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| Cambalache |
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Print Profile |
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| 9 pc Salsa Band from Seattle |
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Pancho Chavez is the leader...
Líder de la Banda
By Ed Kromer (as read in the UW Business School Magazine)
 Sometimes opportunity knocks. For Pancho Chávez, it sounded more like the crack and thump of timbale and conga.
Chávez emigrated from his native Peru in 1997 to study at the UW Business School. When money got tight his junior year, he decided to form a salsa band with a Colombian friend studying at the School of Music. And Cambalache was born, of fiscal necessity. The plan was for Chávez to manage the band only. Until the singer quit, that is. A natural performer with a charismatic voice, Chávez stepped up to the mike.
Before long, Cambalache was en fuego. Chávez tabled school to take advantage of the huge opportunity at hand. “When we started the band, there was a lot of competition that we needed to break through,” he recalls. “I thought, ‘What have I learned at business school that I can apply?’ The marketing has helped draw a fan base. Accounting is very important for the musicians, who are not used to getting paid regularly. And management is important to the people who book us. They don’t have to worry about us being flaky. They don’t have to worry about anything.”
“We’re musicians,” he adds, “but this is a business.”
Today Cambalache is a tight unit of expert musicians from North and South America, laying down infectious Latin rhythms and gathering devotees around the Northwest. The band’s first CD, Clasiqueando, was mixed, produced, marketed, distributed and, of course, sung, by Chávez.
He plans to finish his business degree someday. But for now, a certified salsa impresario making a comfortable living in music while only in his 20s, Chávez can’t imagine doing anything else. “It’s amazing to hear salsa music when it’s played by a band that’s so tight,” he says. “Going to work, for me, is going to play."
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BAND BIO
In September 1999, a pamphlet circulating in Seattle featured “The fresh sounds of Cambalache,” referring to the philosophy of the nine-piece Seattle salsa band that made its debut that year.
Ever since, Cambalache has challenged and redefined the characteristic sound of Northwest Salsa scene. Never afraid to incorporate new ideas, or to drop others that have been exploited. Cambalache’s eclectic style is an embodiment of the richness and diversity of Latin America. Deeply rooted in the latest music movements developing in Cuba and Puerto Rico, Cambalache’s performances are a blend of great salsa classics and contemporary tunes. At each performance, audiences are seduced by the energetic atmosphere of Rumba and Nueva Salsa.
Now, after six years of hard work and continuous learning, Cambalache has placed itself at the top of the Northwest Salsa scene. They have broken attendance records of virtually every salsa club in the Northwest of the USa, Southwest of Canada and Alaska. Their show is considered to be one of the most entertaining and fun in the NW for salsa dancers as well as for those who just love the music. Testament to this is that Cambalache was selected to play at the 2001 Major League All-Star Game to a crowd of more than 55,000 people at Safeco Field in Seattle. In addition, Cambalache has opened for some of the biggest names in Latin music including Grupo Niche de Colombia and El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico.
“Clasiqueando”, Cambalache’s first CD was officially released on April 23rd, 2004. Descarga from New York describes the CD as “Killer dance club Salsa... highly combustible, get-on-the-dance floor tracks with zero filler material. DJ alert and highly recommended”. The CD has now gotten reviews from all over the world and it is being sold at the most important Latin music stores in England, Holland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Japan, Canada, Argentina, Chile and Peru.
Their youth, energy and intense passion for music are the defining element that complements the quality of their sound. This makes Cambalache a band with tremendous potential and a promising future.
Performances include:
Alaska Folk Fest
Northwest Folklife
Bumbershoot
Bite of Seattle
Fiestas Patrias
Portland's Rose Festival
Western Washington University
Bellevue Community College
Seattle University
University of Washington
Lewis & Clark College
Reed College
Jackson High school
University of Puget Sound
Everett Community College
Shoreline Community College
Century Ballroom
Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR
Majestic Ballroom
Pampa's Room
Waterfront Sea Grill
Planet Hollywood
Beso del Sol
The Showbox
China Harbor
Continental Club
Century Ballroom
Las Margaritas
More info/photos coming soon.
Performs in Portland frequently.
Call for more information: 503-774-2511 |
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, Northwest Artist Management, All Rights Reserved
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