The Ghetto Brothers Power Fuerza

The Ghetto Brothers  

Power - Fuerza

1972

The Ghetto Brothers were a street gang active in the South Bronx during the late 1960s, and through the 1970s. Primarily comprised of a Puerto Rican and black membership, the gang was formed, and led, by Benjy Melendez. Melendez had an artistic side, and he, along with his brothers Victor and Robert, David Silva, Luis Bristo, Chiqui Conception, Franky Valentin, and Angelo Garcia, formed an eponymous band to play at various social functions in the neighborhood.

 

In 1972, the band paid $500 to record an LP in Fine Tone Studios in Manhattan. Titled Power-Fuerza, the LP had a small pressing, but nonetheless gained the group some coverage. It since has become a very rare collector's item.

 

A CD of the album was issued in 2008, and also has become a high-priced collector's item. However, an affordable mp3 of Power-Fuerza is available at amazon, and at the Vampi-Soul records webpage. 

 

The eight songs on Power-Fuerza show influences from a variety of sources, including soul, R & B, Latin music, rock, and the vocal harmonies commonplace in the classic pop songs of the 1950s and 1960s. 

 

Evoking a unique, multicultural sensibility, the album is well worth a listen, especially if you are interested in the street culture of New York City in the 1970s. 

 

Benjy Melendez has published a memoir of his days as a Ghetto Brother in the South Bronx, 'Ghetto Brother: How I Found Peace in the South Bronx Street Gang Wars,' also available at amazon.