Dax Pacem - Amaral Records LP1010

Dax Pac(h)em is a latin for ' give us peace '. It is not a persons name as most think. The guy on the front cover is Mr Benny Vargas a.k.a. Mr Nice. I was lucky to have met Benny during my visit to N.y.c November 2007 for the latin records collectors festival. Amongst all the great that were there I and alot of others were very pleased to meet and greet and take pics with Benny. B later on told me that he was so overwhelmed and to be honest I quote ' I just wanted to say to people, What the heck you lookin at ? They made me feel uncomfortable.

That's right Benny had no idea about the impact that this recording still had today on many listeners. This was the first record that was ever released on the label ' Amaral '. The man behind the label was a real estate giant and I believe is still operating. Mr Amaral was randomly driving past a church (St Ceclias) one day, where the band used to rehearse. He like what he was hearing and approached them and was blown away with their sound, He wanted to record them and then the Amaral label was created.

This album Dax Pacem Orchestra was recorded late 1969. The original pressing was 5000 and has a darker red almost maroon to the later more light blood red labels on the 2 pressings of also 5000 at a time adding a total of 15000 albums of this masterpiece. You are very lucky if you have one of these albums in your possesion, especially if it's in shmick condition.

Band Members as record states with extra info added:

Hector Rivera / Lead Vocal ( Nobody knows where Hector is today )
Raymond Gonzalez / Vocal ( ?? )
Robert Mendez / Trombone ( living in Queens )
Gregory Valentine / Trombone ( Teaching in California & never played trombone again)
Irving Soto / Conga ( Teaching Martial Arts in California )
Willy Rodriguez / Bongo ( Now playing with Willie Villegas ' Salsa En La Calle ' )
Victor Romero / Timbalero ( Now in Orlando Florida retired )
Tony Montanez / Flute ( Living in Statton Island retired )
Steven Sierra / Bass ( Linving in Long Island )
Jose Velez ( Husky) / Piano & Leader ( Retired )
Irving Figueroa / Trombone ( ??)
Albert ( Choco ) Villodas / Vocals ( Died 2 weeks after the record was released )
Benny ( Mr Nice ) Vargas / Vocals ( Alive & kicking in Brooklyn Nyc )

Track Titles :

Side A

1. La Tumba
2. Y Que No
3. Bomba
4. I Do Love You

Side B

1. Dulce
2. Salsa La Maraca
3. Contigo
4. Cuando Viene La Paz
5. Oiga El Comentario

Benny was nice enough to invite me to his place in Brooklyn where he has raised his family of 9 kids and now is proud to have 22 grandkids. yes folks 22. dammm !!!!

Some of the things that Mr Vargas told me bout the recording really made me laugh and took away some of questions I always wanted to know. I have listed them below in an interview form.

1 on 1 with Benny Vargas from Dax Pacem

Dustin: Rumour has it that Dax Pacem Orchestra has record several other albums with more or less the same members under the Amaral label ?

Benny : The band recorded 3 albums. The second album was also titled Dax Pacem Orchestra however it was never released. Infact the record label closed down and through it out in the trash. Along with our 3rd recording also which then we went under the title ' Orqueta Dupre ' which I sang lead on. I actually took over the band and lead them with the 2nd and 3rd recordings as Jose Velez left becauses he was pissed of on how the label was running things. Neither of these recordings were ever pressed and were only on tape. And I repeat they were thrown out in the trash and it wasn't saved. There was only 2 other bands that ever recorded on the Amaral label, which were the killer salsa outfit ' La Moderna De Nueva York ' & Los Murcanos which actually were not a salsa band but a spanish group trying their luck out their luck as recording artists on the label.

Dustin : Which 45's were released prior to the first lp release.

Benny : There were 2 45's prior the lps release. The first being ' I do love you ' & Dulce'. The 2nd being ' Dax Pacem' & ' En Las Tumbas ' .

Dustin : So do you remember the other tracks that were not pressed on the 2nd Dax Pacem or the 3rd Orquesta Dupre and will you ever re-release them again with a new band ?

Benny : La Gitana a great guaguanco, Oiga Bien Mi Son - Son Montuno, Me Voy Pa' Carnaval - Son Montuno, & lastly ' Pagutin Bombero ' which I wrote when inspired buy a homless guy that was a little crazy that would always scream out ' Bomberooo ' If you called his name Pagutin. jeje

Dustin : So are you working on anything as we speak and will you release it soon ?

Benny : Yes I plan on releasing and launching my current band ' Sonido Amante ' I have nearly completed the mastering of this recording and it should be out within a few months. So look out for it.

Dustin : There is a really funky organ that I believe the Dax Pacem recording is famous for amongst others. Can you tell me what brand it is ?

Benny : This organ haha lol, It was actually just something we bought in a pawn shop for 75 dollars. I think later it was sold to someone because we bought a set of timbales. But it surely had a unique sound, that's for sure.

Dustin : Have you ever had a re-union with the original members of the band ?

Benny : Yes we all had a met up in a church in St Cecilias in 1982, where we had our first ever gig. That is also where we rehearsed and that is what also inspired the name of the band.

In closing I also wanted to share with you another suprise moment when Benny had actually sung to me, how the original version of ' Bomba ' should actually of sounded, which also happened to be one of my favourites jams on the album . He mentioned that the label was always cutting out parts and slicing the album to bits. His actual words were that ' they were killing the recording ' as you can hear in the video clip below. Enjoy....

' to download right click and save target as '

I would like to send out a special thank you to Benny Vargas for sharing his time with me and your fans all over the globe. The Dax Pacem Orchestra will never be forgotten and is always going to be talked about for years to come. I wonder if anyone actually found those tapes in the trash and has them sitting somewhere. jejeje lol time will tell I guess. It is a pleasure to keep you guys alive. A job well done to the Dax Pacem Orchestra.

Que Viva La Salsa Dura !!!!!! Dj Duste ( Dustin Anthony )

More Pics of Dax and his fans at this years annual latin record collectors festival

Make sure to also check out of one of my best buds, neighbours here in Oslo and partners in salsa crime as Colon would perhaps say. Dj Guachi Guaro who has also a great passion for the real shiz when it comes to salsa dura.. he also has some of the sound clips of Dax Pacem amongst others killer recordings on his site www.guachiguaro.com