In the 30’s, Sicilian Mafia decided that the Italian-American Mafia should be guided by Sicilian mobsters. Sicilians went to the USA, but, unexpectedly, were defeated and killed, especially thanks to a Jewish-American boss, named Meyer Lansky. In the period from the 30’s to the 60’s, the opposite happened. With other words, the Italian Mafia was completely subordinated to the American bosses, and Cosa Nostra gradually became Our Own Thing. In Italy, authorities have never accepted what the writer Leonardo Sciascia exactly wrote in the year 1964, that Sicilian Mafia was a minor organization, with very scarce importance. Some of my readers are probably thinking that the short story of the above has nothing to do with Latin-Tropical house. Maybe, other readers are remembering that disco music has been a creation of Carlo Gambino, the boss of the bosses of the Italian-American Mafia, who was allied with Meyer Lansky. It would be important to deepen what happened in the year 1977, when Gambino died. The sources are scarce, and you can imagine some of the reasons. For now, I think I can only underline the fundamental role of Meyer Lansky, until his death of 1983. Well, I’m insisting with the citation of Meyer Lansky because, in the 40’s, he had been the uncredited father of Latin-tropical music at nightclubs, exactly like Carlo Gambino was the father of disco in the 70’s.
Before the Cuban revolution, Meyer Lansky was responsible of the development of Cosa Nostra in Cuba. He owned and operated casinos in Havana, where he learned to love Cuban music. Starting from the 40’s, the musical tastes of Meyer Lansky became fundamental at the legendary NYC nightclub Copacabana, nicknamed “Copa”. The Copa was managed by a figurehead, Mr. Jules Podell, but, in reality, it was a property of Charles “Lucky” Luciano, Albert Anastasia, Paul Castellano, and Frank Costello, four notorious mobsters. The Copa was very fashionable and expensive, and had the incredible number of 275 employees. At the Copa, Carmen Miranda and Tito Puente were two regular musicians. In the year 1973, the Copa was transformed into a discotheque, with the virtuoso DJ Pete “the Vinyl Junkie” Denis, who went on in proposing a lot of Latin-tropical tunes. Mr. Denis was the earliest disco DJ to gain a lot of money. His daily salary was the huge sum of 350 $, correspondent to the common salary of other American disco DJs multiplied 15-20 times.
Now you know how Latin-tropical music has gained some space at discos. Of course, Latin-tropical house is an heir of that genre. Yes, even Latin-tropical house is our own thing. Logically, it populates the mix of the page.
File name “Latin-tropical house is our own thing, by Max Look DJ (end of July 2025)”, 1 hour and 20’ of house music tunes inspired to warm countries, belonging to tropical cultures.
Boss dance, the playlist:
Gloria Estefan - you'll be mine (party time)
Quintetto X - Eumir
Relight Orchestra – elegibo (Alex Gardini remix)
Afromedusa - dreams (Problem Kids remix)
Dirty Vegas - let the night (Rivaz remix)
Magnetic Illusions - come on baby
DJ Q - way back then
John Summit - la danza (extended mix)
Peter K & Andrew M - tinto de verano
Federico Scavo - balada
2 In A Room - el trago (the drink)
T:Cube - tropiq
Fatboy Slim - everybody loves a carnival
Capricorn - 20 Hertz
Icarus - Ajanda
Madonna feat Anitta - faz gostoso
Farruko - pepas
Snowboy - casa forte (Joe Claussell remix)
