- Hello everybody, I'm Satori Shakoor and I'm the thrilled to welcome you to Detroit Performs Live from Marygrove, where Detroit's talented artists take the stage and share insights into their performances.

The episode you're about to see is curated by our partner organization, Latino Events in Michigan.

They bring us three diverse Latino musical performances, Armando Vega, and his salsa band, (salsa music) The Martín Chaparro trio, MC3 (Martín plays electric guitar) and reggaeton artist, Danny S. (reggaeton music) They will have you moving.

So we're all up the rug.

Everybody get ready to dance.

It's time for Detroit Performs Live from Marygrove.

- [Announcer] Funding for Detroit performs is provided by the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, the A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Foundation, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts, the DeRoy Testamentary Foundation, and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat pop music) (air whooshing) - Hello everybody.

Today, I'm excited to be here with Paula Anderanin with Latino Events Michigan, and Paula, I'm just going to start asking you right away.

What is your organization and what does it do?

- So, Latina Events in Michigan started because of the love and the need that we saw to have Latin music in Michigan.

There are so many very talented groups, artists that live here, and I wanted to provide a chance for these artists to be able to perform all around.

- So how did you curate the three that you did with, what was your process?

- Yeah, so I wanted to showcase the spectrum of different talents that we have and so Armando Vega, he is actually an amazing singer, also percussionist.

So, I wanted to bring some of that salsa flavor that, you know, we have, then we actually got Martín Chaparro, which he sings like pop rock music, which is very popular in South America and also Mexico.

So it gives you a little bit of the flavor of how we blend, - Wow - you know, rap music, pop music with a Latin flavor.

Then I also got Danny S, which he is actually an upcoming reggaeton Latin trap artist.

He's collaborating with an artist from Southwest Detroit called Aztek, which is also going to be performing today.

- Thank you Paula for joining us today and now we're going to go to the stage and see Armando Vega.

(air whooshing) (salsa music) - Yeah!

(audience clapping) - It is my pleasure to be here with the great Armando Vega whose performance you just heard and I hope that you were tapping your feet and moving your shoulders.

It was exhilarating.

Tell me what the song means in English cause I apologize, I don't, I can't speak Spanish yet.

- Okay.

The song is entitled "Amor De Un Hijo," Love of a Child is the name of the song and this composition was written by me, myself, I wrote it for my mom.

My mom passed away 2019 of December and it just left something in my heart that I got to give back and I wrote this composition for her and I was blessed to have some of the best of the best record it.

When I wrote the song and we started doing the arrangement, I knew already the concept, what I wanted for the song, which is two horns, two trombones, and one bari sax.

It gives it the full sound that I wanted for the composition.

- Yeah.

I mean, I, every instrument, every beat, all the keyboards, it's just joyful.

It's just joyful and I just wanted to know how it feels to be back on stage coming out of COVID and have all of the musicians around you.

- It's, the adrenaline is pretty high.

You know, I was a COVID victim in the beginning of COVID and overcame it and to be on stage now, sharing with some of these phenomenal musicians is just a blessing for me to have connected with these guys.

You know, I've been known these guys for many years and it's just the humbleness, you know, they have and we're like a family.

Not to mention on the background vocals, I had my daughter Adriana, she's yeah, she's pretty much following my path and within time we'll be doing a production with her as well.

- I'm just interested in the whole idea of inspiration and where people and artists draw their inspiration.

Where do you draw your inspiration?

I know that your mother inspired.

(Armando laughs) - That's a good point.

That's a good one.

My inspiration comes from my father.

My father was a folkloric singer, an improviser.

My father was known for the traditional bombas y plenas, bombas y plenas are traditional rhythms they play in PR and these rhythms, they use them to worship and thank their gods, our gods.

So, I'm not sure if you know in Puerto Rico, there's an island, part of the island, called Loíza and this is the island where back in the days, when they were held captive and they would escape, they would, they would go to this little island as a group and they will start drumming and worship their gods.

That was the freedom they had.

So my father was known for that and I grew up learning that from him, how to improvise.

- Thank you, Armando Vega.

- Thank you.

We're going to go back to the stage now and see another amazing performance by Martín Chaparro.

(air whooshing) (drumsticks clicking) (Martín playing guitar) (pop rock music) ♪ I'm walking around, ♪ ♪ I'm walking around in Detroit right now ♪ ♪ I'm walking around, ♪ (Martín singing in Spanish) (pop rock music) ♪ I'm walking alone, ♪ ♪ I'm walking alone now while I miss you.

♪ ♪ I'm walking alone, ♪ (Martín singing in Spanish) (guitar solo) (bass solo) (pop rock music) ♪ I'm walking around, ♪ ♪ I'm walking around in Detroit right now.

♪ ♪ I'm walking around, ♪ (Martín singing in Spanish) (air whooshing) - I'm so excited to be here with you once again, with the fabulous Martín Chaparro and MC3.

So I was listening as everybody and I loved the intimacy of the three of you.

- It's family, basically.

I mean the, you know, Demarcus and Adam to me, they're just, you know, brothers.

So when we play, we have fun and that's, you can see that on stage.

In fact, before the performance, I was actually telling Adam, you should look at the audience and we're like, no, we're just gonna play, you know, and have fun.

So, and that's what we did, so.

- For our viewers who don't speak Spanish, what is the song about?

- The song was actually, it was a picture, a mental picture that I had of somebody just walking in the city of Detroit and feelings that go through you, feelings of loneliness, you know, feeling of trying to think about, you know, love that you miss and how that basically invades you.

That's why you feel that it's romantic because there is a soul behind that thought or behind the music like that.

- So, you compose the music and then all of you come together and add your own sort of arrangement to it.

- Well, this is a brand new phase for my music and with them, we'll be writing music together and putting a lot of new music out there.

My goal is to try to bring more music and bridge some cultural differences, whether it's language, whether it's rhythms and try to incorporate everything, but we are all rich, you know, people, we have a lot of culture, whether you're from Argentina, whether you're from here, whether you're from anywhere.

So just put it all together and just, you know, like share with the world.

- Is there anything that you want to say that hasn't been said that you really want our audience to know?

- I'm really proud of the Detroit music scene and I'm really blessed having Demarcus and Adam playing with me in this journey.

I think that this is, it's just going to be fun from now on, I mean, it's different, different experiences, different music and different opportunities.

So I want to thank you for the opportunity to be here and, you know, and I just keep listening to Walking Around.

There's going to be more music, though.

- Well, I already know it by heart, you know, the English parts, (Martín and Satori laugh) and now I know what it's about and what inspired it.

- Yeah.

- So thank you very much.

- Thank you.

- Okay, so we're going back to the stage.

I love it there!

To see and experience Danny S. (air whooshing) (electric guitar playing) (Danny S introduces in Spanish) (reggaeton music) (Aztek raps in Spanish) (reggaeton music) - Detroit.

PBS - Thank you, thank you.

- Detroit Performs.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Danny S. Aztec Nando.

We love you all.

(Danny speaking Spanish) - [Both] Yeah!

(air whooshing) - Welcome back and we are with Danny S and thank you for being here Danny S and for being on Detroit Performs and bringing your special brand of funk and reggaeton and all of the influences that it is, where does the music originate?

- Puerto Rico.

Reggaeton originates from Puerto Rico, of course it has reggae influences, well, reggae roots as well, which of course is from Jamaica, but yeah, Puerto Rico just took it global, really.

- And how has Detroit shaped your special feeling for Reggaeton and your expression?

How has Detroit influenced that?

And what's the cross cultural exchange?

- You know, it's funny you asked that because I actually began playing rock music.

So I always, when it comes to music, I always thought about combining styles and what not, being in Detroit, having a lot of diversity, you know, a lot of rappers, great rappers like Aztec.

That really made me think about the possibilities where I can take Reggaeton to.

That's why my song Sason, which actually translates to seasoning.

- Translates to what?

- Seasoning.

Whatever you put to - Ah!

Yes, spicy.

- Yes!

Spicy, spicy.

(both laugh) So, that's why I wanted to mix up a little bit of hip-hop, you know, which is obviously American and I love, you know, and Reggaeton of course, which is something that I began to love.

- And what is the song about?

- See, (laughs) It's a party song, so there's no specific topic to it, but to me, what it's about to me, right?

Sason, what I want to say with that, Sason means seasoning, right?

That's kinda like my spice, what I bring to the table when it comes to music.

That's my essence, my seasoning, my flavor, my spice, you know what I mean?

So that's what it mean to me, a mix of not just, lyrical speaking is really a lot about just having fun, partying, really.

There's not depth to the lyrics, but there's a lot of depth to the music.

- Exactly.

- There's a little bit to the music, the sound, you know, like you heard Reggaeton and hip hop and then came back to Reggaeton, it blended so well when up, down, it was like a roller coaster and I love it.

I think people love it too.

- And what are some of the other flavors of your music?

- Personally?

I like love songs, a little sad songs, you know, I like to reference because I songwrite a lot.

So, a lot about my life, about mistakes I made.

So, you know, I'm trying to, I tried to get influenced from my life.

So, the listener can fill in more and perhaps relate it to their life.

- Thank you Danny S - (Danny S replies in Spanish) - Thank you Nando and thank you for being here and watching Detroit Performs live from Marygrove.

- Gracias.

(air whooshing) Did you have as much fun at home as we did here in the theater, I couldn't help myself.

I've got my groove on and it felt good.

So I can't wait to get out and see all of the incredible live music Latino Events in Michigan will bring to stages throughout Michigan in the months to come.

Make sure to join us next time on Detroit Performs Live from Marygrove.

We promise to bring performances that will thrill and excited you.

Yup.

Right here.

See you then.

- [Announcer] Funding for Detroit Performs is provided by the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, the A. Paul and Carol C. Schaap Foundation, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts, the DeRoy Testamentary Foundation, and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat pop music)