Forty Years of Candela: An Interview With Edgardo Cambón

Before Edgardo Cambón had a band in the Bay Area, he had gigs. Arriving in 1986 with a repertoire developed during five years in Amsterdam, he booked about six shows months in advance, then went looking for the musicians who would play them. He secured those dates by showing club owners his Amsterdam demos, promotional materials and European newspaper reviews. “In a sense, I was a bandleader in the Bay Area before I had a band,” he recalls.

Forty years later, that confidence has become a working life in salsa. The Montevideo-born singer, conguero, composer and educator leads Edgardo & Candela, an orchestra whose story is woven through the Bay Area’s clubs, festivals and dance floors. His recordings include the 2025 Latinbaum Records release For Export.

At his August 6 anniversary concert at Yerba Buena Gardens, Cambón brought together a 16-piece band of past and present collaborators. Another celebration follows on November 29 at The Freight in Berkeley, under a title that says much about his relationship with his adopted home: Gracias Bay Area.

In this interview with Salsa Vida, Cambón talks about originality, the practical business of starting a band, Bad Bunny, and why crossing the Bay Bridge can still make him feel fortunate. He also reveals how he dances when he can’t “hide” behind the congas.

This interview has been lightly edited for grammar, clarity and length.

The Shows That Stay With You

Salsa VidaAcross four decades and thousands of performances, is there one Candela show, not necessarily the largest or most prestigious, that still makes you smile or that the band still tells stories about?

Edgardo Cambón: Our performance in 1996, for the first time as a band at the Benny Moré Festival in Havana, Cuba, created many great memories. I had been there many times before, but most of my band members had never been there. Also, playing for the first time at the Monterey Jazz Festival in California marked a turning point for the band.

Salsa VidaThe Bay Area has supported an unusually rich community of salsa bands and musicians. After being part of that community for 40 years, do you think Bay Area salsa has developed a sound or identity of its own? What distinguishes it from other salsa scenes?

Edgardo Cambón: You are right, the Bay Area salsa scene is definitely strong in numbers. But unfortunately, I cannot say that we have developed a Bay Area sound, mainly because the majority of Bay Area salsa bands, with some exceptions, including mine, focus on playing covers. That creates a quick positive response from the audience, if the quality is there.

Without original material, I don’t think an “identity” can be created. Forging your own musical path is always the hardest journey.

“Forging your own musical path is always the hardest journey.”

Salsa VidaMany accomplished musicians have passed through Candela over the years. What do you hope a musician carries with them after playing in your band, even if they eventually move on to other projects?

Edgardo Cambón: I should say, and it was proven at my recent 40th-anniversary concert at Yerba Buena Gardens this past August, when I presented a 16-piece band with members past and present, that everyone learned from the experience as much as I did! We all grew immensely as musicians, and I feel fortunate to have shared the stage with them.

A Bandleader Before He Had a Band

Salsa VidaWhen you arrived in the Bay Area in 1986, what was the scene like? Which local musicians or bands inspired, welcomed or challenged you?

Edgardo Cambón: All newcomers attempting to get started at a professional level in a tight and “cliquey” Latin music scene can have a hard time at first. When I arrived, there were fewer bands and fewer clubs or venues to perform in.

I recall being very impressed with the level of musicianship in the Bay Area. Bands like Batachanga, Sabor, Salsa Caliente and Conjunto Céspedes were all great bands to hear, admire and learn from.

But I had an idea, a plan of action: to present a tight, small, seven-piece band in which all the percussionists would double as vocalists. I had a repertoire that I had built during my five-year stay in Amsterdam before moving here.

Although I would introduce myself to bandleaders, my plan was to be a work provider to the scene. So I went to a few clubs back then, venues like Roland’s, El Rio, The Ramp and Cesar Palace, now Roccapulco, and booked about six shows for the band, for dates at least four months ahead. That way, I wouldn’t be empty-handed, without work, when I approached musicians.

I had shown the club owners and promoters the materials and promos I had from Amsterdam, including demos and newspaper reviews from Europe. That was enough for them to trust that I would put together a good band in time for the dates we had agreed. Word about a new band in town spread rapidly.

That’s how confident I was that I could build the band and ask musicians to rehearse ahead, instead of trying to put together a band hoping that one day we would get work. In a sense, I was a bandleader in the Bay Area before I had a band!

I must say that I got a lot of professional advice from a man who had seen me play and was managing Sabor. His name was Art Jackson, rest in peace. He believed in me and helped me along those first steps.

Salsa VidaIf a young musician tried to form a salsa orchestra in the Bay Area today, would it be easier or harder than when you created Candela?

Edgardo Cambón: A lot easier now! Except maybe for finding available musicians. Before the internet, before computers, before social media, you had to pay for arrangements that were handwritten, even for covers. Nowadays you can buy charts online for most of the popular tunes, from oldies to the most recent hits.

I know it’s not “that easy” today either. But at times I jokingly say that nowadays it’s like “Instant Salsa Band: Just add water, microwave for two rehearsals and let it cool before serving.”

“Instant Salsa Band: Just add water, microwave for two rehearsals and let it cool before serving.”

I have to confess that if they are young, hardworking former students of mine, or a youth ensemble, I even offer charts to them for free.

I used to feel more “threatened,” for lack of a better word, by the many salsa bands popping up in the current scene. Now I realize that my energy needs to be more focused than ever, and that I shouldn’t worry about what others do, either onstage or in their business practices. We all have to learn through our own experience and our own mistakes.

Sometimes new bands ask me if I would be willing to manage their band, and I reply, “No way!” I have too much on my plate as it is! But I do offer services coaching bands as an ensemble: attending a rehearsal and giving them advice. Not everybody is ready to hear my advice.

Be consistent and patient, that is my number-one advice. And to the bandleaders? Get a helmet and don’t take it personally: if you have a trio, it’s hard. Imagine a full salsa orchestra!

Bad Bunny and Salsa’s Next Generation

Salsa VidaBad Bunny has introduced millions of younger listeners to salsa through “Baile Inolvidable” and his recent live performances. From your perspective, are we seeing a genuine salsa revival or a temporary spotlight on the genre? What do you think of his music?

Edgardo Cambón: Oh my God! Your question opens a big can of worms. [Laughs.] First of all, I like “Baile Inolvidable.” It is a good tune. I was also blown away by his Super Bowl halftime show. It was amazing and brought Latin culture and Latinos together.

I also liked some videos I saw of his collaborations in Puerto Rico in front of huge crowds, one of them with none other than one of my heroes and reference points: Mr. Rubén Blades. I thought that Bad Bunny sang well, delivered some good pregones, improvisations between the choruses, and held his own.

He has also accomplished something musically that is very difficult to achieve: creating your own sound and reaching a position artistically where, with just two words or even a sound he makes, the new generations can identify him. That’s gold for any artist.

That being said, do I generally like his singing? No. Do I like his music? I haven’t heard it! But I already said it above: I like “Baile Inolvidable.” Would that song be with us many years later, like “Llorarás,” “La Rebelión” or “El Cantante,” or some of the salsa romántica hits? I doubt it.

Forty Years, and Still Getting Started

Salsa VidaWhen you walked offstage after your 40th-anniversary concert at Yerba Buena Gardens, what moment, image or feeling stayed with you most? If the Edgardo from your 20-year celebration could have watched this year’s performance, what would have surprised him, and what about Candela would have felt exactly the same?

Edgardo Cambón: Wait a minute, that’s three questions in one! In response: I had a huge feeling of accomplishment!

At the 20-year anniversary, the band was playing a lot with the same personnel, many nights a month. We had just recorded the Celebrando 20 Años CD, and it was a smaller band.

This 40th-anniversary show was planned around the current core band, but we had one or two guest artists per song, which required a lot more work to put together, both logistically and financially. We were also doing a three-camera video and a live recording, which we are still working on with the crew of my current production company, Latinbaum Records.

My main goal for that show was to tell myself, “Edgardo: Just have fun and sing.” In a way, I was celebrating my life! I never thought I would have the consistency to do this hard work, leading a band, finding work and the musicians to play it with, and trying to create original music at the same time, for 40 years. That being said, sometimes I feel I am just getting started!

“Sometimes I feel I am just getting started!”

Salsa VidaYour November concert at The Freight is called “Gracias Bay Area.” What does that title mean to you, and what can audiences expect from the show?

Edgardo Cambón: “Gracias Bay Area” as a title is also related to the date being the weekend after Thanksgiving. I am a salsa artist, in great part, thanks to the Bay Area: the fans, the audiences, the new and returning eyes, ears and feet always ready to dance.

I love playing everywhere, but the Bay Area is my home! I lived in my country of origin, Uruguay, for only 14 years. Honestly speaking, this is not an easy area of the world to live in as a musician. It is very expensive, and commutes are getting harder, as is parking.

Musicians spend hours going to and coming back from their shows. I live in the East Bay and cross the Bay Bridge many times a week. But every time I cross any of our beautiful bridges and look at where I am going, the bay, San Francisco at night, I feel blessed that I have managed to be here this long. And on top of that, doing what I love to do, which is playing and teaching Latin music.

For The Freight show on November 29, we have some special guests like Karl Perazzo (Santana, Avance) and Jesús Díaz (Stevie Wonder, QBA), and other guest artists to be confirmed. The regular members will be disclosed shortly.

The Bay Area dance group and teachers Rueda Con Ritmo will do a short performance to one of my compositions. There will even be traditional candombe drumming from Uruguay, and two hours of original music and some cleverly rearranged classics.

Salsa VidaDoes celebrating 40 years feel like closing a chapter or beginning a new one? What do you still want to create, record or perform?

Edgardo Cambón: We are still “open for business.” For as long as I am blessed with good health, have friends to play with and great audiences to play for, I am looking forward to the many stages that will receive my music.

We will also continue releasing original music with internationally acclaimed producer Israel Tanenbaum and Latinbaum Records.