If you already have seen these, you know. If you haven’t, you’ll be happy you took a look. These videos of Willie’s monster outfit were recorded on Panama’s TV2 in 1969-74 (I think the first two were from 1969). The first starts with a Jose Mangual Jr. Bongo intro with sticks (!!!) and is soon owned by a young Hector Lavoe. This is a 6 minute distillation of what AfroAntillean dancefloor dreams are made of:
Next is “Te Conozco”. C’mon man. Can you imagine the joy of dancing to these guys live in this time period?
Finally, here is “Timbalero”, from 1971 or maybe later. You can tell Hector owns Panama by now, check out how the studio crowd screams during the breakdown/call and response that starts around 4:50. This song is still an anthem in Panama, young people still know the lyrics and the sing the coro. The Timbalero in question is Louie Romero, who I am so grateful moved to the SF Bay Area many years ago – Louie still plays with his excellent band Mazacote (the best in the Bay, and it’s not close) monthly in Sausalito.