Setting The Groundwork

A Group Of Home-Grown Musicians Is Setting The Groundwork To Conquer The World Of Latin Music

Miami, FL-(Miami Herald) Laura Figueroa, September 9, 2007

Success brings sacrifices. Andres Pita had to learn that the hard way recently when he had to sacrifice his rubber red-white-and-blue wristband with “Cuba” written on the side. “They took my wristband,” Pita said in disbelief in a classroom at Christopher Columbus High School, 3000 SW 87th Ave. “They took it right off my hand.” He was referring to the more than 3,000 shrieking high schoolers crammed into the gymnasium for the annual back-to-school Beach Bash…

Most of the girls, clad in halter tops and tube top dresses, weren’t there just for the social scene. They came to dance, scream and grab whatever piece they could of the emerging Latin group Los Primeros comprised of Pita, Ray Moreno and Pedro Perez. “Los Primeros, I love them!” said Cynthia García, 16, as she cupped her hands in the shape of a heart.

She isn’t the only one.

After scoring an appearance on the MTV reality show My Super Sweet 16 and performing at a slew of birthday parties, church festivals and night clubs, the group of homegrown Hialeah men has achieved an almost cult-like following among Latin teenagers looking for a handsome boy band to call their own. “They’re so cute and original,” shouted Angela Urribarri, 15, a student at Ronald Reagan Doral High School.

Los Primeros‘ journey to local celebrity status started through the magic of YouTube, a website that allows users to upload home-made videos. The three former Monsignor Edward Pace High students uploaded a video that Pita and Perez made in 2003 when they were student announcers on the school’s Pace Broadcasting System television program.

They created a dance spoofing one of Pace’s baseball coaches known for his exaggerated hand movements, Pita said. The guys dubbed the dance “eslow motion” and created an accompanying Spanish song set to guitars and drum beats.

Soon the video, shot with a hand-held camera in front of Hialeah City Hall, drew a surge of views as friends forwarded the video to friends. Within a year, Los Primeros‘ first version of the video has been viewed 198,000 times, according to figures posted by YouTube. The self-described “class clowns” would also take the “eslow motion” dance live, by crashing house parties and even a wedding, telling the DJ to allow them to perform the song.

The guys, or “the kids,” as their managers Manny Castro and Pita’s brother Carlos like to call them, created a web page on MySpace, a social networking website, and began to advertise their availability to perform at parties and events.

Eventually, they got the call to perform for the quinceñera (the 15th birthday) of Audrey Reyes, a self-described Miami “princess” who was set to be featured on an MTV reality show. “Everything’s been even more crazy since then,” Moreno said. What followed for Los Primeros was performing for singer/songwriter Jon Secada and winning the Tu Ciudad, Tu Musica (Your City, Your Music) competition sponsored by Burger King in June.

The trio is now slated to be the opening act for merengue band Fulanito and salsa band Puerto Rican Power at the University of Florida’s annual Hispanic Heritage Month concert.

“We have a clean outlook on what music is supposed to be,” Perez said. “We’re more about dancing and having music that makes you feel good.”

When they’re not making teenage girls swoon with their live performances infused with the boyish humor that made them popular at Pace, the guys make ends meet with regular 9-to-5 jobs. Pita, 20, works in advertising, Moreno, 23, is a pharmacy technician, and Perez, 23, is a purchasing agent. They make no qualms about their hometown, which is prominently featured in their music video. ‘A lot of people look at Hialeah people as if we’re all “refs,’ ” Pita said, referring to refugees. “It’s actually a good place to live and grow up.”

Los Primeros is joining the movement to save Hialeah Park from commercial development. The group plans to record a song to draw attention to the park that has been closed since 2005.

Moments before Los Primeros was scheduled to perform in the Columbus gym, members got ready in classroom P-110. As they spoke of plans for their debut album, Columbus’ activities director Omar Delgado opened the door with good news. “Congratulations,” Delgado shouted. “You guys just broke our record for attendance.” The Beach Bash, held in less-than-beachy settings, typically attracts between 1,500 and 2,000 students. This year, more than 3,000 students showed up, Delgado announced. Upon hearing the news, the trio celebrated the only way 20-somethings trying to maintain a clean-cut image could: They raised their bottles of water in a toast and said in unison: “Cheers.”