Author: José Simián

José Simián (1975) is a New York-based bilingual marketer, content strategist and editor. His articles and columns on politics, media and culture have been published by the New York Daily News, Mediaite, The Huffington Post, Sports Illustrated Latino, Billboard en Español, Latina, Qué Pasa, Etiqueta Negra, La Tercera and El Mercurio. He is also the host and producer of Contraportada, a weekly interview segment with Latino artists and intellectuals on 24-hour news cable station NY1 Noticias, and Executive Editor of Manero. Before becoming a writer, José worked as a lawyer (JD Universidad de Chile, 2002; LLM Columbia University, 2005) and taught Jurisprudence and Law and Literature in Chile. He lives in Brooklyn.

CHIA’s Dance Party: Martín Vejarano’s New Ensemble

Posted on by José Simián in Press

Martín Vejarano, restless explorer of Afro-Colombian music and leader of La Cumbiamba eNeYé has a new brainchild: CHIA’s Dance Party, an ensemble of percussion and brass that produces an exciting blend of Colombian rhythms, jazz and contemporary music. Here’s my interview with Vejarano on Contraportada.

Pedrito Martínez Makes Noise the Old Fashioned Way

Posted on by José Simián in TV

In recent years, Cuban percussionist Pedrito Martínez has become one of the most active Latino musicians in the city. Besides playing his drums for numerous other musicians, he has formed a band of his own Pedrito Martínez Group. With this outfit, he has created a devoted following the old fashioned way: playing energetic weekly gigs at Cuban restaurant/club Guantanamera in Manhattan.

In this interview, Pedrito an piano player Axel Toscas talk about their music, and having fans such as Eric Clapton and John Scofield. [WATCH]