Mariachi Madness
Hollywood
festival showcases the best Mariachis in the world!
 It's a Mariachi music lover's dream come true as
the 10th annual MARIACHI USA Festival returns to the Hollywood
Bowl in Los Angeles on June 19 and 20.
The four-hour music Festival will feature
Mariachi bands from San Antonio, Guadalajara, and Los Angeles
among other cities and will also include a performance by the
Ballet Folklorico Tonantzin and a spectacular fireworks show.
The Festival, which celebrates culture,
family, and tradition has become an entertainment institution
that you won't want to miss. For ticket information, please call
1-800-MARIACHI USA, or visit www.mariachiusa.com.
 Salvador!
DJ Salvador is one of the hottest Latino deejays in the scene, both in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
DJ Salvador isa deejay who has taken the West Coast Latino
club scene by storm5. For years, this talented musician has been
giving club goers the best in House, Rock, Pop, Cumbia, and Hip
Hop. In Los Angeles, he holds resident deejay status at clubs
like Arena, Michelle's XXX, Hot Box, and Machismo, while in the
Bay Area, he deejays at Pan Dulce and Club Papi. Salvador needs
no fancy promotional imagery to showcase his talent; instead
he's guided by music alone. So take a minute and get to know
DJ Salvador!
How did you get started in deejaying?
Well, I would say it was the first
time I got behind my brother-in-law's mobile deejay coffin about
15 years ago. That's when I knew that for the rest of my life,
I would somehow be involved with mixing music-and all the magic
that comes with it.
What was your first deejaying job? It was for the promoter Orlando of More and Citrusonic
at a club called "Cha Cha Groove." I got the job because
my demo tape had a very New York feel-which was exactly what
they were looking for.
You now spin at various Latino clubs
in Northern and Southern California. How are the Bay Area clubs
different from LA ones? They are
very similar-with Arena and Club Papi having an almost an identical
music format. But the high level of energy is prominent at all
the clubs. Maybe, that has something to do with them all having
the same deejay!
You also spin at several women's clubs
(Hot Box and XXX). Can you tell me a bit about the differences? The music is completely different in almost every
club that I hold residence. That's something that I take into
consideration before I take on a job. Because I work 5-6 nights
a week, I need a variety to keep from burning out.
What type of music do you prefer mixing? There's no real preference. The music that's easiest
to mix is House. It's a bit more challenging to mix Cumbia, Salsa,
and Hip-Hop, but when you hear them screaming at Pan Dulce for
Salsa, Arena for Cumbias and Michelles's XXX for Hip-Hop it makes
it worth the extra effort.
What is your favorite club to spin at-men's
or women's? (Laughs) That's an
unfair question to ask a QV deejay! Of course, I favor clubs
for QV men, but I can also say that I truly enjoy working at
(the women's clubs) Michelle's and Hot Box.
Out of everything you play, what songs
do you consider essential to have? My
personal favorites are "In the Mix" by Mixmasters,
"You Used to Hold Me (Acapella)" by Xaviera Gold, "Din
Da Da" by George Kranz, "Mama Say Mama Sa Mama Koosa!"
and "La Guagua" by Celia Cruz.
How do you like to see your crowd react
to the music? I imagine the same
as every other deejay-with a loud scream! I particularly like
it when the crowd knows the song, and I turn the music down throughout
the song so that they can sing it. That's how I like to HEAR
(literally) a crowd react.
What do you do when your record skips
or something goes wrong? Luckily
that rarely happens. When it does, I remain calm, take care of
the problem, and then get on the microphone and either make funny
remark like, "That was the new snap crackle pop remix!"
or solicit a scream from the crowd by saying, "Where are
all the LATINOOOOS? If that doesn't work, I usually hide under
the deejay booth and hope no one noticed. But luckily, this RARELY
happens.
What has been the worst request you
have ever gotten? I would have
to say that I've gotten funny requests-not bad ones. Sometimes,
I'll get some people requesting a song that I'm already playing.
So I usually pretend like I can't hear them and make them ask
me a couple more times until they realize that the song is on.
Tell me about your role with the Long
Beach QV and Lesbian Pride. I
was involved at last year's very successful Latin Stage and Dance
Area. I helped coordinate the deejays as well as the performers.
This year, I'm also involved but with a slighter edge. We expect
the numbers to more than double at this year's "FIESTA CALIENTE."
What other projects are you working
on? Aside from headlining at this
year's San Francisco and San Jose Pride Festivals, I am currently
working with a group of people to put together the first-ever
"LATIN PRIDE" in Los Angeles. There is a lot of excitement
building around this project. There are still a lot of details
to work out, but as soon as they are available, I'll let you
know.
So what's in the future? What do you see yourself doing with your deejaying
talent? I hope that my talent will take me to different countries
so that I can bring the Los Angeles Latin flavor to other parts
of the world. I am also currently producing a couple of songs,
and I will begin some remix projects by the end of this year.
Now let's talk about romance since this
issue is all about it. What's in your house of romance? Do you have a special someone that shares your
time away from the world of music? In my house of romance lives
my boyfriend, Eduardo. He is the one that I share my time away
from the world of music. I don't think he would want me to say
much more about him, so I will just say this, "Tu eres a
quien yo quiero mas!"
Do you have any romantic tips that you
can share with us? Do something
out of the ordinary for the person. Put together a CD or tape
of YOUR favorite romance songs and give it to him-and don't wait
for a holiday to do so, too. It's like that line, "If you
love someone, tell them right there and then. Don't let the moment
pass you by." (My Best Friend's Wedding).
Any last words to your devoted fans
that follow you from club to club? LATINOS
be PROUD of who you are-wherever you may go and whatever you
may do. "LA MUSICA ES LA RESPUESTA."
-by Howard Perez
Dope-Ass Flyer-of-the-Month!
qvPROPS go to the promoters
of Muévelo, a Latino nightclub in New York City, for
putting out this dope flyer featuring this fine papi. To find
out more information about Muevelo's "Move It Sundays,"
give them a call at 212-420-1999.
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