Fania Records celebrates milestone 60 years after starting in East Harlem

NEW YORK — Hispanic heritage is celebrated every day in East Harlem, where Fania Records started six decades ago. The Latin music label is still spreading the spirit of the neighborhood to the rest of the world.

How Fania Records defined Boogaloo music

In 1964, band leader Johnny Pacheco partnered with businessman Jerry Masucci to sell a blend of Latin music styles including what became salsa and Boogaloo.

Local historian Aurora Flores Hostos fills her home with the memories of Fania signees, who defined the genre we know today, blending African drums with European horns, Indigenous flutes and maracas, and a message.

“I hear Conga and I hear Latin music,” recalled Flores, “but this guy is singing in English. No, he’s not singing about the farm … He’s singing about the projects. And it was Joe Bataan.”

Bataan was a Black and Filipino boy kite-fighting in El Barrio before he grew up to be called the King of Latin Soul. Labeling himself an “Ordinary Guy,” Bataan reflected on his journey.

“My friends were all Puerto Rican, so I learned how to speak Spanish,” Bataan said. “Not very fluent, but I did get by.”

He and artists like Willie Colon and Celia Cruz collaborated to create the salsa supergroup Fania All-Stars. Their iconic, incomparable sound still resonates.

“Hip-hop rose from the ashes of the improvisation of Latin music”

In 2018, Cardi B’s sample of the Pete Rodriguez hit, “I Like It Like That,” topped charts.

“Fifty years of hip hop, 60 years of Fania,” Flores pointed out. “Hip-hop rose from the ashes of the improvisation of Latin music.”

For its 60th anniversary, Fania Records is remastering and reissuing 13 classic albums and releasing more than two dozen remastered digital albums. Flores wrote new bilingual liner notes for an anniversary compilation titled Fania Records: The Latin Sound of New York (1964-1978), coming out in January.

Bataan will release a book soon called “Streetology,” chronicling his life and the lessons he has learned.

“It’s important for the parents to pass on the history because once you sit on history, it dies,” Bataan added.

To date, Fania Records has produced more than 1,000 albums and 7,000 songs. Many of the artists are still performing today.

To learn more about the history and 60th anniversary celebration, click here.

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Jessi Mitchell

Jessi Mitchell joined the CBS News New York team as a multi-skilled journalist in October 2021, focusing her reporting in Harlem.