Another exclusive interview with Issac Delgado!

Isaac Felipe Delgado Ramírez was born on September 11th, 1962 in Havana, Cuba, the middle child of three. His older brother, Nelson, was a singer, guitarist and composer. Issac studied at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, where a life-long friendship began. It was Gonzalo who nudged Issac into becoming a musician.

I had the opportunity to visit with Issac again, so let me tell you what's up with him!

Jacira: Can you tell us a bit about your childhood? Your parents were musicians? Did you ever study music formally?

Issac: My father was a tailor, and my mother was an actress in the theater. She was the founder of Las Mulatas de Fuego, an internationally renowned group. Her first husband was Ángel Díaz, the son of Tirso Díaz, a famous troubadour from the "Feeling" movement in Cuba, together with José Antonio Méndez and César Portillo de la Luz. There was always this "Feelingesque" atmosphere in my home!

Jacira: Do you play any instrument?

Issac: No, or rather I can pick out the chords on a piano and I read music, but I studied popular song, voice, etc. at the Colegio Ignacio Cervantes (a school for professional musicians).

Jacira: Your live concerts are very different from your CDs. Many of the songs have been extended to include the choruses which have never been recorded in the studio. For example, the final chorus of Luz Viajera, "Ella dice que es la que es..." and the one from La Sandunguita "Ni pica...ni duele...pero tiene su cosita...". Everyone in Cuba knows these marvelous choruses, and they sing along with you at the concerts, but those fans of yours who only know you through your CDs are not familiar with them. Have you ever thought about doing a live CD?

Issac: Yes, actually we've been thinking about it a lot lately, but that requires quite a bit of equipment to do it right. The studio is a bit cold at times... you can't make contact with the public, and that's when those things happen, the choruses.

Jacira: You've written a lot of really phenomenal songs... ‘Pa' que te salves’, ‘Se te fue la mano’, ‘Por qué paró’, ‘Así era ella’, etc. Can you describe for us what the process is, from the inspiration all the way to the final arrangement?

Issac: Sometimes I start with the chorus, sometimes with the main theme. There is not a set process, but I can't just sit down and write a song...it has to be inspired. It takes me longer when I have to do it, like when someone has asked me to write one. You just have to get together with the musicians and they give you a lot of input. The public also gives you a lot.

Jacira: You are well known for being able to attract a very talented bunch of musicians. Tell us about your first group... who were they?

Issac: The first group had Samuel Formell on percussion, Andrés Miranda on congas, Javier “Caramelo” Gutiérrez on piano, Armando Jiménez on bass, “Cotoncito” on guitar, Andrés Bolaños on Sax and on trumpets, José Varona and Orlando “Batanga”. The second group that I had included Piloto and Tony Pérez. I have always chosen musicians for the way they play, and I've had a lot of luck. They have managed to adapt themselves to the way I work. Each one played a key roll at that time... At different times, there were different overtones that each group had.

Jacira: After that came the group which many of your fans consider to be one of the best, all-time salsa groups, with Iván "Melón" González and Alaín Pérez. Tell us about them... what are they up to these days?

Issac: They are in Europe. We went to Europe to begin a job with RMM Records which they called the "Emancipation of our music in Europe". I didn't like the promotion they were doing, and about then, Iván and Alaín decided to stay in Europe. They are really excellent musicians.

Jacira: After that came the group with three great musicians from Paulito FG's group: Joel Domínguez, Joel Páez and Yaniel "El Maja" Matos. This wasn't the only time that musicians have gone from Paulito's group to yours. Does that bother Paulito?

Issac: Paulito isn't mad (he laughs). Musicians fluctuate, they don't belong to anyone. Both of the "Joels" were in Cuba not long ago, rehearsing with Manolín, but there was a reporter from Granma who wrote an article that was his personal opinion, not an official statement against Manolín, and here (in the USA) the papers came out with a version that made it sound like the government was against him, and it just isn't the case, it wasn't like that. The "Joels" went back to Spain. Yaniel fell in love with a Brazilian woman and moved to São Paulo to get married!

Jacira: Your actual group promises to be another classic one, including Juan Ceruto.

Issac: Juan isn't actually a part of the band. Sometimes he plays with us and he worked on the last album, doing almost all of the arrangements.

Jacira: When a musician leaves your group, how do you go about finding a replacement?

Issac: People come, I try them out. Everyone has the right to go out and do something on their own, just like I left NG la Banda and formed my own group.

Jacira: Tell us about Oscar Valdéz, your new musical director, and about some of the personnel changes in your actual group.

Issac: Oscarito is carrying out the duties of a Musical Director, but he isn't doing the arrangements. He sort of inherited that position within the group. The key part during this last time period has been done by Ceruto. Oscar Valdéz is a very well-known percussionist who used to be a part of the group called AfroCuba, which accompanied Silvio Rodríguez all over the world.

Jacira: In the genre of Timba, your recordings have offered us some of the most original and creative piano "tumbaos". How do these come about?

Issac: The piano is fundamental when it comes to tumbaos - this is the part of the chorus that makes people the happiest! They will recognize a song because of the chorus and the tumbao. When I write a number that has a great tumbao, it becomes a HIT! Sometimes I sing the tumbao to the pianist and he creates it. I try to have some sort of influence over them when they are working!

Jacira: On your CD, "La Primera Noche", you began to experiment with new territory: a mixture of Latin music, smooth jazz and pop. How did the concept for that album come up?

Issac: I was living in Spain at the time. I didn't want to shut out the European public. I knew that in Cuba they would understand me. When you look at the European audience, the only reference they had regarding Latin American music was Juan Luis Guerra, and we weren't about to do merengues! What we did was simply to mix our music within a framework they could understand. We paid special attention to the beat, the rhythm, the pronunciation... but there are also numbers written for my Cuban fans, which is the most important for me.

Jacira: There are two songs that we really love that you sing all the time at shows, but you've never recorded them. Can you tell us about the song called "La temática"? Who wrote it?

Issac: I wrote it. The reason I've never recorded it is because it is pure Timba slang from the street! I didn't think the public would be interested in it... but since you mention it... perhaps....

Jacira: We don't know the name of the other song, but I've heard people refer to it as the "Hit Parade"... sort of like one of the songs on the last album, "La Fórmula".

Issac: Yes, it is called the "Hit Parade", and I thought about including it in this last album, but I didn't. I will include it in the future.

Jacira: You mention Juan Formell in this song. Can you elaborate about the influence he has had on the growth of your musical career?

Issac: He has had a lot of influence. He is the most important chronicler of our music. Los Van Van have been like a laboratory for me. I have studied in depth everything that they do, what the formula is for their hits. What they have managed to do is incredible. They are a very strong influence.

Jacira: "El de Solar de la California" is one of the most beautiful songs we've ever heard. The lyrics paint a lovely picture of Vedado and the music is great. The U.S. public loves it because of the reference to the song, "Hotel California". How did this song come about?

Issac: Formell inspired the chorus, but it is only a reference to that song. What is really interesting is the comparison between a hotel and a "solar".

Jacira: Last year, "La Vida es un Carnaval" was a number one hit in La Habana. How did you come to record this song?

Issac: That is a song by Victor Daniel, an Argentinean. I recorded my version about a year and a half after Celia Cruz recorded her interpretation of it.

Jacira: Your sister, Daria, sang on various numbers on your CDs and also sang with the chorus of your group. What is she up to these days?

Issac: She is working with Alaín in Spain. They have a group in Madrid called Son la Clave.

Jacira: Issac, thank you for granting us this interview and for your time! Is there any message you'd like to leave for your fans and admirers around the salsa world?

Issac: Yes, tell them that Issac said that they should stay right here on the SalsaPower website so they can find out all about what is going on here and in Cuba!

Issac Delgado: La Fórmula, on his new record label, Ahí-Namá Music. (This album is called "Malecón" outside of the USA)
www.ahinama.com

Issac Delgado is back!