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Published on: 6/24/2005
Last Visited: 6/3/2006
Oakland-based trumpeter, singer and songwriter Marina Garza, the leader of Orquesta D'Soul, launched the Women in Salsa event in 2001 in an effort to raise public awareness of the rising number of women involved in the music."I had started performing on the Bay Area salsa scene in the late '90s and I was working with an all-women band," said Garza, referring to the now- defunct Dulce Mambo.
"I realized that there were so many women in the scene, and I thought we should have our own celebration.With the exception of vocalists, salsa and Latin music is pretty male-dominated."In the past, it's been very difficult for women performers who play trumpet, trombone or saxophone to really become successful in the business, because it's such a close-knit society of men," she said.
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Garza was looking for a similar musical blend when she created Orquesta D'Soul.Opening for the hard-grooving B-Side Players at a Great American Music Hall concert several years ago, she had an epiphany when she realized that she needed to bring together her passion for salsa, funk and hip hop.While Montuno Groove mostly plays cover tunes, Garza has developed a repertoire of original songs in both English and Spanish for Orquesta D'Soul, which features vocalists Liza Jimenez and Nikki O'Shaughnessy, saxophonist Lori Ponton Rodriguez, keyboardist Kymry Esainko, and drummers Jason Gianni and Brian Andres.
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Garza has released two albums with Orquesta D'Soul, most recently the critically praised "Money Money" (Neo-Latin Records).
The revolution she helped highlight with the Women in Salsa shows seems to be spreading.Since the first performance in 2001, the concerts have spread to Redwood City, where several concerts have been held at the Little Fox Theatre.Most importantly, the gigs have helped foster ties between the salseras."We help each other out along the way," Garza said.
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