Allen was born in the Washington Heights section of New York City.
As all youths, Allen was attracted to the performing arts, music and
dance. His favorite genres of music were CUBAN MUSIC some of which
were Orquesta Aragon, Arsenio Rodriguez, Israel "Cachao" Lopez and
Felix Chapottin. SALSA wich includes, Eddie Palmieri, Joe Cuba, Ray
Barretto, Johnny Pacheco and so many more. And of course LATIN JAZZ.
Growing up in Manhattan, Allen was lucky enough to frequent many of
the fabulous clubs such as the Palladium Ballroom, The Corso and the
Cheetah where these performers entertained and thrilled their
audiences. He wanted to capture the moments of these wonderful
artists and decided to potograpth them whenever the opportunity
arose. He began to network and connected with many of his idols. He
also captured some of their performances on film, perserving a
moment of artistic flair, to forever be appreciated by all. A group
of business people of "El Barrio" (Spanish Harlem) where many of the
musicians are from, were so taken by Allen's work that he became the
archival photographer for the INTERNATIONAL SALSA MUSEUM in Spanish
Harlem.
Currently, Allen does freelance photography for many Latino
musicians and non-profit organizations. He also is the Director of
Still Photography for New York Squadron Productions a new video
production company located in the Film Center Building in Mid-town
Manhattan. Allen resides in Riverdale section of The Bronx, New
York.
He truly believes that music, the arts and culture surpasses all
human boundaries and is what keeps the human spirit ALIVE.
ALLEN suggests some interesting
web-sites:
www.salsa-profiles.com
Some of the events I
photographed and other information of interest can be seen as well.
Salsa Profiles has a cable tv
show.
Long Island: Mondays @ 10:30pm
- 11:30pm (channel 20)
Bronx: Mondays @ 9pm - 10pm (channel
69)
Brooklyn/Queens: Mondays @ 9pm
- 10pm (channel67)
Contact info:
salsaprofiles@yahoo.com
