International Latin Soul Star Joe Bataan Headlines Festival at Point Fermin
This coming weekend, International soul artist Joe Bataan will be returning to San Pedro with a ten-piece orchestra to perform at the 17th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture festival at Point Fermin Park and at Levels night club. Bataan is one of a number of featured entertainers during this two day outdoor spectacular, performing his infectious blend of tropical rhythms and inspired Latin soul that he is known for around the world. Known for such hits as “Gypsy Woman,” “Ordinary Guy,” and the Boogaloo dance craze tune “I Want a Chance for Romance,” Bataan is credited with reviving the Latin music scene in New York and the East Coast in the mid-Sixties.
Bataan scored his first big hit in 1967 with “Gypsy Woman,” and a string of others. The self taught pianist initially wrote the song ‘Gypsy Woman’ to be sung in Spanish by someone else. When that did not pan out, he recorded the song in English and it became a huge success, creating what is now known as Latin Soul. Joe Bataan would continue going strong through the mid-seventies disco era. Later he would make the first rap disco record to break the top 10 charts in Europe in 1979 with a number called “Rap-O Clap-O.”
Random Lengths News caught up with Mr. Bataan last Saturday after his sellout show at the Quiet Cannon event center in Montebello. We asked him about his life and career as a performer. What we got was an insight into how music can change the life of a man in a dramatic and positive way.
JB: “My father Peter was from the Philippines, he joined the Navy when he was 16 using his brother’s papers to get in. He came to the U.S. through San Diego, eventually ended up in New York, meeting my mother Mamie, who was African American. In 1942 on a rainy Sunday morning, I was born like in my song ‘Young Gifted and Brown,” Joe said with a slight chuckle inflected in his rich Bronx accent.
“He [Bataan's father] told me ‘I was lost in New York’ after coming to the United States. He came from a big family back in Manila. He wanted to make money to send it back home to take care of his parents, which he did. However, unfortunately he did that for a number of years without knowing his parents had passed away. His long time dream was always to return. That never transpired. I have never been there and one of my dreams is to go back, visit and trace my family’s roots.”
RLN: What it was like growing up in Spanish Harlem?
JB: “What people consider tough and struggling, was a way of life for us. We did not know the difference growing up in the barrio, it was crowded with blacks and Puerto Ricans with all sorts of other people that passed through there. We all lived together, we all survived. The big difference from then to now, we settled our differences with our hands. Unlike now if someone looks at you wrong, you are thinking is this guy coming back at me with a gun.”
There was a time in Joe’s youth when he ran with a gang and eventually went to jail for a night of joyriding. Joe's turning point came when he found himself incarcerated after going on a joyride with friends, unaware that the car was stolen. This incident, however ruinous it seemed on the surface, ended up changing the course of Joe's life. It was while he was in juvenile hall that his interest in music was renewed after meeting music teacher Mark Francis, a graduate of Juilliard, (the preeminent school for music in the nation). He was a strict taskmaster that insisted his students learn music theory before even touching an instrument. Bataan described himself as an awful trumpet player that couldn't hit the high notes, but learned just enough of the basics to put him on track to become a working musician. When Joe was released from prison, he went to a junior high school auditorium in Harlem, where there was a piano, and he wrote his first song with three chords, “Just One of Your Kisses.” The song was covered by another artist, but it was the beginning for Joe.
Joe would be an underground sensation, (with the exception of his big crossover hits) with little to no radio airplay to support his music, yet his music was heard around the world. Joe Bataan became synonymous with Latin Soul and has performed in the U.S. and internationally for the last forty-two years. We asked about his interaction with the Filipino community.
It was in 2001 that Winston Emano, one of the organizers of the Festival Philippine Arts and Culture contacted Bataan.
JB: "I was thrilled; my father would have been thrilled. I don’t know if they were ready for me, I was someone they could not put their finger on. Was this guy Filipino? He didn’t look it, but others did understand and they thought enough of me to bring me out here. With their budget at that time, I could only perform with what they had, so I used pick up musicians who did not know my music. I have performed for FPAC three times and I am coming back this time with a full ten-piece band. Everyone will see this time who Joe Bataan really is. Members of the Filipino community have come out and have seen me at different venues and are very excited about my music!”
Other artists headlining the festival include comedienne Christine “Happy Slip” Gambito, who became an internet sensation with her self-produced comedic sketches posted on YouTube. Her channel was so popular that she was one of the first that YouTube entered into a profit sharing agreement. FPAC is also bringing back such Filipino talent as crooner Anthony Castelo, and hip hop artist MC Bambu, Kayamanan Ng Lahi Philippine Folk Arts and more.
Joe Bataan will be performing at the Festival 3 p.m. on Sept. 7.
Bataan will also perform at the newly renovated Levels night spot, formerly known as La Conga - on Saturday night, Sept. 6.
The 17th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture at Point Fermin Park, located at 807 W Paseo Del Mar, San Pedro, CA 90731 September 6-7, 2008 | Saturday & Sunday | 10am to 6pm, Admission is $7 at the gate. For more information go to, www.filamarts.org or call (323)913-4663.
Levels is at 465 W. 7th Street, San Pedro, 90731. Call (310) 833-3388 for more information.
Do you have an opinion or comment about this article? Click here to tell the publisher.
Deliver your message to thousands of readers every day.
Our readers are influential opinion makers, community activists, local business owners, and politicians.
Learn more about ads with our 2012 Ad and Publication Schedule.
Call our office at (310)519-1016
or email us for more information.
