About · Barcelona · since 2000
About us: 26 years of live salsa
Arturito & La Máquina del Sabor is a salsa orchestra founded in Barcelona in 2000 by Arturito, singer and musical director. Nine musicians in the full line-up, a repertoire of son, timba and dance salsa, and a way of working that has not changed: arrive early, sound good and get everyone dancing.
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Who is Arturito?
Arturito is the singer, musical director and founder of La Máquina del Sabor, leading the orchestra in Barcelona since 2000. He is the person you talk to when you ask for a quote, the one who shapes the set list on the fly and the one holding the microphone on stage.
Arturito came to salsa the usual way: singing at home, in choirs and at Barcelona's salsa jam sessions in the late nineties, when the city had more Latin dance venues than it does today. Out of those nights came the idea of a band of his own with a real horn section, at a time when most salsa groups in Catalonia were four- or five-piece combos with backing tracks. In 2000 he brought together the first core of La Máquina del Sabor and there has not been a summer without town festivals since.
"In twenty-six years I have learned that the hardest thing is not playing well, it is reading a crowd. Knowing when to drop a percussion break and when to play a merengue. You cannot rehearse that; you live it."Arturito, director of La Máquina del Sabor
Who is in La Máquina del Sabor?
The full band is nine musicians: lead vocals, backing vocals, piano, bass, timbales, congas, bongó and bell, trumpet and trombone. They are Cuban, Latin American and Catalan musicians based in Barcelona, with backgrounds in dance orchestras, salsa clubs and the city's Latin jazz scene.
- Lead vocals and direction
- Backing vocals
- Piano
- Bass
- Timbales
- Congas
- Bongó and bell
- Trumpet
- Trombone
The core of the band has played together for many years, and it shows on stage. When the line-up is reduced we do not call in outside musicians: the same members, in smaller numbers, form the duo, trio, quintet and septet.
How does La Máquina del Sabor work with clients?
Directly: you talk to Arturito from the first message, receive a closed quote within 48 hours, sign a contract with a deposit, and a week before the event we go over timings, songs and stage access together. On the day we arrive early, set up and sound-check before guests arrive.
See the five line-ups or write to us from the contact page.
Get a quote
Shall we talk directly?
No agencies, no middlemen: Arturito answers. Tell us about the event and we reply within 48 hours.
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