Northridge : CSUN Percussionists Take Heat for Estefan

Last month, 23 members of the Cal State Northridge marching band’s percussion unit spent a long, hot day shooting a music video for pop singer Gloria Estefan.

Later this month, a smaller group of CSUN percussionists will appear with Estefan on “The Tonight Show” and during a live awards show.

The funny thing is, they’ve never met the Cuban-born singer.

“It was kind of a letdown to find out that she wasn’t going to be there,” Lance Delgado said of the shoot on an artificial Antelope Valley dune. The 25-year-old percussion instructor explained that Estefan’s portion had been filmed earlier in a studio and will be combined with the desert footage in the video for “Puedes Llegar,” a Spanish-language version of her song “Reach.”

In addition to the desert heat, Delgado said, the most challenging aspect of the daylong shoot was matching the percussionists’ movements to the song’s rhythm track, which was recorded by other musicians.

“It was kind of weird to cop parts off of a tape to make it sound as close to it,” he said.

And although band members were disappointed that the singer wasn’t present, another Estefan was--Emilio, Gloria’s husband and producer, who promptly offered the drummers two more jobs.

“He loved the drumline and thought we sounded great,” Delgado said.

On April 26, they’ll back Estefan and her band during an appearance on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno in Burbank. Two days later, they’ll perform together during the VH1 Honors, a live cable telecast from the Universal Amphitheatre.

Delgado said they’ll probably meet Estefan at a rehearsal on April 25, and that the group is looking forward to working with the popular performer.

Despite hours of marching through sand and heat listening to the same song over and over, Delgado said he’s not tired of “Puedes Llegar.”

“It’s a good song,” he chuckled.