Recordando El Ayer: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A long-playing record entitled “Recordando El Ayer.” The album consists of a single vinyl long-playing record (2015.195.34a), which features a pink-and-orange patterned label with a notched center hole. In the top half of the label, the record company’s logo [VAYA] appears in bold white letters (it is this logo that is repeated on the label to create the pattern). In the bottom half of the label, the tracks, as well as their respective artists and track lengths, are printed in black letters. On Side A, the following tracks appear, “Besito de Coco,” “Ritmo, Tambor Y Flores,” “Se Wue Tu,” “Reina Rumba,” and “Vamos a Guarachah;” while Side B lists the following tracks, “La Equivocada,” “Ahora Si,” “Cuando Tu Me Querias,” “Verbero Moderno” and “Guillate.”

An album jacket (2015.195.34b) accompanies the vinyl record. The front cover features a photograph of Celia Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, Justo Betancourt and Papo Lucca. The four individuals stand in front of an orange background with two plants behind them. The men wear traditional rumba shirts, while Celia Cruz, who stands in the middle, wears a pink-and-white dress. The back cover is lime green. In the center, there are four portraits, one of Celia Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, Justo Betnacourt and Papo Lucca. On the inside of the album jacket, there are portraits of the four performers, as well as short bios of each. Lee Marshall and Ron Levine are credited as the photographer and designer respectively.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1976
• Recorded by: Celia Cruz, Cuban American, 1925 - 2003
• Published by: Fania Records, Inc., founded 1964
• Recorded by: Johnny Pacheco, Dominican, 1935 - 2021
• Recorded by: Justo Betancourt, Cuban, born 1940
• Recorded by: Papo Lucca, Puerto Rican, born 1946
• Type: record covers
• Type: long-playing records
• Medium: vinyl , cardboard and ink
• Dimensions: Diameter (a. disc): 11 7/8 in. (30.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (b. album jacket): 12 3/8 × 12 3/8 × 1/8 in. (31.4 × 31.4 × 0.3 cm)
• Place made: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Salsa (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2015.195.34ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © 1976 Vaya Records Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.