I could blame Mantrap for introducing me to ” Skipping ” school, but I
won’t. You see the first time I skipped class was to go to a Mantrap
concert at Miami High. Not only was I risking my life by getting in
trouble with my father , but I was also taking a chance that I would be
identified as a stranger at Miami High and that alone was reason to
get beaten up there ,usually by somebody with a nickname like ” El
Vampiro ” ” Fosforito ” or ” Cabeza ”
Well needless to say we made it in with our lives , just in time. The
concert began . We sat in the balcony looking down , people were
dancing in the isles, girls ,lots of them yelled at the top of their lungs
and the members of the group smiled looking at each other as if they
knew ” it didn’t get better than this ” Alex Gutierrez
Nelson Correa remembers:
I WENT TO GESU SCHOOL FROM 1-8 GRADE THEN I WENT TO RICO HIGH
SCHOOL WHICH IS WHERE I MET SOME OF THE MUSICIANS THAT LATER
COMPOSED MANTRAP.
THE BAND MANTRAP REALLY BEGAN IN THE BOY SCOUTS TROOP 223.
WE WERE ALL KIDS AND GOT TOGETHER TO PLAY. WE USED TO PLAY
AT BOY SCOUTS REUNIONS AND EVENTS. LATER WE NAMED THE BAND
MAJESTY. WE ADDED A COUPLE OF FRIENDS THAT WE WENT TO
SCHOOL WITH JUST BECAUSE WE WERE FRIENDS. TODAY I RECOGNIZE
THAT WE WERE HORRIBLE BUT BACK THEN, WE FELT WE WERE THE
BEST.
AS MORE MUSICIANS JOINED MAJESTY THE FEUDS BEGAN. SHORTLY
THEREAFTER THE BAND SPLIT. I LEFT WITH MY CLOSER FRIENDS AND
THE OTHER GUYS STAYED TO PURSUE A DREAM THEY NEVER
FULFILLED. WITH THE MUSICIANS I HAD WE BEGAN REHEARSING. WE
PICKED UP A COUPLE MORE GUYS AND THEN IT WAS TIME TO PICK A
NAME. WE CALLED THE BAND SHADES OF DARKNESS. THE NAME DID
NOT FIT WELL SO ONE DAY OUR SINGER AT THE TIME (IGNACIO OLIVA)
CAME UP WITH THE NAME MANTRAP. I WILL LET YOU KNOW THAT IT
WAS JUST TWO WEEKS AGO THAT OUR NOW SINGER MIGUEL MARTIN
WHO WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH IGNACIO TOLS US THAT IGNACIO
HAD TOLD HIM MANY YEARS AGO THAT HE NAMED THE BAND.
ON MANY INTERVIEWS INCLUDING TV AND RADIO WE WERE ASKED
NUMEROUS TIMES AS TO WHO CAME UP WITH THE NAME AND NO ONE
KNEW. IGNACIO HAD LEFT THE BAND IN 1975 AFTER SEVERAL
EPILEPTIC ATTACKS SUFFERED WHILE PERFORMING DUE TO THE
BAND’S LIGHT SHOW. SO THAT MYSTERY HAS BEEN RESOLVED. SINCE
IGNACIO LEFT MANY YEARS AGO AND WE HAD NOT BEEN ASKED ABOUT
THE NAME, WHEN WE WERE ASKED NO ONE REMEMBERED. THE NAME
CAME FROM A STAR TREK SHOW CALLED MANTRAP.
MY FATHER (RIP) WOULD TELL ME THAT HIS COUSIN HAD A NEPHEW
WHO HAD AN ORCHESTRA AND WANTED ME TO GO SEE THEM
REHEARSE. SINCE MY DAD KNEW WE WERE GETTING STARTED WITH
OUR BAND HE WANTED ME TO SEE THIS SO CALLED ORCHESTRA THAT
WAS GOOD. I NEVER SHOWED AN INTEREST BECAUSE THE WORD
ORCHESTRA TO ME MEANT A SALSA BAND AND WE WERE NOT PLAYING
SALSA. FINALLY, ONE DAY I WENT WITH MY DAD AFTER SO MANY
ASKINGS TO SEE THIS ORCHESTRA. TO MY SURPRISE, IT WAS THE
ANTIQUES. MIAMI’S MOST POPULAR AND BEST BAND AT THE TIME.
MY EYES OPENED WIDE AND I TOLD MY DAD. ” THIS IS NOT AN
ORCHESTRA, THIS IS A BAND” AND THE BEST!!!! MAN, I WAS FURIOUS
BECAUSE ALL THIS TIME I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET THESE
GUYS AND NEVER DID BECAUSE MY DAD CALLED THEM AN ORCHESTRA.
WOW.
I MET THE ANTIQUES AND IMMEDIATELY I BONDED WITH ALL OF THEM.
THE BASS PLAYER TAUGHT ME HOW TO PLAY THE BASS, I STARTED
BRINGING IN THE BAND MEMBERS TO SEE THE ANTIQUES REHEARSE
AND WE WERE ALL IN WONDERLAND. EACH ONE OF THEM TAUGHT US
ABOUT THEIR INSTRUMENTS.
THEY ALLOWED US TO PLAY DURING THEIR BREAKS WHERE EVER THEY
PLAYED AND NOW MANTRAP GOT THE EXPOSURE THAT IT NEEDED.
SOON AFTER THAT WE STARTED PICKING UP BETTER MUSICIANS AND
MANTRAP BECAME A WELL KNOWN BAND. THE BAND HEAVEN THEN
STARTED CALLING US TO PLAY DURING THEIR BREAKS ALSO WHICH
GAVE US MORE FAME. THEN THEY LET US PLAY AT THE OPEN HOUSES.
AT FIRST WE DID NOT GET PAID. IT DID NOT MATTER, WE JUST
WANTED TO PLAY AND SEE OUR NAME ON THE FLYERS.
AFTER A WHILE THEY BEGAN COMPENSATING US BUT VERY LITTLE. WE
USED THE MONEY TO BUY BETTER MUSIC EQUIPMENT. IN 1976
MANTRAP WAS WELL ESTABLISHED AND WE DID OUR OWN OPEN
HOUSE. TWO RECORDS WERE RECORDED AND EVERYTHING WAS A
HUGE SUCCESS. WE PACKED THE POLISH AMERICAN CLUB AND HAD AS
A GUEST BAND WILLIAM SANCHEZ AND THE ONDA NUEVA. WILLIAM IS
TODAY THE MUSICAL DIRECTOR FOR SABADO GIGANTE BAND.
WHEN THE OPEN HOUSE PROMOTERS SAW THE CROWD THAT WE GOT
FOR OUR OWN DANCE, THEY REALIZED THAT THEY NEEDED US TO
PLAY FOR THE OPEN HOUSES IN FEAR OF US DOING OUR OWN AND
DIVIDING THE CROWDS. IT WAS USUALLY MANTRAP, HEAVEN AND THE
ANTIQUES. OTHER BANDS CAME IN AS GUEST FROM TIME TO TIME
SUCH AS UNIT 3 OR WILDWIND.
THEN THE FATHER OF OUR KEYBOARD PLAYER (ANDY GONZALEZ)
STARTED DOING FRIDAY NIGHT DANCES AT THE CLUB DE LAS AMERICA.
MANTRAP WAS THE MAIN BAND THERE. WE DREW HUGE CROWDS.
THIS WAS 1977-1978. WE ALSO PLAYED AT MY DREAM DISCO IN
HIALEAH WHICH ALWAYS GREETED MANTRAP WITH ALOT OF LOVE.
EVEN THOUGH WE MOSTLY ATTENDED MIAMI HIGH, HIALEAH LOVED US
MORE.
TWO OF OUR MEMBERS WERE FROM HIALEAH HIGH AND
UNFORTUNATELY THEY HAD TO PLAY AT THEIR OWN PROM BUT IN THIS
BUSINESS THE SHOW MUST GO ON. WE HAD MEMBERS FROM NORTH
MIAMI HIGH, BELEN, CORAL GABLES, MIAMI HIGH AND HIALEAH IN
MANTRAP.
MANTRAP CONTINUED STRONG THROUGH THE COMMENCEMENT OF
1980 BY THEN, THE FIGHTS AT THE DANCES MADE IT HARD FOR US TO
RENT A HALL TO HOLD THE OPEN HOUSES AT. NO ONE WANTED TO
RENT THE HALLS BECAUSE OF THE GANGS. WE THEN CHANGED THE
BANDS NAME TO NIGHTSHIFT. WE BEGAN PLAYING 6 NIGHTS A WEEK AT
NIGHT CLUBS IN W.PALM BEACH AND FT LAUDERDALE. I REALIZED THAT
THIS WAS NOT MY VISION ANYMORE AND I KNEW I NEEDED TO FIND A
JOB. I APPLIED AND BECAME A MIAMI POLICE OFFICER FROM JULY 1980
UNTILL I RETIRED IN 2005. THE BAND BROKE UP AFTER I LEFT.
TODAY I CONTINUE BEING A COP BUT NOW IN KEY BISCAYNE. I HAVE
BEEN THERE FOR THREE YEARS. I SAW IN 2007 WHILE SEARCHING FOR
THE SONG SUAVECITO ON YOU TUBE, A MANTRAP VERSION OF THE
SONG THAT WE HAD RECORDED IN OUR DISCO FANTASY ALBUM BUT IN
A RARE CD CALLED THE SWEETER SIDE OF LATIN SOUL. I CLICKED ON
IT AND SURE AS HELL, IT WAS MANTRAP’S SONG.
I CONTACTED THE PERSON WHO UPLOADED THE SONG AND HE TOLD
ME THE SONG WAS A HIT IN THE EAST LOS ANGELES AREA AND IF WE
COULD GET THE BAND TOGETHER HE COULD SET US UP TO GO PLAY
UP THERE FOR THE RADIO STATION’S ANNUAL CONCERT. I GATHERED
SOME OF THE MUSICIANS AND WE PRODUCED 4 SONGS AS DEMOS.
THE RADIO STATION WANTED TO KNOW HOW MANTRAP WOULD SOUND
TODAY.
WE WERE BEAT BY MALO FOR THE CONCERT THIS YEAR. THEY ARE
FROM THE LOCAL AREA AND IT WOULD COST TOO MUCH TO BRING
MANTRAP TO EAST LA BUT THEY SAID TO CONTINUE MAKING SONGS
AND THAT THEY WOULD PROMOTE THEM ON THE RADIO ENOUGH TO
JUSTIFY BRINGING US IN NEXT YEAR.
RECENTLY I WAS APPROACHED BY AN OLD DJ FROM THE OPEN HOUSE
ERA BY THE NAME OF EFREN CASTEELANOS. HE TOLD ME THAT IF I
COULD GET THE BAND TOGETHER HE COULD SET UP A BACK TO THE
OPEN HOUSE EVENT AT CLUB RENAISSANCE. WE MADE ALL THE
ARRANGEMENTS AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 29 YEARS,
MANTRAP WOULD PERFORM LIVE ON DEC 11 AT CLUB RENNAISANCE IN CORAL GABLES FLORIDA.
THAT PERFORMANCE WOULD TRIGGER A RESURGENCE OF THE OPEN HOUSE BANDS HERE IN MIAMI. MANY
BANDS FOLLOWED AND THE SCENE REMAINS ACTIVE TODAY THANKS TO THE EFFORTS OF NELSON CORREA AND
HIS GROUP. RECORDING 2 FULL LENGTH CDS OF ORIGINAL AND COVER MATERIAL, INCLUDING
AN INTERNATIONAL HIT FOR THE BAND WITH THE REMIX OF THEIR ORIGINAL TRACK ” DISCO LIGHTS’
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