Ed Note: Remezcla readers may remember Joel, our Sales and Partnerships Manager, from this… let’s say “unconventional”… Maná review, his run in with J Lo last year, and his strong opinions about the Washington Heights reality show. From time to time we will be chronicling Joel’s escapades on the site, under the column: “The Dominican Diaries.”
After months of preparation, it was about damn time to take the trip to the World Cup of Latin Music (Latin Grammys) in Las Vegas. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of going to Sin City during Latin Grammys, you’re missing out on whole lot of action; I really mean it. In good faith, I will give you a quick breakdown of what makes this week so freaking exciting. Since most of you are pretending to be working in front of your computers (personal experience), as usual I will try to keep this post more entertaining than factual.
THE FLIGHT:
I must say the flight was extremely pleasant, so pleasant that i’m now an advocate of replacing news channel on board planes with non-stop programming of The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross.
THE FANS:
I salute the group of mothers, abuelitas, fathers, etc that flock the Mandalay Bay’s lobby in wait of the next superstar to pop out the elevator. P.S. At that exact moment Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas took a glance to find out what was going on. Too bad no one knew who they were, I blame Sabado Gigante and Maná of course.
EL SOUNDLAB:
The Soundlab was the space where artists were able to unleash their full potential in the middle of one of the busiest casinos in Las Vegas – and I’m not talking about gambling. We conceived the idea of building a full recording studio at the Heineken House and invited artists to work alongside Toy Selectah and Frank El Medico. The best way to describe each session was, give a kid 90 minutes to do whatever he pleases to do at a toy store, but in this case, we had musicians at a recording studio.
EL SANDUNGEO:
To be honest, with the line up we had at the Heineken House, there was no point of going somewhere else (unless you were in the mood of a late run of Café con Leche at a petting zoo). Where else can you see performances by Gaby Moreno, La Vida Boheme, Hello Seahorse!, Bomba Estereo, Illya Kuryaki & The Valderramas, Bomba Estereo, Toy Selectah, and more without paying a single cent?!
WE RECORDED A TRACK:
There’s usually a stage during the work day when anything we say or hear can be made into a song; this only happens during loooooong ass days. Since we are so talented (beware Omega, Francesca & Las Rusas Aplatanadas) we decided to pitch one of our songs from our repertoire to our beloved producer/engineer friend, Frank El Medico. He promised to make a hit out of it and asked our very own Tita Garcia to jump into the Vocal Booth. We’re not so sure if he did that to get rid of us, or because he actually believes in our raw talent. Either way, if you want to hear the song, tweet him: @frankelmedico.
LA FELICIDAD DEL POBRE DURA POCO:
As much as we wanted to stay in Las Vegas with our fellow music industry people and artists, it was time to go home. Good Bye #HeinekenHouse, Strawberry, and #LUXOR2013.
P.S. Did anyone find my hoodie? Unless there’s a merciful soul out there willing to send me a L hoodie for Xmas.
(Photo Credits: Javier Romero, Ivan Carrillo & Joel Moya)
