Throwback Thursday 8/5- The Golden Boy Cano Estremera

This week’s Throwback Thursday gets us back in the Salsa mood. This week we’re talking about Cano Estremera, one of the most innovative salsa artists to come out of Puerto Rico. A king of improvisation, Estremera was a revered figure in Puerto Rican music.

Carlos Enrique Estremera Columbus was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico in September 1958. Estremera was albino which helped earn him his nickname, el niño de oro (the golden boy). His albinism also helped earn him the nickname White Estremera. Estremera became known for her ability to improvise on stage and used that ability to help jumpstart his career. In one instance, Celia Cruz brought Estremera on stage.

Cano Estremera began his career performing with Puerto Rican bandleader Bobby Valentin. For 6 years, Valentin and Estremera performed together, releasing a handful of albums. In the mid-80s Estremera went out on his own and became a solo artist. Over the course of his career, Estremera has released 12 solo albums.

Cano Estremera passed away in October 2020 after a failed dual lung transplant.

This week’s song is “Amame en Camara Lenta”. The title translates to “love me in slow motion”. Given the title, the rest of the song should be relatively easy to figure out. At it’s core, it’s a love song with beautifully written lyrics. Lines such as “A thread of the moon comes to look for us” helps bring this song to a high level. The composition of the track is pure 80s salsa. It’s everything you could expect from a song from this era. It goes on for a bit longer than you might want but its a perfect song for practicing your dancing skills.

From 1998, “Amame en Camara Lenta”.

For last week’s post – click here! For more Salsa history, click here!