00:00My favorite song on Bailar Deluxe is all 13 tracks. I want to play every single one all the time.
00:08Every song is different. Every song means something different. The versatility of
00:16switching from conga to timbal, to bongo, to drums, I get to do that throughout the album.
00:23I get to sing a little bit. I'm always dancing. Collaborations, if there are other people singing
00:29and then the musicianship with the bands and incorporating different musicians and artists
00:34and singers. It's just, it's the whole record. I want to just play the whole record. Working with
00:40Tony Sukkar as a co-producer was a lot of fun. I mean, I hired him, I forgot what year it was,
00:47for my first ever cruise and he brought his entire team with him and we had a blast. His family and
00:55I was like, you know what? I want to do a salsa record. I think you're the one who could help
00:59me do it. And he hadn't done anything recording wise. So we talked about it for about three years
01:05and then it took two years to get this done. We had so much fun because he's very traditional in
01:11what he does and I'm not. And that marriage together really works to be able to, I think,
01:17outside the box. And I do things a little bit differently, even in mixing where the instruments,
01:22where I hear things because it's, I'm as an artist sitting here and listening to stuff and how I grew
01:28up listening to my dad play. There are certain instruments that need to be in a specific place
01:34for me to make it sound right. So it's been amazing working with him and me even challenging him on some
01:42things as well. So I'm sure we're doing another record together. Definitely Ruben Blaze was the first
01:50person on my list to be able to, hopefully he would say yes. And he did. So I was very excited
01:56about that to be able to, to have him on my record. Like I just, I can't thank him enough for,
02:03for him singing on the record. Alberto Santa Rosa was introduced to me and he, gosh, such a gentleman
02:11and so smooth. And he came into the studio well prepared. I was able, I was able to be in the
02:17studio with him to do his vocal. And he just, it's not a bad thing to say that he's like the Latin
02:24version of Frank Sinatra, but he's so smooth and so, so amazing. We had such a great time. And then he
02:30did the video with me as well. I really love his vocals and who we are, who he is as a person.
02:37But there, there are many hours like Victor Manuel. I'd never worked with him before. I wasn't able to
02:41be in the studio with him, but he did an incredible job. And it's cool to do collaborations with other
02:47artists that I've never met before. It was kind of like full circle to be able to receive and,
02:53and be honored in that way to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame because it wasn't expected.
02:59I wasn't looking for it. It happened and it was a huge surprise to me. And when I was receiving the
03:06award, little did I know, well, it was in front of Musicians Institute, which I didn't know where it
03:13was. And once I got there, I saw it. But then 10 blocks down the street or so was the first place
03:20that I moved to when I moved to Los Angeles from Oakland. And I knew that I wanted to leave Oakland
03:26and start my career in LA and thinking, oh, Hollywood, I'm going to meet all these stars and,
03:31and musicians and be able to go out on tour with them, which I did and meet a lot of people and play
03:37on a lot of other artists, albums and stuff. And little did I know that, yeah, coming to Hollywood
03:44that I would actually get my own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. So it's, it's a full circle
03:50and really humbling and grateful every day, every day, like that you, you know, I've got booklets of
03:59notes and there's so much things I just keep writing things down. And being an artist and
04:05being able to be creative is a beautiful place to be, you know, when you're not creating, I don't feel
04:11the same. I don't feel healthy. I don't feel like I have life in me because music is life to me. It's
04:20my water, it's my food. And so there's a lot of lot more music to do a lot more. New generation of
04:27women has been very exciting to see the progress for me as old school. I have met a lot of new young
04:39women playing and not just drums and percussion, but bass, saxophone, guitar, man, there's so many.
04:49And I've been contacting them on, you know, social media and saying to them, like, I'm such a fan,
04:56keep doing what you're doing. I'm always encouraging and mentoring a lot of young people. And I think
05:02it's important, uh, and for them to be who they are, be influenced by other artists as I was growing
05:09up. But the experience comes from actually going out there and playing and collaborating with other
05:14people and learning and, you know, be open to listening to all kinds of music. And I think
05:20that's part of the journey that I've been on is why I've been able to be here and play with any
05:26artists from country, Western to, you know, salsa, which no one expected me to do a salsa record. So,
05:33you know, write down your dreams and your goals is very important because it's never too late and keep
05:38pushing and keep creating as long as you continue to do that and love yourself. You know, it's a beautiful
05:45place to be.
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