito Gomez and Ruben Blades, Larry Harlow with Jr Gonzalez, Johnny Pacheco , Bobby Rodriquez and la Compania, La Conspiracion, Tipica Novel, Charanga 76, Orq Broadway, Cortijo y su Combo, Ismael Rivera, Mon Rivera, Hector La Voz, Conjunto Libre, Frankie Dante and Orq Flamboyan, Roberto Torres, Tito Puente, Lebron Brothers, Charlie Palmieri with Vitin Aviles, Sonora Mantancera with Yayo El Indio, Luis Perico Ortiz with Rafael De Jesus, Ismael Quintana, Yomo Toro, Willie Colon and others.
In regards to myself, After leaving the band I went and completed my degree in Computer Science and started working in this field, I never joined another salsa band nor rejoined the Corporacion Latina when they tried to regroup the band. The only trumpet playing I did was at x-Mas time (parandas). In 1988 I was offered a job at my company headquarters in California. After a year in California I really started missing Salsa music and I started to play with a local salsa group (Salsa Connection). I played with them for about a year but then it started to affect my work and I left the band. Now I only play once in a while when friends need a trumpet player to sit in for someone else.
The History of La Corporación Latina (By Joe Campanella, original band member)
Canto A Mi Tierra
Corporacion Latina Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Canto A Mi Tierra' by these artists:
Binomio De Oro En el cafetal donde yo nací en Villanueva Nació mi cantar…
Los Morochucos Quiero cantarle a mi tierra Versos de mi inspiración (bis) …
Los Niches Una aventura Es mas bonita Si no miramos, el tiempo en el…
Los Silver Star Que linda es mi tierra honduras Holle que sabroso suena este…
Oscar Aviles Quiero cantarle a mi tierra Versos de mi inspiración Verso…
Zambo Cavero Quiero cantarle a mi tierra Versos de mi inspiración Ay! ver…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Corporacion Latina:
Amigo Me dijo así Yo soy tu amigo fiel Y en su…
Besos De Hiel Encontré, en mi camino y el destino nos unió luz de esperanz…
Desengano Pero esta vez Quiero entregarme a ti en una forma…
Desengano Parte I Pero esta vez Quiero entregarme a ti en una forma…
Desengano Parte II Poco a poco se fue haciendo Como alma de mi…
Eres tu mi amor Soñar Bajo un cielo estrellado Que tu estas a mi lado…
Silencio Duermen en mi jardin las blancas azucenas los nardos y las r…
Solo He Vivido Un niño solo que llora Porque todo lo ha perdido, El niño…
Sufrir Sufrir, esperando vendrás Es toda, mi razón de existir Viv…
Vagabundo Vagabundo y triste Solo yo he vivido Todo lo que tengo Yo lo…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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