Yolanda Maldonado

Touring with the Big Band Yolanda Maldonado

"One day, I picked up a journal I kept while touring around the world with the internationally-renowned Mario Bauza Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra. What wonderful visual memories the diary evoked for me! Friends and family who read my words and flipped through the colorful photographs claimed they felt as if they had traveled with us. I wanted to share my experiences with the public in hopes of bringing them inside the orchestra of this great bandleader while educating them on the highly-contagious music and the people who made it.

This inside view is unique, because I traveled with the band as a performer-yes, I sing and dance, too-and as a personal friend of Mario and the dynamic vocalist, Graciela. I listened carefully to their very detailed recollections, because their stories were not only entertainment for today, but the history of a lifetime. Both well into their 70s when I first met them, the performers demonstrated exceptional recall as they shared their captivating experiences.

I know there is an audience for this information - whether readers are music fans, Hispanic immigrants, photography buffs or travel bugs. I am pleased and proud to make people aware of Mario, Graciela and the magnificent - and flamboyant - touring band. I had a ball-I believe you will, too.
"