1973 West Side Latino, NYC. Salsa Orchestra produced by Mr. Bobby Marin of New York with Andy Gonzalez, Louie Ramirez, Jimmy Sabater, Adalberto Santiago. Funky latin styled version of War`s "Cisco Kid". Arranged by Louie Ramirez. A crack set of early 70s Latin, played by "the cream of New York" – a group that includes Louie Ramirez on piano, vibes, and organ, and Mauricio Smith on flute and sax! The whole album`s pretty darn great, with a really strong jazzy touch – thanks to great work by Ramirez and Smith – and at some level, the feel of the record is similar to that of labelmates Ocho, with an equally righteous blend of styles. Most tracks have vocals, but the main focus is on the strong instrumentation – and 2 cuts on the set are instrumentals.
Side A:
A1. El Party (Que Vacilon) (3:51)
A2. Salta Perico (2:49)
A3. A Ti Que Te Pasa? (3:58)
A4. Cisco Kid (4:00)
Side B:
B1. Quimbia (4:20)
B2. Matrimonio Feliz (4:05)
B3. Entre Pared Y La Espada (3:28)
B4. Mi Pais (3:06)

“In 1972, the Joe Cuba Sextet broke up. I was not sure whether they would ever get back together and decided to form a sextet like Joe’s, using the same instrumentation but using an all-star crew to play the parts. The absence of the Joe Cuba sound would create a critical vacuum in the salsa/boogaloo market. So I called a meeting between Louie Ramirez, Mauricio Smith and Chico Mendoza to have them handle the musical arrangements and make suggestions. Mauricio and I selected the musicians. Louie and Chico will be on vibes and organ, Chico, Mago and Paquito Pastor on piano. Mauricio on flute, Mike Collazo on timbales, Frankie Malabe on conga, Andy Gonzalez on bass and Steve Berrios on drums. On vocals I’ll use my friend Manny Roman (who had done a nice job on the Ocho album), also Julito Villot and Charlie Vazquez. Andy Gonzalez on bass, Harry Viggiano on guitar. Jimmy Sabater, Ismael Quintana, Freddy Delgado and Adalberto Santiago will sing coro. The groundwork was set.

As the production proceeded I realized that this album will be great for parties. So I added my own party sounds between selections to make it sound like one continuous party. In fact, I called the album El Party and threw a party at my house to take pictures for the album cover. Al Santiago and brother Richard are among the dancers on the cover. I would call the band La Crema (as in cream of the crop). Knowing that there would not be an actual group to do gigs and promote the record. The result is a well-played, exciting, danceable album. Hear for yourself.” (by Bobby Marin, Fania)