$39.95
Salsa Talks, Mary Kent's richly-illustrated book of interviews with the stars, is a celebration of salsa music. In their own spicy words, singers, musicians and experts guide us around the salsa music world. Salsa Talks chronicles the lives of over 40 salsa musical giants. Educational, historic, entertaining, touching... a legacy from the musicians to their fans. Learn about the most important unifying element of the Hispanic culture: its music. This book is fun to read as well as informative, it's suitable for the music fans who want to learn more about their favorite artists in their own words. "A departure from the more straight-laced, historical or musicological fare." 300 photographs. Bibliography. Glossary. Index.
Published Reviews
"What initially draws the eye in Salsa Talks! are Kent's superb, beautifully composed portraits of the salseros,
all framed in a slick, vibrant design. The musicians' stories take it
from there: fans will learn more about the sad story of salsa's clown
prince, Héctor Lavoe, whose antics delighted audiences, bemused
colleagues and ultimately took him on a path to self destruction; Celia
Cruz, universally acknowledged as salsa's queen, who surprises with her
account of how fans reacted angrily to her replacing singer Mirta Silva
in La Sonora Matancera in the early 1950s; and Joe Cuba, who explains
how he—born to Puerto Rican parents in Manhattan—acquired his stage
moniker, details his remarkable crossover to the American market in the
1960s and sheds some light on what the scene was like in his highly
competitive day, which in his case included duels between his band and
that of the legendary Tito Puente. American Eagle Latitudes in-flight Magazine, Nov./Dec. 2006.
"The book is a must for anyone with an itch to know more about the music that propels them around the dance floor or living room, but is also a significant chronicle of one of America’s most influential genres of music. Mary Kent is the Studs Terkel, oral historian." Songlines, Sept./Oct. 2006
"Este libro, en el que ''la salsa habla'', tiene una perspectiva distinta, cuenta con personalidad propia. Estamos ante un trabajo que condensa miles de horas, dedicadas a las conversaciones testimoniales de numerosas personalidades que nos hablan de la salsa en primera persona, nos relatan vidas individuales, motivos y razones para iniciar su viaje musical: añoranzas e ilusiones con nombres y apellidos." El Mundo, November 1, 2006
"Over 400 pages of previously unpublished photographs and interviews
bring fans heart-thumpingly close to the fantasy of being a fly on the
wall as Celia removes her metallic beehive wig, Ruben Blades doffs his
Pedro Navaja hat, and Marc Anthony unbuttons that last, bottom button on
his open-necked oxford shirt. Salsa Talks! is a history of salsa straight from the horse's mouth. Like a skilled salsera, Kent lets her subjects lead. Not a scholarly tome, there are no footnotes--rather, imagine a book where the footnotes are the text. Most of the words come from the artists themselves. The Independent Weekly.
"Salsa Talks is the beginning not the culmination. This music has traveled from Africa to Cuba to the Americas.... this is truly a gift of a book and it allows ou to enjoy a look at a beautiful world that's full of passion, sabor and rhythm. A must have for all those that want to understand the future. This is the real deal." Edward James Olmos, Actor, Director, Advocate
"What a wonderful concept, a refreshing change of pace from the more straight-laced, historical or musicological fare. You have a winner here. Readers will have the intimate encounter with some of salsa music's best, and realize they were (or are) in fact, human!" Rebeca Mauleón, Pianist, Composer, Author
"Never before has the store of Latin music's top performers been more brilliantly presented in words and pictures as they are in this volume. Confusius said that a picture is worth a thousand words. According to that criteria, Mary Kent's publicationof some 400 pages and 150 photographs is worth 150,000 words." Frank M. Figueroa, Latin music historian
"I'm so excited to see that the story of our music, our struggles and our triumphs will finally be told from the musicians' point of view." Pedro Knight, Musical Director for Celia Cruz
"A Treasure trove!" Andy Garcia, Actor, Director, Producer