The Lula Lounge club was founded by José Ortega, who moved to Toronto from New York, and José Nieves. Together, they built a first-rate performance space, with great sound and food, and a welcoming environment.
José Ortega discloses additional details about Lula Lounge: Essential Tracks and the Latin music scene in Toronto to World Music Central’s Angel Romero in the following interview:
The album Lula Lounge: Essential Tracks features songs by numerous Cuban musicians. How did so many Cuban artists end up in Toronto?
Latin immigration to Canada started gaining force in the early 70s (initially primarily from South and Central America) and continued to increase through the 80s and 90s. A number of the Latin musicians that came from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Cuba started bands, concentrating on popular covers and playing community events, so when Cuban immigration started to grow about 10 years ago, there was already an existing Latin musical community, with salsa fans and dancers ready to pay attention.
Many of the Cuban musicians that play at Lula originally came to Canada as part of international tours and stayed. The last big wave of top level Cuban musicians came to Toronto about five years ago but new artists continue to arrive every year. The city is gaining a reputation as a musical center. Jane Bunnett mentioned that when she has been travelling in Cuba in recent years, musicians there mention Toronto as a place that they would like to get to. In the past, people told her that they wanted to relocate to Miami or New York but more and more she is hearing that Cubans see our city as a desirable place to live and work.
Are the Cuban musicians settling in Toronto or are they using it as stepping stone to get to other places?
In addition to musicians, is there a sizable Cuban community in Toronto?
There are close to 10,000 Cubans living in in Canada which is not really that many but their impact on the musical life of the country far outweighs what the numbers would indicate. Our salsa scene at Lula is not exclusively Cuban though. Musicians from Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Italy are important contributors. There are more than 65,000 people who identify as Latin American in Toronto so our audience is drawn from many different Spanish-speaking countries as well from communities from all over the world. Because of the overall cultural diversity of the city , Toronto may have the most diverse salsa audience in the world.
Lula Lounge: Essential Tracks contains superb timba, the exciting modern Cuban dance music. How popular is timba in Toronto?
Timba has really grown in popularity in recent years. There’s a whole community of dancers that seek out live timba and get together to dance regularly. Sometimes it’s hard to please both the timba crowd and the audience that prefers the New York (Puerto Rican) style. There are dance schools, social organizations and DJs that specialize in teaching Cuban styles of casino and timba dancing.
Tell us a little about some of the artists featured in Lula Lounge: Essential Tracks.
Roberto Linares Brown (La Crisis)
Jorge Maza (Molotera)
In the style known as Charanga Francesa (with the addition of Cuban tres guitar), Tipica Toronto is led by veteran flautist, Jorge Maza, who performed for many years with Cubanismo.
The charanga band format is fairly unique. They use strings instead of a horn section for a very traditional sound. Jorge’s story is interesting because he travelled the world with Cubanismo before coming to Toronto. He’s got tons of very high-level professional experience and is very interested in fusing R&B and salsa.
Yani Borrell (Latinos)
Alex Cuba (Oye Rumberito)
Alex was half of Puentes Brothers one of the first major forces in Canadian Latin music. Both Adonis and Alexis (aka Alex Cuba) have highly successful solo careers. Alex was Canada’s first Latin Grammy Winner and was also just nominated for another Juno for his most recent CD. His work has really taken off internationally. Alex’ brother Adonis is a very respected salsa singer as well. They have both performed several times at Lula and are very tied into the Cuban Canadian musical community in Toronto, despite living out west.
Hilario Durán (Cuando Me Toca a Mi)
Hilario Duran came to Canada in 1998 and has been extremely successful in the jazz world. He has toured the country appearing at all the major jazz festivals. He’s been invited to record in Germany. We first met Hilario thirteen years ago when he performed at a small private party at a friend’s house. Last October he performed at Koener Hall (one of Toronto’s best concert halls) with Chucho Valdez and Jane Bunnett.
Hilario is also also a Juno winner and is considered one of the world’s most innovative pianists and composers/arrangers of Afro-Cuban music and Latin jazz.
Jane has played a huge part in bringing Latin music before Canadian audiences. She studied with people like Steve Lacey and worked with Don Pullen. She is hugely respected by Canadian jazz lovers and has been a tireless advocate for Latin music in Canada and. She really is an anchor for the whole Latin music scene with her groundbreaking exploration of Afro-Cuban music and culture. Jane is a Juno Award-winner and Grammy-nominee.
How is the album doing so far?
The CD is getting a lot of support from our audience and on CBC. We’re starting to get some attention for the CD internationally as well. So far, the response has been really positive. There’s an element of surprise when people hear the CD. Most people aren’t aware of the vibrant Latin scene in Canada/Toronto so they are taken aback by the quality of the music. The CD is mainly comprised of original compositions that stand up to any production coming out of Cuba, New York, Miami or Puerto Rico.
Are the bands featured in Lula Lounge: Essential Tracks touring bands? Do they ever go outside of Canada?
Luis Mario Ochoa, Jane Bunnett and Hilario Durán regularly tour outside of Canada. I think that we will see groups like Tipica Toronto, Yani Borrell, Moda Eterna and Son Ache touring in coming years. Tipica and Yani are both working on their first albums in Canada under these project names. Once they have passed that milestone, it will make it easier to tour. We’re working on putting together a Lula All Star band that could travel across the country and abroad.
In addition to Cuban music, what other Latin American musical forms can one find in Toronto?
A I understand, Lula Lounge presents more than Latin music. What other world music genres are presented at the club?
We present a lot of Brazilian, African, South Asian and jazz music and have just started a monthly classical night. One of our programmers has been bringing in more local alternative Toronto bands as well – which helps to encourage cross pollination across genres. Seu Jorge, Badi Assad, The Mahotella Queens, Bombino and Kiran Ahluwalia are some of the artists that have played at Lula but we’ve also hosted Norah Jones, John Cale and the Sun Ra Arkestra.
Why did you decide to start a record label?
We wanted to draw attention to the fantastic work that being created here in Toronto: to help get top quality local productions out to the world.
We also want show what’s happening in Toronto’s uniquely multi-cultural scene. Toronto has become real cosmopolitan center that feels different from others like Paris and New York. For the most part here in Canada, we enjoy a respectful co-existence of many cultures. Canadians have a deep interest in learning about one another’s music and heritage and as a result we have very supportive audiences, hungry to learn about new music.
What’s next in the horizon for the label after Lula Lounge: Essential Tracks?
The next project will be a world music compilation that will include a wide range of genres including some Mexican reggae/pop, Brazilian forró and samba, Son Jarocho and Turkish Jazz, Italian folk and a whole lot more. After that we’d like to highlight some of the work that’s being done in Latin jazz in Toronto.
Buy the Lula Lounge: Essential Tracks CD
Buy the Lula Lounge: Essential Tracks MP3s
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
