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PROFILING ROBERTO DJ PANAMA

Today we interview one of the pioneers of Latin Entertainment of the State - DJ PANAMA. He has been pushing the Latin community from the very beginning, from when Salsa first came to Utah.

With an experience and history to match anyone and an incredible following, he has been the name of the community for quite sometime now, and today we would like to honor him as a person to be recognize in the salsa community here in Utah.

Give us a bit about yourself?

Well, my name is Roberto, better known as DJ Panama and I am here getting an interview with UTAHSALSA.COM. I am originally from PANAMA, from a place called COLON, which is on the Atlantic side of the country.

Marital Status?

I am divorced at the moment, I got one daughter - she is 4 years old and will turn 5 in July.

How about Religion?

I am originally Episcopalian, I grew up in the Episcopal Church and I went to a school in Panama that followed that religion.

Do you have any hobbies besides the music?

Yeah,... I like to ride my bicycle and play sports. I do a lot of sports actually. I ride my bicycle about two or three times a week about 30 miles roundtrip.

What's your horoscope Sign and lucky number?

Hehehaha, My lucky number is my birthday, is 16. And my sign is Aries.

Favorite Color?

My favorite color would be Blue!

Do you believe in Bad Luck?

uuuuuhm, yeah, Bad luck..... hmmm it exists... In fact I believe that it goes in long stretches and then it stops. Then you start having good luck, but I do believe in the existence of luck.

Do you think you are lucky because you got this far or hard work?

I won't say it's luck, but a combination of hard work and being at the right place at the right time.

How long have you been DJing?

Wow, I've been djing since I was about 14, 15 years old.... so we are talking about 20 years now.

What is the most beautiful experience that you've had?

The most beautiful experience that I've had would be the birth of my daughter. That was the best thing that has ever happen to me, ... she is my only daughter.

How about in the music business?

Music wise, I would say... doing concerts and getting to know the artists that I admire. I get to know them, joke with them it gets to be a close relationship.

Have you ever thought that you were going to reach this far?

Honestly, No, no I've never thought that I would reach this far... It's taken a lot of hard work like I said, and also being at the right place at the right time, once again. Also the people, you know, people that believe in you.

What type of music identifies you as a DJ and as a Person?

Right now...... uuum.. a lot of people know me because I am doing mostly Hip Hop now. But in the Latin community they know me for my Salsa, Merengue, Spanish Reggae... what they call REGGATON now so... I was one of the first persons to play that kind of music here in Utah.

Do you think Salsa is still growing in Utah, or has it stopped?

Right now is leveled out - Before it was growing very, very, very fast but it's now leveled out. The only thing that bothers me is that a lot of the kids doing Salsa now days don't really know the Roots of Salsa. For example we are having CACHAO coming up for the Utah Hispanic American Festival, and a lot of people don't know who he is. I mean, he is the KING, the CREATOR of MAMBO.

Do you think they need more education about Salsa here?

They need that,... they do... specially some Dj's, even now days. They hear music by Roberto Roena or Ray Barretto and they think is NEW MUSIC and it is actually old music, music that has been around for a while. You know, they don't know a lot of the music that has been around.

How do you think we can fix that, get educated?

Well now days it's easy... specially now with the Internet, they can go online and do a lot of research about the music.

Do you think Salsa is only for Latinos or do you think it's influencing a bigger variety here?

I think Salsa, is BIG around the world. As far as the dancing is concerned I would think that it would be harder to learn for people that are not from Latin American countries. So for example, Merengue it's easy... it's only 1, 2, 1, 2, ... and Salsa it's a lot more complicated than that, so it takes a while for people that didn't grow up with the music to get into it, and get it in their blood.

What do you think was your contribution in the salsa community?

I think my contribution was bringing the New Music to Utah... A lot of people like to stay stationary, and play the same old stuff... I like to play the new stuff. I like to open the doors for new artists and the new music.

What is your favorite type of Salsa?

Hmmm... I like the older salsa, that's my favorite. Roberto Roena, like I was saying before... Ray Barretto, Hermanos Negron.... Old Salseros that were THE ROOTS of Salsa Music.

Have you ever thought going into Television?

I've done some T.V. stuff with Univision... I used to do a bit of video where I did the TOP 5. I remember that in Panama I did a bit of video as well as radio.

Are you involved in other events?

uh, well... I like to be involved in a lot of NON-PROFIT stuff. Right now I am in the board of trustees for the Utah Hispanic American Festival, and I've been doing that for three years. It's something that I enjoy very much. I like to give back to the community.

Would you like to tell the community about the difference between Salsa and the Cultural events?

I would love to... I would like to introduce them to a more variety of music and tell them what is about. I mean, I remember that back in my day you could dance Salsa very smooth, and talk to your girlfriend and dance really close,... nowdays a lot of the Salseros are throwing people around - That's cool and everything, but I think they should leave some of that for the competitions.

Do you have any suggestions for the Salseros?

If I could tell them something, I would like to tell them to research the music. Learn about the old salseros, how it came to be... where it came from. How Salsa is a combination of different rhythms and styles of Latin Music. A lot of them don't know that, and I would really like them to know that kind of stuff as well.

Do you have any future plans?

Yeah, right now I am working in two projects at the moment. One of them is EL GENERAL for August, and the second one is GILBERTO SANTA ROSA in October. So hopefully down the road we'll be bringing bigger and better names in the future years.

Have you seen Utahsalsa.com, what do you think about it?

I was actually very impressed by it. It was awesome, very professionally done... Very good looking site, and I would recommend it to anyone to check it out as much as they can for updates and so you can get the hits, because you are looking really good.

Would you change anything about it?

Right now, No... its just really good. Just improve in what you have.

Any last words, for people that know you and follow you?

I would like to say "Hi" to everbody that have followed me througout the years, and still follow me even though I am not doing much salsa now days, but they keep asking for me, and people that have been there for me from day one.... I would like to thank them. I would also like to thank the old and new fans of my music, my style of music - I would like to thank everyone for the support and I really mean that from the bottom of my heart.