On the path of the combos nacionales” - “Tras la pista de los combos nacionales” from Talingo 399

Interview by Eduardo Irving of Ricardo Staples

As posted on Oasissalsero.com

Translated from the Spanish by Roberto Gyemant

Even today the phenomenon of the groups called ‘combos nacionales’ is a source of curiosity. Since they existed, basically between 1965 and 1975, we have not again heard Panamanian music of such clear flavor, originality and popularity. What was it? What happened? What were their social and cultural antecedents?

Ricardo Staples was the drummer for the Soul Fantastics, one of the best combos of the era. His memories confirm for us that artistic movements that are really worth something don’t just spring from the void, but instead are the result of a long succession of questions and doubts, the urgent need to communicate the many joys and sufferings of the people, all by means of a local language that comprehends how to absorb elements of the best influences from the outside and translate them into an experience that seems to speak specifically about our particular situation. How this musical phenomenon came to be is seldom spoken about, but we all want something similar to repeat itself, and soon. In an interview with Talingo, Ricardo Staples tell us what he thinks in this regard.

T: A lot of people think that new musical movements are something that springs from someone’s head, someone who woke up one morning full of amazing and original ideas.

R: That’s a pretty naïve analysis, but I don’t blame anybody. Television shows bands when they are already formed, when they sound good, surrounded by pretty girls and driving nice cars. The hidden side is not shown. All those hours studying chords, playing in tune, vocal harmonies. Years of studying an instrument, listening to good and bad music, borrowing records to never return them, listening to songs off them until they are worn out, fighting between group members to decide what rhythm to open with or why there is no alcohol at rehearsals.

T: Was that how it was with the combos?

R: All that and then some. The Antillean heritage was much stronger in the 50s and 60s. we were truly “refined negros”, proud, educated in all disciplines, from science to music. The majority of the houses had a piano, and a working one, I want to be clear, not like many people today who buy a piano to use it as a table on which they can put pictures of the dog, the mother-in-law and the daughter that got married with a soldier and lives in north Carolina.

T: Who were the teachers?

R: They were mostly blacks who had come from Jamaica, many of whom had been studying in England. The lessons were in English and they were at the margin of what was then the ministry of education, I don’t remember what its called now. I’m sure that all this gave rise to concern on the part of the Panamanian authorities, and they finally decided to cancel these activities.

T: Why would they do something like that?

R: The level of teaching was superior to that in the “official” schools and in many of the private schools. Therefore, it wasn’t funny at all to the middle class and aristocracy that their chauffer, gardener, wet nurse or woman cook knew how to speak English, Spanish and French, while they barely spoke bad Spanish. Or that blacks played Chopin and Beethoven sonatas while their children and wives listened to “El Baile del Sillon” by Cascarita.

T: History books don’t mention any of that.

R: Look, someone said with a lot of certitude that history books aren’t much more than “bound lies”. “Hidden” history will never be published, at least not officially, and once the blacks of that era, who learned from those teachers, are dead, it will be as if it never happened : we black people will return to feeling as if we have no history, full of complexes, lacking in confidence; we’ll think we live in disgrace because we deserve it, because we didn’t come from anywhere.

But it has also been our fault. We’ve preferred to throw to one side our discipline, spirituality, cultural level; even our food and our languages to be admitted to the Panamanian mainstream, which is a coarse and crude heritage and tradition ever since the first “delinquents” colonized us from Spain.

Apart from established schools and individual teachers, one institution that gave an enormous effort in the community was the salvation army, a combination of social service with music and spiritual education. There were salvation armies in various parts of panama and colon. I know of one in the Maranon, another in Rio Abajo. Many good musicians came from there, including the majority of the members of the “vocal groups”, the true predecessors to the “combos”.

T: Tell me about them.

R: The vocal groups were the base for what would become the very popular vocal harmonizations of the combos. These groups were one chorus, to put it that way, of four or five voices: bass, soprano, alto and tenor; one main singer or soloist, one guitar or piano and nothing more. We were inspired by similar groups who were playing in the US, like the Platters, the Ojays and the Ink Spots. The most important musical groups of this sort in Panama were Los Playboys and Los Ron Coloniales. Los Playboys performed from Calle J up to el parque de Lesseps, they even lived there, went to the same church, St. Paul, that’s still there near the Instituto Nacional.

T: Nightclub and cabaret musicians that went to church?

R: Why not? it was work, and honest work. You weren’t robbing anyone. I know its common knowledge that those places are dens of perdition, that the devil is inside of them, in the young women, in the glasses of beer, in the air, in the musical instruments; which is all a hypocritical Puritanism proffered by some current preachers. The Ron Coloniales’ base was around the Teatro Apolo, right there nest to the bus stop for Panama-Colon buses. Just like the Playboys, the Coloniales lived in the same area they worked: the singer around the corner, two others up from the theater, the guitarist behind the Chinese laundry… I played guitar with the Skyliners; we played at the Teatro Rio and Club 24, next to the Teatro Encanto. This was around 1958.

T: Did the members of the “vocals groups” go on to be part of the “combos”, like what happened with you, or did they go in other directions?

R: I think most of them migrated to the united states in search of more money. There was a nightlife, but you didn’t earn much, maybe enough if you were single, but once you have a woman and children, the money just didn’t cut it.

T: During the time of the vocal groups, what kind of music were they listening to on the radio?

R: Well, the music that inspired us was the Ink Spots, James Brown, Mahalia Jackson and things we heard on SCN, the United states army radio station. Panamanian radio played a lot of boleros, Cuban music, charanga, guaguanco, many Mexican artists as well. I remember me and the boys would be stuck to the radio listening to the fabulous harmonies of groups like the temptations, soloists like sam cooke, Jackie Wilson and smokey robinson, it was something brutal, something that bordered on the devotional. We listened to them with such patience and concentration that you felt like they entered your flesh, your blood, your very soul. Something like that happened later with Aretha franklin and the supremes. And this passion for music was not just a youth thing. In my own house, my grandmother, my mother and I would listen to artists on the radio and improvise different voices, different harmonies. This love for music was more common within black families back then.

T: when did the vocal groups start turning into combos?

R: beginning in the mid-60s. the combo, as opposed to the vocal group, had more instruments, like trumpet, saxophone, drums, electric bass, trombone, tumbadora and electric guitar. The harmonization and lead singer were still there, but now the musicians participated more and did solos with their instruments, and sang as well. The influences were different too, music that was a little faster, a bit of little Richard, james brown. Of course I am taking about the combos composed of blacks, that to my knowledge, were the first, because without a doubt we were exposed to music much earlier than latino Panamanians, above all with the protestant church. Latino combos like Los Excelentes, Carlos Martinez, Los Superiores, Los Lores de San Miguelito, had different influences: musica tipica like that of yin Carrizo and dorindo Cardenas, beny more, joe quijano, Armando boza, chachi macias; later larry Harlow, Charlie palmieri… 

T: how did they all get along?

R: with a lot of maturity, I would say.  We all wanted to be the best, the most popular, the best dressed, regardless of whether the group were black or latino. Other groups came to your rehearsals to get ideas and no one got mad, what’s more, you helped your rivals teaching him new guitar chords, and it didn’t matter if you were Lutheran, Episcopal, catholic, white or Hindustani; we were all in the same ship, and only being together and sounding good could the musical enviroment prosper and remain in existence. I’ve been thinking that the disappearance of the combos was in part because we were lulled to sleep by our own fame. Everything was going good, everyone loved us, in the interior of the country, in the colon coasts we were received as if we were the rolling stones or willie colon. Then there came the moment in which we realized what we had accomplished. We had practiced endlessly for years, now was the moment to reap what we had sown and take it easier.

Of course, that was a mistake. When we were on top was when we really should have tightened the screws; involving ourselves in the latest currents, bettering our arrangements, new lyrics, traveling to other countries. But it wasn’t like that.

T: how did the combos get to be known at a popular level?

R: radio mia. They were the bravest at transmitting our sounds, which back then were considered pretty “rebellious”. There were talent contests. The group entered and went into the studio and played with all we had. After that Blanquita amaro  invited us to the “show de la una” on canal dos. Blanquita amaro was the best thing that happened to Panamanian television in that time, in that time or any time. Good eye for artists, nice, not self-centered at all, real talent. She came out of cuba after the revolution, same with lalo Herrera, leopoldo Fernandez, anibal del mar, etc.

Blanquita helped a lot of Panamanian artists. She made them sound good, with style, with class; she gave you a good introduction, with facts and understanding about what you were trying to do. she asked good questions, not the stupidities I hear on local and international productions: if you have a dog or how many girlfriends you have. A good musical presenter is much more than just a pretty face. In those radio mia and show de la una days we started to play at nice places like el Bohio Agewood, el club de clases y tropes, el jardin atlas, el jardin balboa, el club de Yates y pesca.

Later came the fiestas patronales (local festivals) of san Miguel, chiman, otoque, taboga. School festivals like las fiestas del maiz de la professional Isabel Herrera obaldia. Sometimes we went by the rancho grande in rio abajo, where you could admire the great talents of manito Johnson, maximo Rodriguez, mani nieto, Rafael labasta. People had money and life was much cheaper. The people don’t have fun any more, they work just to pay the telephone bill, electricity, and not to starve to death. Its ironic that our worst enemies are the same ones that we elect every five years supposedly with the idea that they serve us.

T: when did the first records from the combos appear?

R: I would say before 1970. los exciters and los festivals maybe were the first, los soul fantastics, the third.

T: who recorded them?

R: balito chan. We started with 45 rpm records and later with long playing. From when they were released they were liked and increased our popularity. The labels that recorded were tamayo, taboga and tropical, all Panamanian. Taboga, as far as I can remember, was an apartment converted into a studio. The whole group stuffed itself into  a small space and we started to sound. I don’t remember if I told you, but the way we dressed was very important to the combos. A considerable percentage of our earnings went into the confeccion of our wardrobes vestuario, which were tailored to fit from the best tailors.

Our store was Isaac Malca, our shoes florsheim and we shined them ourselves, or else let an “expert” who sat at the plaza cinco de mayo. he was the best, I’d like to know what happened to him. It hard to see groups today dressed with three dollar shirts and five dollar shoes made in china, but, what can you do? you play all night for 25 balboas and don’t know when the next gig will be.

T: since a few months ago, there has been commentary about a resurgence of the combos nacionales, what’s more, there are cd format recordings on the market that reproduce the Lps and 45s of the era. Do you think this resurgence is valid, given that all this occurred over 25 years ago?

R: if it means a few more dollars in the pockets of the beaten musicians, of course its valid. Now, it wouldn’t be a resurgence but rather a type of nostalgia in remembering a time and a musical style that brought a lot of joy to a lot of people. The historical situations that resulted in the combos nacionales were from that time and not from 2000 or 2004.

We local musicians have to keep creating, observing, denouncing. We, including people from the theater, dance, painting and literature, are the true voices of the people, our art comes from the anxieties, the desperation, the few joys that result from so much absurd politics.

We have to concentrate on what is going on now, and not 25 or 30 nor 50 years ago, unless it’s a frame of reference, nothing more.

T: what names do you recommend to those with genuine interest or for simple curiosity would like to know the sound of the combos?

R: los silvertones, los festivals, los soul fantastics, los beachers, los excelentes, los mozambiques, los exciters, los papacitos, carlos martinez, el pacific combo. There were more, but those are the ones that come to mind and are maybe the most relevant.