Sam Dimas y La Diferente - El Tumbao ... (2024)

El PALMAS MUSIC REISSUES A HIDDEN GEM OF VENEZUELAN SALSA: Sam Dimas and La Diferente… El Tumbao

Federico Betancourt was a great precursor of salsa in Venezuela. The first to “talk” about the genre in the country through a 1966 album titled Llegó la salsa. The fire of that album was opened by “Cocolía”, a super hit by Mon Rivera sung by Dimas Pedroza. Mon was a salsa star in the powerful New York scene: he took the stage in those unforgettable years with figures of the stature of Willie Manzano, Jose Cotto, Tito Rodríguez, Tito Puente and Machito Grillo. But despite this background, Betancourt was hesitant about recording this song.

Finally, “Cocolía” was recorded in Radio Emisora ​​Venezuela studio and unexpectedly became the boom of Llegó la salsa. A surprising event because the singer chosen to perform it was a young man who a while before was making a living as a shoeshine boy. Dimas Pedroza jumped from hard work on the streets of Caracas to performing on the city's dance party circuit with the group Federico y su Combo. Years later, Dimas would re-record the song with Betancourt's son, Federiquito.

An admirer of Felipe Pirela and Celio González (in his golden era with Sonora Matancera), Dimas is a singer trained in the world of bolero. His refinement and sensitivity in interpreting salsa surely comes from there. He always sang as a self-taught person, at school events and in the barracks when he was doing military service.

That he grew up as a vocalist under the guidance of Federico Betancourt is no small fact: the great musician from Valencia was a devotee of Sonora Matancera, Mon Rivera, Eddie Palmieri, Joe Cotto, Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe, all fundamental names of the dip. His role in the dissemination of this genre in Venezuela, supported by all that rich musical information, was decisive. And it was he who renamed Pedroza “San Dimas” after the “Cocolía” bombing.
From there, Dimas Pedroza embarked on a career with many nuances: he tried his luck recording with Rafa-Víctor y su Orquesta and with Sonora Hípica. Also with the orchestra of saxophonist Johnny Sedes. In the mid-70s he returned to work with Federico and his Combo Latino, providing backing vocals for those who at that time were emerging as new luminaries of salsa, the aforementioned Celio González and Justo Betancourt, with whom he recorded in the Conjunto Borincuba.

In the 80s, Dimas was encouraged with two atypical projects. One in partnership with the great Larry Francia, another artist released by El Palmas Music, and titled La salsa es con Dimas y Larry. And the other with an orchestra of great artists of the time that El Palmas also proudly relaunches in 2024: Sam Dimas and La Diferente… El Tumbao, with songs by prestigious authors such as Joseíto Fernández and José González Giralt and arrangements by the renowned trombonist Rafael Silva.

It is worth mentioning the great musicians that Dimas Pedroza summoned for this album: Rafael Araujo, Lewis Vargas and Gustavo Aranguren (trumpets), Carlos Espinoza and Rafael Silva (trombones), José Ávila (piano), Rafael Prado (bass), Pedro Viloria (timbales, güiro), Williams (congas), Nene Pacheco (bongo, drum), Leo Pacheco, Rafael Silva and Rafael Prado (choirs). There were also some special guests: Alfredo Pollo Gil and Manuel Icazas (trumpets), Oscar Mendoza (trombone), Joe Santamaría and Chucho Chuchochi (timbal) and Edwin Infante (maracas).

Sam Dimas and La Diferente… El Tumbao is an album that Dimas - who is 80 years old today and still lives in Caracas - never presented live. One of those hidden gems in the history of salsa that El Palmas is dedicated to rescuing to continue reconstructing the memory of Venezuelan popular music, one of its main objectives. At the time of its appearance it did not receive the attention it deserved, perhaps because at first glance you can only see the surface.

“I met Dimas through Roberto Monserrat on Radio Emisora ​​Venezuela. He was from La Pastora, San José, and worked in a hospital - says Federico Betancourt in the book La salsa de Federico Betancourt y su Combo Latino, published by the Editorial Foundation El perro y la rana -. They invited him to one of the Combo Latino rehearsals and he came. Honestly, at first I was very impressed by the timbre and the way he sang, but Monserrat and the other members of Combo Latino thought it was good and they convinced me to leave him in the group. The day of recording our first LP arrived and I listened to Dimas again and then I said to myself: 'Damn, this dude really sings well! “You should never get carried away by your first impression.”

Tracklist:
1.01 - Sam Dimas y La Diferente - El Tumbao (5:59)
1.02 - Sam Dimas y La Diferente - He Sabido Ya De Ti (4:41)
1.03 - Sam Dimas y La Diferente - Quiereme - Bol (2:58)
1.04 - Sam Dimas y La Diferente - Se Rompió El Muñeco (5:57)
1.05 - Sam Dimas y La Diferente - Tumba y Quinto (6:07)
1.06 - Sam Dimas y La Diferente - El Vendedor Que No Fia (5:17)
1.07 - Sam Dimas y La Diferente - Tus Amores (3:27)
1.08 - Sam Dimas y La Diferente - Canto a Los Niños (5:27)