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Salsa Hitman: Orlando Puertas, of Orchestra Capri

Back in the 1970s one of the hardest working Latin music dance bands was Orchestra Capri. Back then they were working alongside side some of the best known names in Latin music. The band released two excellent latin albums, both now reissued on CD. More by luck than anything else I managed to get in contact with one of the main players in Orchestra Capri and asked him to give me some idea of how the band came about, where they played etc. His name is Orlando Puertas, and he was the Timbales player for Capri. Here are his comments on his work with the band.

I thank you for your interest in this very special music era. First of all I was born in Tampa Florida. At age 11 we moved to New York, to the South Bronx. I am of Cuban decent. My great grandparents came from Matanza Cuba in 1912. I was born in 1946 in a small hispanic town in Tampa called Ybor city. The only music I was exposed to was Elvis Presleys' You ain't nothing but a hound dog, Love me tender and the theme song from the movie Davy Crocket. Yet right across the street from my house was a Cuban club where the most famous bands from Cuba would come to perform, like Celia Cruz and La Sonora Matanzera. In 1963 at age 17, I was expose to latin music at a house party, Johnny Pacheco. Immediately I changed from doowops to latin rhythms. I fell in love with timbales. I am a self taught musician like most of the musicians of that era.

The original albums were on the Manana label then run by the late Al Santiago former owner of Alegre records. The original title of Orchestra Capri 'En Fuego' was Orchestra Capri Tipico Minus One. One English ballet 'I Regret' and the rest of the tunes tipical latin salsa. Joe Pastrana on congas is the cousin of Joey Pastrana band leader.

Joe Pastrana, the cousin of Joey Pastrana was my brother in-law. He was a very gifted self taught conga player. This was before Latin percussion instruments came on the scene. We had to be very creative to be able to play because money was not abundant. Cuban congas were very hard to come by because of the situation with Castro. So the quality of most Latin instruments was poor. Or too costly if better quality. We would practice listening to records like Boogaloo Blues. We had jam sessions in the parks. The first band I joined was Ruben Betancounts who later recorded on Manana records as Orquestra Tentation. I was not with this band when it recorded. 

Joe Pastrana met Dukie Gonzalez and brought him to a rehearsal to do a demo with Ruben Betancourt. Felix Morales and Jose Madera were the original co- leader of the Orchestra Capri. The Band was breaking up and Jose Madera the timbalero went on to play with the late Tito Puente for the next 30 years as back up timbales and conga player. I became a very close friend of Jose Madera. He is not only a gifted musician but a very popular composer for many of the most famous bands in New York and Puerto Rico. (For more information on Jose see the LP web site www.congahead.com). Felix Morales and Mike Ortiz trumpet player sat in at a school dance with Rubin Betancourt. That is when I first met Felix. Felix was looking for a timbal player, conga player and a bass player to complete the Orchestra Capri. He called Joe Pastrana to see if he was interested in coming to a rehearsal at The Groovy Lounge 118 St and Lexington ave in Manhattan, the heart of the ghetto, Spanish Harlem. We practice for 3 months and our first dance was at the Hunts Point Palace with Richie Ray and Bobbie Cruz. We worked hard and got a lot of work as Felix had promised. Felix lived on Clay ave and attended City college while playing with the Orchestra Capri. He was a very professional band leader and always treated us with respect and always paid us on time. Which was not he case at that time with most latin bands. Louis Gonzales bass player (Louie Bass) also left Ruben to go with Orchestra Capri. 

Felix was very influenced by the old Cuban bands like Chocolate and Chappotin. The original meaning of the name CAPRI was co-operative association of Puerto Rican instrumentalists. I was the only Cuban. The name came from George Asencio the first trumpet player and he wrote a lot of the lyrics to our songs. Dukie Gonzalez sung English and Spanish and was often compared to Santos Colon. Mike Ortiz second trumpet also in first album and Willy Ramerez each did one sesson for the album. Joe Alverio was with the Capri for about one year and was replaced by Mario de Jesus as the bongo player on the second album.

The original album jacket of Orchestra Capri 'En Fuego' originally credited the band as Tipical minus One . The back cover that has a lot of info written by producer Al Santiago. On the back jacket is a picture of the band members with City college in the back ground. 


Orquesta Capri - En Fuego
and
Felix Morales and his Orchestra Capri '72

The second album was, Felix Morales and his Orchestra Capri. Was released in 1972 months after the band had broken up.The picture on the cover is Felix. 

Dukie Gonzalez , Louis Gonzalez, Orlando Puertas and Mario de Jesus were original from first album. Al Santiago original owner of Alegre records decided to invest in the Orchestra Capri. Under the label of Manana Records. Most of the arrangements were done by Jose Madera and Felix Morales. People always loved our music and when entering the club would confuse us with some of the big bands such as Ray Barretto or Johnny Pacheco. From 1969 to 1972 we were very popular and we were always there at every big event as a bottom band. We had a lot of work. Felix always kept us busy. We were a dance band not a show band and the public liked that. For example, the very talented Eddie Palmieri would perform and it was a great show bu t people couldn't dance. It was when the dance band came that people could let loose .We played with Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Joe Cuba, Ray Barreto, Johnny Pacheco, Larry Harrow, Willie Colon, Joey Pastrana, the list goes on. One night we were playing along side Tito Puente at the Corso 86th St Manhattan. I was standing at the front of the stage watching him take a fantastic solo when the skin on his drum broke. The King of Timbales. I picked up my drums and put it in front of him and he finished his solo on my drums. What a thrill for me. To make it even better not only did he autograph my drum skin but to my surprise he asked me to sit in with his band so he could talk to someone. I was shocked. When I played with the Capri if I stopped for any reason there was a gap. But this band was like a run away train. It felt like it ran by itself. You should have seen the look on Felix and Dukie's face when they saw me playing with Tito Puente's band. Every dance was a different experience. I
i magine I am a self taught musician and I had the honor of playing with all the latin pioneers. I moved to South Florida in 1976. I have lost contact with all the band members except for Joe Pastrana who is still playing congas and bongos in Tampa Florida with a popular local band. I now play congas and bongos and percussion at different Christian churches for the last 11 years. Thanks for the opportunity to go down memory lane once more.

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