'Macho Men and the Women Who Love Them' is proud to present the newest members of our show, world-renowned Cuban music legends Francisco Aguabella and Lazaro Galarraga. They have graced the globe with their musical stylings and now they are bringing their phenomenal talents to the Macho stage. Icons in the Cuban music world, they add flavor to an already vibrant production. Adding fuel to the 'Macho Men' fire is the show's new dance director, world class Salsa Dance master, Albert Torres and muy calliente dancing from Alberto Elejarde, Pedro Aguilar, Nory Reyes, and The Movement of Agape.

     “Aguabella is the John Coltrane of the conga drums.”
- Dizzy Gillespie,

Francisco Aguabella -Musician
Cuban Congero legend, Francisco Aguabella has made a career out of delighting audiences across the globe.  He has had the opportunities to perform with artists such as Tito Puente, Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, recent Grammy-winner Bebo Valdes, and many others. Aguabella is featured in the documentary film by Les Blank, 'Sworn to the Drum', as well as a new documentary entitled 'Aguabella', which is currently in production. Francisco has received awards from the National Heritage Fellowship of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and a fellowship from the Durfee Foundation.

Maestro Lazaro Galarraga -Musician/Singer

The world-renowned Maestro Galarraga began as an original member of the distinguished Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba, the national folkloric troupe. He has achieved worldwide fame from his phenomenal talent and has recorded and performed with masters such as Cachao, Chucho Váldes, Paquito D'Rivera, Herbie Hancock, Al McKibbon and Placido Domingo among others. Galarraga performed at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia and for President George Bush at the White House.  His essence is captured in films like Andy Garcia's 'Cachao Documentary', Oscar Valdes' 'Documental La Rumba' and the feature film 'Dance With Me'.  Currently, he is the Folkloric Musical Director of the innovative international organization PAWS (Percussion Artists Workshop) dedicated to the preservation of percussion in Los Angeles.

Albert Torres  -Artistic Dance Director

Albert Torres has garnered an esteemed reputation within the entertainment industry as the 'Billyl Graham of Latin Entertainment'.  As the producer of the International Salsa Congress and ESPN's World Salsa Championships, he has succeeded in his dream of bringing the best of salsa music to the world. Albert received the Best Salsa Club Promoter of The Year Award for Latin Music from The Latino Music Awards. Torres is also making his salsa stamp in Hollywood as a choreographer as well as appearing in numerous films and television productions such as: 'Mambo Kings', 'Out to Sea', 'Dance with Me', 'NYPD Blue', 'Brotherly Love', 'The Home and Family Show', 'Dance for Life', 'The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show', 'Xuca', 'Salsa Express', Coca Cola commercials, Miller Brewing commercials, Macy's commercials, and The Getty Museum.  Albert views his performances in such high profile events as The 1993 Academy Awards and the Dance Kaleidoscope Program as “…tremendous opportunities to share the music and dance of my people with the world.” For more information go to: http://www.atpevents.com

Maria Costa -Performer/Contributing Choreographer
When you think of fiery male Cubans you think of Ricky Ricardo, when you think of fiery female Cubans you think of Maria Costa.  She has woven herself into the very fabric of Cuban culture and is well on her way to becoming the face of Cuban entertainment for film, television and stage across the world.  Performing Cuban music and dance with  Lazaro  Garraraga, Francisco Aguabella as well as with fellow Cuban actor/musician Andy Garcia, has put her name on the map as one of the hottest Cuban dance talents in the nation. 
Click here to see Maria’s Bacardi Commercial with Lazaro Galarraga & Andy Garcia

Alberto Elejarde -Choreographer/Dancer
 Alberto was trained professionally at renowned Cuban Dance School, La Enald de Cuba.  Upon his arrival in LA in 1993, he grabbed the starring role in the Cuban music video for Los Van Van, Cuba's #1 dance band.  He has had the opportunity of performing with Bayallo, Celia Cruz's Los Angeles band and has choreographed salsa groups, Salsa Kids and Havana Sound, in their music videos. In addition to gracing the 'Macho Men' stage, he is currently working on the video for La Palabra.

Pedro ‘ Muneco’ Aguilar -Dancer
'Muneco', professional dancer and drummer,  has been a fixture in 'Macho Men' for the past two years.  He provides the movement and soul that is necessary to bring the show to life. He has had the honor of performing with the legendary Congero Francisco Aguabella and has appeared in the opening scene of the feature 'Dance with Me'.  One of LA's most endeared Cuban dance masters, he is currently teaching Afro-Cuban dance classes at Lula Washington Dance Theater. www.curuye.com

Mambo
The Mambo dance originated in Cuba where there were substantial settlements of Haitians. The fusion of Swing and Cuban music produced this fascinating rhythm and in turn created a new sensational dance. The "Mambo" dance is attributed to Perez Prado who introduced it at La Tropicana night-club in Havana in 1943.  There are two forms of mambo dance: single and triple (sometimes called double mambo)
Little known fact: The word mambo, conversation with the gods, is the name of a voodoo priestess in Haiti who serves the villagers as counselor, healer, exorcist, soothsayer, spiritual advisor, and organizer of public entertainment.

Salsa
Salsa is an Afro-Caribbean dance that coordinates rhythmically with the various percussive instruments that can typically be found in the music of the same name, such as conga drums, claves, timabales, guiros, maracas and more. Salsa is a slot or spot dance that occupies a fixed area on the dance floor.
Little Known Fact: The name salsa was gradually accepted among dancers throughout various decades. The very first time the word appeared on the radio was a composition by Ignacio Piñeiro, dedicated to an old black man who sold butifarras (a sausage-like product) on Central Road in Matanzas, Cuba. It is a song titled Échale salsita, wherein the major refrain and chorus goes "Salsaaaaa! échale salsita, échale salsita".

Cha Cha Cha
In 1951, Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrin introduced the cha-cha-chá to Cuban dance floors. According to Jorrín, the sound made by the shoes of the dancers on the floor sounded like "cha-cha-cha".  The dance consists of three quick steps (triple step or cha cha cha) and two slower steps on the one beat and two beat

Timba
Timba, considered to be a highly aggressive type of music, bears the essence of Afro-Cuban culture and music. During Timba concerts, the performers improvise, interact with the audience, rap and include sections of coro-pregon (call and response).

Son
Son is considered the backbone for contemporary salsa and was one of the most popular dance music genres to emerge from Cuba in the 1900s. Developed in the late 1800's in the eastern regions of Cuba, Son began as an Afro-Cuban popular dance of the rural working classes and was performed with percussion alone.  It is believed to be the first musical genre to use drums played with bare hands.

The partners begin the dance with a very formal and closed embrace. An upright frame is maintained while the shoulders move side to side in a quick and flirtatious manner with both the torso and hips accent the underlying six-count rhythm of the feet. The whole dance is done in a slow-quick-quick, slow-quick-quick rhythmic pattern 

Orisha
During the slave trade, Africans brought with them their cultures and traditions that are practiced in Cuba today.  Traces of African dance can be found in the popular dances in Cuba; salsa, son, cha cha cha , timba, etc. For example, in group salsa, the leader will let out a call and the dancers will respond with the appropriate “Orisha dance”. One such orisha, Oshun, is the patron saint of Cuba and the epitome of beauty, strength, confidence and sexuality.  Chango, her male counterpart, represents thunder and manliness, comprising in the ultimate Macho.

Rueda de Casino
Rueda de Casino is a type of salsa developed in Havana, Cuba in the late 1950s and early 1960s by the famous group Guaracheros de Regla. Pairs of dancers form a circle while performing moves called out by one person and constantly swapping partners. Although the names of the calls are presently the same across the board, different towns in Cuba use their own calls. This originated with the pioneers of Rueda de Casino when they wanted to keep others from participating in their Ruedas.

Little Known Fact:  In Hungary most of the dance schools usually teach Cuban style in Rueda. 

Celia Cruz

Tito Puente
Ernesto Antonio Puente Jr., more commonly known as Tito "El Rey del Timbal" Puente, "The Mambo King," and "The King of Latin Music", was an influential Latin jazz and mambo musician. During the 1950s, Puente was at the height of his mass popularity, and helped to bring Afro-Cuban sounds, like mambo, son, and cha-cha-cha, to mainstream audiences.

Little Known Fact: Puente was so successful playing popular Afro-Cuban rhythms that many people mistakenly identify him as Cuban.

Perez Prado
Dámaso Pérez Prado was a celebrated Cuban/Mexican bandleader and composer. Commonly referred to as the "King of the Mambo", his popularity in the United States matched the peak of the first wave of interest in Latin music outside the Latino communities throughout the 40s, 50s and 60s. The mambo, reinvigorated under the name salsa, continues to be the signature dance of Latin popular music. Prado is the composer of such famous pieces as "Mambo No. 5"

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