Eguie castrillo biography of michael

Eguie Castrillo brings his Latin big band to the Hanover

By Noah Schaffer

Battles between music stars didn’t start with hip-hop.

In the 1950s, the mambo big bands lead by Machito, Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez couldn’t get booked into the same venue.

Eguie castrillo biography of michael

Each had a clause in their contract stating that they would get top billing on a nightclub marquee.

“They were good friends until they started their bands, and then the rivalry started,” says master percussionist and bandleader Eguie Castrillo.

“But it was the people who won, because the music was amazing.”

Castrillo has no such conflicts, because he leads the only authentic mambo orchestra in New England. “There’s one or two groups in New York, but as far as I know I’m alone up here,” he says.

“I’d love to see more bands preserving this music.”

The public interest in the music is certainly alive, as witnessed by the strong reaction Castrillo’s hard-driving Latin jazz orchestra received when he headlined Worce