In my previous post dedicated to #danceweekend (Willie Colón in #Danceweekend [English - Español - Deutsch]) I mentioned the love I feel for the trombone and that, to a large extent, was Willie Colón one of those responsible for that passion. But they were really two the cause of that feeling in me, for that instrument belonging to the metal section and one of the most versatile and emblematic today in salsa. And I am sure that this instrument came to occupy the place it deserves today in Latin music thanks to the aforementioned Colón and a group, which was the first form Venezuela to achieve international projection in Caribbean music: "La Dimensión Latina" (The Latin Dimension).

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Although the group was born in 1972, the year that I returned from Europe and came to live in Catia, a popular neighborhood in the west of the city of Caracas, that is to say in 1975, it was that year that fame knocked on the doors of this group, which has made an important mark in the history of music, in Venezuela and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. That year is considered by many as the peak year of the salsa boom, because in all the countries where the genre was popular, there was a qualitative and quantitative leap, in relation to groups, records, sales, popularity and performances.

As for the birth of the group, the story is funny, because Oscar D'León, who was the promoter of the idea, what he did was take the opportunity, while being witness in a well-known nightclub, of the fight between the business owner and the director of the group that was playing there. Oscar D'León immediately proposed to the owner to hire his group (which did not exist yet) and promised to audition.

They quickly began to assemble the group. Based on the recent experience and success of Eddie Palmieri with the use of the trombone, they decided to use this instrument. The name was chosen to take advantage of the popularity of the US group The 5th Dimension and originally it was Dimension 6, since it was a sextet. The instruments included were two trombones, timbales, tumbadora, piano and bass, the latter played by Oscar himself, who was also the singer. Almost immediately they changed the name to La Dimensión Latina, the name with which they are still active today.

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The first success of the group came from the hand of the first album, which was shared, half played by them and the other half by the group El Clan de Víctor. That song, "Pensando en ti" (Thinking of you), marked the beginning of two of the most important careers in salsa, because there began the group and, in parallel, one of the most important singers in the world in Latin music , as is Oscar D'León, someone I'll write about later in more detail in a new post.

This one was followed by a couple of more albums, each loaded with successes. Until in 1975 they incorporate the singer Wladimir Lozano, to dedicate himself to boleros. In that genre they included two songs that are still a reference today: "Mi adorada" and "Taboga". Among other songs they included, almost as a filler, a composition by Oscar himself, "Llorarás" (You'll cry), the song that gave the world a surprise and became one of the greatest successes of Latin music. That record gave an impulse never before imagined to the genre and the group, which was consecrated at an international level.

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In 1977 Oscar leaves the group to start his solo career. La Dimensión Latina was quickly reorganized and integrated two singers to replace D'León. One was a long-time singer in the west of the country, with a very particular vocal tone, as is Argenis Carruyo. The other was brought from Puerto Rico and had an important career as singer of the group El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Andy Montañez. The recipe worked very well and the group's successes continued. One of the most outstanding songs, sung by these two voices to duo, is "Linda Minerva".

But there were many more successes of this orchestra (yes, we already talked about orchestra, since the sextet was expanding more and more), until March 23, 2017 the Latin Dimension receives the certificate of Cultural and Musical Heritage of Venezuela, by instruction of the Presidency of the Republic.

Nearly 30 albums attest to its constancy and musical quality. And all their career have shown that they are capable of putting anyone to dance, whether it's a weekend or not…