Ray Barretto, a percussionist extraordinaire and legend in the Salsa & latin Jazz music community has left the music scene with his death in February 2006 at age 76.
Born of Puerto Rican descendence in Brooklyn during the depression, he lived with his mother in East Harlem, The South Bronx and other "boricua" districts before he joined the army, where in the latter 1940's he heard Dizzy Gillespie's hard bebop. The young man was transfixed by Dizzy Gillespie - Manteca," which featured conguero Chano Pozo.
He started sitting in at a Munich jazz club, and after his discharge, by the early 50's he had bought his own Cuban Cnga drum and was playing regularly at clubs like The Bucket of Blood. Soon Mambo was the rage, and Barretto eventually started playing with Tito Puente in 1957, replacing the famed Mongo Santamaria. He became a band leader on his own by 1961, and had a big hit with his group Charanga Moderna and their boogaloo dance craze single called "el Watusi" in 1963 that was the first Latin record to hit the Billboard top 20, and went Gold.
Barretto is credited by some for bringing the African Conga drum into popular music, and had a crossover appeal that transcended the genre boundries of mainstream music categories. He gained recognition beyond the Puerto Rican music scene, ex. played on many Blue Note albums. He beacme associated with the Latin label Fania in the 1960's and played for three decades in the popular ensemble called the Fania All Stars alongsde Willie Colon, Ruben Blades and others. His 1972 album, "Carnaval", is considered a masterpiece amongst latin Jazz afficianados with the songs "Cocinando Suave" and his interpretation of Gershwin's "Summertime".
Highlights of Barretto's run with the Fania All Stars were their tours of spots like Panama, Puerto Rico and Zaire where they played to 80,000 in Kinshasa before the Ali-Foremen fight. Undoubtedly their sell out concerts at N.Y's Yankee Stadium in 1973 & 1975 would have to be included as well.
In 1975 and 1976, Barretto earned back-to-back Grammy nominations for his solo albums "Barretto" (with the prize-winning song "Guarere") and his double "Barretto Live...Tomorrow". By 1976, although he had stopped performing & touring with his live salsa orchestra, he was regularly voted Best Conga Player in music magazine annual polls. He became interested in jazz fusion forms, and pursued this musical passion despite it's lack of commercial appeal. Barretto felt restricted by the Salsa scene, it's conventions and strict danceable format, and did not like the tag Latin Jazz either.
He teamed with singer Celia Cruz in 1983 for the first of several albums, finally winning a 1990 Grammy with her for their 1989 song "Ritmo En El Corazon". In 1992, he formed the ensemble New World Spirit, and was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
He had recently been named best drummer in the 2005 DownBeat poll, and received the NEA's 2006 Jazz Masters Fellowship before his health declined. His recent albums "Taboo" (1994), "My Summertime" (1998) and his final album 2005's "Time Was - Time Is" all received Grammy nominations for best Latin jazz performance.
Over the years he is said to have recorded more than 70 albums for numerous labels including Riverside, Atlantic, EMI, CTI, Fania, Tico, RCA Victor, Concord Picante, Prestige, Blue Note, Circular Moves, Sunnyside and his last for O+ Music. Amongst his many musical collaborators included Cannonball Adderly, Joe Farrell, Wes Montgomery, Cal Tjader, Charlie Palmieri, George Benson, Lou Donaldson, Dizzy Gillespie, José Curbelo , Adalberto Santiago, Steve Gadd, Hector Lavoe, Yusef Lateef, Gene Ammons, Red Garland, Ray Vega, Oscar Hernandez, Tito Gomez, and even Little Miami Steven Van Zant's Sun City project. At the time of his death in a New Jersey hospital, he was in his late 70's, and had recently had several health setbacks including suffering asthma, compounded by heart attack, bypass surgery, pneumonia , a tracheotomy and just enough damned ailments to take Fuerza Gigante down.
More Barretto Links & Sample MP3'z & Interviews available at
http://lilmikesf.blogspot.com/2006/02/conga-king-ray-barretto-rip.html
Arrepientete
Ray Barretto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Con tus laminos de acero
Porque sabes que te quiero y
Que tu andar me provoca
Pero son tantas las cosas que
Te imaginas de mi
Por eso yo estoy aqui en un estado insistente
Y diciendote arrepientete pa que
Yo vi un niñito nacer con
Un cuartito en la frente
La culpa de los mayores las
Paga los innocentes Arrepientete!
De que le sirve un
Posero descubrir un manantial
Todo tiene que llegar al otro punto del suelo
Arrepientete! Arrepientete! Arrepientete!
Ruegale al los santos de tu devocion que
Yo no te agarre en un callejon
Arrepientete! Arrepientete!
Yo vi un niñito nacer con
Un cuartito en la frente
La culpa de los mayores
Las paga los innocentes de que le sirve un
Posero descubrir un manantial
Todavia tiene que llegar al
Otro punto del suelo
Ahh leee ahhhhh leee ahhhhh leeee ahhhh leeee
Arrepientete! Arrepientete! Arrepientete!
A mi no me vengas con tu paquete
Mira resiendete arrepientete!
Ruegale a dios, ruegale a dios
Ruegale a dios mucho arrepientete!
Arrepientete mulata y ven a gozar vente
Arrepientete! Arrepientete!
Arrepientete! Arrepientete!
Arrepientete! Arrepientete!
Arrepientete! Arrepientete! Arrepientete
Tu ves! Olle mira ruegale a dios
Ruegale a dios portate bien
Arrepientete! Arrepientete!
In Ray Barretto's song "Arrepientete," the lyrics address someone who has become arrogant and delusional about their power and status in a relationship. The singer acknowledges that they are attracted to this person, but also recognizes that the other person has created false expectations and beliefs about the singer that are not based in reality. The repetition of "arrepientete," or "repent," suggests that the singer is making a plea for the other person to recognize their own mistakes and change their ways before it is too late.
The second verse of the song shifts focus to the experience of innocent children who are caught up in the mistakes and sins of their elders. The singer observes a child born with a defect caused by the actions of adults and comments on the unfairness of such circumstances. They then suggest that everything must come back down to earth at some point – the water that is found eventually must return to the ground. The repetition of "arrepientete" in this verse suggests that the singer believes that the people responsible for the harm caused to the child should repent and make amends for their actions.
Overall, the song is a powerful call for reflection and accountability, both on an individual level and a societal level. The images of water and the earth suggest a larger interconnectedness that cannot be ignored or denied, and the repetition of "arrepientete" reinforces the idea that actions have consequences and that repentance is necessary for true change.
Line by Line Meaning
Te haz creido que eres la roca
You believe that you are the foundation
Con tus laminos de acero
With your steel layers
Porque sabes que te quiero y
Because you know that I love you and
Que tu andar me provoca
That your walk provokes me
Pero son tantas las cosas que
But there are so many things that
Te imaginas de mi
You imagine about me
Por eso yo estoy aqui en un estado insistente
That's why I am here in a persistent state
Y diciendote arrepientete pa que
And telling you to repent so that
Te pongas en mi, arrepientete!
You come to me, repent!
Yo vi un niñito nacer con
I saw a little boy born with
Un cuartito en la frente
A little scar on his forehead
La culpa de los mayores las
The fault of the elders is
Paga los innocentes Arrepientete!
Paid by the innocent. Repent!
De que le sirve un
What use is it for
Posero descubrir un manantial
A poser to discover a spring
Todo tiene que llegar al otro punto del suelo
Everything has to reach the other point on the ground
Ruegale al los santos de tu devocion que
Pray to the saints of your devotion that
Yo no te agarre en un callejon
I don't catch you in an alley
A mi no me vengas con tu paquete
Don't come to me with your package
Mira resiendete arrepientete!
Look at yourself and repent!
Ruegale a dios, ruegale a dios
Pray to God, pray to God
Ruegale a dios mucho arrepientete!
Pray to God a lot, repent!
Arrepientete mulata y ven a gozar vente
Repent mixed-race woman and come to enjoy yourself
Tu ves! Olle mira ruegale a dios
You see! Listen, look pray to God
Portate bien Arrepientete!
Behave well. Repent!
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rubenpaulino6109
Rey Barreto nació en otro planeta 🌎 tremendo tema gracias por esta pieza para los amantes de la salsa rumbera.
@edwinb9276
RECUERDO QUE TOQUE ESTE NUMERO CON UNA ORQUESTA EN EL SUR DE LA FLORIDA. TREMENDO NUMERO, CON "LA POTENCIA LATINA". MUCHOS RECUERDOS.
@javierguzman1549
Ray, Orestes y Adalberto, tremendo trio.
@brendalee4824
me da escalofrios...una de las mejores producciones del ´´maestro ray barreto´´ saabrosooo se oye en el 2021... inmejorable ´´adalberto´´ ´´orestes vilató´´ puros moustros
@rtorres2
Se adelantó a sus tiempos. En verdad Barreto fue un Maestro.
@flavioaparicio4502
definitivamente
@LuisMartinez-zd4by
Nunca pasará de moda tremenda SALSA
@jorgesandoval6608
UFFF PERO QUE TEMAZOOOOOOOO
@luisbendito2278
Candela de verdad está pieza
@manuelvaldiviezo9827
Tremenda destreza Musical ,tremenda Orquesta Ray Barreto,el gran Oreste Vilato en los Tinbales y ni hablar del grran Canntante Adalberto Santiago,que tienpos que Calidad,