Rolando Sánchez
FROM THE EDITOR:Rolando Sánchez lived and played in San Francisco for many years. He was a respected musician and loved as a human being for his charismatic personality and love for the music. El Reportero has the honor to introduce him 20 plus years later as one of our own ones in the city, who has reached success outside of the SF.
by Melissa Moniz
Nicaragua-born Rolando Sánchez has been heating up the Island music scene with his Latin beats for the past 20 years.
Upon moving to Hawaii in 1984, Sánchez arrived looking for a fresh start but holding on to his passion for music.
“I had two prior bands in California and they were Latin pop style,” says Sánchez. “On one of our travels to Japan we had to stop in Hawaii, and I fell in love with Hawaii because it reminded me a lot of Nicaragua.”
Four years later he conceptualized the band Salsa Hawaii and landed an ongoing gig at Trapper’s Nightclub in Hyatt Regency hotel.
“We were and still are the most popular Latin band internationally from Hawaii,” says Sánchez. “We performed everywhere throughout the state, places like Aqua, Esprit Room, Hanohano Room, Blaisdell, Waikiki Shell … everywhere you can think of.
After spending most of his music career in a band, Sánchez has decided to focus his energies on a solo album, Vamanos De Fiesta (Let’s Go Party), that released online this month.
“I’m pursuing something different, so it’s like starting a whole new road for me,” he explains. “For me, it’s a challenge because it’s throwing yourself out there to see what happens.”
Sánchez collaborated with writers throughout the world, which led him to a new sound that he says, “is the music that I feel inside.”
The album features eight tracks: the title track as well as Fuego De Tu Cuerpo (Fire Of Your Body), Don’t Break My Heart (No Me Quiebres El Corazon), Baby Say You Love Me (Dime Que Me Quieres), Ella (She), Yo Te Quiero (I Love You), Piensa En Mi (Think Of Me) and Amanecer (Dawn).
“My father wrote the song Amanecer for my mom when they first met. I had promised him a while ago that I would record this song, so when I went back to Nicaragua to see my father because he was ill, I brought him the demo.
“Even very sick he’s telling me what chords were wrong, so I reworked it into what it is.
Stay tuned for a CD release party that Sánchez says in currently in the works …
Another album that just bounced onto the music scene is Anelaikalani‘s fourth full-length release E Mau No.
The album joins a notable list of releases that have earned Anelaikalani multiple Na Hoku Hanohano Award nominations. Five years since her last release Completely, this album pays tribute to her family’s rich history. It features favorites of old Hawaii: Ahe Lau Makani, Ke Aloha, For You A Lei, Ali’ipoe, Keawaiki, ‘Iniki Malie, Haleiwa Paka, Ni’ihau, Mauna Loa, Tu’u Grandpa, Mauna Kea and Your Baby Dreams.
This article was first published in Hawaii’s MidWeeek.
