The De La Vegaz

The Orchestra De La Vega traveled to New York City to play a concert. The Orchestra, particularly young Jorge, received overwhelming critical and public response to their performance. On the evening following the concert, some of the musicians, including Jorge, were taken by a friend to a New York nightclub to see an entirely different type of guitarist -- blues great Freddy King. On this night, Jorge's world changed forever.

Within the sheltered environment of the Orchestra, Jorge had never experienced anything like the blistering force of this greatest of bluesmen performing at the peak of his power. Profoundly moved, Jorge persuaded the friend to take him to Manny's music store the following morning. There, he purchased an electric guitar, not a large Gibson ES-355 like Freddy's, but a smaller Fender Stratocaster, more suited to his young hands. To this day, he has never put it down.

Jorge became intrigued by not only the blues, but also by much of the other guitar music that was exploding in the musical world of 1967. Freddy King became his guiding light and before long, the young guitarist developed an all-consuming need to incorporate the new music that possessed him into his performance.

His arrival at a rehearsal with his newly-acquired electric instrument was met with outrage by Don Felipe and the older members of the Orchestra De La Vega, which had always been an exclusively acoustic ensemble.