DJ ALEX GUTIERREZ

  When Record Stores Had a Soul: Remembering the Music Experts Behind the Counter DJ Alex Gutierrez There was a time when walking into a record store wasn’t just about buying music — it was about discovering it. I miss those days deeply. You’d step through the doors of places like Specs, Peaches, Carjul ( Carlos & Lazaro ), Majestic ( Raymond Hernandez ) ERE( Ernie ), Lee Records, Casino records, Ricky Records, Record Gallery,Underground Records, BPM ( Eddie Mix ), or The Village ( Richard Quinn ) here in Miami, and instantly feel like you were entering sacred ground. The walls were lined with albums that spoke louder than any playlist ever could, and behind the counter stood people who knew their music  truly knew it. Richard Quinn was the one who first introduced me to Italo music at The Village Records , a sound that initially clashed with the traditional Disco I’d grown up with, but through his passion and insight, he helped me understand and truly appreciate its u...

  🎶 Two Rhythms, One City: A DJ’s View on Miami’s Cuban Musical Divide by DJ Alex Gutiérrez I’ve been DJ’ing in Miami long enough to see how our Cuban community dances to two very different beats and sometimes, how those beats collide right in front of me. On one side, you’ve got the salseros the old-school crowd that grew up with the elegant, structured salsa sound that came out of New York in the 1970s. On the other, the new arrivals from Cuba  full of that raw island energy, dancing to timba, reggaetón, and cubatón. Both are Cuban to the core… but trust me, they don’t move the same way. 💃 The Salsa Generation I grew up in the era when salsa was more than music — it was a way of life. Legends like Héctor Lavoe , Willie Colón , Gilberto Santa Rosa , and Víctor Manuelle gave us a sound that was refined and classy. We treated salsa nights like special occasions: guayaberas crisp, shoes polished, the ladies dressed to impress. There were rules  respect your part...