On April 20, 2007 I traveled with my family and my assistant, David Beverly to Las Vegas for a long overdue trip to see my longest living association in the music business, Johnny "Dandy" Rodriguez. I first met Dandy in 1962 when he was playing bongos with Tito Puente. The meeting took place at the legendary Palladium Ballroom in NYC. I went on to meet his Dad, Johnny Sr. and his mother, Tati. This family's contributions to growing my business were innumerable and it is safe to say that if it weren't for the Rodriguez family, LP and Latin percussion as we know it today might not exist.

Recordings at the University of Las Vegas: On Saturday, April 21 Dandy assembled the leading musicians in Las Vegas for the recording at Las Vegas University's studio. Long time Puente band mate, José Madera flew in from Denver, Colorado to conduct the recording of the tune, Vegas Mambo that he wrote and arranged for the occasion. It was a thrill to have the "Puente" sound come alive for congahead.com and the 7th LP Holiday CD. Vegas Mambo | 6/8 Bembé

Saturday evening we had a musicians' dinner where I had a chance to get better acquainted with my many new friends and interview historical figures such as 93 year old Cuban bongo player, Dárias and 84 year old Afro Cuban conguero, Luis Miranda. Dandy and José Madera along with several others were interviewed. Hear and see the many interviews from this evening.

Rogelio Dárias At 93 he is still a great story teller and still working as a bongo player in Las Vegas. He worked with Xavier Cugat and later with Liberace. He is old enough to tell stories about Chano Pozo and how well paid he was by Liberace. Interview

Luis Miranda He was likely the first conguero I ever heard. That was in the spring of 1956 when I heard him in Birdland with Cal Tjader. He worked with Tito Puente with the Piccadilly Boys and with the great Machito orchestra. At 84 he is still a great conguero and a great dancer. Interview

Franklin Lamothe He is Cuban born 25 year old percussionist who while only in the United States for less than 3 years he speaks perfect English and is first call when Latin percussion is called for. He is also able to handle any style of music that comes his way. Interview

Raul Collazo A native of Puerto Rico, Raul is fortunate to enjoy a dual career as weatherman for the local Las Vegas Univision station and to also work as vocalist in Salsa music. Interview

Johnny Palomo When I first saw Johnny Pacheco's charanga band in the Palladium ballroom in NYC it was Johnny Palomo that was playing conga. He is retired and living happily in Las Vegas. Interview

Jose Madera One of the few percussionists that is a qualified big band arranger, this per timbale/conga player worked for Tito Puente for over 30 years. He learned his craft from his father, Pin Madera who was the first arranger for the Machito band. He wrote and arranged a song especially for the recording on April 21, 2007. Interview

Joe Torres Played timbales with Noro Morales, La Playa and La Plata Sextets. A native New Yorker, he is enjoying the gentler weather on Las Vegas. Interview

Dandy's Las Vegas Rumba On Sunday, April 22 a rumba was hosted at Dandy's house. His concerns about neighbor complaints because of the noise were unwarranted and the beautiful afternoon in his fabulous home resulted in incredible photos taken by my son, Matthew. I was especially delighted that LP endorser and member of the Santana band, Karl Perazzo and his wife Debbie flew in from San Francisco for the Sunday rumba. Sunday Rumba

Monday Rumba at C.I.A. Music On Monday, April 23 we visited Perdomo's C.I.A Music store and another rumba erupted with Perdomo holding down the drumset chair. Monday Rumba

A Visit With Tati Before calling the visit to Las Vegas complete we stopped by the cemetery to pay our respects to Tati. Without her help there might not be a Latin Percussion percussion company which changed the face of music the world over. She passed away on April 3, 2006. Click here to see the video

While Las Vegas is known mostly for The Strip, it has a vibrant music scene. A scene where so many of the Latin musicians I met are working in multi-music settings. Everything from Broadway style shows to salsa gigs. There is considerable interest by many ethnic groups in learning to play Latin percussion instruments making percussion instruction is very active.

This was my first visit to this exciting city but certainly not my last.
I would like to thank everyone who helped make this trip an historic one.

Click here to see exclusive photos from my trip to Las Vegas.