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
De donde vengo
Ray Barretto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Se me confunde con el cielo
Y el, aroma de leña quemada
Es propio de este invierno
De donde vengo yo
Las flores duran todo el año
Un azulejo se levanta y me cuenta
Y las chicharras en verano
Serenan, atrapan tantas melodías
De donde vengo yo el acento cantado se oye
oohhh ohhh ooohh
De donde vengo y dime quien soy
Y aun así no se a donde voy
De donde vengo y dime quien soy
Y aun así no se a donde voy Cariño que te tengo lo siento, lo llevo en cada esquina
Y busque busque halla a lo lejos, a lo que te miro encontrando acá
De donde vengo yo un acento argentino se oye
Oooooh oooooh oooooh ooohhhhh oooohhh
De donde vengo y dime quien soy
Y aun así no se a donde voy
De donde vengo y dime quien soy
Y aun así no se a donde voy Hay de donde vengo ahí de donde vengo
De donde vengo dime quien soy
De donde vengo dime quien soy
De donde vengo dime quien soy
Y aun así no se asía donde voy
The lyrics to Ray Barretto's song De donde vengo paint a vivid picture of the artist's home and cultural roots. The first verse describes the scenery near a silver river, which appears to be confusing with the sky. The smell of burned wood in the winter time is common in this area. The second verse mentions a blue tile that rises and tells stories of ancestors, while the cicadas in the summertime produce soothing melodies. The chorus repeats the title of the song, which means "Where I Come From," and highlights the confusion of one's identity despite knowing their origins.
The lyrics also mention the presence of an Argentinian accent, adding to the diversity of cultural influences in the artist's upbringing. The repetition of "De donde vengo y dime quien soy" (Where I come from and tell me who I am) underscores the idea that our surroundings shape our identity, but ultimately, it is up to us to determine where we are going.
The song's lyrics are both nostalgic and reflective, expressing gratitude for one's origins but also acknowledging the bittersweet uncertainty of the future. It speaks to anyone who has experienced the feeling of being rooted in a certain culture or place but still feeling lost or disconnected.
Line by Line Meaning
La vilinea del rió plateado
The winding of the silver river
Se me confunde con el cielo
Confuses me with the sky
Y el, aroma de leña quemada
And the scent of burnt wood
Es propio de este invierno
Is characteristic of this winter
De donde vengo yo
Where I come from
Las flores duran todo el año
Flowers last all year
Un azulejo se levanta y me cuenta
A tile rises and tells me
Historias de antepasados
Stories of ancestors
Y las chicharras en verano
And the cicadas in the summer
Serenan, atrapan tantas melodías
Soothe, capture so many melodies
De donde vengo yo el acento cantado se oye
Where I come from, the sung accent is heard
oohhh ohhh ooohh
oohhh ohhh ooohh
De donde vengo y dime quien soy
From where I come and tell me who I am
Y aun así no se a donde voy
And yet I don't know where I'm going
Cariño que te tengo lo siento, lo llevo en cada esquina
Darling, I feel the love I have for you, I carry it in every corner
Y busque busque halla a lo lejos, a lo que te miro encontrando acá
And I searched and searched from afar, what I see in you, I find here
De donde vengo yo un acento argentino se oye
Where I come from, an Argentinean accent is heard
Oooooh oooooh oooooh ooohhhhh oooohhh
Oooooh oooooh oooooh ooohhhhh oooohhh
Hay de donde vengo ahí de donde vengo
There is where I come from, there is where I come from
De donde vengo dime quien soy
From where I come, tell me who I am
Y aun así no se asía donde voy
And yet I don't know where I'm headed
Writer(s): Carmen Fernandez, Louis Cruz
Contributed by Sydney K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
lopz33
¡Tremendo clásico de Ray Barretto cantando Adalberto Santiago!
lopz33
Un día como hoy, 23 de abril de 1937, nació en Ciales, Puerto Rico, el legendario cantautor Adalberto Santiago. Maestro, felicitaciones. 🎵🎤🖋🎶🎉🎊🎂😀😀😀😀😀
Armando Rosado
tremendo band,,todos músico de gran altura,,8 músico que suenan como 16
Freddyconga Delgdo
esto si es music RAY BARRETTO AND ADALBERTO SANTIAGO . SALSA.
Miguel El Salsero
Saludos mi gente , esté disco me guste , lo tengo y no me canso de escucharlo , y q viva la salsa ,
Richard Figueroa
Tremendos recuerdos de mi salsera ninez.
seranto100
hey.... muchas gracias por tremendo tema...que viva la raza latina...hoy y siempre..!!!!
wasicoki33
esto si es music...pa que afinquen....
Groelfi montoya vasquez
esa manera de sonar los cueros. saludos!
Son del Corazon
Salsaludos Lucky L.
Gracias por Share
Sabrosura !!!