There was a time when Fania Records was the most important label in Latin music, hailed as the Motown of salsa. From its apocalyptic rise in late '60s New York to its triumphant sound empire throughout the '70s and '80s, the company sold millions of albums and its incomparable roster showcases the pedigree and sophistication of Afro-Caribbean music: Celia Cruz and Tito. Bridge. Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón and Rubén Blades. Ray Barretto, Larry Harlow and Eddie Palmieri, to name a few.
But the imprint that defined the identity of an entire genre finally succumbed – like salsa itself – to inevitable decline and the emergence of new trends. When yankee dad released “Gasolina” in the summer of 2004, many thought reggaetón was the salsa of the younger generation: Puerto Rican music to the core, avant-garde and unpredictable, sociopolitically conscious and compulsively danceable.
Hector Lavoe — Fania's 60th anniversary cover for Craft Recordings Latino's 2024 vinyl reissues.
(Latin crafts)
But Fania's legacy remains, not only in the memory of those who were lucky enough to experience the salsa explosion of the 70s in all its splendor, but also, most importantly, in a catalog that includes thousands of timeless albums.
In 2024, the label celebrated its 60th anniversary and the question of whether this hidden treasure of Latin culture is being properly curated has become more pertinent than ever.
“If you wore a Fania T-shirt in New York during the '90s, people would stop you on every block and ask where you got it,” says Bruce McIntosh, vice president of Latin catalog at Craft Recordings, the Concord label in charge. from Fania and other prestigious record labels.
“For children today, it is not their parents who listen to this music, but their grandparents. They have heard the songs and the artists but are not familiar with the label. Our mission is to raise awareness among the new generations.”
Fania was founded in 1964 by Johnny Pacheco, a prolific Dominican musician and bandleader, and divorced lawyer Jerry Masucci in order to release “gunshot” – a charming, rustic collection of lilting tropical dance tunes, including a cover of the Cuban standard “Fania.” Dozens of masterpieces followed, from Ray Barretto's expansive 1968 work “Acid” — a celebration of psychedelia, Latin soul and boogaloo — to the joyous “de Cruz y Pacheco”Celia and Johnny” – a 1974 LP that gave Cruz back her charm and confirmed her Queen of Salsa status with the mega hit “Químbara.”
“Fania All Stars” – Fania’s 60th anniversary cover for Craft Recordings Latino’s 2024 vinyl reissues.
(Latin crafts)
By the late 1990s, the company had swallowed up the assets of most of its competitors: classic brands such as Tico, Alegre and Inca. But its glorious catalog was in disarray, awaiting a shrewd buyer willing to mine its precious gems.
The label changed hands a couple of times and then in 2018, Concord Music acquired Fania Records and the publishing (its 19,000 master recordings and 8,000 compositions) in a reported deal. around 30 million dollars. Considering the enormous size and cultural importance of these assets, fans have been waiting to see what steps Concord will take to curate the Fania canon.
Turns out, not much.
In addition to making an attractive CD box set of Latin soul singles, Concord has limited itself to showing the original albums in high-resolution audio on streaming services and releasing a handful of classic titles on 180 gram vinyl. “We're releasing about a dozen vinyls around the 60th anniversary,” says Sig Sigworth, president of Craft Recordings. “We just have to choose what albums we're going to make.”
More than 40 million records were sold in the United States last year, but with streaming still taking the lion's share, vinyl accounts for less than 5% of album-equivalent music consumption. Fania reissues are ideal for DJs and collectors, but do little to highlight the depth of the label's discography.
Cover art for a reissue of a Roberto Roena album.
(Latin crafts)
In 2018, Craft released a sumptuous five-CD box set on another iconic label. “Stax '68: A Memphis Story” compiles and discusses the singles released by the iconic soul label in 1968, one of its most fertile years. Another set followed in 2023: “Written In Their Soul: The Stax Songwriters Demos.” Could Fania benefit from a similar approach?
“The first thing I would do is remaster and reissue the entire catalog in physical format,” says salsa legend Blades from his home in New York. “However, releasing the music alone would not be enough. “I would order a series of boxes, examine the music and place it in the proper historical context.”
At 76 years old, Blades is still active in music. In November, he added another Latin Grammy to his collection. Panamanian singer-songwriter, he arrived in New York in the early 70s, got a job in the Fania mailroom and from there convinced some of the label's stars to record his compositions. After a period as a singer with Baretto's orchestra, he formed a brilliant partnership with trombonist and producer Willie Colón. Published in 1978, his tropical sociopolitical manifesto “Sowing” remains the salsa LP par excellence.
The cover of a 2024 vinyl reissue of a Celia Cruz LP.
(Latin crafts)
“Something that has not been discussed enough is the contribution of salsa in the fight against racism,” he adds. “No one cared about the color of your skin at the Palladium nightclub. It didn't matter if you were ugly, had dirty shoes or were missing three teeth. If you knew how to move on the dance floor, the most beautiful girls would fight over you.”
Tomás Cookman, founder of the Los Angeles-based boutique brand National Recordsand one of the most passionate advocates of Latin music in the United States, has his own wishes for the catalog.
“If I were in charge of Fania, I would definitely take a master class on Rhino Records,” Cookman says. “I run Talking Heads and I see the kind of love and quality that Rhino is investing in the band's recent reissues.”
Cookman, a lifelong salsa fan, dreamed of acquiring Fania's assets, but Concord beat him to it when he tried to raise funds.
Cover art for a reissue of a Ralfi Pagan album.
(Latin crafts)
“Of course, it's very easy to be the Monday morning quarterback,” he says with a smile. “But I feel like Concord is shy about promoting music. And we are no longer in 1987, when 200,000 copies of a statement had to be printed. Nowadays, you can order 10,000 copies and sell them all. We do that routinely at Nacional.”
Looking ahead, there are two possible paths for Fania. One focuses on the most obscure titles in the catalog. For every Cruz o Puente album, there are a host of lesser-known gems, from the eponymous 1972 debut by The Conquerorwith 16-year-old pianist Oscar Hernández, future leader of the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, to “Online” an elegant boogaloo session by conguero George Guzmán.
The label has scoured the master tapes for demos and outtakesfalse starts and pranks in the studio: a strategy that has paid dividends for several luminaries, from Elvis Presley to crimson king.
“We have outtakes and some weird stuff, but there's nothing new,” McIntosh responds. “Everything has already been discovered. There are a lot of false starts, but not complete songs. A lot of it isn't even music, like bursts of laughter or [salsa star] Héctor Lavoe asking someone to close the door. You could add content, but digitally there aren't many places you can put it.”
“There is another aspect in which Fania has failed,” Blades argues. “They should have released new albums by the surviving musicians. The original artists who participated in the salsa explosion of the '70s should have made new recordings and organized a tour that, in itself, would help revive the catalog. But they didn't do any of that. At the end of the day, these people are dedicated to selling records.”
For now, the luxurious vinyl reissues will have to suffice. And for those approaching Fania's discography for the first time, the old albums still dazzle. with his poetry and vision.
“We also focus on teaching young people what the roots of Latin music are,” says McIntosh. “Where are those Rauw Alejandro? or Bad Bunny samples coming from. “Some of these kids don’t even know what a CD is because they’re 18.”
Album cover for a reissue by Héctor Lavoe.
(Latin crafts)
“When you look at this type of reissue, you have to be able to tell a story to be able to curate something in a unique way,” Sigworth says. “How are we going to tell it? How do we weave the music and the notes together to take that narrative where we want it to go? Fania was a gateway not only for music but also for the voice of Latinos in the 70s and 80s.”
Blades, who continues to perform at sold-out venues across the Americas, believes salsa's potential to hit the mainstream is still there.
“To think that this music is old and irrelevant is not based in reality,” he says. “I just got back from acting. a concert in cali and saw 20,000 Colombians singing. Most of them were young. I told them, 'When this song came out, you weren't even born yet.'”
