4. The Year Fania got Political
About this episode
The episode discusses Ray Barretto's political comeback through salsa music at a significant concert in Yankee Stadium.
By 1973, drummer Ray Barretto is determined to make a high-stakes comeback and to make a political statement about the role of Salsa in the activism of the time. He’s set on performing at Fania’s most ambitious concert yet, at Yankee Stadium. The day of the concert, a frenzy erupts. But despite the wild turn of events, this night cements Fania as the leading label for salsa music. And whether the label wants to be or not, the very presence of Latino youth in Yankee Stadium – one of the most storied venues in the city – makes Fania political. Listen to The Music Behind Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York playlist here . Archival courtesy of The Bronx County Archives at The Bronx County Historical Society Research Library, Maria Hinojosa for Latino USA, Mary Kent’s Salsa Talks interviews, Aurora Flores Hostos Interview and Craft Recordings, a Concord company. This episode also utilizes fair use clips from US National Archives, American Archive of Public Broadcasting, ABC, Internet Archive / formerly Radio Aeropuerto, Rockefeller Archive Center, Third World Newsreel Film Collective, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, WNET, and WMCA Radio. Want to support our independent…
More episodes of Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York
- BONUS: The Cinderella Story of New York Legend Joe Bataan
- 8. The End of Fania and the Rebirth of Salsa
- 7. You Reap What You Siembra
- 6. Fania Finds its Roots in Africa
- 5. A Tale of Two Women
- 3. The Night that Made Salsa
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