Tito Nieves: 50 Years of Salsa, 30 Years Sober & Who Héctor Lavoe Truly Was

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One of the goats, El Pavarotti de la salsa, Tito Nieves. Welcome to Gracias, come again. Honey, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. But you know what? I'm a fan. Come on. I swear to God. I mean, I God knows. I'm a fan. I see your shows at 12 o'clock in the morning, 3 o'clock in the morning. The last one I slow was with Luis Villarroa. I slow with the George Lamont, some other artists, and let me tell you something. I commend you. You like what we're doing here? I love what you're doing. And I was excited because they told me I'm going to do an interview, and I heart failure. I said, OK, cool. I love doing an interview. And then when I say, that's honey. I'm doing a heart program. Stop. I'm cutting this. I'm clipping this, and I'm saving this forever. You know what? I said many blessings, man. You're doing a great job. Thank you. And you know what makes me happy that I'm doing this for us. For a lot of people. And I say this all the time, Tito, when you stand with your people, you can't lose. That's right. Ever. That's right. Because you know, your entire career has been fueled by your people. Right. 51 years, baby. 50 years. That's what I love about the title, you know. You're in the building because you're going to be at NJPAC, right? Yes. I'll be at the NJPAC, I think, on September 26. Yes. Yeah, we'll be there September 26. Last year we did the American Square Garden Theatre last year, and this year we're doing NJPAC on the 26 and the story continues because last year we celebrated 50 years in the business. I started 1975. How blessed do you feel, man, every day, every day, honey, I count my blessings. All of the day. All of the day I got a share of my family, my dad's going to be 98. Oh my God. What a blessing. He's still kicking. He's still kicking. He's still calling. He's still calling. He's still sharp. Yeah. I was at the house and I said, "Daddy, just check it in his mind." In 1969, what happened? Casino. In 1969. Nassio, your brother and brother, okay? He was the most great winner. No. In 1969, he was the first human in the Moon, John Glenn. In 1969, he won the Nicks and won the Mets. And the Jets, too. I let him call it back and say, "Your name is your name." I let him call it back. You were like, "He's still Sally. He's still Sally." No, I'm telling you. I let him. We end the race. I think we're going to go celebrate his 100th birthday. What a blessing. Yeah. We end the race. He got to see your entire career unfold. Oh, yeah. He sees me sometimes singing on TV and he starts to cry because, cry of joy. Because he said, "The investment that he did by me a drum set when I was about 10-11 12 years old. It paid off." Is that what sparked everything a drum set? A drum set. And my dad plays guitar. And then I have an uncle. That's a great composer. He said, "Mom, I'm here. I'm here. I'm here." He'd written songs like, "Look. Come here. Come here. Come here. Come here. He's still alive. And he still has the record shop on Prospect and Westchester in the Bronx called Casamadeo. What? Yeah. He'll be celebrating 57 years in November this year. I think my sister was just there recently. Yeah. You see it in the news. People visit. He's 92 years old. God bless his soul. Yeah. He's still kickin'. A drum set. Theo Ipapi. Do you feel like that is? What sparked everything? Or you feel like you were born with this gift? Well, you know what? Before that, I have to say, at the age of about four or five years old, I fell in love with a little cube box called a TV. And in that little TV that was a show that was transmitted out of here called the Ed Sullivan Show. And the Ed Sullivan Show, I got to see the Beatles, Frank Sinatra, and I wanted to be something like that. But I didn't want to be them. I liked the applause. I liked it. When people just started screaming when the Beatles came out, I said, "Wow, that's what I want to do." And you know what? I guess that was the start of it, really. And at one moment, did you realize I have talent or I can sing? I still haven't realized it. You're still winging it? You know what? I swear he got it. I don't realize that. Who realized it? I'm gonna tell you. I don't know how I do it because I've never taken a lesson in singing. Never? Never. I don't know how to re-music. I don't know how to sing. I just, you know. You go for it. And it comes out. Hey, you know, things like that. I don't exercise. Well, now what I do, take care of myself. I don't drink. I don't drug. I don't smoke. Like I told my doctor, he says, "You're boring." I said, "What?" And I take a nap every day. I take a nap when I'm home. I have an addiction. I play pick-a-ball. Oh, you're one of those? Oh, man. Who got you into pick-a-ball? I play pick-a-ball. I play pick-a-ball too much pick-a-ball sometimes. My knees are hurting. My back. Take care of yourself. I know, man. I said, put it on my back. No. No. No, I take care of myself. And I have a lovely wife, you know, Janet, which is my manager. And she takes care of me. She promised my mom before my mom left. My mom left 13 years ago, where she says, "I'll take care of your son." And she has done a great job. You were already married when mom passed? Oh, no. Yeah. She's my fourth. She's your fourth? Yeah. And the last. She said, "I'll take care of myself." Oh, you're the one who got you into pick-a-ball. You're the one who got you into pick-a-ball. And the last. She said, "I'll play with me. I'll play with you." And she said, "I'll play with you." And she said, "I'll play with you." That's beautiful because, you know, can we talk about how important it is to have a supportive partner? You can be a star, you can be a celebrity, the world can love you, but if at home you're not taking care of properly, nothing works. But baby, I'm a star at home. Okay, my name is Umbelito, and then Tito, Umbelito, Tito's from the house, and then Tito became a stationing, but in my house, I'm soila. Soy la que vota la basura, soy la que cocina, soy la que la voce, la que frego. Manteed, I really, I love that. And like, I said, you're just, you know what, I don't know, my wife always keeps me friendly, you know, on the ground and in my public, and this is me. I always say, I don't change, man, I'm the same guy, anyone who knows me from from my beginnings, they know I'm the same guy, I never change. That's beautiful, man, your humble, you know, my parents kept me humble. El día que tú cambia con el público, my mom, you tell me, you tell me, you tell me. You kept you in check? Mommy had a strong hand, oh yeah. Yeah, me papa, you know, I never got here, neither one of my parents, but my father had a firm look. That firm look used to make me cry, you know, she's my life as a snouts come down, because it's a battle. I've never said a bad word in front of my dad, and he's going to be 98. You're good son. You know what I'm going to say, when is your papi? And that's why you're blessed. Everything starts at the house, you know, if you have, if you teach you, if they teach you the body, because in casa, it's the upper metal, where we're Catholic, and everything starts with God. And after that, you know, when your parents, they educate you very well, I mean, I wasn't perfect. I had in my, my life's of time, where I did indulge, you know, with the fast lane, the drugs and alcohol, but I've been 30, 60 years cleaning sober. Amen, look at God, look at God. You can do it, man. You can do it. You know, if right now someone listening, you know, is struggling with something, you know, having that they want to kick, it could be any, it could be gambling, it could be a sex addiction, it could be alcohol, it could be drugs, what would you say to them? Look for help. Look for help. I had, I relapsed, not one, two, three, four, four times, I relapsed, but I kept on getting up and getting up and I went through five rehabs to make it better. And here I am, I stopped in 1990. God bless you. Yeah. Now, I party, I, I'm not going to criticize that on a great time, Steve. Well, look at the times you've lived in. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. But you know, we had, we had 69 clubs over here in New York City. We should do from 10 to 14 gigs a week, roughly 48 to 50 gigs a month, and it was everyday partying. Honey, I mean, there was times I was off and I was still in the clubs. Glad old. Yeah. And my ex lies, hypersides, ex lies. Why, were you going all the way, you know, I would never stay home. Yeah. It's like what sex rock and drugs. Yeah. It's, it's what it was. And you know, the 90s, you know, for a lot of, you know, a lot of artists, whether they be rock, whether they be rap, whether they be, you know, salcedals, it was just, you know, drugs, alcohol, partying, it was just the, you know, the perfect storm for things to go wrong. Right. If that makes sense. Right. Right. Right. Right. You don't have to that. And that's the message I want to get across. You don't have to. With the music, but no, it may hold it out real, I think, as I would say. That's your heart. Of course, the best. That's your heart. Once that crowd is giving you what you saw them beetles get and what you saw, you know, and you know, why don't you today, I listen and I, I, I, I listen and I, I grasp all that. For sure. When they see teeth on you, you know, I love that. That crowd, right? Right. I love that, man. Yeah. How can I describe that to you like the best orgasm, you know, oh, yeah, because you, you know, you're there. I don't know how artists get, they fear the public, if they're there for you, you know, they're there for you. I mean, it's so easy to get on the stage and just throw the mic and I'll sing this song for you. It's like being out of karaoke. Man, you don't get nervous like, no, no, I, you know, you know, you know, I get anxious that everything would come out right. Like production? Yeah. And my wife would tell you, my most difficult time is it when I get sick and I have to perform because you can't back out. No, not only that, you got to think about the promoter who did it made it all possible, paid all the ads that he's not going to get his money back. And I have between the band and the crew, like 25 people behind me that I have to maintain. You know, families have to get fed, you know, it's not easy just to cancel. Then there's the public, the public who paid to go into the scene. You're stressing me out right now. No. And it's not even happening. And it's so true because a lot of art and no Contela, I don't, I've been on tour with Bronchitis and my wife can tell you, I've taken a whole lot of medication, I mean prescribed medication. Obviously, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But the show has to go on. No, I've had set back where I couldn't, you know, I had in 2019, I had a heart surgery because my pity cardium had enlarged and that's, it's a tissue with a heart sits and they had to remove that. So I couldn't perform. You know, today, I mean, people don't understand that. But if I have a comment called something, no, I'm better and the show's going to go on. How did you feel when you had to sit down for a while? Because you know, sometimes people are going through medical episodes. They just start feeling like life is over. They don't realize like, you know, it's going to get better. Well, you know, for me, I make a joke. I told people, you know, Batman, Iron Man, Superman, I'm the other man. I get sick just like everybody else, you know, and I always told people, don't look at me as a superhero, man, look at your parents as superhero. Those are the ones I get up every day to make sure you're fed, you have clothing, you have education. I'm just another human being, you know, just trying to make people happy with the talent that God gave me and the voice that God gave me. And in that show, I, you know, we tend to get sick, I mean, we travel so much, too, you know. And sometimes you just have to sit down and it's going to be fine and you're getting better. You know what? I'm always concerned about the fans and the public, you know, for me, my thing is more secondary. It's like teen care myself because when they, when they're presenting, you know, I want I said, wow, she has a voice, man, you look good. - You look amazing. - Thank you, thank you. - You really do it. - I take care of myself. - I can tell, the skin is good, the hair is good, we are in shape. - I love how you look. - Oh, bleak, bleak. - I want to do this. - You're not getting no stress, I can tell. - You know what, I'm stress-free. - And I can tell, your aura is light, it's airy, it's happy. - I am happy, I'm at the happiest point of my life. - Really? - I swear to God. - I get up with my wife every morning, we have breakfast. My wife sometimes goes to bed a little later, 'cause I go to bed at 10, 10, 30. I'm up at two o'clock, that's a very important time to get up. - Two o'clock, what? - Oh, I was gonna be like, you wake up at two o'clock. And then from there, I brush my teeth, and I go to the computer, and I'm there for about an hour and a half, and I'll sleep another four hours. - Okay. - Yeah, Dan, either I get up, we have breakfast, I go play pickable for two hours, three hours. - You have like a team, a league, what do you play with? - We have a couple of friends of ours that some work nights, others are retired, and across the street from me, we have the USDA, the US tennis association campus, and the courts are cheap, we're like $20 for an hour, and we rent over two hours, and we act like kids, man, we have a great time. - Isn't it so? - But let me tell you something, I sweat and alone about three pounds of sweat. I went, no, I get on the scale, and I took my wife to meet her, but when I go to her house, but it's at my dinner, and then I get sun, and I just take care of myself. - Vitamin D, your laughing, everything, you're perspiring, I can tell, I can tell you're living a good life, and I can tell you're happy, and I'm so blessed that you're still performing, you're still touring, you're still blessing us, like generations. - Thank you. - Like getting to still see you perform, like the fact that I'm gonna get to see you perform, I'm like. (upbeat music) - Zero stress this season, because Apple gift card, the Kital drama, they want to gift. Give a gift everyone will love. With Apple gift card, they get to pick their favorite Apple products, and so much more. See it for apps, games, accessories, and obvious, this device that Apple is in the top of its wish list is the gift that never fails. And guess what? I must. 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So it stays feeling comfortably hydrated. And for all my sensitive skin girlies, it's allergy-tested, fragrance-free, and safer sensitive skin. Because honestly, when your skin is well hydrated, you can feel it. Just like that, ah, feeling when you're thirsty and finally get that tall glass of water, alive and with plump-looking skin, that's an aha. Try Clinique Moisture Search [email protected]. Feels like moisture search. I never thought it would happen, you know. I get a brainho, your mom. My mother-in-law. My mother-in-law. My mother-in-law. Her body, her body, her love, her. Try it, try it, try it. Don't forget it. To know her. You know, you were, you, actor-level, where, you know, my father. My father's no longer with us. You know, we lost him to the vices of the 90s. You know, and you and Hecker, with his favors, and those, you know, those songs just, now that I hear the songs and now that I hear the word, I'm like, now I get it. Why you both resonated so much with him, you know, the struggles, the same things, you know. Whether it be the streets, whether it be jail, whether it be drugs, like, and when I was little, I'm like, I would hear the songs, but now I listen to the songs. And I'm like, I get it. Why they were his favors. You, it was a connection. You were singing for him. You were singing for so many men, Puerto Ricans, Dominican, Ecuadorianos, Tolito, you were, you were their voice. And it just feels so good just to be here, you know, across from someone that I know gave my father hope. And, you know, it makes me emotional, because, you know, we would play La Manga, and we would go, you know, from Long Island to the Bronx, Iqondos Alia, you know, Tito Nieves. (laughter) - Wow, wow, you know what? - I'm gonna tell you, I get emotional too, because that's for me, that's so gratifying. You know, that's all I want. I'm the type that, I mean, awards are nice. Your awards are nice, the Grammys are nice, the gold recognition is nice. When those words that you say, you know, that's the only thing I take with me. You know, and for me, you know, that I gave you a father some happiness. - He thought so seen. - Then my job, you know, is done, you know. And that's what I want to do. I see the reaction that we have, I was telling my wife the other day, because you're gonna see it on our show. It's not like the nightclub nights you sing before, it was, you know, occurring in the back. Now it's a production, right? So people look at the production and they look at me. You know, because they're hearing the strong, and they're looking at the production at the same time. But they leave with such a gratifying two hours, two hours and a half of great music and great production. And I think that's the importance of a performer. You know, a lot of the songs, all the songs that I sing, I'm not, not one is written by me. So I'm singing songs that were written by someone else. That's their inspiration, and I have to make it my own. So when I sing a song like "Publica", I'm not fantastic, that was the main for my son. But people, a lot of people think I wrote this song, and it was written by Henri Piloto, and that's all. Okay. And that song, I took it immediately as a, "Un desago", you know, de mi parte. Para que el público entendiera lo que yo está pasando. Cuando perdiste tu hijo. Meo. Right here in Sloan catering hospital. And that song has, I don't know exactly, maybe 10, 15 billion. Beautiful song. It's something incredible. But it touches so many hearts. You know, I'm thinking of it, and it makes me feel emotional. Yeah. You know, and it sounds like a moada, de mi namorate, all the way to love you. All the way to love you. It's a song that 1989, you know, how many kids were born to that? I can only. But nobody gives me thanks, man. It's like, yo. Oh! I mean, time to make love to this song. But, you know, it's gratifying. It's got a lot of people think that I started singing South Korean English. That's going back 1960. Joe Batan, Rafi Pagang. Bobby Chodriga la compañía. I did it in the 80s. In the 90s, you know, and took it from there. Well, I, because my deceased son, didn't understand Spanish. You know. He called me a rebel. He was. But he grew up with his mother. What was his name? Oh, me. Oh, me. He grew up with his mother. And his mother. He was with an American woman. So, he didn't speak Spanish. Okay. And one day he told me, he said, "Dad, you know, I like him. I just don't understand it." And I clicked. I said, "You know, I gotta do something in English." And then we did all of us love you and many other. Was that your first English song? No. My first two English songs were "Ten the Lovers with Correces." Okay. It was a remix from "Polite's." You look at that song. And then Rafi says, "Man, I kind of like that." So, we did all of us love you. And then we did. Wow. I like it like that came in 1994. It was late. But prior to that, every other album, every each album that I recorded had two. Two English songs. Do you remember the first time on me heard a song of yours in England? Oh, that one. All of us love you. Yeah. Did you play it for him? Oh, yeah. I wanted to know. No, he enjoyed it. No, I took him to a lot of gigs. Oh, you did it. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. So he knew that one. Oh, yeah. But the only thing then, he liked more rap. Oh, yeah. - Hip hop was-- - LLQJ. Oh yeah, yeah. - It was that time where hip hop was just, you know, booming. - In New York, he's in New Yorker. - He loved it. I was speaking of your songs. I like it like that. Can we talk about Bad Bunny and Cardi B? Can you take me back to the first time that you heard them redo the song? - You know, it's the funny thing when people get used to hearing the song, like the one we did, 1994, and it blew up and all the-- - But you can, and everybody else just blew it up and Bobby D. Ambroseo, he did the remix, the house music, the house version. Then with Cardi B and Bad Bunny, and I think it's Jay-- - Jay Bad Bunny, yeah. - Jay Bad Bunny, yeah. A lot of people were like, "Ah, but it's not the same." I said, "But it's not supposed to be the same "because I didn't do the same one in 1967," right? We took it to another level, and they're taking it to another level, and now I commend them, of course. Of course, they did a great job. - They killed-- - Oh, yeah, yeah. - I remember that song came out and it was Puerto Rican, they parade, and Power One of 5.1 had a float, and what if I tell you, we only played that one song, the whole parade. No other song was played. We had it all looped because that song was so huge. - Of course, of course, of course. - And it's crazy how a song can happen in the '60s, they happen again with you, they happen again in the 2000, but that's when it's good music. - And it's catchy, it's a slogans, you know, I like it like that. - You made a cameo in the movie, right? You made a cameo in the movie? - No. - No. - No, that was Lauren Bella's and John Seder. - Okay, but you didn't get to walk in the movie, no? - No, the only thing I did cameo here was all my children. - Okay. - They're so popular all my children. I knew you were gonna cover it. - Oh, yeah, I saw it. - Yeah, I did that, some other little things there. - You didn't catch the acting bug, acting bug. You were like, "I don't get that." - I know, I did the off-road way, I like it like that. We did it here in 2015, '16, and then they just wanted me back to do Buena Vista. - I see. - But I can't do it. - No, of course. - Do you know what it is? I have so much on my plate right now. You know, like, so there's so much I have to go back into the studio and for me to do this, honey, takes a lot. I mean, I commend actors, especially Broadway, because the other one I did was off-road, but this is Broadway. You have to do a lot. It's a lot of her stuff. - Do you know what they would have wanted you to do? I've seen it. I've seen it a couple of times that I love it. - You didn't go that far? - Bobby, I earned it. My good friend and brother, Bobby, great percussion. He reached out to me. He says, "They're gonna call you, they want to talk to you, "they do Buena Vista, and that's it, Bobby." You know what, bro? I would love to, but I can't go. - It might be the Candelita just joined, and it might be that. - I don't know. - He's the narrator, and it's a light, he's a met's player, and he's like the first MLB player to ever be on Broadway. It might have been that. - Do you ever want to see it? I keep trying to figure out what it was. (laughing) I think it was that, I think it's that. - No, we never got that far because I-- - You were like, "I can't do it." - No, I couldn't, I'm not gonna-- - You would have to move here, huh? - You would have to move here. - Yeah, but if I had the energy, and if I didn't have so much of my plate, you know, I mean, I feel good, I mean, I look good, but sometimes it's-- - Yeah, we just got back from Europe. We did one nighters, we went to Frankfurt, we went to Italy, we went to Spain. Then we went down to Peru, we went back up to Europe again. So sometimes the flight, I mean, I'm not complaining, but, you know, I can't take so much on my plate. - It's taxing on the body, you know, those flights. Now, do you still have any country that you're like, do I still gotta perform here, or are you've done it all? - No, there's a lot more I wanna do. I wanna go to Alaska, I wanna go to Sydney, Australia. I've done Japan, I've been Africa. I don't know, wherever you want me, a 1-800-quake-antente police. - Don't look at them again. Now, when it comes to, like, you know, the crowd, like, who gives you the best energy? And I know it's hard to pick a country, or it could just be a city, where is the energy just undeniably? - You know, I have to say this, as in New York, that's the best crowd. As in New York, and you know, because it's my home, pretty small, as in New Yorker. But everywhere we go, and sausage being, like, for the longest, for the last 50 years, but, you know, you have Colombia, you have Mexico, you have 200,000 fans a night. I just didn't even, they have 400,000 fans. You know, so, it's all over, man. It's all over. I guess the investment that you do throughout the years, in the respect you give the public, you get it back, that type of thing. - I love that. I love that. But I know the energy here in New York. - Ooh, right, incredible. I mean, but the energy is both ways. - Thinkin' work for work. - They're like, "Oh, he sucks." - Oh, wait a second. - What? They're like, "You know, I'm talkin' about the day before, oh, they love them." It was a double head, they're like, "He sucks." (laughing) - Do you still keep up with New York sports? And what keeps you connected to New York and now that you're in Florida? - Well, you know what keeps me, first of all, my heart is in New York. - I see it. - I read there. I mean, I'm in New Yorker. I live in Florida, but I'm in New Yorker. You and I can talk about New York. - Oh, they? - You're not from New York. Don't talk about New York. - You're Brooklyn, right? - I'm Brooklyn, but, yeah. - What part of Brooklyn? - Four green, red hook, yeah. My dad's still in four green. - Really? - Yeah, he's been in the same condo for 58 years. - He doesn't wanna leave? - Oh, my God. - You've tried? - That's another show. - That's a whole other episode, try it. - Well, Papi, he got a little set back about four years ago. So I told him, we had three brothers. My brother, Pete, he's in California, and Edgar is still in Brooklyn. So I told Edgar, Edgar, if you can convince dad to come live with me for a little bit, a remodel will remodel the whole condo. He says, bet. That's it, but it's not gonna happen. And he goes, yeah, he'll go. So when he came down, wow, my wife, she went out and bought the furniture, remodeled the room that we have at the house, and everything, better, after a month, he says, when am I going back home? - Oh, mom. - And when am I going back home? But my dad been here for 80 years. - In Brooklyn? - Yeah. - The whole time? - Yeah. - Oh, you can't get him out of there? - Yeah, yeah. He got here in 1948, yeah, in 1948. - But he loves, he loves Brooklyn, he loves New York. - He has his neighborhood, he has his routine. - Yeah, my dad right now, he's weighing 133, and he went into the service in 1851, weighing 130. - Oh, what? - He watches his cholesterol, watches everything. - No diabetes, no high blood pressure, no cholesterol. - God bless him, man. - That's amazing. - Nothing, but I think I know the secret. - What's the secret? - Give it to him. - Oh, - Un chiquitigo, no? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Now, do you go back to Puerto Rico and spend time in Puerto Rico? - Of course, no. - Where do you go? - No, no, we do a lot of shows in Puerto Rico. We do a lot of shows in Puerto Rico. I have still a lot of family in Puerto Rico. Am I, my mother-in-law in Puerto Rico? - Wish, yeah. - She's in Cayenne, my wife is from Cayenne, Puerto Rico. - You met in Puerto Rico or you met here? - No, I went met in Orlando. - On Florida? - In Orlando. It had been in Orlando since '93. And I got to Orlando, '99. - How does one meet Dito Nierves? Is one set up on a date? - You know, that's another show, aren't you? - Yeah, but no, just tell me how does one meet Dito Nierves? - I don't know. - You know, anywhere, anywhere. No, it's the funny thing. I was going through a nasty divorce. And she had gone through a divorce. - Okay. - And I didn't want to know about, I mean, not any kind of relationship. That's not nasty. - You were still going through a divorce. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - But I didn't want to, any relationship, 'cause it was kind of hard, you know, after 17 years married and costly divorce. And things happened, things happened. And we just met and I'm 17 years older. And she is, you know, she's 50, I'm 67. - Did you have any hesitation like she's too young? - No, I better know, I put my cards on the table. I said, baby, this is the thing, this is the way it is. This is my whole life story. And if I say, stop, no more. - She said enough is enough. - No, because there's always, there's always data. You know what, data is, data is, that I can't tell you all. And you always find a data that's going to tell us something. - So you might as well get it all out of the way, right? - Yeah, get it all out, all out of the way. But no, it's been the best thing that, - She keeps you. - One of the best things that's happened, huh? - Do you feel like she keeps you younger? - No, she keeps me happy. - Oh, okay. - You know why? She gave me what I needed. I needed some peace and tranquility in my life. (upbeat music) - Okay, hear me out. Tuesdays are the new Fridays, and no, I'm not talking about going out. I'm talking about team mobile Tuesdays, because when the week needs a little pick me up, who doesn't love una buena sorpresa? And now, team mobile Tuesdays are available in Español. Just set your phone to Spanish, and that's it. Be and facile. Honestly, being a team mobile member keeps getting better. Not only do I get America's best network, but I also get access to member perks and experiences I love. I'm talking streaming benefits, travel perks, weekly surprises with team mobile Tuesdays, and so much more. And I'm all about getting more out of the things I already love. So if you're looking for more reasons to switch to team mobile, there are plenty. In Guentra, las tuyes. Switch now to teamobl.com/connectate. Qualifying plan required, best mobile network in the US, [BLANK_AUDIO] based on analysis by Ucola of Speed Test Intelligence data one age 2026. Life is just better when you've got a friend to go through with it, right? Hi, I'm Wilmer Valderama from the Los Amigos Podcast. Quinter on a State Farm, they're the kind of friend you want in your corner. Your State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need, and with things don't go as planned. Your State Farm agent can help you file your claim. It helps to have someone who really listens, someone who's there like a true amigo, like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. When State Farm supports my Cotuda Podcast Network, helping to share stories that bring us together, catch those amigos, and more wherever you get your podcast. Coca-Cola for the big, for the small, the short, and the tall, peacemakers, risk-takers, for the optimists, pessimists, for long-distance love, for introverts, and extroverts, the thinkers and the doers. For old friends and new Coca-Cola for everyone. Life moves quickly, there's already plenty to do. And personally, I really like when things are clear and easy, so here's a little tip. Buying your car online on Auto Trader makes the whole process way easier, I mean, really. With Auto Trader, you can start online, then head to a dealer for a test drive, and finish wherever works best for you. So flexible, so convenient, and honestly, so recommended. And your information stays with you, so you're not starting over every time you take the next step. You're welcome. Buy your car online on Auto Trader, really. This is Iris Palmer from Against Our Lods with Iris Palmer. Um, excuse me, I need some water over here. That's when you reach for Clinique Moisture Surge, a hundred-hour moisturizer, and let your skin soak it up. It absorbs quickly and gives skin a hundred hours of hydration. It's a lightweight, oil-free gel cream, and that refreshing feeling when it melts into your skin, love. And there are some good stuff behind all that moisture too. Allo Bio Firmant and Hyaluronic Acid help skin hold onto hydration. And for all my sensitive skin girlies, it's allergy tested, fragrance-free, and safer sensitive skin, check, check, and super-check. Try Clinique Moisture Surge a hundred-hour today at Clinique.com. I was, ah, is that all men want, just peace? Well, yeah, you heard the word? You heard the word? A piece. No, my thing is, ah, I would need to live with, believe me, I live the facility. My first wife, my mother's son, Wanda, well, it was there. There was no really comparability there. We had no chemistry. She got pregnant, you know, first. And our marriage lasted lasted a year. Then the second one, Laura, Laura and I, that's when my addiction got having the party. Ah, a lot of times I wouldn't make it home. Three days out in the street, you know, having a good time. And then, ah, then was Irma, was the third one. And I was 17 years married, you know. And now, Janet, but Janet is giving me that piece that I needed. I, you know, Janet doesn't tell me what to eat, what to do, ah, no, but it's, it's the love that she gives me, you understand? You know, when you, when you treat somebody and you show them the loving way, it makes her a lot easier. And this has to be, I don't have a big house. I live in a 2500 square foot home. My biggest house is like 5,000 and 6,000 square feet. And when I got divorced, I went into my condo, it was 900 feet, but I was happy. So it's not the size that matters in terms of living space. But in this house, I have peace and quiet. Sometimes I don't want to live in, you know, living my house. I don't know. I don't know. Yes. Because the house becomes a home. That's a fact. You know, the house is just a house, the home is the home. Yeah. Yeah. And that's what we have. We have a lot of peace at the house. That's beautiful. Now, everything we do, we do together. And Janet became my manager in 2017. Because I was going through that setback with the heart situation, where my heart is perfect, which is the petty cardium, had to be removed. But I think she was, she got more involved because she was a banker from a banker. She became, she has a real estate company. And then she has an insurance license and she was very independent. And I love an independent woman. I love that. And I would never ask her to join me, but she took it upon herself. And ever since we've been together, my career has been on the rise. Because I'm going to look out more for you. Of course. Of course. And there's a lot of things that I don't know, like social media. I didn't know much about social media. I'll tell you the truth. I mean, I'd be able to know how to put the computer on it. I know it's on and off, you know. And this finger for Amazon. At the court, right? Amazon. Check out. That's it. Talk about the morning. Brother, why not? I love that. Well, I'm an addictive shopper. Anyway, what Janet know, Janet has educated me in a lot. And we had, when Janet started with me in 2017, she didn't know much about the business. To confess, she didn't know anything about the business. Did she know who you were? When she met you? Janet knew. No, knew of me, but didn't know who I was when we first met, which I love. She just was like, oh, it's a new one, but what more so? No, no. That's all she said. Janet met me as a belt on Yves, not Dito Nieves. So she didn't know me? I didn't know it was a belt on Yves. So she didn't know you were Dito Nieves? No, no. Well, that's cool. I like this. I like this. She heard of me because her father is a huge fan of mine, her father is a lawyer, and her mother is a nurse, and they were huge fan of mine. Okay. And Janet is not a Saltera. Janet loves ballots. She's a romantic. She ain't got no money. She likes to. You got no honor. All those artists are really me getting all those artists when Gabriel. And when we got when she got into the business, I had to hire somebody else to educate who the players were in the business. Today Janet has a crew of 11 loss that she has established, you know, and I see that's our team. That's so fly. I mean, we can do, I always say, you don't shine by yourself. It's always a team behind you. And let me tell you, since she's been with me, my career has gone up and up and up. We're a blessing. Not only did God bless you with a wife, but you know, a business partner. Of course. And someone who's looking out for you, not a dad rowing, not a thing, gañando, not a tablando mentira. And honey, let me tell you, and she's a great cook. It's also a thing. Not a woman. Oh, but what about you? No. Everything. Home man. Every. Out of the stadium. Elinda violavi. And let me tell you something. What? You're not that easy. I love it. No. I got. Like, really? I've lost a Dominican. I'm just a Mexican devil. No. I'm blessed. I'm blessed. I'm blessed. What you see here is what I am. I mean, I'm not perfect. Believe me. I'm not perfect. No, no, no. I can't live by myself. No. I can't myself. But yeah. But yeah. I have this. I like to be independent within the house. Okay. And Janet is the opposite. Janet wants to do everything for me. I said, baby. I can't live like this. Right? So we're pretty smart. I said. Yeah. I told her, you know, show me how I don't wash. Do you use the washing dryer? We put some new one. No, no, no. Just that. Of course, I said, Janet, please. Because when I got the wash, I lived by myself for five years. And I was doing things by myself. And I love cleaning my house and doing my clothing. Do you play music when you're cleaning? No. No. I would not expect you to put yourself on. Because what kind of narcissist shit is that? Yo tengo tres mujeres en mi casa. Yo tengo Gianna, Aleksa. He puesto en música en el Lorde. El Lorde, esto es de la parte de la Jodilla. O de tu casa. Pero no. En mi casa, yo voy a ver un poco más de tu casa. ¿Cómo te metes la gana? Me gusta. I mean, Gianna va a ver un poco más de tu casa. Y es por lo que hay que ver. Como tiene que hacer. Sí, pero mi amor. ¿Y tú qué? No, yo hago lo mismo, porque no patanto. No poca, yo no montaña así. No, Gianna, ni esa para tomarme. Me gusta. Me gusta. Me gusta. Yo creo que si me dijeron a tu casa. Si te dijeron a tu casa. No, yo creo que si te dijeron a tu casa. No, no, no he estado en la vida, me gusta, me gusta. Yo creo que ayuda a un maravillero, que ayuda a cualquier tipo de permiso que haces y de hacer algo. ¿Te ha aprendido de eso? Sí. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no yo me voy a marchar, yo me voy a marchar, me voy a marchar, yo me voy a marchar, yo me voy a marchar, yo me voy a marchar, yo me voy a marchar, yo me voy No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no (Risas) Si no trajite el celular, pa' el toile, ¡Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh god, oh no, pero, you know, it's a funny thing because, you know, just the other day, I'm sitting, we have breakfast every day. ¿Te quedé? Y yo soy mirada. Y yo soy mirada. ¿Te quedé a la pieza? Ya la quedé a la pieza. "I look at TikTok and I'm eating right and then I go like this." "You go, who are you looking for? I said my phone." She goes, "You're looking at it." "Oh never." "It happens, it happens sometimes I'm like this." "Bucando la lente." "Where's your glasses?" "Dio te la mando por una razón." "No, no, no. I have three. She's my homie tendency." "You know, she takes care of me." "De todo." "Well, you know, that is what marriage is about." y yo me siento como, sin el propio partner, no es el mejor que te puedes. Claro, no, y yo, cada mañana, me quedo y me he dicho, "Lo siento, me encanta, no es un día". Y me he dicho, "¿Y siempre me quede? Me he dicho, me he dicho, me he dicho, me he dicho, me he dicho". ¿Qué tu? ¿Y lo que me he dicho? No, yo me he dicho, "Y bien cariño, soy conmigo, bien cariño, soy". y me encanta mi edad, pero yo necesito decirlo. Me voy a ir al hospital. -After the heart surgery. -My heart surgery, ¿no? Y con 2 meses a mi recovery. Ahora, yo no puedo ir a la salida. Me voy a ir a la salida, ¿no? -On your back? -On my back. With 2 pills, ¿no? Entonces, antes de eso, antes de mi operación, yo era al hospital, yo me he quedado en el hospital, porque yo no me he quedado en mi casa. Yo digo, Johnny, voy a ir a casa hoy porque tengo que hablar de Dios. Y me ha cambiado mi mano, es una historia true, me ha cambiado de mi mano. Yo digo, Dios, me ha cambiado de mi mano. Yo he sido enfaitido por dos años, esto es el signo. Yo estoy muy contento. Sí, yo digo que me ha cambiado de mi mano. Y yo digo, si no, me voy a ir y me voy a ir a mi wife y me voy a ir a mi familia y a mis niños. Y todo eso, no voy a ir a mi mano, me voy a ir a mi mano, ¿verdad? así 2, 2 meses después, en casa y recorrer. Entonces la gente, voy a ir a mi básico y voy a morir. Yo le pido a Dios que si uno de los dos tenemos que no primero que sea yo, yo también. [RÍE] -No quiero hacer algo. -No quiero hacer algo. -¿Qué? -I would pray this thing if you want to go. -She said, "You want to leave me?" -Hah! -Vamos a pelear ahora tú y yo. [RÍE] No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no ¿En serio? Ok, al mamá. ¿Eben trabajando together? ¿You get along? No, I love that. Of course, you know why? Because we respect each other. She respects me musically, and she's the business partner of the business. She's the business head. And I'm not in one of the meetings behind closed doors when she has to negotiate, when she has the business meetings every Tuesday they have business meetings. I do my own thing. Pero yo respecto su espacio, yo respecto mi. Yo lo sé, y tal vez eso es el marido. Sí, sí, yo lo he repetido nada. Es verdad. Yo lo sé. Yo lo he repetido nada. Sí, yo lo he repetido nada. Y tú lo sabes, ¿qué quiere el mejor para tú? ¿Y tú lo mejor? 100%. Of course. Yo lo sé. Yo lo sé. Sí. Yo lo sé. Sí, sí. Cuando empezamos en el interview, tú lo menciones, Luis Figueroa. Figueroa. Yo creo que Franky cópia estaba aquí. Sí, Franky cópia estaba aquí. Yo creo que te imagino mi chupo. Sí, él imagino mi chupo. Sí, no. Pero él dijo que era un poco. Él dijo que él me dijo que él te llamó a los proyectos. Él dijo que él era un poco. Sí, él dijo mi historia. ¿Qué es lo que te lo hizo? Yo me dijo que él era un poco. Oh, 100%. ¿No es no Johnny Black? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no de 50 pounds, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo No sé, no sé, no sé, no sé, no sé, no sé, no sé, no sé, no sé, lo que significa travelin, para hacer planos con el cruz, siempre hay algo en el calender. Así que estoy hablando de lo más que de las cosas que estoy haciendo. Y eso es lo que me gusta de ser un member de T-Mobile. Me invito a Amarika's Best Network y weekly perks con T-Mobile Tuesdays. Cada semana, hay algo nuevo para checar. From savings on movie tickets y streaming benefits a la accesibilidad de las experiencias unforgettable. Y ahora, T-Mobile Tuesdays está evaliendo en Spanish. Justa your phone is Spanish, I know, easy, right? That's a lot of value on top of the network that already gives you the most. And it's just one of the reasons to switch to T-Mobile. Find yours. Visit T-Mobile.com/switch. Qualifying plan required, best mobile network in the US based on the analysis by Ucla of Speed Test Intelligence Data, 1-H-2026. - Hey, I'm Freddie Prinz, Jr. And I talk a lot about twists, turns, and the unexpected moments that happened inside the ring on wrestling with Freddie. Pero la verdad que he aprendido, no te vuelvo a dar un poco de tu oponencia en el ring, sin que tienes tu partner con tu. Es para haber una nueva vida como la vida real. El tipo de que te puede llamar cuando la vida te desvió algo unexpected. Es cuando me recomiendo que te rechazes a tu ciudad de la Argentina. Te puedes ayudar a la gente que te encuentras antes de lo que ocurrías y que te da cuenta de que te da cuenta cuando es. Cuando es algo de la ordenada o de todo el día de la vida, es bien que te den a tu cuerpo. ¡Like a Good Neighbor! State Farm is there, and thanks to State Farm's support of Michael Tura Podcast Network, you can catch new episodes of Wrestling with Freddie wherever you listen to podcasts. For old friends and new, Coca-Cola. For everyone, pick up some Coca-Cola at a store near you. Life moves quickly. I mean, really. So flexible, so convenient, and honestly so recommended. You're welcome. Really. This is Iris Palmer from against all odds with Iris Palmer. Excuse me, I need some water over here. That's when you reach for Clinique Moisture Surge, 100-hour moisturizer, and let your skin soak it up. Allo bio ferment and hyaluronic acid help skin hold onto hydration. And for all my sensitive skin girlies, it's allergy tested, fragrance-free, and safer sensitive skin. Just like that, ah, feeling when you're thirsty and finally get that tall glass of water. Alive and with plump-looking skin, that's an aha. Try Clinique Moisture Surge, [email protected]. And you know, I'm so glad you made it up here. And you know, for our listeners and you know, for our true Salcedos, I want you to share a story actor-level related. Bring me back. Tell me something funny. Tell me something. No one may be knowing. It's not good. It's going to be hard for me that no one knows because I've done so many interviews. I want you to understand something. I'm in Brooklyn. And my dad didn't have a huge collection of records. But he always had the Salcedo, the Merengue, Rancera, or Lothrio type of music. So when Cheche Collet came in in 1973-72, that's when that bug hit me. That's salsa bug. Because I used to be a rocker. I just love R&B. You like Rancheras too? Did you like Rancheras too? That's what I love it. That's what I read. I love it. I love music. So I would go from like W-A-B-C to W-A-L-S type of thing. And what happens when I heard Cheche Collet for the first time. And I heard the Willy Cologne. I said, "Wow, I like this. I like this." So then after, shortly after that, I think in 1974, Hayte goes on his own and there's a Tolo Poguelo problem. And I'm looking at the record. And I said, "Wow, it's the level." So I became a background vocalist from a band called Guetta Shimaru locally in 1975. 1977, I became the least singer. And in 1978, I got a phone call from Hector Lebole. Now, I'm in my mother's house. Now, you can see I'm a joker. I love to make people laugh. So I picked a phone and all I hear is "Puola con Tito Nieves." And I said, "Sí, que habla?" "Pito la bomba." I said, "Yeah, right." "Pito la bomba." Okay, Merat, "Pito la Tito Nieve." And then he said, "The Pee World." "Niada, aso." Hector comete a tabama. So then he had Jose Manuel, which could also, I would say, prove to this on another phone, because at that time, the three-way was you pick up a phone, I pick up the landline, you pick up the landline. So we're talking on all three of us. So Manuel is going to leave the band to record his own record. I think it was Campanero at that time. And Hector says, "Would you like to be a member of my band?" I said, "What I want?" I said, "Of course." That's like LeBron James asking, "You want to play basketball with me?" You know, that's everything. And I said, "Of course, he goes, do you know any of my son?" I said, "I know your whole repertoire." You were ready. Yeah. So I had gone to a live gig with him. I think it was at the course, so that was in 1878, you know? And Hector, to me, was like an older brother. I couldn't believe it. I could not believe it. I'm putting Maracas and looking at him like, "Oh, this is really Hector. I'm really here." You know? Hector and I became very close, very, very close. And then in 1978, I was approached to record with a band called Masaca de Puerto Rico. And he gave me that confidence, still, you're ready. You're ready to go and record. And then from there, you know, I left 1979. I left the band. But Hector was my mentor, my everything, my everything. Do you feel like the movie with Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez depicted him properly? Not really, not really, because they focused more on the negative side. You know, Hector was like that. I was a neighbor for many years. He lived here on 15th and 8th Avenue. He lived here a short time, and then he moved to Queens, and I lived in Queens. I lived in Far Shills, my second wife. And I used to go to his house. He used to live on the high rise of Queens Boulevard. And normal life. And put you with Cook, normally, you know? Matter of fact, I'm selling contact with his sister, a persilla, the only living sibling of his and his daughter Leslie in Puerto Rico. But Hector lived a normal life. The movie was too glamourous. Yeah. They focused more on the negative side. Like the tragedy of it all. And that was Hector all the time. He had a great personality. I mean, Marc did a great job. Oh, no, he didn't accept. Marc did a great job. And Jennifer too. Oh, no, they killed. They did a great, great job. But the fans didn't like it because they focused so much on the negative. They should have focused more on the positive side. But Hector, Hector didn't know who he was. Hector did not know who he was. Hector, I mean, he was great in what he did, but he was so humble. Hector would give the band boy his first class ticket. I swear to God. And go to the back just to hang out with the guys. You know, Hector, Hector was Hector. I miss him daily. I do. To talk about Hector, I get like, you know, yeah, because Hector, I still have a $2 bill in my house. And it reads Tito while that I was in Mano, he nunca te verá pedo. Hector, that was 1978. And you still have that $2 bill? That tells me how important he was. Oh, yeah. Because I'm sure you've moved. But I've been blessed because in 1975, when I initiated it in the industry, was when the finance was at their point, at the high point. So Hector got me to meet my Miranda, Joe Feliciano, Peter Gondese, Leacruz. And we toured all over the world with them, man. Bejo. Yeah. The goats, the legends. And those names are usually said, I'm like, oh, yeah, no se compara. No se compara. Oh, yeah, oh, yeah. And I, I've told my wife too. And, and, and honey, I, I don't think more lately. But I always tell her, did I die? Please tell my fans don't cry for me. You know why, I've lived the floor. I don't want to die. I want to go. Hey, my, my limit is 100, you know, and I'm 67. So I want to reach 100. I don't know. That is 98. So you might not say, oh, no, we have a cousin, 104. We have a cousin, 104. Another cousin, she's 100. My uncle and my mother's side are 105. Oh, yeah. She signed up for it. So I don't know what to tell her. Hey, it's a keryakasa, with that. Kasatya, with that. No, let's talk about the concert, man. We're going to, this is coming out before the concert air. So it's like anybody who's listening to this episode, So if you're a Tito Nieves fan, join us. Like, story, I continue on. - Like, story continue on. And let me tell you, I've seen the production. It's a hell of a production. It's nothing, nothing like the 50th anniversary, the 50th anniversary, I had a lot of invites. This one is more a production type of thing. We change the stage. It's almost like, I have to be on my toes for this, you know? - You know what you're wearing? - No, I'm not really, it's just, you know the production, we have a guy doing our graphic. His real name, I don't know, his name is Fluffy. Fluffy, you gotta see the graphics. - Sick. - I mean, I'm telling you, I wish I can turn around as I'm singing. - And it be, oh, to watch a go down. - I'm YouTube, I do, on YouTube, you know? But it's the whole team. The whole team that I have, the band, the whole team. And they're gonna be in for good treat. I'm telling you, they're gonna continue. I'm gonna sing songs that I couldn't sing in the 50th anniversary. I had like 38 songs, I was singing. Yeah, we did three hours, three hours and a half. - That's what, what how many hours can we expect now? - They sound like two or two and a half hours. - That's a good, that's a good set. - That's good enough. - That's a good set. I want my money's worth. I want you to sang, okay? - I want my sang. - Don't play with me. - Why can't the jersey I need you to, you know? - You know why? - You know why? Because I mean, after I finish, I feel tired. But generally, you know, the people, you see the faces, I love that. Honey, I love the stage. I do, you know, it was so hard with the pandemic because I just wanted to be out there. And we did two, we did two concerts, what they call it, virtual? - Yeah, virtual concerts. - And I used to do commercial concerts, I had a podcast. - Oh nice. - Yeah, we had every Monday. We had-- - During the pandemic? - Yeah, we had, and before the pandemic, it started 2018. And then with the pandemic, it took all. We had a month, like 27 men coming in, checking out, checking out, yeah, the contents, yeah. - And then you were like-- - No, yeah, you know what, I commend you, but I can't be doing this. I got to be doing my thing. - Now for sure, man, plus, you got to be out here and detaining the masses. - Of course. - Plotter, 'cause the onstage. That's what, you know, that's what gives you that. - Yeah. You know, my only thing, my only gripe today is that I see that we need to give more exposure to the young crowd, the young artists, but we forget all. - Young artists. - Hey, Christian Alicea. - I love her. - Danila, I'm good. - Lenita, artist. - I'm telling you, man, you gotta give, you know why? Because I see a lot of older artists, a lot of colleagues and minds that can't do it anymore. They can't give it up, you know? And to me, it's like I always think about it as sports. You know, when you see a basketball player can't jump anymore. When you see a baseball player, he strikes out at, you know-- - I tell them. - Right, but that's the opportunity that I'm asking of people that give these young, you know, artists, man, I mean, Alberto Veles, Carlito García, David Cada, you know, he's a rante, he's doing great. But how many years? You got to keep that in mind. You got to accept your people that they're not going to do. - Oh, it's man, you know? They want to be at the level in my Miranda, Joe Feliciano, Tito, Alberto, Carani, you know? They want to be those. - And it's beautiful that, you know, they're keeping, you know, the genre alive. - Of course. - I mean, thank you, I tell you, thank you, thank you, bad boy. - Really? - Yeah. - Yeah. - Because he's kept it alive, you know? I mean, salsa was never dead. - No, it was never dead. - You know why? Because when you have-- - La Megha tells me everything I need to know. - No, never, man, you know, you have gran combo, you have Willy Rosari, you have Caldeleon, Sonora Ponceña. I mean, 70 years in the making. You know, I'm just, I'm just touching 50 years. But these guys, 70 years in the making and still traveling heavy, you know? And you got Roberto, you got Marquantini, you got Jenny Rivera, you know? We're all living well. - He's gonna be around here. - Oh yeah, you have a lot of us. We're still there, and we're still kicking, but we need that space for the young-- - A young blood, a hundred percent, you know, the ones that can tap into, you know, you know, Gen Z, Gen A. I commend these guys in the, in the segaton world. 'Cause you had daddy, you don't go mad. Every queen, you had Bicosi. And today you got bad buddy. - See, Seguin. - Yeah. - Seguin, new generation, new generation. - And between them, I mean, you had unwell, and you had Sonora. - Of course. - But you know, they're back in each other up, and that's what we need to do. We need to sponsor these guys. We need to back them up. We need to, I don't know, somehow help them out. - No, a hundred percent, you know, Whatever I can do, you know, to help amplify, to help support I heart radio in New York. Gracias, come again. Be a me, anything that they need will make it happen. - Yeah, and that's why your show is important. I'm telling you. - Community. - And it's not really that, you educate people, you know? What the radio doesn't do anymore. Years ago, when you would know who sang this song, who composed this song, who played it on this song, today you play a song, who sing it on this song? You don't even know. See with you, you interview the artist, and you go deep into personal things, or, I mean, 'cause it's good to see the human side of the artist. - That's what your fans want. - Of course. - You know, when somebody wants to watch Eti Toneves and they want to know about you, we know the music, it's been here 30, 20, 15, we know the songs, but do they know about, you know, your new life? Do they know that you love pickleball? Do you know that you've remarried and you're so happy? You know what I'm saying? Like, those are the things that your fans want, and I tell people all the time, when they sit here, I'm like, this is not for me. This is for the public, and this is for your fans. You know, I'm enjoying it, but this is going out into the universe. This is not staying right here. We're reporting it, audio, video, and your fans. - But you have something that when people sit here, you're comfortable. You know, for me, I get nervous doing this. - Really? - I swear to God, my wife can tell you. I, that radio interviews, why? Because you have to take care, you gotta, like we had it there, you know, you can't say bad words, it's like that. - It reminds me of that. - Right. Well, now I'm on stage, it's different. The songs are written already, but then interviews, but with you, it's a different flow. - Good, I'm glad. - It's more of a conversation. It's not an interview, it's a conversation. 'Cause you know what, I wanna get to know people. Me, personally, you know, selfishly, I'm like, I want to get to know him, and then we'll give this to the public, you know? But it's about, you know, sitting across from you and getting to know, you know, the core of who you are. It's not, I love the music. I'm a fan of you as an artist. - I can tell, you can tell. - But right now, it's about me and you as humans. It's not about artistry, it's not about, you know, music, it's about king as umbertonian. - That's right, that's right. My little boy that had a dream and still dreaming. I'm telling you, I'm still dreaming, I'm enjoying this ride. I'm enjoying this ride. And I told my wife, the day you don't see that in my eyes and in my voice, please, man, take me down from the stage. - Yeah, it's crazy, you mentioned that, because you know, I was watching that footage of Gladys Night on stage, and I'm like-- - You know, it's the funny thing you say that? - Like, no, just like-- - And I don't reach you. - You gotta know-- - But just have a look at the way, because I respect both artists, okay? Because I remember Celia Cruz telling me, she doesn't stay home because she'll get old and she's gonna die. She wants to die on stage. I can understand it, but when you don't, you, your health won't permit it. Because you're like a rich, you know, I don't know better. And I talk about dehydration, that's how dehydration, that's something else. And Gladys Night, you know what it is for the publics telling you, yeah. She just-- she looked disoriented, and she's like, yeah. - Yeah, good, man. - You gave us so much. - Gladys Night. - Yeah. - And, you know, as a legend and, you know, as an icon, you-- - On the top, that's right. - That's what we should be. - And, you know, we have a segment where I asked my guest to give me a piece of life advice, and, you know, right now, if you could give me some life advice, what would it be? - Right, why? - Wow, you know, I don't know. I, um, the only thing is I can really say is, give yourself a chance. I look at yourself in a mirror and ask yourself, do you like yourself? Do you like the person you became? You know, be honest with yourself, and you have to do it while you're naked. You know why? Because people hide behind clothing. You see somebody with-- You see, I don't have any brand, right? But some people, they have a little bit of time, and you say, "Oh, he's got to be doing well." People hide behind clothing. Get naked and go in front of a mirror and ask yourself, do you like the way? you turned out to be. And I can say that about myself because I've always had a dream to become an artist and I love what I do. I love what I do. And the day I'm feeling the more hard in your mind, believe me, I'm leaving. I'm leaving my head up high. And of this whole interview, or this whole chat that we had, what mostly stuck to me was originally told about your father. Cause that tells me that my job was done. It is. That's what I want to do. I just want to say, I want to sing and sing and sing and sing and make people smile. And it's funny because my wife sometimes she reads here the comments, especially the ladies comments, I want to take them home. I want to do it. I want to do that. She said, let me mind. He said, put it on. No, because I said, baby, the day that stops, we got to worry. I'm sorry. Cause why sing to fans always? No. And I'm only about telling me not more about it. All those things like that. But I know that's the best advice that I can give people. You know, it's good to be a happy dream. Don't be anybody. Be yourself. Let's be yourself. That's a beautiful piece of advice. I thank you. And Tito Nieves, I want to say, gracias. Come again. Maybe anytime, man. And I'm a fan. I told you I'm a fan. Thank you for shows. That's all. I'm a pull up on you. Yeah. 926. That's a Saturday. I'm not mistaken. Of course, if you want to prepare the entire day, I'm going to have the Saturday at 9 o'clock in the morning. Take it. It's our welcome. Now I'm taking master.com. Okay. So make sure you pull up. The story continues. Tito Nieves. Let's come up. I'm going to have good time. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm going to have you. I've seen me. I have fun. That's a man. Oh, that's the heart. I'm a little bit. Okay, that's the heart. It's the Dicot de nosotros. Uh-huh. No, no, no, no. Visualizer. Uh, we have that theme. Oh, yeah. Oh, I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. But no, it's possible in all the platform. Yeah, it's the Corazón. Perfect. Gracias. Gracias. Come again is a production of Honey German Productions and partnership with I Hart's Micron Tura podcast network. Honey, Philippa sent another photo from Argentina. How? With T-Mobile, of course. Mira, he's video calling us. Hold up, Amelia. Did you get my photos? We did. They're so pretty. Here to share every moment with T-Mobile. Enjoy day roaming at no extra charge in 21 Latin American countries. Switch now on the T-Life app or T-Mobile.com/conic. Well, fine plan to require not for extended international use. You must reset in the U.S. and primary usage. Mesa, Corona network. Visit T-Mobile.com. 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