“Esperanza" (Composer - Giovanni Rodriguez/Lyricist -Marcela Pinilla):
Marcela Pinilla - Vocals (Colombia)
Victor L. Wooten - Bass (Virginia)
Elijah “D.D." Holt - Keyboard pads (Nashville)
Melvin Macias - piano/pads (Cuba)
Don Aliquo - Soprano Sax (Pittsburgh)
Robert Torrez - Background Vocals (Mexico/Spain/Puerto Rico)
Manuel “Manotas” Ramirez - Cajon solo (Venezuela)
Yosvany Cordero - Bata drums (Cuba)
Jonathan Rogerson - Guitar (Washington, D.C)
Giovanni Rodriguez - Cajon/percussion/Bosphorus cymbals (Dominican Republic)
Mixed by Kiko Negron (Puerto Rico) at the B Room Studios
Mastered by Jon Estes
Marcela Pinilla/Yosvany Cordero/Melvin Macias/Robert Torrez/Don Aliquo/Giovanni Rodriguez - All recorded & engineered by Giovanni Rodriguez at home studio - RedLab studios
Video Editor/Boss Man/Supervisor - Steve Stokes
Manuel “Manotas” Ramirez plays Gon Bop
Giovanni Rodriguez plays Bosphorus cymbals
Information for Victor Wooten’s Center for Music and Nature can be found at https://www.vixcamps.com/
Social Media Presence:
https://www.fluxpublicrelations.com/giovanni-rodriguez
Listen to "Esperanza" on digital and streaming platforms at https://ampl.ink/prQ55
We’re all glad that 2020 is over, but the baggage and exhaustion from that burdensome year is still with us. Thankfully, there are reasons to look ahead and hold out hope. COVID-19 vaccines are rolling out, Trump is out of office and the days are getting longer as spring approaches.
There’s still a ways to go before we escape the darkness, but local bandleader Giovanni Rodriguez is here with a boost and message of hope. “Esparanza,” which means “hope” in Spanish, is the newest track from Rodriguez, a multi-instrumentalist who leads local Latin music outfit 12 Manos and the big-band Music City Latin Orchestra.
“People need to feel some light right now and I hope this song can give that,” Rodriguez says in a statement about the new single.
Rodriguez and a crew of nine put together a smooth, jazzy song that strikes bold hopeful notes while keeping a gentle and mellow core over its seven-minute runtime. Rodriguez, who won a Grammy for his work on gospel artist CeCe Winans’ Let Them Fall in Love, handles a selection of percussion instruments on the track. Another Grammy winner, Victor Wooten, joins in on bass.
Marcela Pinilla wrote the lyrics and provides the vocals, singing in Spanish about the brighter days ahead and crooning reassurances that “the sun always comes and shines.”
The accompanying video shows all the musicians in various home set-ups, with frames shifting and expanding as the song progresses. Normally you’d be able to see a version of the line-up holding it down at Rudy’s Jazz Room on Monday nights as 12 Manos, but COVID-19 has put a pause on that. Until the day we can again all go out and enjoy live music safely and frequently, you can check out the video above. The single also hits iTunes and streaming platforms Friday, Jan. 29 — you can keep an eye on when it reaches those platforms here.
