Pa' La Rumba Otra Vez.......

It was another Saturday night and the rumberos met to do their thing on 182nd and Amsterdam Ave. Armando's Rumbacera was in full effect, 7/17/99.

June 26, 1999 Armando's Rumbacera

I remember that evening as being hot as all hell. Folks were embobao from the heat. It took the rumba awhile to get going but once it did it was "sal del medio hay viene el tren." Angel Rodriguez and Jose Rivera are on claves, yours truly is on guagua, "Yambu" Monsanto is on quinto, Armando Costales is on tumbadora and our elder statesmen Jorge Tapia, is on tres golpe. El Chino Venezulano is singing Gallo and Pacheco is to his left and Victor Montanez is to his right singing coro along with several others. Jorge Tapia is a Central Park original. That particular meeting place has been the scene for rumba since the early 60s. Tapia was there from the earliest times. Here he is in his early 70s still holding it down.

El Rumbero speaks out....

When I began videotaping rumbas I had it in mind to likewise document the thoughts of those who were making the music. The "stars" always get all the press and praise but there are hundreds of great drummers, singers and dancers of rumba that are only known within that small circle of rumberos. In Ralph I have found a like minded brother and Sentimientomanana is an outward expression of those inner thoughts. Ralph's efforts have provided us with a platform to share another view of this most joyful human expression. Here are segments of informal street interviews, conducted during a rumba on a street in NYC. Yeyito Flores, Raphael Pacheco and Beatrice share their experiences with us. Yeyito and Beatrice have been fixtures in the NY rumba scene for well over 20 years. Pacheco was Armando's right hand man, responsible for lighting, audio and filming of many of the Rumbaceras that occured on 182nd St. from 1980-2000. Pacheco and Armando have both passed on, may they rest in peace, but their legacy will live well after them.