When timbales master Louie Romero launched the salsa dura band Mazacote in 1994, his status as a salsa legend had been in place for nearly three decades. Born in Brooklyn, he was at the center of the action at Fania Records in the late 1960s, renowned for his work with beloved salsero Hector “El Cantante” Lavoe, Willie Colón, Rubén Blades, and Celia Cruz (he contributed to five gold and two platinum records). He launched Mazacote about decade after moving to California, and the hard-swinging, old-school combo quickly gained recognition as one of the premier salsa ensembles on the West Coast.