Opening Night At Tempo Latino 2010!

The lingering rain loomed over the Tempo Latino site cleared up by the time that the opening night festivities started. The World Music night kicked off the festival featuring the acclaimed Ojos De Brujo and pop singer/songwriter Sebastian Avispa. Avispa showed that he had a strong voice but his bland fusion of pop, middle eastern melodies and flamenco was tepid, banal and boring. He was clearly out of place at this festival. Ojos De Brujo had a dynamic opening number featuring their talented flamenco dancer Susana Medina providing the fireworks that framed Marina Abad’s vocals. However, Ojos seemed musically sparse due to the absence of two of their key members: DJ Panki and percussionist Xavier Turull. Ojos lacked the spark that have made them such a sensation in past shows that I have seen. However, the action was hot and heavy at La Conga night spot with the all-female French salsa band Yemaya La Banda who turned the crowd on their heads with their smokin’ repertoire, campy costumes, dance routines and top notch musicianship. The crowd begged for more at the end of their two hour set. I opened and closed the evening at La Conga with my brand of explosive dance music that kept the crowd dancing and sweating until the wee hours of the morning! The mix was dead-on for both the dancers and the hard-to-please salseros. My first gig at Tempo Latino went great-Sabroso!