Que Se Sepa – Roberto Roena

“Que Se Sepa” is the Funky Latin jam that you know you’ve heard and wanted to hear again. It’s from Roberto Roena, and it’s another Latin American Bboy Music feature that showcases the diversity of Hip-hop and Bboy Culture at large.

We think you should know more about this incredible artist, so get some background on Roberto Roena from the Music of Puerto Rico website:

Roena was born on 16 January 1940, in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. A noted salsa bandleader, Roena actually began his musical career as a dancer and was known as “El Gran Bailarín” (The Great Dancer).

Roberto Roena

While performing as a dancer and chorus singer with Cortijo y Su Combo, the band’s leader Rafael Cortijo gave Roena his first percussion lessons. He stuck with the bongos and became a member of Cortijo’s band between 1957 and 1962 as a percussionist.

He later moved to the orchestra of Mario Ortiz. After some months with Ortiz, Roena was asked to become part of El Gran Combo and he seized the opportunity. But he was not alone. Seven others, led by pianist Rafael Ithier, defected from Cortijo’s Combo in May 1962. The new group would go on to international fame.

Read more…

Suede Chief

Also, dig this video of Roberto Roena live (with the coolest jacket in history):

 

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