El Correo Newspaper

Soulsa, the adventure of leaving the streets

by Olga Acosta

Soulsa sings to the soul of the streets in a fresh style without the aggression of one who wants to escape the ghetto.

"We mix Afro-Cuban rhythms with rock. Our guitar obeys the clave and not the other way around", explains Alberto Diaz, lead vocalist, guitarist and one of the founding members of the group.

Listening to Soulsa, it is no surprise that Latin blood runs through the veins of its members. Luis Batista, bassist and backup vocalist, was born in New York of Dominican parents; Alberto, was born in Puerto Rico and his parents are Dominican; Antonio Rodriguez, bongo player, is Cuban-Dominican; Juan Gerena, timale and Anibal Collazo, percussionist are both Nuyorican.

The surprise comes when you listen to them play and the chord raise the tone of those who wear long hair and wear leather jackets.

Luis Batista and Alberto Diaz grew up together in Washington Heights. There they created Xperience, a rock band in which they discovered in the 80's that they were destined for music.

10 years later these guys had a rediscovery with their roots and it is when they decided to launch a new adventure of creating something new with old soul. Alberto says, "We've had a lot of luck with the discoveries we've made. I feel lucky to share the stage with such talented musicians".

For Soulsa, it's definitely been the presence of Anibal Collazo who is the one that nurtures the group with musical history and that's why they nickname him "Old Soul"; while Juan is the musical encyclopedia that the rest of the band would like to posess as well as being the person who exercises discipline and professionalism at the rehearsals.

Lillian Pons, their manager, is also part of the group. Alberto says, "Without her we would be lost. It's difficult managing one's self, write songs, make music, find musicians and book shows".

"It's very difficult to manage a group with so much talent" replies Lillian.

Soulsa is more than a band. It's a collection of talents. Lillian is a professional photographer, Alberto is a graphic designer, Luis' expertise lies in publishing rights. Andy has worked in the fashion industry and has a good eye for style. Lillian says, "We are a family that has understood that without cooperation there is no success. That's why we have all put our talents into the band." That's not all. Antonio has performed with such Latin artists as la India and Frankie Negron.

Soulsa overflows with energy and the need to explore new musical frontiers, and the truth is that it's about time that someone took that bland radio-friendly salsa that's out now and gave it a new spin.

To keep up with the band you would simply have to log on to their website at: www.soulsaband.com. You won't regret it.

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