"He made me ashamed of being ashamed", declared Bill Nieves when talking about the great Puerto Rican Cuatrista, Yomo Toro. This week's episode is a fascinating conversation between three amazing elders; Aurora Flores, Bill Nieves and Jose Mangual Jr. Thanks to Aurora, who set up both of these interviews, I was able to sit in on these amazing recounts of history and take it all in. 

Bill Nieves, former producer of Yomo Toro's TV show, 'El Show De Yomo Toro', was able to recount his days working with Yomo intertwined with his amazing personal story. He speaks of Yomo with such love and respect and helps the listener get the idea of who Yomo was as a person. 

We also had the privilege to speak with Jose Mangual Jr., an incredible musician, particularly percussionist. He recounts his experience recording the seminal Christmas  album 'Asalto Navideno'. He also talks about his musical influences, the role of Cortijo and a lot more. All of these fascinating stories are intertwined with music. 

Asalto Navideño, recorded in 1971, was a seminal album that brought together the best of both worlds; a New York Latin sound and a traditional, authentic Puerto Rican Jibaro sound. The album featured the likes of Hector Lavoe, Yomo Toro, Milton Cardona, Profesor Joe Torres and Jose Mangual jr. and others. On the album you will hear styles such as aguinaldos, bombas, plenas and guaracha jibaras. 

Enjoy the captivating conversation and amazing music. 

Lechon De Cachete; This is one of Yomo's original compositions. Hector's use of Puerto Rican slang is amazing in this song. He uses the term "de cachete" which refers to something that you get for free. This goes back to the tradition of parrandas where musicians would go house to house during the holidays. People would invite them in and feed them, a tradition that has long standing in Puerto Rico, if you tried something like that in New York, someone would definitely call the cops on you. 

Canto A Borinquen 

Viva La Vida Contento

Aires De Navidad 

Traigo La Salsa